April 29, 2014

WILL CLOWNEY GO NO. 1?: It’s the biggest question of the NFL draft

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Onions for sale SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

JOHN QUACKENBUSH 1933 — 2014

Voice of P-15’s was on the air 40+ years

BY DENNIS BRUNSON dennisb@theitem.com (803) 774-1241 John Quackenbush, the radio voice for sports in Sumter for more than four decades, died on Sunday in Columbia at the age of 80.

Quackenbush covered football and basketball for Edmunds High School and later Sumter High School for more than two decades and Sumter P-15’s American Legion baseball for more than QUACKENBUSH three decades, stretching over 40-plus years.

He also had a period of time in which he worked for Darlington Raceway Radio Network.

Quackenbush was also known for taking information that came in on The Associated Press ticker tape machine about New York Yankee games, for whom Sumter native Bobby Richardson played from the mid 1950s through the mid ’60s, and reproducing games over the air — with sound effects — for Sumter sports fans.

Quackenbush knew a great deal about each of the sports he called, and he was able to pass that knowledge to those listening to him over the radio airwaves.

Kevin Ireland, Quackenbush’s broadcast partner with the P-15’s for more than two decades, said Quackenbush was able to do that because of how well-prepared he was.

“It was really remarkable what he could do,” said Ireland, who now does the broadcasts with Lee Glaze. “I could only wish that I could be as well prepared as he was. When we finished a game, he would update the stats (of the team and the players) literally by hand that night with a game the next day. There was

SEE QUACKENBUSH, PAGE A7

75 CENTS

Sumter Palmetto Rotary Club is now taking orders to fund scholarships A2

IN THE CLARENDON SUN:

Wastewater treatment plant work begins in Manning C1

Tuomey gets B in Leapfrog ratings

BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com (803) 774-1250 Tuomey Healthcare System has improved its medical care practices during the past six months, according to the latest Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Scores report.

Graded twice a year, Tuomey saw its spring 2014 grade climb to an overall B,

up from a C grade in fall 2013. Clarendon Memorial Hospital in Manning, meanwhile, continued to have a C grade.

The scores for A, B, C, D and F are calculated under the guidance of the Leapfrog Blue Ribbon Expert Panel and analyzed in the peer-reviewed Journal of Patient Safety, according to the organization. Factors such as medical errors, accidents,

injuries and infections that kill or hurt patients are used to figure the scores.

“We’re pleased we improved,” said Dr. Gene Dickerson, chief medical officer at Tuomey. “Of course, we’d like to get an A. There are two areas that we had more negative scores that hurt us more, areas of central line associated blood stream infections and pressure ulcers.

Both are hospital acquired.

If we do better in those areas, we would have made an A.” Central line infections occur around catheters and picc — peripherally inserted central catheter — lines used for chemotherapy and antibiotics. While the hospital has special insertion techniques to try to reduce the risk of contamination,

SEE TUOMEY, PAGE A6

Pilot trapped for 7 hours

BRADEN BUNCH / THE SUMTER ITEM

The pilot of this experimental single-passenger airplane was trapped upside down for nearly seven hours after it crashed in a swampy area along Brewington Road on Sunday.

Crash site located in swampy area off Brewington Road

BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com (803) 774-1201 An experimental single-passenger airplane crashed in a swampy area along Brewington Road just outside Sumter Airport on Sunday morning, leaving the pilot trapped upside down in his cockpit for nearly seven hours as local search teams combed the area looking for the aircraft.

According to rescue workers, it is thought the airplane crashed while approaching the Sumter Airport runway sometime shortly before noon Sunday.

The cause of the airplane’s crash is unknown, and the pilot was not officially identified. However, Federal Aviation

Administration records indicate the plane is registered to Sumter resident Jerome Baak. The homemade, fixed wing, single-engine craft was constructed in 2012, according to FAA reports.

The pilot and his plane were returning from the South Carolina Breakfast Club meeting at the Broxton Bridge Plantation Airport in the small town of Ehrhardt when the crash occurred, said Sumter Airport manager Jeff Knauer.

Airport officials, however, were not aware of the crash until the pilot’s family members began calling the airport, concerned for his well being.

“As the word spread we were looking for one of our own, everyone started coming out; pilots and families,” Knauer said, adding there were three local

planes in the air searching the area when the crashed plane was spotted.

Chad McLeod with Hangar Twelve Charters was the first person able to spot the crash site from the air. He said he had just returned from taking a client to Charleston when he joined the search for Baak’s plane.

Shortly after taking off to join the search, McLeod said, he spotted the plane in the wetlands about 150 yards south of Brewington Road near Hill Road. McLeod radioed in and immediately returned to the airport so he could race to the scene in his car.

As he and others were running to the upended plane through areas where

SEE CRASH, PAGE A5

Like good beer? The 3 Dudes make their own

BY IVY MOORE ivym@theitem.com (803) 774-1221 Talking with three local craft beer makers, you realize the types and flavors of beer might be infinite. And Clay Boothe, Eric Fox and Dennis

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Peterson say they are determined to discover — and brew — them all.

Their most recent batch was a dark beer flavored by peanut butter and chocolate.

More beer than peanut butter cup, but the beer was good, and they admitted they

CONTACT US Information: 774-1200 Advertising: 774-1237 Classifieds: 774-1234 Delivery: 774-1258 News and Sports: 774-1226

made it “just for fun.”

“It’s all fun,” Peterson said.

“We make beer because we like it.”

The trio, who’ll be called “The 3 Dudes,” should they ever decide to go commercial, have traveled the world with the U.S. Air Force, tasting

beers wherever they were sent. Peterson, who is retired, has an extensive collection of beer glasses from countries he’s visited or been stationed in, too.

“You use different glasses for different styles of beer, just like for wines,” he said,

DEATHS, B6 Shirley VanVoorhis Gladys B. Blakely Martlew Q. Gillett Betty Jean Williams James A. Boyce Cleo G. Weeks

Sylvester Dawson Isabelle G. Ridgill Pisano H. Barno Joseph Riley Loretta S. Isaac Eva Clark

opening kitchen cabinets where you’d be hard pressed to find dinner plates — they are there, though, he promised.

Boothe and Fox, both stationed at Shaw Air Force

SEE THE 3 DUDES, PAGE A6

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It’s going to be a nasty one with strong winds and thunderstorms HIGH 85, LOW 67

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TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

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

Workshop helps women break through pain

BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com (803) 774-1272 Aches and pains can chip away at someone’s quality of life, making physical activity more difficult and compounding other health problems. It can be a challenge to manage even without other chronic conditions — diabetes, heart problems, obesity — that can become a daily battle for sufferers to live with.

For 17 local women dealing with various degrees of ill health, a recently completed community workshop at the North HOPE Center taught them how to make their lifestyles healthier and, in some cases, gave them a way to go on through the pain.

After a six-week course, “Better Choices, Better Health” graduated its first class Monday, the first of what organizers hope will be a growing number of people using tested techniques to improve their lives.

The Phoenix Health Education and Wellness Center taught the course based on the self-management program designed by researchers at Stanford University. The program focuses as much on how

LOCAL BRIEF FROM STAFF REPORTS

BRISTOW MARCHANT / THE SUMTER ITEM

Al Davis, left, and Joseph Whiting lead the Better Choices, Better Health course at the North HOPE Center on Monday. The course recently graduated its first class after six weeks, and organizers hope to hold at least two more of the free courses. “mental distraction” can help those living with painful conditions, such as relaxation techniques and breathing exercises, as much as healthy living tips.

“These are all techniques to break through the symptom cycle, to control and eliminate fatigue, stress and anxiety,” said Al Davis, the course instructor.

The course’s first graduates left the final meeting, where

each student spelled out her own action plan for following through on what she’d learned, with a renewed sense of optimism.

“I was here exercising (at the North HOPE Center), and they had their information out,” said Annie Green. “This is the first one of these I’ve done, and I’m glad I did. It was very inspiring.”

Along with a book on living with chronic illnesses, each

graduate also received a relaxation CD to help maintain that sensation at home. Many said the course taught them to be calmer and better able to handle the emotional toll a chronic disease can have on a patient.

“I used to jump off,” said Luvenia Littles. “Now I feel like I can control my emotions and be nicer to people.”

Others were hopeful the exercise and healthy eating tips in the course will help them overcome nagging physical ailments.

“I want to get rid of this,” said Margie Sharif, gripping the cane she uses to support her weak knees and weight issues. “I’m going to get up and move.”

Patricia Neal rolled out of graduation in a wheelchair, but said she only joined the course to learn new ways to manage her diabetes.

“I broke my foot right after the program started,” she said. “And the second class was on how to avoid falls.”

While this class has run its course, others dealing with illness will have more opportunities to attend the free course. A second course is already meeting at the HOPE Center on Wednesdays, and

organizers hope to begin again with a third class soon.

“We’re calling participants to see what time is most convenient for them (to meet),” said Joseph Whiting, executive director of the Phoenix Center. “We might have enough to do two workshops.”

Anyone living with a chronic condition, or caring for someone with such a condition, could benefit from attending the course, Whiting said.

“This is the only evidencebased self-management course in the tri-county area,” he said. “We’re looking to reach a population that’s under served and falls through the cracks.”

The first class to complete the course hoped it would continue. Organizers asked if some of them could serve as ambassadors for the program with other community groups.

“I would definitely recommend it,” Green said. “You meet other people going through the same things, and you know you’re not alone.”

For more information, call (803) 774-2085 or visit the Phoenix Health Education and Wellness Center at 455 Rast St.

South Carolina Broadcasters close out concert series

Fire hydrant tests Wednesday, Thursday

PHOTO PROVIDED

The City of Sumter will perform fire hydrant flow tests between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday on Stadium Road, Orvis Street, Stanley Road, Garrison Street, Pinewood Road, Vintage Court, Warwick Drive, Avalon Drive, Kingsbury Drive and Tanglewood Road.

Water customers in the surrounding area may experience temporary discolored water.

For questions or concerns, call the City of Sumter Public Services Department at (803) 4362558.

The 2013-14 Lee County Arts Council Concert Series will end its season with The South Carolina Broadcasters. From left, the trio comprised of Sarah Osborne, Ivy Sheppard and David Sheppard will take the stage at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Bishopville Opera House, 109 N. Main St. The group, which has shared the stage with Ralph Stanley, Taj Mahal, Ricky Skaggs and the Carolina Chocolate Drops, will perform an array of music from gospel to love songs. Season ticket holders need not pay an additional fee. Individual tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the Bishopville Opera House from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays. Tickets can also be reserved by calling (803) 484-5090. All students are admitted free of charge.

How sweet it is — Vidalia onion sale time

BY RAYTEVIA EVANS revans@theitem.com (803) 774-1214 The Sumter Palmetto Rotary Club is taking orders for their annual onion sales to fund scholarships for local students. Rotary Club’s Nick Shorter said those interested in making a purchase can put in their orders with any member of the local organization.

“They’re Vidalia onions, and we do the sale every year,” Shorter said. “The proceeds go to scholarships for seniors. We’re trying to

award scholarships of about $1,000 to $1,500 for two to three students. We’re also hoping to give a number of scholarships for local colleges.”

Members of the club will have a tent set up to sell onions from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 7-9 at the main location of SAFE Federal Credit Unit, 170 W. Wesmark Blvd.

In the past, Shorter said the club’s sales have fluctuated, but they normally sell close to 20,000 pounds of onions each year.

Shorter, who joined the club about five years ago, said the county and surrounding communities have been very supportive to the organization’s efforts to give back to the youth in

the county.

“We’ve been doing pretty well with the sales each year, and we’d very much appreciate the support,” Shorter said. “We would like for the Sumter community to come out and continue the support. Besides the scholarships, we’ll also be using proceeds for other events we’re doing, and it’ll all go back to the people of Sumter.”

The Rotary Club is selling 10 pounds of onions for $11 and 25 pounds for $22.

For people who may not be able to make it to SAFE, Shorter said they can arrange for their orders to be delivered. To inquire about an order, call Shorter at (803) 468-2884.

HOW TO REACH US IS YOUR PAPER MISSING? ARE YOU GOING ON VACATION? 20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter, S.C. 29150 (803) 774-1200 Jack Osteen Editor and Publisher Jack@theitem.com (803) 774-1238 Braden Bunch Senior News Editor bbunch@theitem.com (803) 774-1201 Waverly Williams Sales Manager wwilliams@theitem.com (803) 774-1237

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NATION / LOCAL

THE SUMTER ITEM

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A row of lightly damages houses, top, face destroyed homes in a Vilonia, Arkansas, neighborhood Monday after a tornado struck the town late Sunday.

Twisters, violent storms claim lives of at least 17

BY ANDREW DEMILLO & JIM SALTER Associated Press Writers VILONIA, Arkansas — The sky turned black as the funnel cloud closed in, and Maggie Caro rushed with her husband and two children to a community shelter at a Vilonia school, where they were among the last to get inside the fortified gym before the doors were shut.

“They were screaming, ‘Run! Run! It’s coming!’” Caro recalled.

And then all hell broke loose.

The half-mile-wide tornado carved an 80-mile path of destruction through the Little Rock suburbs Sunday evening, killing at least 15 people, flattening rows of homes, shredding cars along a highway and demolishing a brand-new school before it even had a chance to open.

Officials said the death toll could have been worse if residents hadn’t piled into underground storm shelters and fortified safe rooms after listening to forecasts on TV and radio, getting cellphone alerts or calls or texts from loved ones, and hearing sirens blare through their neighborhoods.

Also on people’s minds: memories of a weaker tornado

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Travel trailers and motor homes are piled on top of each other at Mayflower RV in Mayflower, Arkansas, on Sunday. that smashed through on April 25, 2011. It took nearly the same path and killed at least four people.

“You had people breaking down because they were reliving three years ago,” Kimber Standridge said of the scene inside the community shelter, which she said was packed with perhaps more than 100 people.

Standridge and a friend had gathered up seven children they were watching and sped through the streets just minutes before the twister hit.

“When they shut the doors,

Man faces attempted murder charge

BY TYLER SIMPSON tyler@theitem.com (803) 774-1295 A 34-year-old Sumter man faces an attempted murder charge after allegedly shooting another man during an altercation about money.

Antonio Lamont Vaughn, of 16 W. Patricia Drive, was arrested at 3:04 a.m. Monday after allegedly shooting a 38-year-old man in the back of the neck.

VAUGHN According to the incident report, an investigator spoke with the victim at Tuomey Regional Medical Center where he was being treated for a gunshot wound. The victim told officers that he and a 32-yearold witness were arguing at Vaughn’s residence when Vaughn pulled out a handgun and shot him once before fleeing the scene.

The witness drove the victim to Tuomey, and the victim was eventually sent to Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia. The extent of his condition was unknown at press time.

Police located Vaughn on Manhattan Road where he was detained and transported to Sumter County Sheriff’s Office for questioning. Vaughn told an investigator that the victim and the witness came to his residence where the victim allegedly grabbed him from behind, and the witness allegedly pulled out a hand-

gun. Vaughn said he fought to get loose and ran down the road when the witness allegedly fired one shot at him.

Vaughn was arrested and transported to Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center to await bond.

we knew it was on us,” Standridge said. “Everybody hunkered down. There were a lot of people doing prayer circles, holding hands and praying.”

Caro and Standridge said the shelter was so solid they barely felt or heard the tornado.

It was among a rash of twisters and violent storms across the Midwest and South that killed 17 people in all on Sunday.

With forecasters warning of more of the same Monday across the South, a large tornado damaged homes and downed trees and power lines

around Tupelo, Miss. There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

Most of the dead in Arkansas were killed in their homes in and around Vilonia, population 3,800. Firefighters on Monday searched for anyone trapped amid the piles of splintered wood and belongings strewn across yards. Hospitals took in more than 100 patients.

The tornado that hit the town and nearby Mayflower was probably the nation’s strongest so far this year on the 0-to-5 EF scale, with the potential to be at least an EF3, which means winds greater than 136 mph, National Weather Service meteorologist Jeff Hood said.

It wrecked cars and trucks along Interstate 40 north of Little Rock. Also among the ruins was a new $14 million intermediate school that had been set to open this fall.

“It’s amazing to me how wide it was,” Mayflower Mayor Randy Holland said. “It was the loudest grinding noise I’ve ever heard.”

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said officials didn’t yet have a count of the missing. He said the dead included a woman who was in a safe room but was hit by debris that went through the door.

“Mother nature and tornadoes, sometimes you can’t explain how that works,” Beebe said.

Three people died when the tornado tore a Paron home down to the foundation. Emily Tittle, 17, said her family took shelter under the stairs of their two-story home before the twister ripped the walls away.

She said her father, Rob Tittle; 20-year-old sister Tori and 14-year-old sister Rebekah were killed, and her six other siblings were taken to hospitals.

In Vilonia, Raella Faulkner and Bobby McElroy picked through their demolished home, searching for family photos and a bow-and-arrow kit belonging to McElroy’s son.

The two had taken refuge from the storm in an underground storm shelter about 10 feet from their home.

“We were going to get married. Now I guess we’ll have to wait,” McElroy said.

A separate twister killed one person in Quapaw, Okla., on Sunday evening, then crossed into Kansas, where it destroyed more than 100 homes and businesses and injured 25 people in the city of Baxter Springs.

A farm building collapsed in Iowa from either a tornado or powerful straight-line winds, killing one woman.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

4 in 5 U.S. high school students graduate

BY KIMBERLY HEFLING AP Education Writer WASHINGTON — U.S. public high schools have reached a milestone, an 80 percent graduation rate. Yet that still means 1 of every 5 students walks away without a diploma.

Citing the progress, researchers are projecting a 90 percent national graduation rate by 2020.

Their report, based on Education Department statistics from 2012, was presented Monday at the Building a GradNation Summit.

The growth has been spurred by such factors as a greater awareness of the dropout problem and efforts by districts, states and the federal government to include graduation rates in accountability measures. Among the initiatives are closing “dropout factory” schools.

In addition, schools are taking aggressive action, such as hiring intervention specialists who work with students one on one to keep teenagers in class, researchers said.

Growth in rates among black and Hispanic students helped fuel the gains. Most of the growth has occurred since 2006 after decades of stagnation.

“At a moment when everything seems so broken and seems so unfixable ... this story tells you something completely different,” said John Gomperts, president of America’s Promise Alliance, which was founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell and helped produce the report.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said at the summit that the country owes a debt of gratitude to teachers, students and families whose hard work helped the country reach the 80 percent mark, but he said those students who drop out have a “bleak” future and shouldn’t be forgotten. His department’s statistics arm also on Monday released a report that highlighted the

STATE BRIEF FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS

South Carolina man missing from cruise KINGSTON, Jamaica — Rescuers are scouring waters for a South Carolina man who apparently jumped off a cruise ship sailing between the Bahamas and South Florida.

For a second day, U.S. Coast Guard crews on Monday were searching waters for 30-yearold James Miller. The Coast Guard said the Charleston man reportedly jumped off the Bahamas Celebration ship early Sunday.

The cruise ship was sailing about 27 miles east of Florida’s Delray Beach when he was reported missing.

The crew of the vessel, owned by Celebration Cruise Line, turned the liner around to search for Miller once he was reported missing at about 2 a.m. Sunday.

A Coast Guard cutter, two air crews and various small boats have been looking for the missing man. The FBI is also investigating his disappearance.

High school graduation rates Graduation rates from U.S. high schools reached an all-time high of 80 percent in 2012, but no state graduated more than 89 percent of its public school students.

60%

65

70

75

80

85

90

Highest: Iowa 89%

R.I. Del. D.C.

Lowest: Nevada 63%

NOTE: Data unavailable for District of Columbia, Idaho, Kentucky and Oklahoma.

SOURCES: Alliance for Excellent Education; America’s Promise Alliance; Civic Enterprises; Johns Hopkins University

growth trend in graduation rates.

“Even as we celebrate we all know we have to push beyond that 80 percent,” Duncan said.

The rate of 80 percent is based on federal statistics primarily using a calculation by which the number of graduates in a given is year divided by the number of students who enrolled four years earlier. Adjustments are made for transfer students.

In 2008, the Bush administration or-

AP

dered all states to begin using this method. States previously used a wide variety of ways to calculate high school graduation rates.

Iowa, Vermont, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Texas ranked at the top with rates at 88 percent or 89 percent. The bottom performers were Alaska, Georgia, New Mexico, Oregon and Nevada, which had rates at 70 percent or below.

Idaho, Kentucky and Oklahoma were not included because these states

received federal permission to take longer to roll out their system.

The new calculation method allows researchers to individually follow students and chart progress based on income level. By doing so, researchers found that some states are doing much better than others in getting low-income students — or those who receive free or reduced lunch meals — to graduation day.

Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas and Kansas, for example, have more than half of all students counted as low income but overall graduation rates that are above average. In contrast, Minnesota, Wyoming and Alaska have a lower percentage of low-income students but a lower than average overall graduation rate.

Graduation rates increased 15 percentage points for Hispanic students and 9 percentage points for black students from 2006 to 2012, with the Hispanic students graduating at 76 percent and black students at 68 percent, the report said. To track historic trends, the graduation rates were calculated using a different method.

Also, there were 32 percent fewer “dropout factories” — schools that graduate less than 60 percent of students — than a decade earlier, according to the report. In 2012, nearly onequarter of black students attended a dropout factory, compared with 46 percent in 2002. About 15 percent of Hispanic students attended one of these schools, compared with 39 percent a decade earlier. There were an estimated 1,359 of these schools in 2012.

Robert Balfanz, a researcher with the Everyone Graduates Center at the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University who was a report author, said some of these schools got better.

Other districts closed these schools or converted them to smaller schools or parents and kids voted with their feet and transferred elsewhere.

THE SUMTER ITEM The cause of the airplane crash near Brewington Road on Sunday is unknown, and the pilot was not officially identified.

However, Federal Aviation Administration records indicate the plane is registered to Sumter resident Jerome Baak.

The pilot was not found until about 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, nearly seven hours after what is thought to be the time of the crash, which is when rescue workers with the Sumter Fire Department were called to the scene.

BRADEN BUNCH / THE SUMTER ITEM

STATE BRIEF FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS

Condoleezza Rice stumps for Graham COLUMBIA — Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is coming to South Carolina to campaign for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Graham’s campaign announced Monday that Rice will be in Greenville on May 19 for a lunch with the Republican senator. The campaign is selling tickets for $10.

Rice was Secretary of State for nearly the entire second term of former President George W. Bush. She and Graham agree on several foreign policy goals, including protecting American interests abroad by taking actions in conflicts.

“She is a strong defender of liberty and freedom, understands the threats we face, and embraces American exceptionalism and leadership in the world,” Graham wrote in a letter to supporters.

Graham is seeking a third term. He has six challengers in June’s Republican primary who all say he isn’t conservative enough for South Carolina.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

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CRASH FROM PAGE A1 the water reached knee high, McLeod said he was bracing for the worst.

“I truly thought we were running over to a fatality,” McLeod said. “It’s a very big relief, especially after seeing him upside down and in the water. It could have been very tragic.”

What the first people at the crash did find, McLeod said, was the pilot pinned in the cockpit, conscious, able to answer questions but unable to free himself.

“Half of his head was underwater,” McLeod said. “He would blow bubbles as he was breathing out.”

All of this was happening about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, nearly seven hours after what is thought to be the time of the crash, which is when rescue workers with the Sumter Fire Department were called to the scene. Once the firefighters, responding from three different stations, were able to navigate the difficult terrain and get to the plane, they began cutting off one of the aircraft’s wings so the cockpit could be flipped upright and the pilot removed.

The pilot was airlifted from the scene to a Columbia hospital for treatment. Rescuers, however, said the pilot was conscious and alert and seemed to have suffered only minor lacerations.

After the rescue, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board were contacted so they could begin determining the exact cause of the crash. Airport personnel confirmed NTSB investigators arrived Sunday night to begin their efforts.

In removing the plane’s wing during the rescue, Sumter firefighters were able to use their new hydraulic rescue tools, placed in the fire trucks earlier this month. The eight sets of recently purchased rescue equipment cost $182,000.

“They’ve already paid for themselves,” said Sumter Fire Chief Karl Ford at the scene.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

TUOMEY

Read more about the Downtown Sumter Microbrew Festival on page C1 of Wednesday’s edition of The Sumter Item.

FROM PAGE A1

IVY MOORE / THE SUMTER ITEM

Clay Boothe, Dennis Peterson and Eric Fox, also known as “The 3 Dudes,” make a toast to craft beer brewing with their latest batch. They’re hosting a craft beer competition at the Sumter Microbrew Festival on May 9.

THE 3 DUDES FROM PAGE A1 Base, complete the trio of beer-crafting partners.

They gathered at Peterson’s home one night last week to make a new batch of home brew, this one flavored with, among other ingredients, one called crystal malt barley.

“The crystal malt gives the beer color and flavor,” Boothe said. Hops add a touch of bitterness, as much or as little as the brewer decides he wants.

“It isn’t fermented at this stage,” Peterson said.

After heating pure water and holding it at around 160 degrees, Peterson brought out a large cheesecloth bag the men had filled with the crystal malt and other grains, and lowered it into the steaming water, where it was left to steep. The water became darker and darker, like a five-gallon cup of tea and later, more like coffee.

Eventually, the brewers will add special sugars and yeast to the mixture and transfer it to a five-gallon carboy — a jar with a small neck; it will then be allowed to ferment and age until The 3 Dudes deem it ready for consumption, usually a minimum of four months before it’s bottled.

Making your own beer is only costly at the beginning, the men said.

“Once you’ve got your equipment, you only have to buy the ingredients for each batch,” Peterson said.

Fox figured five gallons cost “around $45 to $50.”

“That’s a little more than two cases of Budweiser, but this tastes good,” Boothe said.

The initial process, which doesn’t include aging and bottling, takes about three hours.

That’s plenty of time for the brewmasters to enjoy a glass or two of their previous batch, a dark stout with a creamy mouth feel and a dark tan, long-lived head. It’s a little “chewy,” with subtle notes of

DOWNTOWN SUMTER MICROBREW FESTIVAL WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 9 WHERE: Sign in at Sumter Opera House, 21 N. Main St. PHONE: (803) 773-5508 TICKETS: $25 advance/$30 at door ONLINE: sumtermicrobrewfestival.org

chocolate, coffee and tobacco.

All in all, it’s about as good as or better than most you’d get in a pub — “comparable to Guinness,” Boothe said.

Tasting beer is very much like tasting wine, Peterson said.

“It has to look good, too,” he said.

Beer Advocate magazine advises holding your glass in front of you to check out the color, consistency and head; then swirl it in the glass, as you would a fine wine, to release the aromas. Inhale the bouquet through your nose with your mouth open, then through your mouth. Finally, sip the beer, holding it in your mouth to appreciate the consistency, or body, thoroughly before swallowing.

The 3 Dudes have gotten excellent feedback from those who have had their beers.

“I had a retired chief tell me ‘I’d buy this in a bar,’” Boothe said.

Fox thinks the people who drink the large commercial

beers, “just really don’t appreciate beer,” he said. “It is an acquired taste, but once you acquire it,” there’s no going back to grocery store beer. Peterson and Boothe agreed.

“We make beer with flavor,” Boothe said.

“It’s a fun hobby,” Peterson said. “If you can cook, you can make beer.”

Boothe, Fox and Peterson are sponsoring a competition for craft beer makers during the Downtown Sumter Microbrew Festival on Friday, May 9. Entry fee is $10 per beer, plus $25 admission to the festival. Prizes will be awarded to the winners. For more information, contact Boothe at clayb2004@hotmail.com.

Dickerson said the hospital also makes special efforts to care for the line once it’s put in place.

“The third thing we just started doing utilizes our physician order entry, a computerized system, to remind doctors when central lines are ready to come out,” Dickerson said. “Once the line has been in awhile, an automatic notification pops up to say ‘does the central line need to continue? If so, why?’ The sooner they are out, the lower the infection rate.”

The hospital also has three wound-care specialists whose primary duty is to treat and prevent pressure ulcers, Dickerson said, adding these specialists will be working with the nursing staff to address that area.

Only 38 percent of the 47 hospitals in South Carolina received an A grade from Leapfrog. None of the hospitals received an F, and only one — Wallace Thomson Hospital in Union — received a D. “As I’ve said before, Leapfrog is just one of a multitude of scores that measures hospitals,” Dickerson said. “While all of them are important, I don’t think any one (report) measures a hospital. I try to think of it as more one patient at a time. It’s really about, ‘how well did I take care of you?’”

Braden Bunch contributed to this report.

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Another Sheheen attack ad released despite criticism

BY SEANNA ADCOX The Associated Press COLUMBIA — The Republican Governors Association released a second round of television ads Monday attacking state Sen. Vincent Sheheen for his previous work as a defense attorney, despite widespread criticism from lawyers in both parties who call that line of attack un-American.

The latest ad follows last week’s unprecedented move

by the nonpartisan South Carolina Bar, to which every attorney in the state belongs, to launch a website defending the legal profession. The American Bar Association then joined in Friday with a letter asking the RGA and its chairman, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, to reject what it says sends a disturbing message about the American system of justice.

A lawyer’s representation of a client is not an endorsement

of what they say or do. The constitutional right to representation “is what distinguishes us from our darker history, when mobs decided guilt or innocence and punished those they deemed guilty,” wrote James Silkenat, president of the Illinois-based bar association.

Others condemning the ads include former South Carolina Republican Attorney General Charlie Condon, who called the ads’ continuation very dis-

appointing. The two-term attorney general reiterated Monday that Gov. Nikki Haley should ask for their removal.

“I just know she knows better. Any thinking person would know better,” said Condon, a self-described fan of Haley’s. “The basis of the ad is that an attorney who fulfills her or his obligation to someone accused of a crime is either unfit or less fit to hold public office, and I really think the reverse is true. We’ve got

this Bill of Rights I’d hope we’d all cherish. It’s a core fundamental value all Americans share.”

Attorneys must ensure people’s 6th Amendment rights are upheld, because “our system of government will not work if only one side’s represented,” said Condon, who now works as a defense lawyer after decades as a prosecutor.

“To attack a fellow American for doing this is not right and really disappointing.”

Ukraine mayor shot; U.S. announces new sanctions

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A pro-Russian activist is seen after clashing with pro-Ukrainians during a pro-Ukraine rally in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Monday. About a thousand pro-Russian activists armed with sticks and steel rods attacked the participants of pro-Ukrainian rally in center of Donetsk.

QUACKENBUSH FROM PAGE A1 never anyone better prepared for a game.”

Quackenbush said he tried to get to know the people on the teams he covered so he could add flavor to his coverage.

“That’s where the work came in,” Quackenbush said in a 2011 story in The Sumter Item. “Developing relationships with the players and the coaches, knowing their likes and dislikes. Those are the things you added to calling the game.”

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Quackenbush made it to Sumter in a round-about way. According to a biography in the Sumter P-15’s 1969 Yearbook edited by P-15’s head coach Bernie Jones, Quackenbush came to South Carolina on vacation in 1960. He “liked it so well he decided to make Sumter his home,” according to the biography.

Quackenbush, who attended Miami (Ohio) University, began working in radio sports when he was 19 years old. He retired from broadcasting in 2000 with American Legion Post 15 sending him out with a big ceremony in the P-15’s final

home game. He was battling cancer and said he just wanted to do other things in his life.

However, he was back in the booth with Ireland in ’03, and did it through the ’07 season.

His cancer was in remission and decided he wanted to do it again.

“I really had no intentions at that time of coming back,” Quackenbush said in a June 3, 2003, story in The Sumter Item on his return behind the microphone. “There were more important things in my life, and I had been doing this for 40-plus years.”

In December of ’11, Quackenbush was inducted into the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame.

“This honor really means a lot to me,” Quackenbush said days before his induction. “I’m really honored, and I appreciate it.

“I don’t know that I deserve it though. It’s odd to me that I’m getting honored like this for basically doing my job, but that’s what I did.”

Funeral arrangements are incomplete. Caughman-Harman Funeral Home — St. Andrew’s Chapel is handling the arrangements.

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The mayor of Ukraine’s second-largest city was shot in the back Monday and hundreds of men attacked a peaceful proUkraine rally with batons, bricks and stun grenades, wounding dozens as tensions soared in Ukraine’s volatile east.

One presidential candidate said the mayor was deliberately targeted in an effort to destabilize the entire city of Kharkiv, a hub of 1.5 million people.

Russia’s defense chief meanwhile assured U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in a telephone call that Russia would not invade Ukraine, the Pentagon said.

Armed insurgents tacitly backed by Moscow are seeking more autonomy in eastern Ukraine — and possibly even independence or annexation with Russia. Ukraine’s acting government and the West have accused Russia of orchestrating the unrest, which they fear

Moscow could use as a pretext for an invasion.

Ratcheting up the pressure, President Obama’s government levied new sanctions on seven Russian officials and 17 companies with links to President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. The U.S. also revoked licenses for some hightech items that could be used by the Russian military.

In Brussels, the European Union moved to add 15 more officials to its Russian sanctions list to protest Moscow’s meddling in Ukraine. That decision, reached by the ambassadors to the EU’s 28 nations, was being formally confirmed by the EU’s governments, officials said.

In the eastern city of Donetsk, about 1,000 demonstrators carrying Ukrainian flags marched through the streets to hold a pro-Ukrainian rally Monday night. They were attacked by several hundred armed men shouting “Russia!”

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THE SUMTER ITEM

Eastern diamondback rattlers on the decline Scientists study how to get along with the alpha predator

BY BO PETERSEN The Post and Courier of Charleston CHARLESTON — One of the more mysterious animals in the Lowcountry is really pretty shy, long-lived, a homebody. And dreaded — the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake.

But bit by bit, researchers are learning how people can live with the 6-foot-long venomous viper that makes their skin crawl, the snake that for generations they have stomped, chopped, shot and even dynamited when it crossed paths with them.

U.S. Forest Service biologists recently found diamondbacks in Francis Marion National Forest north of Charleston. They plan to attach transmitters, to learn what habitats the snakes are using and how they move and disperse.

The snake is getting the close look because it’s being considered as a federal threatened species. But the study joins a radio-tagging of 10 diamondbacks a few years back in the ACE Basin south of Charleston, as well as an ongoing 19-year study

by South Carolina Department of Natural Resources herpetologists at the Webb Wildlife Center along the Savannah River. All three studies are aimed at figuring out how to get along with the reptile.

Why in the world learn to live with a venomous animal that kills nearly half the people who are severely bitten?

Diamondbacks are in decline, and they are an alpha predator, a “flagship” species of the longleaf savannah.

The savannah is healthy so long as they are around. And the longleaf habitat may be the most important Southeastern coastal forest habitat. It fosters 300 varieties of native plants, myriad birds

including the wild turkey, 170 species of reptiles or amphibians and 36 mammals.

With timbering and development, the longleaf’s once vast spread across the coastal Southeast has shrunk to a tiny fraction of that acreage.

Arborists are now in a multistate effort to restore the longleaf.

“You take out one species from that ecosystem and you can alter the entire ecosystem,” said Mark Danaher, forest service wildlife biologist who is part of the team conducting the Francis Marion snake study.

“Diamondbacks are providing a lot of control over rodents, species that we could be overrun with, and they’re doing it for free,” said Will Dillman, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources herpetologist.

So, how do you live with an animal as thick around as a muscled arm, that strikes twice as quickly as a major league fastball?

“Living with venomous snakes is really no different than living with wasps, hornets or yellow jackets,” Danaher likes to tell people. “If you encounter a large hornet nest in the

woods, do you disturb it?”

And you’re not nearly as likely to disturb a diamondback. Like most snakes, it is reclusive, relatively docile and has learned to shun large hoofed animals that step around it.

The snake does have a reputation for ferocity — the classic “it came out of nowhere” rattler with a lightning-like strike. That’s because its marking are such good camouflage that if you look away for a moment, the snake can’t immediately be picked out again when you look back. People step or sit on them unaware, or put a hand down by them.

The diamondback is a species of concern in South Carolina, disappearing as people move in. There aren’t a lot of them left. In the Francis Marion, biologists searched two years before finding a snake and so far have found only four.

“It’s very, very much a habitat specialist” in a declining habitat, Dillman said. “The fact that

‘Diamondbacks are providing a lot of control over rodents, species that we could be overrun with, and they’re doing it for free.’

WILL DILLMAN S.C. Department of Natural Resources herpetologist we still have diamondbacks continuing to persist in some of these areas, I think, is a pretty neat thing.”

At the Webb Center, studies have shown snakes have a high fidelity to their home turf and are unexpectedly long-lived, surviving

20 years or more.

In the ACE Basin, the study showed that males will roam as much as a mile or more to mate but return to their sites the next night.

The researchers attempted to relocate the rattlers, to see if they could be moved from encroached habitats.

Researchers found that the moved snakes covered a lot of ground to find a habitat similar to the one they left, but then settled.

Today the snake is still threatened by “overharvest,” or outright slaughter, as well as over-collection for skin and exotic pets.

And yet today, venomous snakes are proving more valuable than ever, as medicines are developed from the venom, Danaher said. “In the future, areas like the Francis Marion are going to be the last strongholds for species like that.”

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Economists: China’s lending bubble a global threat

BY CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER AP Economics Writer

ics professor at California State University’s Smith School of Business, estimated that each percentage point decline in China’s growth rate WASHINGTON — Just as shaved about 0.3 percentage the global economy has all but point from global growth. recovered from debt-fueled Consumption accounts for crises in the United States and only 55 percent of China’s Europe, economists have a growth, the government said new worry: China. They see a last year. That compares with lending bubble there that 70 percent in the United threatens global growth unStates. But if China’s governless Beijing defuses it. ment succeeds in its reforms, That’s the view that emergit could benefit U.S. compaes from an Associated Press nies by enabling more Chisurvey this month of 30 econnese consumers to buy U.S. omists. Still, the economists goods and services. remain optimistic that Bei“It’s what we’ve been calljing’s high-stakes drive to reing on them to do,” said Philform its economy — the lip Swagel, an economics proworld’s second-largest — will fessor at the University of bolster Chinese banks, ease Maryland and former Treathe lending bubble and benefit sury Department official.

U.S. exporters in the long run.

Among the economists’ “They’ve really got to other views that emerged change the way they do busifrom the AP survey: ness,” said William Cheney, • The United States would chief economist at John Hancock Asset Management. “But THE ASSOCIATED PRESS benefit from lifting a government ban on exporting crude they have a good track record Workers install scaffolding on a construction site against the China Central Television building in Beijing. of doing just that. I’m an opti- Economists fear a lending bubble in China could threaten the global economy unless the Chinese govern- oil and promoting more natural gas exports. Oil and gas mist about their ability to ment shores up its financial system, according to an Associated Press survey. drilling has boomed in recent make this transition.” years in North Dakota, PennThe source of concern is a sylvania and other states, economy with more consumer supply rose at its slowest rate have typically followed. surge in lending by Chinese prompting oil companies to spending and less dependence since 1997. Home sales in the “That should be setting banks. The lending was inicall for a lifting of the ban. first quarter declined 5.7 peron construction and investalarm bells off,” said Mark tially encouraged by the gov• U.S. economic growth and cent from a year earlier. ment. ernment during the 2008 glob- Williams, chief Asia econohiring will pick up in the secBut there’s been a cost to The IMF said those efforts mist at Capital Economics. al financial crisis to fuel China and the global economy. ond half of the year. The econcould make growth more susWhen debt finances excesgrowth. Big state-owned banks The economy’s growth slowed omy is expected to grow at an tainable and boost consumpsive building, eventually too financed construction of to 7.4 percent in the first three annual rate of 3.1 percent tion. But it said progress “refew people or companies are homes, railroads and office months of the year, compared from July through December, mains incomplete.” towers. But much of the lend- willing to buy all the houses, up from only 2.3 percent in the Premier Li Keqiang, China’s with a year ago. That was apartments and offices. That ing was directed by local offifirst half of the year. And the down from 7.7 percent in last top economic official, promcan send prices sinking and cials for pet projects rather unemployment rate will fall to year’s fourth quarter. While trigger loan defaults by devel- ised in March to give market than to meet business needs.

6.2 percent by the end of this forces a “decisive role” in allo- still far ahead of developed On Monday, the Internation- opers and property owners. year, they forecast. The rate is economies such as the United cating loans. Days later, the Banks typically then curtail al Monetary Fund issued a now 6.7 percent.

States, that rate was well government let a corporate warning about China’s private lending, thereby slowing • Federal Reserve Chair bond default for the first time, below the double-digit growth debt. It released a report citing growth.

Janet Yellen will manage the rather than bailing out the in- China had enjoyed for deMost economists think Chi“rising vulnerabilities” in Chiunwinding of the Fed’s stimucades. vestors, to encourage more na’s government would bail na’s financial system, includThe AP survey collected the lus programs without causing ing lending outside traditional out its state-owned banks and market discipline. a surge in interest rates or views of private, corporate Also that month, China banks. Lending by that “shad- provide enough money so they and academic economists on a panicking investors. Nearly cleared the way for the first could continue lending. It ow” banking system now three-quarters of the econorange of issues. Most said five privately owned banks. equals one-quarter of China’s would also support any commists said they were “somethey thought China’s slowThe government hopes they panies whose bankruptcy economy, the report said. what confident” in Yellen’s down posed a threat to counwill lend more to entreprewould threaten growth.

The IMF also pointed to reability to do so. Six were “very tries that ship huge amounts neurs and private businesses “I don’t think anybody imcent defaults in credit card confident.” Only two said they of commodities — including and provide competition for portant is going to be allowed and other debt sold to inveswere “not confident at all.” iron ore and copper — to the state-owned giants. tors by banks and heavy debts to go broke,” Cheney said.

China. Among them, Canada, The measures are having China’s government has adowed by local governments.

AP Business Writer Joe McBrazil, Indonesia and Austrasome effect. New lending opted a reform program inIf it continues, “this could Donald contributed to this relia have already felt the sting. tended to strengthen its finan- slowed in March. And the exspark adverse financial marSun Wong Sohn, an econom- port from Beijing. pansion of China’s money ket reaction both in China and cial sector and transform its globally,” the IMF said.

The bubble has caused land prices in China to double in five years, according to an estimate by Nomura, a Japanese bank. Outstanding credit surged from 130 percent of the economy in 2008 to 200 percent in 2013, according to Capital Economics, a forecasting firm.

When debt has built up that fast in the past — as in the United States during the housing bubble — financial crises

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TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

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

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

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

Margaret W. Osteen 1908-1996 The Item Hubert D. Osteen Jr. Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Graham Osteen Co-President Kyle Osteen Co-President Jack Osteen Editor and Publisher Larry Miller CEO Braden Bunch Senior News Editor

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

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Marine Corps pancake breakfast Saturday I am asking the Sumter community to help support your own Marine Corps League Detachment 1202. It is our only fundraiser of the year and is used by the Detachment to help finance our many endeavors.

If you know a member of the League, he or she will sell you a ticket. If you don’t know a member, you can buy your tickets at the door. The place is Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar at 2497 Broad St. The time is from 8 to 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 3.

The price is only $6 per person. You will get a great breakfast of Applebee’s delicious pancakes, meat, coffee, water and orange juice. It will be served to you by a local former Marine. Come early so you can meet and eat with your neighbors and friends.

For more information on the breakfast or the Marine Corps League, call Bill at (803) 469-8723 or Jackie at (803) 775-4555.

JACQUELINE K. HUGHES Sumter

Stand up for free speech, religious freedom The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom to petition the government. The recent issue concerning the Clemson football program and religion violates freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The Freedom from Religion Foundation from Wisconsin certainly has the freedom to express their opinion about anything, but in doing so they violate the freedoms of the Clemson coach who also has freedom of speech. The coaches don’t require attendance; they present the opportunity to attend if the players choose to.

It seems ironic to me that groups such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation talk tolerance but refuse tolerance to groups they disagree with, i.e. Clemson University. French philosopher Voltaire made an oft quoted statement that makes tremendous sense: “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to death your right to say it.” It seems many people don’t agree with freedom of speech if it goes against their particular beliefs.

The “freedom of religion” part of the First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercises thereof.” There is nothing mentioned about separation of church and state anywhere in the Constitution. Groups like the Freedom from Religion’s Foundation have the right to be nonreligious if they choose. They have the right to hate and criticize religious groups; it’s their constitutional right. It is also the right of Coach Swinney and his coaches to talk about their beliefs about Christianity, politics or whatever they choose, as long as they don’t try to force it on other people. According to the players interviewed, no one feels pressured to attend.

There are Supreme Court cases establishing students’ religious rights, e.g. Board of Education of the Westside Community Schools v. Mergens. Simply stated, interested students could not be denied access on campus to hold meetings. It also stated that hostility to religion, not neutrality, is just as bad.

Let’s all take a stand for free speech and religious freedom.

PAUL GREER Sumter

Most CWP holders are perfect customers On Feb. 11, Gov. Haley signed S308, which authorized concealed weapons permit holders to carry sidearms in restaurants that serve alcohol. It remains a serious crime for a permit holder to consume alcohol while carrying. The bill passed the state Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support. Last week, the League of Women Voters hosted a community forum to discuss the impact of the law, which was covered by The Sumter Item on April 19.

While there have been plenty of sensational media reports and statements from politicians on “restaurant carry,” the facts put S308 into perspective.

Every state except for Louisiana now has some form of restaurant carry. At the meeting, Sheriff Dennis, who opposes S308, stated that he favors New Yorkstyle gun control measures; interestingly New York state allows permit holders to drink alcohol up to the legal driving limit while carrying. S308 did not go this far; it strictly forbids South Carolina permit holders from drinking any amount of alcohol and represents a common-sense middle ground in the national big picture. The experience of 48 other states’ restaurant carry suggests that wild-eyed warnings of “wild west shootouts” are hyperbole.

About 6 percent of South Carolina adults have a CWP. A permit requires in-person training; local, state and federal background checks; mental health record reviews; and continuous evaluation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The annual revocation rate for all reasons, including procedural problems, traffic issues, and other non-violent issues, is about one out of 1,000 permit holders. In contrast, the crime rate among Sumter’s general population is over 60 crimes per 1,000 residents. Permit holders typically spend about $1,000 on their sidearm, holsters, training, ammunition, fees and other expenses. They are stable, peaceable, and have disposable income — perfect customers for most businesses.

Businesses which choose to prohibit permit holders from the premises may do so by prominently posting a sign. Violent criminals (who do not have CWPs) intent on mayhem will ignore the sign and walk right in. We — and many other permit holders — will respect the owner’s wishes and spend our money with a competitor.

CHRIS and HEATHER SEIDLER Sumter

COMMENTARY

The curious case of the green men

T

he curious need not wait till “The Grand Budapest Hotel” comes out as a DVD to watch a between-the-wars farce done in high mitteleuropäische style, complete with comic-opera uniforms, foreign intrigue, transparent guile and enough layers of nostalgia for an imagined past to reduce any plot to some unreal dimension where violence is only playacting and tragedy becomes broad comedy.

Wes Anderson, the movie’s director/producer/auteur, has a talent for depicting the slightly strange, that is, reality. But even he could not outdo the homicidal drama now being produced in Ukraine, as it was in Georgia and Chechnya before that. This production comes to you courtesy of the latest incarnation of the old Russian Empire starring Vladimir Putin as the scheming tsar.

Even the New York Times, which has always been a sucker for the Kremlin’s newest or even oldest line, can’t ignore what’s going on. “Photos Link Masked Men/in East Ukraine to Russia,” said its Page 1 headline the other day.

My, what a surprise! How could those eagle-eyed editors at the Times have figured out the connection between what’s happening in Ukraine these violent days and those oh-so-innocent Russians?

Could it have been the standard-issue Russian army fatigues worn by the clearly professional troops taking over one town after another in eastern Ukraine — just as they took over Crimea a few weeks ago? Subtle this operation isn’t, not with all the invaders dressed like Russian specialops types minus only the identifying insignia. Which in this case are scarcely needed. The world knows very well who they are and where they come from. The “green men,” the locals call them in honor of their telltale uniforms. And they’re everywhere, just waiting to be backed up by Russian regulars once the usual provocation is staged and the usual pretext invented.

What could have given away this not-so-secret plot? Could it have been the presence of one Igor Ivanovich Strelkov? His is a familiar face to those who keep up with the leading players in the repertory company known as the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian general staff. One day they’re Crimeans, the next Ukrainians, and who knows what next? Balts, Poles, Moldovans?

This not so mysterious Strelkov, master of a hundred ill-fitting disguises, was last seen in Crimea a couple of months ago before he showed up in and around Slovyansk, an occupied city that by now is Ukrainian only technically, for the green men, backed by the usual local thugs, have taken over the place, as is their wont in much of

Ukraine by now. In the same way Hitler’s storm troopers recruited Sudeten Germans as fronts for their invasion of Czechoslovakia back in the 1930s.

Naturally the Russians deny having anything to do with these events. (“What Russians? There are no Russians occupying Slovyansk, and if there are, they’re there only to protect the poor, oppressed Russian speakers there.

What Strelkov? There is no Strelkov. You must be talking about some other Russian in his midto-late 50s with a long record as a Russian undercover agent.”) It’s not just their modus operandi that the Russians Paul have taken Greenberg straight from A. Hitler’s playbook, but the cover story for his various aggressions.

Moscow can explain everything. The once independent Ukraine is being invaded in selfdefense. In the holy cause of national self-determination. That’s what accounts for the presence of all those Russians in eastern Ukraine, which may be western Russia soon enough. It’s all enough to bring back Dr. Goebbels’ advice: When you lie, lie big.

The Big Lie, the theory was called, and it’s still being employed, just by a separate but equally authoritarian regime.

John Schindler, who lectures on counter-intelligence techniques at Naval War College, calls what’s now being waged in Ukraine “special war,” which he describes as “an amalgam of espionage, subversion, even forms of terrorism to attain political ends without actually going to war in any conventional sense.”

The Russians have their own word for it: maskirovka, or masked warfare. Literally. All those green men everywhere along Ukraine’s border with the ever expanding motherland seem to wear black ski masks, this year’s most popular fashion accessory when committing not-sodisguised aggression. The balaclava is back. Like the 1914 Model T, it’s available in any color so long it’s black.

The Russians’ starring role in this drama is an open secret — so open it’s no secret. Nor is this an original screenplay. Before he invaded Poland in 1939, where his troops would link up with Stalin’s coming from the opposite direction in a pre-planned division of the spoils, Hitler had select units of the Wehrmacht dress in Polish uniforms and attack a German radio station on the Polish border (“The Gleiwitz Incident”) so he could claim Nazi Germany was only acting in self-defense when he ordered a million and a half German troops into Poland.

It’s all so drearily familiar, including how unprepared Washington and the West in general have been for this remake of an old 1930s production. (I keep looking for Greta Garbo and a bevy of Barrymores to appear.)

Despite how predictable all this was, and how many times this administration was warned it was coming, the masterminds at State slept right through the familiar overture, and were caught as unprepared as ever.

The next act in this old melodrama is predictable, too. At least to anyone with the slightest familiarity with Herr Hitler’s m.o.

Sure enough, one of the green men was overheard telling a local Russian-speaking Ukrainian woman — soldiers get lonely — that, should the Ukrainians dare attack them, the occupiers would have to hold out only 24 hours before they were relieved by a million-man Russian army. It’s the Gleiwitz Incident all over again, only on a grander scale.

The more Russia changes, the more it remains the same. And the more our “useful idiots” mouth Moscow’s line. That term, often attributed to Lenin, is still an accurate description of the kind of Western gulls who can be counted on to echo whatever rationale the Kremlin is using this year. No matter how preposterous.

See the neo-isolationist line taken by one John R. Quigley, a law professor and commentator at Ohio State. “NATO has outlived its usefulness,” the professor informs the rest of us. “There is no need for an organization that requires us to police Europe ... what one country calls aggression another calls the expression of the right of self-determination.” Why get so worked up about all this? It’s only a matter of different definitions.

The line between aggression and self-defense, right and wrong, can grow hazy in the minds of apologists for the newold Russia. It’s as if Henry Wallace had returned from 1948 and was making American foreign policy these days. Yes, let’s retreat to good old Fortress America, and not pay overmuch attention to how well that “strategy” worked all the way through the 1930s. Right up to Dec. 7, 1941.

Now we are asked, once again, to ignore “a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing,” to use a phrase employed by poor, deluded Neville Chamberlain, who didn’t wake up till it was too late to avert the bloodiest war in history.

The moral of this old, old story: We learn from history mainly how little we learn from history.

Paul Greenberg is the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial page editor of the Arkansas DemocratGazette.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

9 PM 9:30 LOCAL CHANNELS

Growing Up The Voice: Live Eliminations Two of About a Boy: 10 singers are sent home. (N) (HD) About a Boy’s Dad Fisher Katie’s (N) (HD) plans. (N) (HD) NCIS: Los Angeles: One More NCIS: Shooter A Marine photographer called to testify in an Army court Chance Kidnapping connected to drone software. (N) (HD) martial disappears. (N) (HD) Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Goldbergs Trophy Wife Nothing Personal Agent Maria Hill Erica needs help. Warren being shows up for Coulson. (N) (HD) (N) (HD) social. (N) (HD) Making It Grow (N) Pioneers of Television: Breaking Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle Barriers History of minorities on Mexican-American journalist profiled.

American TV. (N) (HD) (N) (HD) The Big Bang The Big Bang Glee: The Back-Up Plan Rachel audi- New Girl: Dance The Mindy ProTheory Bachelor Theory FBI inter- tions for a television pilot. (N) (HD) Jess chaperones. ject (N) (HD) party. (HD) view. (HD) (N) (HD) Family Feud (N) Family Feud (N) The Originals: A Closer Walk with Supernatural: Bloodlines MaThree Hayley is put in danger at a fia-esque supernaturals run Chicago. wake. (N) (HD) (N) (HD) WIS News 10 at Entertainment Tonight (N) (HD) 7:00pm Local news update.

News 19 @ 7pm Inside Edition (N) Evening news up- (HD) date.

Wheel of Fortune Jeopardy! (N) (N) (HD) (HD)

10 PM

10:30

11 PM

Chicago Fire: A Dark Day Charity run WIS News 10 at at Chicago Medical. (N) (HD) 11:00pm News and weather.

News 19 @ 11pm (:01) Person of Interest: Beta The news of the Decima hunts for Reese and Shaw day.

(N) (HD) Celebrity Wife Swap: Tichina ArABC Columbia nold; Kelly Pacakard (N) (HD) News at 11 (HD)

11:30

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(:35) The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Diane Keaton from “The Big Wedding.” (N) (HD) (:35) Late Show with David Letterman Lucy Liu; Ziggy Marley. (N) (HD)

(:35) Jimmy Kimmel Live Eric Stonestreet; Jesse Tyler Ferguson; Robin Roberts. (N) (HD) Frontline: Prison State A look at the impact of mass in- BBC World News Charlie Rose (N) carceration in America through four stories. (N) (HD) International (HD) news.

WACH FOX News at 10 Local news Two and a Half Two and a Half The Middle: report and weather forecast.

Men Alan dates Men Alan’s Christmas Help Rose. (HD) self-pledge. (HD) (HD) Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Arsenio Hall Taboo Newborn baby found in trash. Justice Teen stepdaughter of a judge Show (HD) (HD) is raped. (HD)

CABLE CHANNELS Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars (N) Barry’d Treasure Barry’d Treasure (:02) Storage (:32) Storage (:01) Storage (HD) (HD) (HD) (HD) (HD) (HD) (N) (HD) (N) (HD) Wars (HD) Wars (HD) Wars (HD) (6:30) Gladiator (‘00, Drama) aaaa Russell Crowe. In ancient Rome, a deposed general seeks to avenge his Game of Arms: Final Showdown Game of Arms: Final Showdown Small Town Sefamily’s murders. (HD) Double-elimination. (N) (HD) Double-elimination. (HD) curity (HD) Wild Serengeti (HD) Africa: Kalahari Africa: Savannah Africa: Congo Fight to live.

Africa: Kalahari Africa Jumping the Broom (‘11, Comedy) aa Angela Bassett. Two African-American families come together for a wed- The Game (N) Let’s Stay ToLet’s Stay ToThe Game (HD) Let’s Stay Toding, but upon arriving they realize they are from two very different economic backgrounds.

(HD) gether (N) (HD) gether (N) (HD) gether (HD) Housewives of Orange: FakesThe Real Housewives of Atlanta: The Real Housewives of New York The People’s The People’s What Happens The Real Housewives of New York Giving, Fake Friends Reunion, Part 2 City: Unforgiveable Debt (N) Couch (N) Couch (N) City: Unforgiveable Debt Rebels, Icons & Leaders (N) Shark Tank Gourmet food. (HD) Shark Tank (HD) Shark Tank Gourmet food. (HD) Shark Tank (HD) Money Erin Burnett OutFront (N) Anderson Cooper 360° (N) (HD) CNN Tonight Inside Man: Pets Anderson Cooper 360° (HD) CNN Tonight (:59) The Colbert Daily Show (HD) Inside Amy Tosh.0 Phil Tosh.0 Tosh.0 Hashtag Tosh.0 (N) (HD) Inside Amy Daily Show (N) The Colbert Re- (:01) @midnight Report (HD) Schumer (HD) Davison. (HD) Movember. (HD) game. (HD) Schumer (N) (HD) port (N) (HD) (N) (HD) Austin & Ally Dog Blog: Avery College Road Trip (‘08, Comedy) a Martin Lawrence. Jessie: Trashin’ Good Luck Char- Win Lose 2014 Radio Disney Music Awards (:15) Good Luck (HD) B. Jealous Dad follows daughter to college. (HD) Fashion (HD) lie (HD) Musical artists.

Charlie (HD) (6:00) Deadliest Catch (HD) Deadliest Catch (N) (HD) Deadliest Catch (N) (HD) (:01) Deadliest Catch (N) (HD) (:01) Deadliest Catch (HD) Deadliest (HD) 30 for 30: Soccer Stories (HD) E:60 (HD) Special (HD) Special (HD) 2014 Draft Academy (HD) SportsCenter (HD) SportsCenter SportsCenter (HD) SportsCenter Special (HD) 2014 Draft Academy (HD) Baseball Tonight (HD) Olbermann (HD) Baseball (HD) Eragon (‘06) Ed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (‘09, Fantasy) aaa Daniel Radcliffe. A wizard and his friends stumble upon a peculiar The 700 Club Bel-Air Lisa’s dad.

Speleers. (HD) manuscript that belongs to the “Half-Blood Prince” and may reveal the early days of his powerful enemy. (HD) Chopped Yuzu; sturgeon. (HD) Chopped Lump crabmeat. (HD) Chopped: Firefighter Chefs (HD) Chopped (N) (HD) Chopped Sub sandwiches. (HD) Chopped (HD) On the Record with Greta (N) The O’Reilly Factor (N) (HD) The Kelly File News updates.

Hannity Conservative news. (HD) The O’Reilly Factor (HD) The Kelly File College Softball: North Texas vs Baylor z{| Car Warriors (HD) West Coast Customs World Poker Tour no} (HD) PowerShares The Waltons: The Caretakers The Waltons: The Shivaree Groom The Middle: Life The Middle (HD) Frasier: Frasier Frasier: The Fo- Frasier Third anni- Frasier Pretend Golden Rival tenGrandma and Grandpa move out. kidnapped.

Skills (HD) Loves Roz cus Group versary. husband. nis match.

(6:30) Listing Bryan Hunters (HD) Hunters (HD) Decks (N) Decks (N) Decked Out Decked Out Hunters (HD) Hunters (HD) Decks Vikings: Answers in Blood Vikings: Unforgiven Vikings: Blood Eagle Vikings: Boneless (:02) Vikings: The Choice (:01) Vikings Criminal Minds: Lo-Fi Random Criminal Minds: All That Remains Criminal Minds: Broken Victims The Listener: Poisoned Minds (N) The Listener: Now You See Him (N) Without a Trace shootings in New York City. (HD) Suspicious writer. (HD) linked by their watches. (HD) (HD) Dance Moms: Presenting My New Dance Moms: Seeing Red Old griev- Dance Moms: Girl Talk The dancers True Tori: The Truth Comes Out (N) (:01) True Tori: The Truth Comes Out (:02) Dance Team Pyramid revelation. (HD) ances resurface. (HD) speak their minds. (N) (HD) (HD) (HD) Moms (HD) Sponge Sam & Cat Full Hse Full Hse Full Hse Full Hse Full Hse Full Hse Friends (:36) Friends (:12) Friends Ink Master: Artist Slaughter (HD) Ink Master Gunpowder. (HD) Ink Master: Fighting Dirty (HD) Ink Master (N) (HD) Nightmares Nightmares Nightmares Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Chal- Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Chal- Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Chal- Ghost Hunters: Family Plot Ceely Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Chal- Ghost Hunters lenge: Heads Up! lenge: Life in Motion lenge: Swamp Things (N) Rose Murders. (HD) lenge: Swamp Things (HD) Seinfeld: The Family Guy (HD) The Big Bang The Big Bang The Big Bang The Big Bang The Big Bang The Big Bang Conan (N) (HD) The Pete Holmes Strike (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Show (N) (6:30) The Naked Kiss (‘64, Drama) The Young Lions (‘58, Drama) aaa Marlon Brando. During World War II, two American draftees go to Europe Tip On A Dead Jockey (‘57, Drama) Robert Taylor. A piaaa Constance Towers. as a German officer’s loyalty to his country conflicts with his revulsion at what it has become. lot gets mixed up with smugglers.

Little (HD) Little (HD) 19 Kids (HD) 19 Kids (HD) 19 Kids (N) 19 Kids (HD) Little (N) (HD) Little (HD) 19 Kids (HD) 19 Kids (HD) Little (HD) Castle: One Man’s Treasure Man 2014 NBA Playoffs: Teams TBA 2014 NBA Playoffs: Teams TBA stuffed in garbage chute. (HD) truTV Top: Hits and Misses truTV Top: Fantastic Failures truTV Top Funniest: Bad Ideas truTV Top Funniest (N) Top 20: Brainless Blunders 2 truTV Top Griffith (HD) Gilligan’s (HD) Gilligan’s (HD) Gilligan’s (HD) Raymond (HD) Raymond (HD) Raymond (HD) Raymond (HD) Cleveland Soul Man (HD) Queens (HD) Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Modern Family Modern Family Modern Family Modern Family Playing House: (:31) Playing (:01) Playing Playing House: (:01) Playing Doubt (HD) (HD) (HD) (HD) (HD) Pilot (N) House (N) House: Pilot Bird Bones House: Pilot Law & Order Navy murder. (HD) Law & Order (HD) Law & Order: Jurisdiction (HD) Law & Order: Virus (HD) Law & Order: Securitate (HD) Law (HD) V for Vendetta (‘06, Action) aaac Natalie Portman. Fighting a totalitarian government. (HD) Salem: The Stone Child (HD) How I Met How I Met Parks (HD)

Need a good laugh? ‘Playing House’ will provide it

BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH Proof that friendship and chemistry trump an obvious and contrived series pilot is found on “Playing House” (10 p.m., USA, TV-14). I wish I had a nickel (or its equivalent in bitcoins) for every time I had to watch a Hallmark movie about a busy female executive who gets stranded in a small town, or even her hometown, only to smell the roses and find romance. But in the hackneyed Hallmark movies, the frazzled female eventually gets the guy, even a cowboy.

Here, globetrotting business whiz Emma (Jessica St. Clair) abandons a fabulous but soul-devouring job in Shanghai to help nurse her old best friend, Maggie (Lennon Parham), through a breakup with a creepy, pornaddicted husband and the impending birth of her baby. It’s funnier than it sounds.

The actresses are good friends in real life. And it shows, particularly in scenes when they share silly secrets, sing horribly off-key pop songs with impossibly incorrect lyrics and revert to the savage mean girls they were in high school.

Keegan-Michael Key (half of Key and Peele) stars as a local rent-a-cop who happened to have been Emma’s highschool boyfriend.

“Playing House” doesn’t sweat the small stuff. And that includes the fact that Emma is no more convincing as a China-based business consultant than she might be as a brain surgeon or the vice president of the United States. It’s an obvious contrivance, poorly delivered. Why not put her on the International Space Station? Maggie’s husband is similarly dismissible and easily disposed of. In an earlier sitcom era, such narrative niceties might be folded into the series’ theme song. Look for Zach

p.m., Fox, TV-14) * Hill and Coulson collaborate on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) * Hayley risks all on “The Originals” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14) * Drone software vanishes along with its author’s daughter on “NCIS: Los Angeles” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) * Jess suspects sabotage on “New Girl” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14) * Erica’s heart gets broken on “The Goldbergs” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) * Mafioso monsters run Chicago on “Supernatural” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14) * Charlie makes Danny jealous on “The Mindy Project” (9:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14) * Kate thinks Warren is a recluse on “Trophy Wife” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).

LATE NIGHT

USA NETWORK

Lennon Parham, left, stars as Maggie Caruso and Jessica St. Clair stars as Emma Crawford in “Playing House” airing at 10 p.m. on USA. Woods as the weirdly touchy Zach.

Woods has not lost his touch for physical discomfort and social awkwardness that served him so well in “The Office,” not to mention “Silicon Valley.”

“House” seems more about being funny than trying to reinvent the sitcom genre. It fits in nicely with USA’s rather easy-breezy offerings like “Royal Pains” and the just-departed “Psych.”

TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS • Marcus anticipates a visit from Dad on “About a Boy” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).

• “Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge” (9 p.m., Syfy) moves to a new time.

• Feels like the first time on “Growing

Up Fisher” (9:30 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).

• Greer exploits Finch’s Achilles heel on “Person of Interest” (10 p.m., CBS, TV14).

• An explosion tests everybody’s mettle on “Chicago Fire” (10 p.m., NBC, TV14).

• “Frontline” (10 p.m., PBS, check local listings) explores the explosion of America’s prison population.

• Molly sets a trap on “Fargo” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA).

SERIES NOTES A Marine photographer vanishes just before testifying on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) * Rachel’s TV audition may rain on her ‘Funny Girl’ parade on “Glee” (8

William Cohan is scheduled on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (11 p.m., Comedy Central) * Kunal Nayyar, Max Brooks and Hurray for the Riff Raff appear on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) * Hugh Dancy, Jeff Wild, Liza Treyger and Jo Koy are booked on “Chelsea Lately” (11 p.m., E!) * Robert Rodriguez sits down on “The Colbert Report” (11:30 p.m., Comedy Central) * Lucy Liu and Ziggy Marley appear on “Late Show With David Letterman” (11:35 p.m., CBS) * Jimmy Fallon welcomes Diane Keaton, Dane DeHaan, David Byrne and Daley on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) * Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Robin Roberts appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (11:35 p.m., ABC) * Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Matt Walsh and Bill Nye visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) * Craig Ferguson hosts Valerie Bertinelli and Seth Gabel on “The Late Late Show” (12:35 a.m., CBS).

Copyright 2014, United Feature Syndicate

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TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

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

Free computer classes will be offered from 4 to 6 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday, May 13-June 5, at S.C. Works, 31 E. Calhoun St. Attendees will learn computer skills, basic emailing, Internet searching and keyboarding skills. Registration is required and space is limited. Call (803) 774-1300.

The Transatlantic Brides and Parents Association (A British Heritage Society) will meet at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 2, at The Spectrum, Pinewood Road. Come celebrate Mother’s Day. All British expats or relatives are invited. Call Josie 803 775 8052.

The Sumter Jaycees will hold a steak dinner fundraiser from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, May 2, at the Sumter Elk’s Lodge No. 855, 1100 W. Liberty St. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $30 per person or $50 per couple. Proceeds will benefit the local chapter as well as Jaycee Camp Hope, a statewide residential camp that strives to give special needs children age 7 and older positive, healthy outdoor experiences. Contact Stephanie Griffin at StephanieGriffin2014@yahoo.com.

In honor of National Foster Care Month, an awareness walk will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 3, at Dillon Park.

Participants are asked to wear blue. For more details, contact Katina Dreamer, of Lee County Foster Adoption Association, at (803) 8566633.

Extreme Sports Yamaha Polaris will hold an open house and fundraiser from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, at 405 W. Wesmark Blvd. There will be a bike show, free dyno runs, 50/50 drawing, hot dogs, drinks and door prizes. Proceeds will go to John K. Crosswell Home for Children.

Call (803) 905-7766 or visit www.esyp.com.

Lincoln High School Class of 1960 will meet at 10 a.m. on

Saturday, May 3, at the alumni building on Council Street.

All class members are invited to attend. Call Lucile Davis at (803) 775-6253 or Louis Ragin at (803) 778-2715.

The Campbell Soup friends lunch group will meet at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 3, at Golden Corral.

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

The Lynchburg Magnolia Beautification Action Committee will hold its Annual Magnolia Festival and Parade on Saturday, May 3. The parade will begin at noon at Fleming Lighthouse Center, go down U.S. 76 and S.C. 341 to Main Street in Lynchburg. There will be vendors with food and gift items for sale. Music will be provided by the Army Band and Rock Band as well as Gentlemen of Distinction.

The Lincoln High School Class of 1969 will meet at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, at the alumni building on Council Street.

All class members are invited. Call Cynthia Harvin at (803) 773-9790 or Rosalie Pringle at (803) 773-5706.

The Clarendon Section National Council of Negro Women will meet at 5 p.m. on Monday, May 5, at the Council on Aging, 206 S. Church St., Manning.

The Sumter Benedict Alumni Club will meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 5, at the North HOPE Center. Call Shirley M. Blassingame at (803) 5064019.

Lincoln High School Class of 1964 will meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, at South Sumter Resource Center, 337 Manning Ave. Call Frances Woods at (803) 773-3804, Lillie Rogers-Wilson at (803) 7759088 or Bertha Willis at (803) 775-9660.

The Lee County Adult Education 2014 Community Involvement Day Fair will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, at Lee County Parks & Recreation, 121 E. College St., Bishopville.

DAILY PLANNER

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEATHER

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2014

AccuWeather® five-day forecast for Sumter TODAY

TONIGHT

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Thunderstorms with strong winds

Overcast and mild

Mostly cloudy, a heavy t-storm

Mostly cloudy with a t-storm

Clouds and sun

Mostly sunny, breezy and nice

85°

67°

83° / 64°

82° / 57°

74° / 47°

74° / 48°

Chance of rain: 65%

Chance of rain: 25%

Chance of rain: 55%

Chance of rain: 55%

Chance of rain: 25%

Chance of rain: 25%

Winds: SSW 8-16 mph

Winds: SSE 8-16 mph

Winds: S 10-20 mph

Winds: WSW 8-16 mph

TODAY’S SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER

Gaffney 76/65 Spartanburg 74/64

Greenville 73/64

Columbia 86/67

Sumter 85/67

IN THE MOUNTAINS

Myrtle Beach 79/71

Manning 85/67

Today: Thunderstorms, strong late. Winds south 6-12 mph.

Wednesday: Showers, a thunderstorm.

Winds south-southwest 8-16 mph.

Aiken 84/67

ON THE COAST

Charleston 86/68

Today: A shower or thunderstorm around.

High 78 to 85.

Wednesday: Humid with a shower or thunderstorm around; breezy. High 79 to 86.

LOCAL ALMANAC

LAKE LEVELS

SUMTER THROUGH 4 P.M. YESTERDAY

Full pool 360 76.8 75.5 100

Lake Murray Marion Moultrie Wateree

87° 65° 78° 52° 93° in 1986 39° in 1993

Precipitation 24 hrs ending 4 p.m. yest.

Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date

Florence 85/68

Bishopville 85/67

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

Temperature High Low Normal high Normal low Record high Record low

Winds: WSW 6-12 mph Winds: WSW 10-20 mph

SUN AND MOON 7 a.m. yest.

358.12 76.29 74.94 97.99

24-hr chg +0.03 +0.02 +0.11 -0.12

Sunrise 6:35 a.m.

Moonrise 6:52 a.m.

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

trace 2.83" 2.86" 12.50" 13.77" 14.15"

NATIONAL CITIES

REGIONAL CITIES

Today Wed. City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Atlanta 78/66/t 77/55/t Chicago 66/49/t 58/44/sh Dallas 76/47/pc 68/45/pc Detroit 70/52/r 70/49/t Houston 84/56/pc 76/49/s Los Angeles 89/63/s 91/65/s New Orleans 84/64/t 78/57/s New York 51/44/r 48/46/r Orlando 91/71/t 93/70/t Philadelphia 51/46/r 58/56/r Phoenix 89/63/s 90/65/s San Francisco 75/54/s 83/58/pc Wash., DC 54/53/r 67/61/r

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

Today Hi/Lo/W 72/57/t 78/65/t 85/67/t 85/69/t 73/65/t 86/68/t 78/64/t 75/64/t 86/67/t 85/68/t 71/65/t 83/70/t 84/68/t

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

8:04 p.m.

8:43 p.m.

New

First

Full

Last

Apr. 29

May 6

May 14

May 21

TIDES

Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr stage yest. chg 12 10.08 -0.19 19 6.12 +1.28 14 10.98 +0.67 14 5.03 -0.43 80 79.89 -0.48 24 11.51 +3.39

Wed. Hi/Lo/W 74/50/r 78/55/t 83/62/t 86/70/t 73/67/t 85/68/t 79/60/t 79/57/t 82/63/t 81/65/t 76/68/t 82/68/t 83/67/t

Sunset Moonset

AT MYRTLE BEACH

Today Wed.

Today Hi/Lo/W 85/68/t 89/68/t 78/66/t 83/68/t 86/68/t 77/65/t 73/64/t 73/61/t 79/71/t 89/69/t 80/64/t 83/67/t 79/68/t

Wed. Hi/Lo/W 84/67/t 89/68/t 79/59/t 81/67/t 85/68/t 78/61/t 77/56/t 75/57/t 80/71/t 88/69/t 78/50/t 80/59/t 77/55/t

High 9:58 a.m.

10:16 p.m.

10:43 a.m.

10:59 p.m.

Ht. 3.1 3.6 3.0 3.5

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

Low 4:33 a.m.

4:37 p.m.

5:20 a.m.

5:21 p.m.

Today Hi/Lo/W 73/63/t 83/68/t 79/71/t 84/67/t 83/69/t 80/64/t 79/64/t 84/70/t 87/68/t 74/64/t 80/70/t 82/71/t 76/65/t

Ht. -0.4 -0.5 -0.3 -0.4

Wed. Hi/Lo/W 77/56/t 84/68/t 80/71/t 83/65/t 84/70/t 79/64/t 79/58/t 82/68/t 87/69/t 79/57/t 81/69/t 82/69/t 77/60/t

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

PUBLIC AGENDA MID-CAROLINA COMMISSION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION Today, 6 p.m., USC Sumter, Administration Building, 200 Miller Road, Bultman Conference Room (201), second floor

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don’t let what EUGENIA LAST others tell you twist your thoughts or change your course of action regarding your career objectives or geographical location. A change in the way you deal with someone must not be due to one or both of you overreacting.

The last word in astrology

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Emotions will flare up, helping you express your true feelings and allowing you to come to grips with bothersome personal matters. Set the record straight in order to build a better relationship with those you confront.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Keep your personal matters out of the workplace. Conflicts will develop if you are too open and trusting. Add a unique touch to your work and do your best to get along with everyone you deal with.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Do whatever it takes to stabilize your home and your personal financial situation. Size down or add value to your surroundings. Invest in you and your ability to bring in more money. Don’t overreact; do something that will improve your world.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A problem you face will not go away unless you address it head-on.

Speak up and make suggestions that will improve your relationships with others, as well as make your surroundings more convenient.

Stop complaining and do what needs to be done.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You’ll face someone using questionable tactics to get you to do things differently. It’s OK to make changes, but only if you do so for the right reason. Don’t do anything that might cause problems with an authority figure or your personal health.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Help a cause or someone in need, but don’t make promises that will lead to a problem in your personal or professional life. A disagreement with someone important to you will not be easy to reverse.

Diplomacy is required.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’ve got all the right moves, so don’t take detours that might lead you astray. Say what’s on your mind and reveal your next move.

Put time aside for romance and you will improve your love life.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You will feel uncertain about your future if you let your emotions take over. Make changes that will help bring your confidence and your qualifications to a higher level. What you learn now will encourage you to apply for better positions.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t let what others say get you down.

Added responsibilities may be dumped in your lap, but if you handle them efficiently, you will still have time to do your own thing. You will learn something from a romantic experience you encounter.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Speak up, take note and do your best to make improvements. Socializing and taking part in events and activities that will help you grow personally and professionally will bring good results. Making plans with someone special will lead to greater happiness.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Believe in what you are doing and you will get ahead. Your contributions to an organization that has something to offer in return will pay off.

Contracts, settlements and financial and legal matters can be resolved in your favor.

LOTTERY NUMBERS PALMETTO CASH 5 MONDAY

POWERBALL SATURDAY

MEGAMILLIONS FRIDAY

16-27-29-32-36 PowerUp: 2

37-22-30-33 Powerball: 20 Powerplay: 3

3-11-18-20-66 Megaball: 9 Megaplier: 2

PICK 3 MONDAY

PICK 4 MONDAY

7-7-4 and 4-2-2

0-3-1-4 and 9-8-2-3

PICTURES FROM THE PUBLIC OCCASION: Lilian Peter shares a photo she took of the sunset over the South China Sea in Da Nang, Vietnam.

HAVE YOU TAKEN PICTURES OF INTERESTING, EXCITING, BEAUTIFUL OR HISTORICAL PLACES? Would you like to share those images with your fellow Sumter Item readers? E-mail your hi-resolution jpegs to 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

Heat sweep Bobcats B2

B

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

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

PRO BASEBALL

Braves’ new-look rotation thriving

BY CHARLES ODUM The Associated Press ATLANTA — As they entered the season, the Atlanta Braves were hoping to just hang on through the first month while they waited for Mike Minor and Gavin Floyd to join a depleted rotation.

Instead, manager Fredi Gonzalez faces a different problem for the Braves, who were off on Monday: How does he

make room for another arm in a rotation enjoying the majors’ best opening month in 100 years?

There’s no weak link as the starters’ SANTANA 1.57 ERA easily leads the majors.

The rotation was a big question after Tim Hudson and Paul Maholm

departed as free agents.

The issue reached crisis stage when Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy needed season-ending Tommy John surgeries in spring training.

Veterans Ervin Santana and Aaron Harang have joined Julio Teheran and Alex Wood as the staff’s new leaders on the first-place Braves.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

With the departures of Tim Hudson and Paul Maholm coupled with season-ending injuries to Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, Atlanta’s pitching rotation was in crisis mode prior to the start of the season. With the additions of Aaron Harang, above, and Ervin Santana, however, the Braves has posted the best staff earned run average in the majors SEE BRAVES, PAGE B3 thus far at 1.57.

NFL DRAFT

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Clowney’s coming...

Houston to speak at Citadel Club today

BY DENNIS BRUNSON dennisb@theitem.com

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (7) has been a lightning rod for attention and those picking apart a talent that seems as promising as any to enter the league in the past few years. Clowney is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in next week’s NFL draft.

Debate rages over Carolina DE’s work ethic, draft position despite big-play ability

BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press COLUMBIA — Get ready, NFL quarterbacks, Jadeveon Clowney is on the way.

The freakish athlete with the easy grin and questions galore about his work ethic is poised to bring the whole package to the NFL in next month’s draft.

Whether the South Carolina defensive will go No. 1 overall to the Houston Texans is one of the hottest topics in the league.

There’s no debating this, though:

Clowney loves making big plays — and he’s ready to do that from the outset at the next level.

“I think I work just as hard as anybody,’’ Clowney says. “If you pick me and pair me with guys, I’m going to try and outwork them also.’’

Clowney has been pointed to the NFL ever since then-South Pointe High coach Bobby Carroll heard about the 6-foot-3 eighth grader walking through his team’s weight room. “Who is that?’’ Carroll asked.

Now 6-6 and 266 pounds, Clowney has

set off similar reactions throughout his life.

He’s been a lightning rod for attention — and for those picking apart a talent that seems as promising as any to enter the league in quite a while.

He was criticized by some when he chose South Carolina in 2011 for putting off his college announcement nearly two weeks so he could hold a televised session on his birthday, Feb. 14.

Clowney’s youth coaches say they had

SEE CLOWNEY, PAGE B5

Mike Houston, the new head football coach at The Citadel, will be the featured speaker at the Sumter Citadel Club meeting today at 6:30 p.m. at the Bar-B-Que Hut at 1380 South Guignard Drive.

Mike Houston became the 24th head coach in Citadel history in January, replacing Kevin Higgins who resigned to become the assistant position at Wake Forest. Houston came to The Citadel HOUSTON after serving as the head coach at LenoirRhyne in Hickory, N.C., for three years. This past season, Houston led the Bears to the NCAA Division II national championship game.

They went 13-1, losing to Northwest Missouri State in the championship game.

L-R won the South Atlantic Conference championship in each of his three years.

Houston was 29-8 with Lenior-Rhyne. Houston ran the triple option at L-R. The Bears led DII in rushing last season, averaging 370.9 yards per game while setting the NCAA record for all divisions in rushing yards in a single season with 5,563.

Admission to the meeting is $15 and includes dinner. For reservations, call Wendy Hinkley or Cathy Springs at Frasier Tire at (803) 773-1423.

COLLEGE TENNIS

Erskine women, Mt. Olive men capture Conference Carolinas titles Fleet’s Hallman, Trojans’ Finnerty named MVPs

BY DENNIS BRUNSON dennisb@theitem.com For the Erskine College women, it’s 10 in a row; for the University of Mount Olive men, it’s two of the last three — Conference Carolinas tennis tournament championships, that is.

And for the coaches of the

respective championship teams, the victories on Sunday at Palmetto Tennis Center were sweet, whether one of many or just one of a few.

“You don’t lose the joy of winning one of these,” said Erskine head coach Calhoun Parr, whose No. 1 seeded Flying Fleet beat No. 2 seed Pfeiffer University 5-3. “It’s a different season, a different team each year; that makes each one of them very exciting.”

“This one (tournament title)

HALLMAN

FINNERTY

was different from the first one (in 2012) because we were the No. 2 seed and were the underdogs,” said Mount Olive head coach Kevin Coghill, whose top-seeded team beat No. 6 seed Barton College 5-2.

“This time we were the No. 1 seed, we had the winning streak (15 straight victories and undefeated in eight conference matches). The pressure was really on us this time.”

The tournament victories earned Erskine and Mount Olive automatic berths in their respective NCAA Division II tournaments. Erskine, which is 18-5 on the season, is scheduled to begin play on Saturday, while the 18-1 Tro-

jans are scheduled to begin play on Friday.

The Flying Fleet handed 19-2 Pfeiffer its only two losses on the season. Each of the matches in the six singles/ three doubles format on Sunday were battles.

Erskine won two of the three doubles matches, winning at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. The No. 1 team of senior Corin Hallman, who

SEE TITLES, PAGE B5

B2

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SPORTS

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

PRO BASKETBALL

THE SUMTER ITEM

AREA ROUNDUP

WH tennis sweeps Pinewood Prep Wilson Hall’s varsity boys tennis team opened the SCISA 3A state playoffs on Monday with a 6-0 quarterfinal victory over Pinewood Prep at Palmetto Tennis Center.

The match was called after Wilson Hall won all of the singles matches.

The Barons improved to 15-0 with the victory. They will travel to Hilton Head on Wednesday to face Hilton Head Prep in a semifinal match.

HHP defeated Ben Lippen 6-0 on Monday.

SINGLES 1 – Brown (WH) defeated Holoubek 6-0, 6-0.

2 – Davis (WH) defeated Wert 6-1, 6-1.

3 – Stover (WH) defeated Russik 6-0, 6-0.

4 – Hendrix (WH) defeated Biffley 6-0, 6-0.

5 – Thompson (WH) defeated Villanueva 6-0, 6-0.

6 – Stone (WH) defeated Olaru 6-2, 6-3.

VARSITY BASEBALL

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Miami’s LeBron James (6) drives against Charlotte’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist during the first half of the Heat’s 109-98 victory on Monday in Game 4 of an Eastern Conference playoff series in Charlotte. Miami swept the Bobcats to advance.

Heat end Bobcats’ season

BY STEVE REED The Associated Press CHARLOTTE — LeBron James scored 31 points, and the Miami Heat completed a first-round sweep of the Charlotte Bobcats with a 109-98 victory Monday night.

James scored 19 points after injuring his thigh in the third quarter. He finished the game 10 of 19 from the field and had nine assists.

Chris Bosh added 17 points and Dwyane Wade battled through foul trouble and finished with 15 as Miami won its 20th straight game over Charlotte.

The 2-time defending champion NBA champions will await the winner of Brooklyn-Toronto series, which is tied 2-2.

Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 29 points.

The Bobcats played without Al Jefferson, their leading scorer and rebounder who has been bothered by a foot injury since the first quarter of Game 1.

The loss signaled the end of an era

for the Bobcats. They will become the Hornets next season.

The Heat improved to 16-2 in firstround games since James’ arrival four years ago.

This was Miami’s ninth consecutive series victory.

Miami began to take control midway through the third quarter shortly after James gave his teammates a scare when he drove to the basket and his right thigh collided with Bismack Biyombo’s knee, sending him to the ground.

The injury only seemed to inspire James after fans cheered when he went down.

After the timeout he buried a 3-pointer and a long jumper before a one-handed dunk to help give Miami a 73-66 lead with 4:51 left in the third quarter. Miami pushed the lead to 13 when Norris Cole knocked down a 3-point buzzerbeater from the right corner at the end of the quarter.

Charlotte never got closer than seven points in the fourth quarter.

LMA SWEEPS NORTH CHARLESTON – Laurence Manning Academy went on the road and swept a doubleheader from Northwood Academy in the first round of the SCISA 3A state playoffs on Monday at the Northwood field.

The Swampcats won the opener 6-3 and followed it with a 10-0 victory. LMA advances to face upper No. 1 seed Hammond in a doubleheader on Friday in Columbia in the bestof-3 quarterfinal series. Should a third game be needed, it will be played on Saturday in Manning.

Linc Powell picked up the victory in the opener. Mark Pipkin led the offense with a grand slam home run. Pipkin got the win in the second game and Davis Martin had two doubles.

SUMTER 4 SPRING VALLEY 1

COLUMBIA – Sumter High School closed out its regular season with a 4-1 victory over Spring Valley on Monday at the SV field.

The Gamecocks are 20-2-1 on the season heading into the 4A state playoffs, which begin on Thursday.

Sumter will play host to Aiken at 7 p.m. in its opening game in the District VI tournament.

Chris Crawford worked two innings to get the win. River Soles pitched two scoreless innings for the save.

Charlie Barnes was 2-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases to lead the offense. Phillip Watcher was 2-for-4 with a run batted in, Soles had two hits, including a double,

and Tee Dubose had two doubles.

PEE DEE SWEEPS TSA

MULLINS – Thomas Sumter Academy saw its season come to an end on Monday as it was swept by Pee Dee Academy in a doubleheader in the first round of the SCISA 2A state playoffs at the Pee Dee field.

In the opener, Pee Dee scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win 6-5. It took the second game 18-8.

Andrew Wrenn took the loss in the first game, but allowed just two earned runs. Michal Hoge led the offense, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and two runs batted in. Edison Aldridge had a double and two RBI and James Rabon also had a double.

In the second game, Pee Dee scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to win by the 10-run mercy rule. Aldridge drew three walks and scored twice while Corey Bledsoe had a hit and two walks and scored twice. Ron York also had a hit, a run and an RBI.

VARSITY BOYS GOLF WILSON HALL SECOND

CONWAY – Wilson Hall is in second place after the first round of the SCISA 3A state tournament on Monday at the Hacker Golf Course.

The Barons trail defending state champion Hilton Head Christian by 19 strokes. HHC shot a 292 while WH shot a 311.

Heathwood Hall is third at 320 and Porter-Gaud is fourth at 321 in the 13-team tournament.

Christian Salzer led Wilson Hall with a 72 and is third overall. Coker Lowder shot a 79 and Grier Schwartz and Walker Jones both shot 80s.

The final round is today.

TSA TIED FOR FOURTH

CONWAY – Thomas Sumter Academy is in a tie for fourth after the first round of the SCISA 2A state tournament on Monday at the Hacker Golf Course.

Oakbrook Prep is in the lead with a 321 followed by Palmetto Christian at 324 and Spartanburg Christian at 328. TSA is tied with Trinity-Byrnes at 336.

Tyler Gray led Thomas Sumter with an 81. Drake McCormick had an 82, James Bracewell and 86 and Walker Brooks an 87.

SPORTS ITEMS

Dalzell-Shaw meeting tonight; Manning-Santee meeting set for Sunday The Dalzell-Shaw American Legion Post 175 baseball program will hold a pre-tryout meeting for the upcoming season tonight at 7 p.m. at the Dalzell-Shaw Post 175 American Legion Hut at 3625 Camden Highway in Dalzell.

Those who plan to try out for the team should attend this meeting with their parents or legal guardian. Players are asked to bring their original birth certificates to the meeting.

All forms required for participation in American Legion baseball will be filled and collected at the meeting as well.

MANNING LEGION MEETING SUNDAY

The Manning-Santee Post 68 American Legion baseball program will hold a meeting on Sunday at the Manning Post 68 Legion Hut for all players interested in playing for either junior or senior team.

The hut is located at 552 Sunset Drive in Manning.

For more information, contact head coach G.G. Cutter at (803) 225-2929 or ggcutter@ fpsb.com.

USC SUMTER SPLITS

ALLENDALE – The University of South Carolina Sumter baseball team closed out its regular season on Sunday by splitting a doubleheader with USC Salkehatchie, losing the opener 5-2 before rebounding to win the nightcap 3-0 at the Salkehatchie field.

The Fire Ants are 34-12 on the season after winning three of four.

Jamie Strock took the loss in the opener. Trevor Bradley had a hit and a run batted in and Will Thompson had a hit and a run scored.

In the second game, Bradley threw six shutout innings to get the victory. Dylan Miller pitched the seventh to record the save.

Ryan Perkins led the offense with a hit, a walk, a sacrifice and an RBI. Andrew Reardon had a double and a RBI. NHL PLAYOFFS PENGUINS 4 BLUE JACKETS 3 COLUMBUS, Ohio — Evgeni Malkin had a hat trick and the Pittsburgh Penguins almost blew a 4-goal lead before beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Monday night to clinch their first-round playoff series in six games.

The Blue Jackets, closer to making tee times than thinking about a Game 7, scored three times in a 4:52 span in the third period to turn up the pressure on the Penguins.

Pittsburgh awaits the winner of the New York-Philadelphia series, with the Rangers leading 3-2 going into Tuesday night’s Game 6.

SEATTLE, THOMAS REACH DEAL

RENTON, Wash. — Earl

Thomas is the latest member of the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks to be locked up for the future.

The best free safety in the NFL is getting rewarded quite well.

Thomas and the Seahawks reached agreement Monday on a $40 million, four-year contract extension with just over $27.7 million guaranteed, according to two people with knowledge of the agreement.

NATS’ HARPER OUT UNTIL JULY

WASHINGTON — Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper reportedly is going to be sidelined at least until July because of surgery on his left thumb.

ESPN.com says Harper will have the operation today.

Washington put Harper on the 15-day disabled list Sunday, saying he had a sprained left thumb. He was hurt Friday night on a headfirst slide into third base on a triple

against San Diego.

NOH WINS 1ST PGA TOUR EVENT

AVONDALE, La. — SeungYul Noh overcame windy conditions and his nerves, shooting a 1-under 71 on Sunday to win the Zurich Classic by two shots for his first PGA Tour victory.

While Noh, the leader through three rounds, never fell out of first, he did make his first three bogeys of the tournament and briefly fell into a tie with Keegan Bradley.

But Bradley did himself in with a bogey on the fifth hole and a triple bogey on the sixth, while Noh remained steady enough to hold off remaining challengers.

The South Korean player finished at 19-under 269.

Andrew Svoboda and Robert Streb tied for second. Svoboda had a 69, and Streb shot 70.

Bradley had a 75 to tie for

eighth at 13 under along with Bishopville native Tommy Gainey, who turned in his best tournament of the year thus far.

KO HOLDS OFF LEWIS

DALY CITY, Calif. — Lydia Ko birdied the final hole for her third LPGA Tour victory and first as a professional, holding off Stacy Lewis and Jenny Shin on Sunday in the inaugural Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

It went down to the final shots, and the poised teen made a 5-foot birdie putt moments before Lewis knocked in a birdie of her own to finish one stroke back.

After beginning the day one stroke behind Lewis, Ko birdied three of her final four holes on the front nine on the way to a 3-under 69 and 12under 276 total at Lake Merced.

From staff, wire reports

BASEBALL

THE SUMTER ITEM

USC BASEBALL

Gamecocks blast ’Bama 9-3

BY RYAN WOOD Post and Courier COLUMBIA — As he arrived at the ballpark Sunday, Chad Holbrook wondered how his players would respond to his first fire-andbrimstone pep talk of the spring.

It was a speech South Carolina’s veterans had heard before, during high-pressure postseason games, usually in June. This was different.

After his team’s 1-run loss to Alabama on Saturday, Holbrook told players to treat their final game of April like it was the final game of a super regional.

“Sometimes I hesitate to tell a team that, because you don’t want to tighten them up,” Holbrook said.

“But when you play at South Carolina, that comes with the territory.

If you can’t play under pressure, this is the wrong place for you.”

Holbrook got the response he wanted.

No. 11 South Carolina pummeled No. 8 Alabama, 9-3, before ESPN cameras and a crowd of 8,074, just 168 fans shy of the series’ third sellout. The Gamecocks (34-11, 12-9 SEC) clinched their second straight SEC series in dominant fashion, recording a conference season-high 17 hits and scoring six runs in the final three innings.

“I don’t know about ‘must-win,’ but obviously we wanted to come out and play hard and play strong and keep the ball rolling,” said junior first baseman Kyle Martin, who had his third 4-hit game of the season.

“The energy in the dugout was awesome today,” he added.

It wasn’t easy, not against an Alabama team still sitting No. 1 in the SEC West.

The Gamecocks jumped out to an early 3-0 lead behind four dominant innings from freshman pitcher Wil Crowe. The right HOLBROOK hander fell apart in the fifth as Alabama scored three runs to tie the game.

When Crowe allowed a walk to start the sixth inning, his oncepromising day was done.

“Wil was really good for four innings,” Holbrook said. “I thought he had his best stuff of the year, and then that daggum fifth inning with young pitchers is sometimes a big hurdle to get over. He kind scuffled a little bit in that inning.”

South Carolina bounced back with a three-run sixth inning, sparked by freshman second baseman Gene Cone. The Columbia native, whose 3-run triple Friday was

the defining hit of Game 1, poked a two-run single through the middle of the infield to break the tie.

The Gamecocks never trailed again.

“My approach was the same as it always is with two strikes,” Cone said. “I was just trying to put the ball in play hard somewhere, and fortunately it found a hole. And it did feel good.”

Holbrook called Sunday’s game the biggest of the year. He said it was easy to see why the rubber match against the Crimson Tide (29-15, 13-8) fit that billing. His team rose to three games above .500 in SEC play for the first time in almost one month.

Following a five-game losing streak earlier this month, South Carolina has now won six of its past seven games. The Gamecocks are still dealing with several injuries, but they’ve overcome them on the field.

“I don’t know if I can be more proud of my team than I am right now,” Holbrook said. “We’ve kind of had some adversity, as you all know. We kept battling and competing, and we probably played our best baseball game of the year today in our biggest game of the year. When you do those things, it makes a coach proud.”

CLEMSON BASEBALL

Hurricanes complete series sweep of Tigers

BY AARON BRENNER Post and Courier CLEMSON — Although Clemson’s captain won’t accept a dugout feeling lifeless, that might be the right adjective to describe the majority state of the club, even on its own field.

Stuck “in a rut” with seven losses in its last nine home games, No. 22 Clemson’s faint hopes of hosting NCAA regional action continue to melt away after this weekend’s 3-game sweep by No. 15 Miami at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

“Absolutely, we need to start winning,” said junior Garrett Boulware, whose own struggles on the weekend (1 for 13) amplified the three losses. “Before we put ourselves in an even worse spot in the postseason, it’s going to be an uphill battle wherever we go.

Right now, it’s not even about hosting; it’s about putting ourselves in at least a decent regional.”

Clemson (25-19, 12-11 ACC) received solid pitching performances from Matthew Crownover and Daniel Gossett on Friday and Saturday nights, but lost those outings, 3-2 and 5-2. It wasn’t as competitive in Sunday’s matinee,

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Clemson’s Eli White, right, forces out Miami’s Zack Collins (0) in a double play during the fourth inning of the Tigers’ 10-2 loss on Sunday in Clemson. a 10-2 defeat that left the Tigers gasping for solutions on how to turn their fortunes around following their third straight ACC series defeat on campus.

Miami (32-13, 19-5) has won 19 of 20 games since March 24.

“They just outplayed us

all series long. There’s all there was to it,” Clemson head coach Jack Leggett said. “They’re a hot team.

We ran into a buzzsaw.”

This was the second time Clemson has been swept this year (vs.

South Carolina, Feb. 28March 2); Miami is the first visitor to Doug

Kingsmore Stadium to take all three since North Carolina swept the Tigers March 9-11, 2012. It’s Miami’s second sweep of the Tigers in series history, and first ever in Clemson.

Boulware, the Tigers’ top hitter, failed to reach base in the series until an eighth-inning single Sunday.

“Today, I started pressing so I could get more hits,” Boulware said, “and it kind of backfired on me.”

The first two innings exemplified Clemson’s troubles with the bats.

The Tigers twice had runners on second and third base with one out, but Boulware fanned in the opening frame, slamming his bat after the first of his three strikeouts on the day, and leadoff hitter Tyler Slaton did the same in the second inning — another missed opportunity against Miami starter Bryan Radziewski (4-2), who quickly found his groove.

“We get the runners in the right position,” Leggett said. “(Steven) Duggar and Eli White both got bunts down, got men on second and third, had the right guys up, and we just didn’t get the right things done.”

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

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B3

BRAVES FROM PAGE B1 Minor, who was a projected top starter, is expected to come off the disabled list this week.

Rookie David Hale could lose his spot, but it’s no easy decision for Gonzalez.

Hale is 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA in four starts and is coming off an outstanding win.

Hale allowed only two hits over eight innings in a 4-1 win over the Reds on Saturday night, facing the minimum 21 batters over his last seven innings.

A touch call?

“Sure,’’ Gonzalez said. “We’re pitching well, we’re playing well. You don’t want to disrupt that.’’

The staff has posted numbers through 24 games unmatched by any modern staff — including the Braves’ rotation of the 1990s with 2014 Hall of Fame inductees Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, plus John Smoltz.

According to STATS, the 1.57 ERA through 24 games matches baseball’s best start since the 1914 White Sox opened with a 1.36 mark. The 1915 Phillies starters also had a 1.57 ERA through 24 games.

This year, St. Louis is second in the majors with its 2.24 ERA. At 17-7, the NL East-leading Braves open a series at Miami on Tuesday night.

Wood will face Marlins ace Jose Fernandez in a rematch of a memorable duel on April 22 when the two combined for 25 strikeouts and no walks in Miami’s 1-0 win.

Low-scoring games are the rule for the Braves this month. Atlanta completed a three-game sweep of the Reds on Sunday with a 1-0 win in 10 innings, with Teheran matching Johnny Cueto’s eight scoreless innings.

The Braves already have played five 1-0 games — including two hard-luck losses

by Wood.

“I’d rather have it this way than the other, when you’re scoring 14 runs and giving up 13 every night,’’ Gonzalez said.

“Our bats will pick up, sooner or later.

“It’s fun. Every once in a while, you look at the scoreboard and somebody is beating somebody 8-2 in the ninth and you go, `I wish I’d get one of those every once in a while,’’ he said.

Before this year, the best opening month for a Braves rotation in the modern era was a 2.37 ERA in 1997, according to STATS. Harang, who leads the majors with his 0.85 ERA, is the biggest surprise. The 35-year-old journeyman was released by Cleveland in spring training and signed with the Braves.

Teheran, seventh at 1.47, said matching scoreless innings with Cueto helps him believe he deserves to be ranked with baseball’s best starters.

“Now I feel like one of those guys,’’ said Teheran, who was 14-8 with a 3.20 ERA in his 2013 breakout season.

Teheran is only 23.

“I know how good he can be,’’ Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons said. “He’s proving to people that he deserves to be the ace for the team.’’

Wood also is 23. Minor and Hale are 26.

Minor was 13-9 with a 3.21 ERA last year. He had urinary tract surgery on Dec. 31, which pushed back his spring schedule. He then developed the shoulder soreness and was shut down in spring training.

Entering this season, Minor had the fourth-best ERA (2.90) since the 2012 AllStar break, so the Braves have to make room for the left-hander.

Hale could be sent to the minors or to the bullpen. An even tougher decision could come soon when Floyd, recovering from Tommy John surgery early in the 2013 season with the White Sox, also is ready.

Gonzalez just shook his head as he avoided the question.

“One at a time, please,’’ he said.

B4

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SPORTS

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

NASCAR

Richmond provides duel at the end, then fisticuffs

BY HANK KURZ JR. The Associated Press

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Joey Logano holds the trophy after winning the Toyota Owners 400 on Saturday at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va.

RICHMOND, Va. — From perfect weather and a big crowd to a classic short-track finish and the fisticuffs afterward, NASCAR hardly could have asked for more from its first visit to Richmond International Raceway.

Joey Logano emerged as the big winner by deftly taking advantage of a 3-way duel of former champions Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski, sneaking by them for his second victory.

When it was over, what happened in the 3-way battle left Keselowski talking as if he had moved Kenseth to the top of his list, and Marcos Ambrose didn’t even bother making a list. He responded instead to a shove from Casey Mears with a punch in the face that was captured on video.

Then there was Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose father all but perfected the beating and banging style that has made short-track racing so popular, dismissing all the fried emotions with a glib, “Get over it.’’

It was all plenty to keep racing fans talking for days.

“We’re looking at the video,’’ NASCAR’s vice president of competition Robin Pemberton told reporters afterward of the punch. “It doesn’t seem to be much. We’ll take a look Monday and (today).’’

HORSE RACING

PRO BASKETBALL

Lightning strikes Churchill Downs

NBA announcement on Sterling coming today

BY MIKE FARRELL The Associated Press

BY TIM REYNOLDS The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Tapiture was cool and poised in his final Kentucky Derby workout despite the rough conditions Monday at Churchill Downs.

The colt stepped onto the track shortly after 6 a.m. as thunder boomed, lightning crackled and torrential rain blew sideways. Some horses would be spooked, but not Tapiture.

He worked a half-mile in 50 seconds, a very respectable time considering the circumstances.

“I was glad to see him move so well over this racetrack this wet,’’ trainer Steve Asmussen said. “We were fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with him here last fall. He stepped right back into a rhythm here this spring.’’

Tapiture won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in November.

He ran three times this winter at Oaklawn Park, including a win in the Southwest Stakes and a fourth in the Arkansas Derby.

Kentucky Derby week got off to a miserable start after a severe overnight storm lingered into the morning and turned the racing surface into a sea of slop.

Training was halted for about 30 minutes around 6:45 a.m. as the maintenance crew used heavy equipment to pack down the top layer of dirt to keep water on the surface and prevent seepage into the base.

A lightning strike briefly knocked out a bank of lights near the far turn.

When training resumed, Hoppertunity was the only other Derby horse to work.

Trainer Bob Baffert, seeking a fourth Derby win, sent the Rebel Stakes winner out for a half-mile drill in 48 seconds.

“A big relief,’’ Baffert said.

“When I got here at 6:15, it was really coming down. I was panicking. There were ruts in the track. I was almost ready to call it off until tomorrow.

Then it started to let up a little bit, but the lightning was pretty hairy out there.’’

Hoppertunity finished second to probable Derby favorite California Chrome in the Santa Anita Derby.

Outrage over racist comments purportedly made by embattled Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling hit a crescendo Monday, with corporations pulling their sponsorship deals with the team and coach Doc STERLING Rivers saying he believes “a very strong message’’ is coming from the NBA in response to the scandal.

That message will come today, when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver holds a news conference in New York where he could reveal sanctions the league will impose on Sterling.

A suspension of indefinite length and hefty fine — Silver can issue one of

up to $1 million without approval of owners — are possible options. However, it remains unclear how far Silver’s powers can reach at this point, even though the NBA constitution gives the commissioner’s office a lot of latitude to protect the game’s best interest.

Many players simply want Sterling ousted, with Lakers star Kobe Bryant tweeting he “should not continue owning the clippers.’’

The Clippers had Monday off, with Rivers saying he wanted his team to try and regroup mentally after a whirlwind weekend where Sterling’s alleged comments were revealed, first by TMZ and then in another recording posted on Deadspin. The NBA has not said if it was able to authenticate the tapes, but Sterling’s wife told KABC-TV in Los Angeles that it was her husband on the recordings.

TOYOTA OWNERS 400 RESULTS

By The Associated Press Saturday At Richmond International Raceway Richmond, Va. Lap length: .75 miles (Start position in parentheses) 1. (17) Joey Logano, Ford, 400 laps, 126.8 rating, 47 points, $274,081.

2. (25) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 400, 134.8, 44, $220,211.

3. (19) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 400, 96.2, 41, $187,666.

4. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 400, 128.5, 41, $162,258.

5. (12) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 400, 102.7, 40, $159,261.

6. (14) A J Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 400, 88, 38, $122,448.

7. (13) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 400, 112.1, 38, $104,065.

8. (18) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 400, 99.1, 36, $98,890.

9. (16) Carl Edwards, Ford, 400, 90.2, 35, $104,165.

10. (22) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 400, 85.6, 34, $116,173.

11. (5) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 400, 108.7, 34, $126,548.

12. (6) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 400, 86.5, 32, $118,740.

13. (7) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 400, 94.4, 31, $118,504.

14. (4) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 400, 101.3, 30, $99,565.

15. (26) Greg Biffle, Ford, 400, 81.5, 29, $125,565.

16. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 400, 66.1, 28, $122,085.

17. (15) Aric Almirola, Ford, 400, 75.2, 27, $119,201.

18. (11) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 400, 71.6, 26, $108,335.

19. (34) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 400, 70.2, 25, $105,823.

20. (33) David Gilliland, Ford, 400, 60.7, 24, $104,798.

21. (31) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 400, 68.2, 23, $100,823.

22. (28) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400, 78.6, 22, $88,890.

23. (21) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 400, 68.4, 21, $77,190.

24. (9) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 400, 63.5, 20, $107,654.

25. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 399, 59.7, 19, $114,948.

26. (43) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 398, 47.9, 0, $76,765.

27. (27) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 398, 54.9, 17, $125,351.

28. (24) Alex Bowman, Toyota, 398, 51.6, 16, $89,237.

29. (30) David Reutimann, Ford, 397, 50.1, 15, $79,465.

30. (37) David Ragan, Ford, 396, 44, 14, $88,690.

31. (8) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 396, 42.9, 13, $79,065.

32. (10) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 396, 84.2, 12, $129,851.

33. (23) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 396, 48.1, 11, $78,290.

34. (35) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 395, 36.5, 10, $83,665.

35. (38) David Stremme, Chevrolet, 395, 37.5, 9, $75,465.

36. (32) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 394, 33.4, 9, $75,285.

37. (41) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 391, 28.2, 0, $83,146.

38. (29) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 390, 40.7, 6, $106,005.

39. (39) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 390, 27.3, 5, $66,180.

40. (42) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, engine, 380, 30.3, 0, $62,180.

41. (40) Cole Whitt, Toyota, 367, 28.2, 3, $58,180.

42. (36) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, electrical, 225, 35, 2, $54,180.

43. (3) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, suspension, 159, 67, 1, $91,071.

Forgive Logano if he watches the ending a few times more himself.

He started fourth on the restart with nine laps to go, his outside position a distinct disadvantage, as evidenced by the duel emerging between the drivers who started first,

third and fifth.

Logano’s Team Penske teammate Keselowski seemed to have the fastest car, but with Kenseth doing all he could to fend off both Keselowski and Gordon, an inside lane opened up, and Logano was more than happy to make his move.

SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

SCOREBOARD TV, RADIO TODAY

7 a.m. -- College Football: Virginia Tech Maroon-and-White Spring Game from Blacksburg, Va. (ESPNU).

11 a.m. -- Professional Golf: Asian Tour Indonesian Masters Third Round from Jakarta, Indonesia (GOLF).

2:30 p.m. -- International Soccer: UEFA Champions League Semifinal Second Leg -- Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid (FOX SPORTS 1).

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

7 p.m. -- College Softball: North Texas at Baylor (FOX SPORTSOUTH).

7 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: Seattle at New York Yankees (MLB NETWORK).

7 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: Atlanta at Miami (SPORTSOUTH, WPUBFM 102.7).

7:30 p.m. -- College Baseball: Nebraska at Creighton (CBS SPORTS NETWORK).

7:30 p.m. -- NHL Hockey: Eastern Conference Playoffs Quarterfinal Series Game Six -- New York Rangers at Philadelphia (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

8 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: Eastern Conference Playoffs Quarterfinal Series Game Five -- Washington at Chicago (TNT).

9 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: Western Conference Playoffs Quarterfinal Series Game Five -- Memphis at Oklahoma City (NBA TV).

10:30 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: Western Conference Playoffs Quarterfinal Series Game Five -- Golden State at Los Angeles Clippers (TNT).

MLB STANDINGS

By The Associated Press AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST DIVISION W New York 15 Baltimore 12 Toronto 12 Boston 12 Tampa Bay 11 CENTRAL DIVISION W Detroit 12 Minnesota 12 Chicago 13 Kansas City 12 Cleveland 11 WEST DIVISION W Oakland 15 Texas 15 Los Angeles 11 Seattle 10 Houston 9

L 10 12 13 14 14

Pct .600 .500 .480 .462 .440

GB – 2½ 3 3½ 4

L 9 11 13 12 14

Pct .571 .522 .500 .500 .440

GB – 1 1½ 1½ 3

L 10 10 13 14 17

Pct .600 .600 .458 .417 .346

GB – – 3½ 4½ 6½

SUNDAY’S GAMES

Toronto 7, Boston 1 Kansas City 9, Baltimore 3 Houston 5, Oakland 1 Chicago White Sox 9, Tampa Bay 2 Detroit at Minnesota, ppd., rain San Francisco 4, Cleveland 1 Seattle 6, Texas 5 N.Y. Yankees 3, L.A. Angels 2

MONDAY’S GAMES

Oakland at Texas, 8:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Chicago White Sox, 8:10 p.m.

Cleveland at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES

Pittsburgh (Morton 0-3) at Baltimore (Tillman 3-1), 7:05 p.m.

Seattle (C.Young 0-0) at N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 3-2), 7:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay (Bedard 0-1) at Boston (Lackey 3-2), 7:10 p.m.

Oakland (Kazmir 3-0) at Texas (M. Perez 4-0), 8:05 p.m.

Detroit (Verlander 3-1) at Chicago White Sox (Quintana 1-2), 8:10 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers (Greinke 4-0) at Minnesota (Gibson 3-1), 8:10 p.m.

Toronto (McGowan 1-1) at Kansas City (Vargas 2-0), 8:10 p.m.

Washington (G.Gonzalez 3-1) at Houston (Cosart 1-2), 8:10 p.m.

Cleveland (Kluber 2-2) at L.A. Angels (Weaver 1-2), 10:05 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE L

Pct

GB

Atlanta 17 New York 14 Washington 14 Philadelphia 13 Miami 11 CENTRAL DIVISION W

7 11 12 12 14

.708 .560 .538 .520 .440

– 3½ 4 4½ 6½

L

Pct

GB

Milwaukee St. Louis Cincinnati Pittsburgh Chicago WEST DIVISION

18 14 11 10 8

7 12 14 16 16

.720 .538 .440 .385 .333

– 4½ 7 8½ 9½

W

L

Pct

GB

15 14 14 12 8

10 12 12 14 20

.600 .538 .538 .462 .286

– 1½ 1½ 3½ 8½

San Francisco Colorado Los Angeles San Diego Arizona

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Dallas 2, San Antonio 1 April 20: San Antonio 90, Dallas 85 April 23: Dallas 113, San Antonio 92 April 26: Dallas 109, San Antonio 108 Monday: San Antonio at Dallas (late) Wednesday: Dallas at San Antonio, 7 or 9:30 p.m. x-Friday: San Antonio at Dallas, TBA x-Sunday: Dallas at San Antonio, TBA Memphis 2, Oklahoma City 2 April 19: Oklahoma City 100, Memphis 86 April 21: Memphis 111, Oklahoma City 105, OT April 24: Memphis 98, Oklahoma City 95, OT April 26: Oklahoma City 92, Memphis 89, OT Today: Memphis at Oklahoma City, 9 p.m.

Thursday: Oklahoma City at Memphis, 8 or 9:30 p.m. x-Saturday: Memphis at Oklahoma City, TBA L.A. Clippers 2, Golden State 2 April 19: Golden State 109, L.A. Clippers 105 April 21: L.A. Clippers 138, Golden State 98 April 24: L.A. Clippers 98, Golden State 96 April 27: Golden State 118, L.A. Clippers 97 Today: Golden State at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday: L.A. Clippers at Golden State, 10:30 p.m. x-Saturday: Golden State at L.A. Clippers, TBA Portland 3, Houston 1 April 20: Portland 122, Houston 120, OT April 23: Portland 112, Houston 105 April 25: Houston 121, Portland 116, OT April 27: Portland 123, Houston 120, OT Wednesday: Portland at Houston, 9:30 p.m. x-Friday: Houston at Portland, TBA x-Sunday: Portland at Houston, TBA

NHL PLAYOFFS

By The Associated Press

FIRST ROUND (Best-of-7; x-if necessary)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Boston 4, Detroit 1 April 18: Detroit 1, Boston 0 April 20: Boston 4, Detroit 1 April 22: Boston 3, Detroit 0 April 24: Boston 3, Detroit 2, OT April 26: Boston 4, Detroit 2 Montreal 4, Tampa Bay 0 April 16: Montreal 5, Tampa Bay 4, OT April 18: Montreal 4, Tampa Bay 1 April 20: Montreal 3, Tampa Bay 2 April 22: Montreal 4, Tampa Bay 3 Pittsburgh 3, Columbus 2 April 16: Pittsburgh 4, Columbus 3 April 19: Columbus 4, Pittsburgh 3, 2OT April 21: Pittsburgh 4, Columbus 3 April 23: Columbus 4, Pittsburgh 3, OT April 26: Pittsburgh 3, Columbus 1 Monday: Pittsburgh at Columbus, 7 p.m. x-Wednesday: Columbus at Pittsburgh, TBA N.Y. Rangers 3, Philadelphia 2 April 17: N.Y. Rangers 4, Philadelphia 1 April 20: Philadelphia 4, N.Y. Rangers 2 April 22: N.Y. Rangers 4, Philadelphia 1 April 25: Philadelphia 2, N.Y. Rangers 1 April 27: N.Y. Rangers 4, Philadelphia 2 Today: N.Y. Rangers at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. x-Wednesday: Philadelphia at N.Y. Rangers, TBA

WESTERN CONFERENCE

EAST DIVISION W

April 20: Miami 99, Charlotte 88 April 23: Miami 101, Charlotte 97 April 26: Miami 98, Charlotte 85 Monday: Miami at Charlotte, 7 p.m. x-Wednesday: Charlotte at Miami, 7 or 8:30 p.m. x-Friday: Miami at Charlotte, TBA x-Sunday: Charlotte at Miami, TBA Brooklyn 2, Toronto 2 April 19: Brooklyn 94, Toronto 87 April 22: Toronto 100, Brooklyn 95 April 25: Brooklyn 102, Toronto 98 April 27: Toronto 87, Brooklyn 79 Wednesday: Brooklyn at Toronto, 7 or 8 p.m.

Friday: Toronto at Brooklyn, TBA x-Sunday: Brooklyn at Toronto, TBA Washington 3, Chicago 1 April 20: Washington 102, Chicago 93 April 22: Washington 101, Chicago 99, OT April 25: Chicago 100, Washington 97 April 27: Washington 98, Chicago 89 Today: Washington at Chicago, 8 p.m. x-Thursday: Chicago at Washington, 7 or 8 p.m. x-Saturday: Washington at Chicago, TBA

SUNDAY’S GAMES

N.Y. Mets 4, Miami 0 Atlanta 1, Cincinnati 0, 10 innings San Diego 4, Washington 2 Chicago Cubs 4, Milwaukee 0 St. Louis 7, Pittsburgh 0 San Francisco 4, Cleveland 1 Colorado 6, L.A. Dodgers 1 Philadelphia 2, Arizona 0

MONDAY’S GAMES

Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.

Milwaukee at St. Louis, 8:15 p.m.

Colorado at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

San Diego at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES

N.Y. Mets (Niese 1-2) at Philadelphia (Hamels 0-1), 7:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh (Morton 0-3) at Baltimore (Tillman 3-1), 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta (A.Wood 2-3) at Miami (Fernandez 3-1), 7:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs (E.Jackson 1-2) at Cincinnati (Cingrani 2-2), 7:10 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers (Greinke 4-0) at Minnesota (Gibson 3-1), 8:10 p.m.

Washington (G.Gonzalez 3-1) at Houston (Cosart 1-2), 8:10 p.m.

Milwaukee (Lohse 4-1) at St. Louis (Lynn 4-1), 8:15 p.m.

Colorado (Chatwood 1-0) at Arizona (Bolsinger 1-1), 9:40 p.m.

San Diego (Stults 1-2) at San Francisco (M.Cain 0-3), 10:15 p.m.

NBA PLAYOFFS

By The Associated Press

FIRST ROUND (Best-of-7; x-if necessary)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlanta 2, Indiana 2 April 19: Atlanta 101, Indiana 93 April 22: Indiana 101, Atlanta 85 April 24: Atlanta 98, Indiana 85 April 26: Indiana 91, Atlanta 88 Monday: Atlanta at Indiana (late) Thursday: Indiana at Atlanta, 7 p.m. x-Saturday: Atlanta at Indiana, TBA Miami 3, Charlotte 0

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Colorado 3, Minnesota 2 April 17: Colorado 5, Minnesota 4, OT April 19: Colorado 4, Minnesota 2 April 21: Minnesota 1, Colorado 0, OT April 24: Minnesota 2, Colorado 1 April 26: Colorado 4, Minnesota 3, OT Monday: Colorado at Minnesota (late) x-Wednesday: Minnesota at Colorado, TBA Chicago 4, St. Louis 2 April 17: St. Louis 4, Chicago 3, 3OT April 19: St. Louis 4, Chicago 3, OT April 21: Chicago 2, St. Louis 0 April 23: Chicago 4, St. Louis 3, OT April 25: Chicago 3, St. Louis 2, OT April 27: Chicago 5, St. Louis 1 Anaheim 4, Dallas 2 April 16: Anaheim 4, Dallas 3 April 18: Anaheim 3, Dallas 2 April 21: Dallas 3, Anaheim 0 April 23: Dallas 4, Anaheim 2 April 25: Anaheim 6, Dallas 2 April 27: Anaheim 5, Dallas 4, OT San Jose 3, Los Angeles 2 April 17: San Jose 6, Los Angeles 3 April 20: San Jose 7, Los Angeles 2 April 22: San Jose 4, Los Angeles 3, OT April 24: Los Angeles 6, San Jose 3 April 26: Los Angeles 3, San Jose 0 Monday: San Jose at Los Angeles (late) x-Wednesday: Los Angeles at San Jose, TBA

CLOWNEY FROM PAGE B1 to stay on top of him to make sure he played up to his enormous potential. It was the same situation at South Carolina, where Clowney’s physical ability, fast first step and innate skill at making the big play overshadowed any questions.

It seemed like smooth sailing for the friendly sophomore when he capped his most successful season (school records of 13 sacks and 23 1-2 tackles for loss) with his signature moment: a helmet-popping hit on Michigan’s Vincent Smith in that year’s Outback Bowl.

Smith fumbled and Clowney reached over with one hand to palm the football — a sequence that became mustsee Clowney.

He became a face of college football and his every move was videotaped, broken down and debated. Critics saw him breathing heavily in last season’s opener against North Carolina and said he was out of shape.

Some claimed his lack of production, with just three sacks last season, was because he was saving himself for a pro career.

Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier didn’t help, questioning his player’s commitment when Clowney didn’t suit up against Kentucky last October for what later turned out to be a strained muscle near his ribs.

Spurrier was displeased with his defensive star in the heat of the moment. “If doesn’t want to play, he doesn’t have to play. Simple as that,’’ the coach said after beating Kentucky last Oct. 5.

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014 Spurrier later acknowledged he was more upset that protocol for Clowney’s absence wasn’t followed, and says the Gamecocks wouldn’t have this run of recent success _ 33-6 the past three years — without Clowney on the field.

The scrutiny has intensified since Clowney announced after the Capital One Bowl in January he was giving up his final season of eligibility to go to the NFL. His judgment has been questioned regarding speeding tickets — two in December — and his limiting private workouts.

Just this week ESPN analyst Merrill Hoge said Clowney, while gifted, was “atrocious’’ when it came to the game’s fundamentals.

His ESPN colleague, Mel Kiper Jr., thinks Clowney has it all and should be the No. 1 pick.

“I don’t know how you can take anybody over Clowney,’’ Kiper said Wednesday. “He’s a once-inevery-20-year guy.’’

Clowney tried to tune out the critics and concentrate on preparing for the NFL. His skills look as honed as ever after running a 4.53 second 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine in February, and putting on a show at South Carolina’s pro day earlier this month. Among those attending were Texans coach Bill O’Brien, defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and general manager Rick Smith, all contemplating what to do with that top pick.

Is Clowney tired of effort questions?

“I’ve been tired of it, but you have to keep doing it,’’ he said.

Gamecocks defensive co-

TITLES FROM PAGE B1 was chosen as the tournament most valuable player, and junior Mikay Goyette beat Taylor Lindsay and Valeria Mendoza 8-6.

Haley Elliott and Mollie Polk beat Mylene Petipas and Amanda Long 8-5 at No. 3. The Falcons got their first point when the No. 2 team of Olivia Nelms and Hannah Watson beat Miranda Guthrie and Sarah McDonald 8-6.

Erskine won the first two points in the singles matches as Hallman won at No. 1 and Polk at No. 6 in straight sets. However, the first set of each match was 7-5, Hallman beating Nelms 7-5, 6-1 and Polk topping Brianna Oliver 7-5, 6-0.

“Winning those matches really gave us some momentum,” Parr said. “That was a nice victory for Corin. She went undefeated in conference play in singles and doubles, but she wasn’t selected player of the year (Nelms is the player of the year). We were a bit upset about that; Corin beat her three times.”

Pfeiffer, which was in its first title match, wasn’t ready to go away though. Watson beat McDonald 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) at No. 4, while Pettipas beat Elliott 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 at No. 5 to make it 4-3.

Goyette gave Erskine the victory in No. 3 singles, rallying from a set down to beat Mendoza 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Goyette and Polk joined Hallman on the all-tournament team along with Watson

|

B5

ordinator Lorenzo Ward said Clowney has things to work on, such as improving his play against the run.

But “the NFL is a passing league and that’s what he is gifted at doing,’’ Ward said.

“It’s not like he has to play run every down. He can chase the quarterback a lot and they can use him schematically to do that.’’

Ward believes Clowney earned some of the inquiries coming his way.

“I think there is a lot of good and bad to some of the things that happened to JD,’’ he said. “I think some of the situations that happened, he put himself in.’’

For Carroll, Clowney’s always taken in criticism and worked to disprove the harsh words.

“That’s what motivates him and that will always carry him to be better,’’ said Carroll, who’s remained close to Clowney and will be in New York for the draft.

“He’ll succeed, just like he always had.’’

Kiper didn’t see a lack of hustle, just a premier player double-teamed and chipblocked by opponents to keep him from making plays.

“I don’t see any (other) defensive end out there the last 20 years that’s been blocked by three guys on a regular basis, and that’s because he’s a great player,’’ Kiper said.

Clowney is ready to silence critics as an NFL star.

He’s draws strength from family and teammates when the questioning gets to be too much.

“They tell me, `Don’t worry about it,’’’ he said.

“Just go out and keep working because it’s going to get better.’’

and Lindsay of Pfeiffer, Franchesa Cheppi of Mount Olive and Alexandra Boulbin of Limestone.

Mount Olive will take an 18-1 record into the NCAAs after its victory over Barton, which finished at 14-7. The Trojans went 2-1 in the doubles matches and rolled to easy wins in Nos. 1-3 singles to secure the title.

MVP Matt Finnerty defeated Barton’s Rafael Ruiz Velasco 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 singles and teamed with Henric Falkenberg at No. 2 doubles to beat Yaxi Pintado and Jorge Pradilla 8-0.

The Bulldogs won at No. 1 doubles as Jake McCartney and Velasco defeated Edgar Bub and Rik Wolthuis 8-6. The Trojans won another hotly contested doubles match with the No. 3 team of Stanley Roffe and Brahm Moolman beating Max Leppert and Nick Genest 8-6.

“In Division II, doubles are so important because they make up 33 percent of your matches,” Coghill said. “If you come out of there 2-1 or 3-0, that really puts the pressure on the other team’s singles players.”

Barton actually tied the match at 2-2 with Daniel Radu beating Moolman 6-2, 6-1 at No. 6 singles. However, Finnerty won his match and Falkenberg beat Leppert 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 to put MO up 4-2. Bub followed with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over McCartney at No. 1 to wrap up the match.

Joining Finnerty on the all-tournament Team were Bub and Wolthuis, Velasco, Genest, Rodrigo Avila of King and Stefano Soares of Limestone.

B6

|

OBITUARIES | SPORTS

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

SHIRLEY VanVOORHIS Shirley Bryan VanVoorhis, age 65, beloved wife of the late Roy VanVoorhis, died on Friday, April 25, 2014, at her residence.

She was born in Lumberton, North Carolina, a daughter of the late Ellis J. and Beluah McLamb Bryan. VanVOORHIS She formerly worked in security. She was of the Baptist faith. She will always be remembered as a very loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and mother-in-law.

Surviving are a son, Randy Milton Odom and his wife, Melinda, of Sumter; a daughter, Melinda Phillips and her husband, Bill, of Sumter; two brothers, Danny Bryan and Wayne Bryan, both of Lumberton; three sisters, Patricia Meraz, Faye Bryan and Jean Ristuccia; three grandchildren, Taylor Odom, Susan Casselman and her husband, Matt, of Manning and Braxton Phillips; and three greatgrandchildren, Mattison, Emma and Hallie.

A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. today at the Bullock Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Jock Hendrix officiating.

The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service from 6 to 7 p.m. today at Bullock Funeral Home.

Memorials may be made to Beacon Hospice, 2635A Hardee Cove, Sumter, SC 29150 or to All God’s Creatures, 3221 Camden Highway, Dalzell, SC 29040.

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

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

over the years and always spoke highly of all of the patients she assisted. She was well known throughout the community for her hospitality. She always had delicious food, especially pound cakes and tea cakes, to share with others. She was a member of New Zion United Methodist Church.

She is survived by two sons, Dallas Benton Blakely (Donnie) of New Zion and Robert Steve Blakely (Roxanne) of Kingsland, Georgia; four grandchildren, Tina Huggins (Scott) of New Zion, Blair Massey (Drew) of Atlanta, Georgia, Tiffany Myers (Nick) of Myrtle Beach and Brittany Blakely of Charleston; and two great-grandchildren, Colin Blakely Myers and Evan Nicholas Myers.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at New Zion United Methodist Church with the Rev. Joanne Lockard-Hawkins officiating.

Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

Pallbearers will be Tommy Benton, Terry Benton, Michael Blakely, Marvin Osborne, Harold Blakely and Al Hicks.

Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Stephens Funeral Home.

The family would like to thank Dr. Raymond Allen and his staff, as well as Lois Bryant and Alta Faye Welch for all of their love, care and personal attention provided to Mrs. Blakely during her years of need.

Memorials may be made to New Zion United Methodist Church, c/o Mary Emma DuBose, P.O. Box 33, New Zion, SC 29111.

Stephens Funeral Home & Crematory, 304 N. Church St., Manning, is in charge of arrangements, (803) 435-2179. www.stephensfuneralhome.org

MARTLEW Q. GILLETT

Bullock Funeral Home & Crematorium GLADYS B. BLAKELY NEW ZION — Gladys Benton Blakely, 89, widow of L. Dallas Blakely, died on Saturday, April 26, 2014, at McLeod Regional Medical Center, Florence.

Born on June 20, 1924, in Kingstree, she was a daughter of the late Garris and BLAKELY Janie Morris Benton. Mrs. Blakely graduated from Salem High School and the Scranton Nursing Assistant Program. She took pride in being a homemaker as well as working outside of the home as a nursing assistant / private sitter. She worked with many families

BARTOW, Fla. — Martlew Q. Gillett passed away on Friday, April 25, 2014, at Highland Lakes Center in Lakeland, Florida, due to complications from a stroke.

He was born on July 28, 1934, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Marty and his wife moved to Bartow in 1962 GILLETT after his graduation from the University of Utah with a degree in geological engineering. He was employed by W.R. Grace in the mining operations. He was a registered engineer in the state of Florida. At Grace, he held various engineering and management positions and retired in 1991 after 29 years. He also served four years in the U.S. Air Force and received his commission and navigator wings in 1956. He was a mem-

ber of AIME (American Institute of Mining Engineers). He was a former active member of the Lakeland Rifle and Pistol Club.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Lucia Shaw Gillett of Bartow; daughter, Karen G. Boswell (Lex) of Bartow and daughter Marcia A. Gillett of Windermere, Florida.

He was a wonderful and loving husband and father, always making time and being there for his family.

Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at Wildwood Cemetery. The Rev. Roy Lowe of First United Methodist Church of Bartow will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Children’s Cancer Center, 4901 W. Cypress St., Tampa, FL 33607, www.childrenscancercenter.org or to First United Methodist Church of Bartow, 310 S. Broadway Ave., Bartow.

Condolences can be made to the family at www.WhiddenMcLeanFuneralHome.com.

THE SUMTER ITEM SC 29102.

Online condolences may be made sent to www.sumterfunerals.com.

Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements.

PISANO H. BARNO

CLEO G. WEEKS Cleo Gelena Weeks, 81, died on Sunday, April 27, 2014, at the home of her daughter.

Services will be announced

by Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, (803) 7759386.

Pisano H. Barno, 72, husband of Pauline K. Barno, died on Sunday, April 27, 2014, at the Dorn VA Medical Center in Columbia.

Born in Richland County, he was a son of the late Phenis and Sadie Durant Barno.

The family will receive friends at the Barno residence, 2931 McCord Ferry Road, Eastover.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Palmer Memorial Chapel Inc. of Sumter.

JOSEPH RILEY

BETTY JEAN WILLIAMS Betty Jean Williams, 62, widow of Albert Williams II, departed this life on Sunday, April 27, 2014, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center.

She was born June 14, 1951, in Sumter, a daughter of the late Willie and Juanita Anderson Johnson.

The family will be receiving friends at the home, 935 Mayfield Drive, Sumter.

Funeral plans are incomplete and will be announced later by Job’s Mortuary Inc. of Sumter.

neral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 775-9386.

SYLVESTER DAWSON Sylvester Dawson, 60, husband of Lou Ella Spann Dawson, died on Sunday, April 27, 2014, at his daughter’s residence in Dalzell.

Born in Sumter County, he was a son of the late Evans and Beulah Carryall Dawson.

The family will receive friends at the home, 2545 S.C. 261 North, Dalzell.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Palmer Memorial Chapel Inc. of Sumter.

JAMES A. BOYCE

ISABELLE G. RIDGILL

James A. “Jim” Boyce, 87, widower of Alpha A. Boyce, died on Saturday, April 26, 2014, at a local nursing facility.

Born in St. Charles, Arizona, he was a son of the late James Boyce and Etta F. Brewer. Mr. Boyce was a member of New Start Community Church of the Nazarene. He was a World War II veteran, having served in the Pacific Theatre and was retired from Evans Trailers.

He is survived by a sister, Mary Smith (Vic) of Phoenix, Arizona; a brother, Jessie T. Boyce (Nancy) of Glendale, Arizona; one stepdaughter; four stepsons; and numerous step-grandchildren.

In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by a sister, Pat Alacorn; and three stepsons.

Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. today in Evergreen Memorial Park cemetery with the Rev. Dale Turner officiating.

Memorials may be made to New Start Community Church of the Nazarene, 4686 JW Rhames Road, Manning,

Isabelle Grooms Ridgill, 82, widow of Theodore “Ted” Ridgill, died on Monday, April 28, 2014, at a local nursing center.

Born in Sumter, she was a daughter of the late Willie Reese and Anne Elizabeth Baker Grooms. Mrs. Ridgill was a member of Faith Baptist Church.

Surviving are one sister, Nancy Barwick of Sumter; two sisters-in-law, Inez Grooms and Opal Grooms, both of Sumter; and a number of nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by a sister, Elise Evans.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Chapel of Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home with the Rev. Ron Underwood officiating. Burial will be in Evergreen Memorial Park cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home and other times at the home, 510 Mikom Road.

Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals. com.

Elmore Hill McCreight Fu-

Joseph Riley entered eternal rest on Monday, April 28, 2014, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center.

Born in Clarendon County, he was a son of the late Jacob and Phronie Hampton Riley.

The family is receiving relatives and friends at the home of his sister, the Rev. Mary L. Brailsford, 3820 Pinewood Road, Sumter.

Funeral plans will be announced by Community Funeral Home of Sumter.

LORETTA S. ISAAC Loretta Swinton Isaac entered eternal rest on Saturday, April 26, 2014, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center.

Born on Sept. 8, 1958, in Sumter, she was a daughter of the late Sammie Bracey and Julia Mae James Swinton.

The family is receiving relatives and friends at the home, 209 Houser St., Sumter.

Funeral plans will be announced by Community Funeral Home of Sumter.

EVA CLARK Eva Mae Dennis Clark, 65, wife of James Clark, died on Saturday, April 26, 2014, at Washington Hospital Center, Washington, District of Columbia.

Born on June 14, 1948, in Sumter County, she was a daughter of the late Rev. Abe D. and Sarah Alston Dennis.

The family will receive friends and relatives at the home of her sister and brother-in-law, Ruth and Whitt Deas, 5530 Dinkins Mill Road, Rembert.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Williams Funeral Home Inc. of Sumter.

PRO BASKETBALL

Hall of Fame coach Ramsay dies at 89

BY TIM REYNOLDS The Associated Press MIAMI — Jack Ramsay, a Hall of Fame coach who led the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship before he became one of the NBA’s most respected broadcasters, has died following a long battle with cancer.

He was 89.

RAMSAY Ramsay coached in the NBA for parts of 21 seasons before embarking on a second career as an NBA analyst for ESPN. He was diagnosed with melanoma in 2004 and later battled growths and tumors that spread to his legs, lungs and brain, as well as prostate cancer and most recently a marrow syndrome.

He was born in 1925, in Philadelphia and enrolled at Saint Joseph’s in 1942, eventually becoming captain of the basketball team.

Ramsay’s biggest impact on Hawk Hill would be when he started coaching his alma mater in 1955. He was wildly successful there, going 234-72 and taking the Hawks to the NCAA tournament seven times and the Final Four in 1961.

Call (803) 774-1200 and subscribe today.

Your community connection

B7

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COMICS

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

BIZARRO

SOUP TO NUTZ

ANDY CAPP

GARFIELD

BEETLE BAILEY

BORN LOSER

BLONDIE

ZITS

MOTHER GOOSE

DOG EAT DOUG

DILBERT

JEFF MACNELLY’S SHOE

Photo-happy grandparents need to change view DEAR ABBY — My husband and I have been married for three years and have two beautiful children.

Dear Abby Shortly before our first ABIGAIL child was VAN BUREN born, my inlaws bought a new camera. They bring it along to every visit and constantly take pictures of all of us. Neither my husband nor I likes having our pictures taken. My in-laws have thousands of pictures of all of us already.

The biggest problem is that they don’t have a relationship with their grandchildren be-

THE SUMTER ITEM

cause of this. They complain that the kids “don’t like them.”

They feel they should therefore visit more often, but in reality, these visits consist of nonstop photo-snapping, and no quality time is spent with either of the children. How do I make this stop without causing problems?

Out of focus in New York DEAR OUT OF FOCUS — A diplomatic approach would be to suggest to your in-laws that they “shoot” only for a limited time when they visit -- no longer than the first 10 minutes.

Explain that you realize the kids are growing and changing quickly, and you understand their desire to record all of it, but the children need a deeper kind of interaction with their grandparents in order to form

THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

a positive bond with them.

Then suggest some ways they can relate to the little ones after the camera is put away.

If they balk, tell them the reason their grandchildren don’t seem to like them is that children need face-to-face and eye contact, and the camera has prevented it from happening. If they’re smart, they’ll listen.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips.

Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Abby shares more than 100 of her favorite recipes in two booklets: “Abby’s Favorite Recipes” and “More Favorite Recipes by Dear Abby.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $14 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Cookbooklet Set, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

(Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

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.

ACROSS 1 Cabbage side 5 Airplane maneuver 10 Cookbook amts.

14 Go it alone 15 Wild West movie 16 Peter Fonda’s beekeeper 17 Nursery school adhesive 18 Generic product 20 Southern Florida “trail” that’s a portmanteau of the two cities it connects 22 Generating, as interest on an account 23 Move covertly 25 Bert’s buddy 26 Xbox One, for one 30 Indiana hoopster 31 Aegean island 32 Computer input 36 Hold the title to 37 Referee’s call 41 Young fellow 42 Barely makes, with “out” 44 Toyota __4: SUV model 45 Desert stopover 47 Image on many tie-

dyed shirts 51 Woodland deity 54 Singer Lisa et al.

55 Readying a field, say 58 Fortified position 62 Angler’s “I don’t have to throw this one back,” and hint to the first word of 18-, 26-, 37- and 47-Across 64 Rooney of “60 Minutes” 65 Sly look 66 Packed like sardines 67 Subject of adoration 68 Family chart 69 Group in pews 70 Old-timey “not” DOWN 1 NCO rank 2 Kinks girl who “walks like a woman and talks like a man” 3 University grad 4 Cry of distress 5 Like some rays and dust 6 Spanglish speaker, often 7 “Who am __ argue?”

8 Little more than 9 La __ Tar Pits

10 Show embarrassment 11 Done in, as a dragon 12 Old Finnish cent 13 Marsh plant 19 Belgian composer Jacques 21 Make aware 24 Evel on a bike 26 Stare unsubtly 27 Pimply condition 28 U.S./Canada’s __ Canals 29 Sch. whose mascot is Brutus Buckeye 30 “The Raven” poet 33 Furthermore 34 Wagger on the dog 35 Promos 38 401(k) kin, briefly 39 Apple prod-

uct 40 Burial places 43 Surreptitious data-collecting computer program 46 Choose not to vote 48 Estrada of “CHiPs” 49 “Amen!”

50 Every September, say 51 Like milk on the floor 52 Modify 53 “We’re off __ the wizard ...”

56 Playwright Simon 57 Rowlands of “Gloria” 59 Ancient Andean 60 Fragrance 61 Part of a Broadway address 63 Hawaiian dish

B8

CLASSIFIEDS

THE ITEM

CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS In Memory

803-774-1234 OR TO PLACE YOUR AD ONLINE GO TO WWW.THE ITEM.COM/PLACEMYAD Tree Service

Help Wanted Full-Time

Mobile Home Rentals

Ricky's Tree Service Tree removal, stump grinding, Lic & ins, free quote, 803-435-2223 or cell 803-460-8747.

Independent Living Coordinator Prefer LPN with experience in senior living. Coordinate supports and services for seniors living in CCRC apartments. Supervises staff providing non-medical services to seniors. Must have excellent hospitality skills. Full time salaried position.

Apply in person to : Covenant Place 2825 Carter Road Sumter, SC 29150 EOE

E. Brewington Rd. near Mayewood School, 3BR/2BA DWMH. $550/mo + $550/SD. NO Section 8.

Call 803-934-6845 or 803-938-3174

MERCHANDISE Garage, Yard & Estate Sales LARGE GARAGE SALE 1st & 3rd Weekend Tables $1 & Up FLEA MARKET BY SHAW AFB

Open every weekend.

905-4242

In Loving Memory Of Mrs. Edith M. Smith 08/16/1940 - 04/29/2013 We knew little that morning, God was going to call your name, In life we loved you dearly, In death we do the same. It broke our hearts to lose you. You did not go alone.

For part of us went with you the day God called you home. You left us beautiful memories, your love is still our guide, and though we cannot see you, you are always at our side. Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same, but as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again.

Your loving children

Cheryl Bailey Kelly 9/10/56-04/29/04 Forever in our hearts.

We miss you so much.

Love, your family .

BUSINESS SERVICES Business Services Carpet Cleaning Any Room $10 Call 443-225-9888

Home Improvements H.L. Boone, Contractor additions, painting, roofing, gutters, sheetrock, blown ceilings, decks. 773-9904

Lawn Service Taylor's Lawn Care Dependable and Affordable Call 803-651-0125 Four Seasons Lawn Care Serving Sumter for almost 20 yrs!

Free est. 494-9169/468-4008

Tree Service NEWMAN'S TREE SERVICE Tree removal , trimming & stump grinding. Lic & Ins.

803-316-0128

A Notch Above Tree Care Full quality service low rates, lic./ins., free est BBB accredited 983-9721

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

For Sale or Trade I buy used Utility and Car trailers.

Call 803-972-0900 Martin's Used Appliance Washers, Dryers, Refrig., Stoves.

Guarantee 464-5439 or 469-7311

Expert Tech, New & used heat pumps & A/C. Will install/repair, warranty; Compressor & labor $600. Call 803-968-9549 or 843-992-2364 All furniture is good quality, clean and in good shape. 3 pc Entertainment center $500, Solid Oak Queen Headboard, Chest and night table $300, Super nice curved sofa with 2 recliners on ends $800, 2 end tables and coffee table $600, table and 4 chairs $350, table with 4 chairs $250 Solid Rosewood shelf with doors $300, Wood desk with file cabinet $200, 2 Wall ovens works good $300, Solid Oak table Bar height with 2 stools, $400, several tv's not flat screens, pictures are good 26' (1) 19' with dvd & video player $75 each.

Call 803-494-4220, 803-565-0056.

EMPLOYMENT Help Wanted Full-Time CPC Logistics Inc. is hiring Full & Part time Class A Regional OTR Drivers for a private fleet operation in Timmonsville SC. We require min. 2 yrs OTR experience, min 24 yrs old, good MVR and Safety Record. This position requires Hazmat endorsement. We offer .31 cent per mi. $12 per hour, increased after 90 days. Full health coverage and paid vacations and holidays. Contact CPC 1- 800 -274- 3756 or email: m.petway@callcpc.com for an application.

Drivers Wanted- Hiring drivers to run from SC to PA. Avg trip 3 days. Competitive pay. Need 2 years exp and Class A CDL. Clean driving record. Great home time.

Health and Life Insurance. Vacation pay. Call 800-334-7503 Charles D. Goodwin Inc. FT MAINTENANCE PERSON needed for a senior apartment community in Sumter. Qualified candidate must have their own tools, valid driver's license, be motivated, organized and results oriented. Painting and cleaning involved. Our company offers competitive salary and benefits.

Must pass criminal check and drug screening. Applications may be picked up at 60 Hillard Drive, Sumter, SC or call 803-934-1449 for information.

Looking for a Poultry farm Manager needs to be energetic, detail oriented, some maintenance background. Must have a valid DL and equipment operating exp. Salary Position. Please send resume to Box 288 c//o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151

Kennel help & Receptionist needed. Apply in person at 87 Market St. Total Pet Care.

Help Wanted Part-Time $$$ AVON $$$ FREE TRAINING! 803-422-5555 Deliver Phone Books Work Your Own Hours, Have Insured Vehicle, Must be at Least 18 yrs old, Valid DL. No Experience Necessary.

1-800-518-1333 x 224 www.deliverthephonebook.com Customer Service Representatives needed. Apply in person Polar Bear Cleaners 1087 B Alice Dr for Sumter/Manning

Trucking Opportunities F/T & P/T Class-A CDL Drivers needed to work night shifts hauling live chickens and/or protein in Sumter, SC. Must have 2-yrs verifiable experience and good MVR. Local positions, drivers are home daily, and company offers benefits. Call Danny at 803-236-0682 Long Haul flatbed drivers wanted. CDL Class A. 3 years experience and 25 yrs old required with a clean 10 year MVR. Well maintained equipment. Excellent commission based pay.

Steady freight. Call 843-906-7833 Truck Driver Trainees Needed Now at US EXPRESS Earn $800/wk Local CDL Training NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED! Be trained & based locally!

1-888-263-7364

Work Wanted I will sit with elderly or sick. Will provide ref/exp. Call 803-236-3603 for more info.

RENTALS Unfurnished Apartments Senior Living Apartments for those 62+ (Rent based on income) Shiloh-Randolph Manor 125 W. Bartlette.

775-0575 Studio/1 Bedroom apartments available EHO 2BR/2BA, Close to Sumter Mall.

All appl & water included, W/D hookup. $625/mo + dep. (803) 491-5618. Avail now.

2BR 1 BA MH partially furnished on N. Brewington in Clarendon Co. Call 803-473-3100 or 803-410-1241.

STATEBURG COURTYARD 2 & 3 BRs 803-494-4015

Vacation Rentals Waterfront @ Lake Marion 3BR 2BA DW $700/Mo. + Dep 2BR 1BA SW $525/Mo. + Dep. Call 803 983-9035 or 773-6655

Office Rentals Office rentals: 712 Bultman Dr. Downstairs •(2) offices suite w/outside entrance. $300/mo.

Upstairs: •450 sq ft, (2) offices $325/mo.

•250 sq ft (1) lg office $225/mo.

•170 sq ft $165/mo •300 sq ft lg office $275 o •265 sq ft (2) office $250/mo.

469-9294 or 491-6905

Beautiful 6BR/4BA home. Den, LR, DR, Lg kitchen w/Island, W/D hook-up. Featuring hardwood tile and carpet. Over-sized BRs & BAs. Huge fenced yard.

Back/front patio. Like new. $1,250/mo + $1,250/dep. Call 803-316-7958 or 803-773-1838 between 9am-6pm Mon-Fri. 3BR/ 2.5BA, 1900 sq ft. $850/mo + dep. Call William Anderson 803-775-0425 3BR 2BA House w/garage , range, fridge., like new condition.

Conv. to Shaw & Sumter $800 Mo. Call 803-934-0300 or 803-840-7633

Mobile Home Rentals Oaklawn MHP: 2 BR M.H.'s, water/sewer/garbage pk-up incl'd.

RV parking avail. Call 494-8350

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.

Estate Notice Sumter County

TRANSPORTATION

NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF ESTATES Autos For Sale 1991 Ford Escort, excellent condition. Very clean inside/out.

Gas saver. $3,000 OBO. Call 803-447-5453 98' Honda Prelude Sh 5sp vortex engine, leather seats, a/c $3700 Call 803-938-3324 A Guaranteed Credit Approval AUTO LOANS We will arrange financing even if you have been turned down before.

Loans available for no credit, bad credit, 1st Time Buyers & Bankruptcy buyers. No co-signers needed. Call Mr. Ashley Brown at 803-926-3235

OPEN Ernest Baker Auto Sales & Equip. Located 3349 N. Main St 5.5 miles from 378 overpass at N. Main., on Hwy 15 N. next to Baker Mini Warehouse. Remember Cars are like Eggs, Cheaper in the Country!!! 803-469-9294 SUMMER SALE 200 cars $4,500 or less $$$ CASH $$$ Price is Right Auto Sales 3210 Broad St 803-494-4275

Miscellaneous

Persons having claim against the following estates are required to deliver or mail their claims to the indicated Personal Representatives, appointed to administer these estates, and to file their claims on Form #371PC with the Probate Court of Sumter County Courthouse, N. Main Street, Sumter, SC, 29150, on or before the date that is eight months after the date of the first publication of this Notice to Creditors, (unless previously barred by operation of Section 62-3-803), or such persons shall be forever barred as to heir claims. All claims are required to be presented in written statements, indicating the name and the address of the claimant, the basis of the claim, the amount claimed, the date when the claim will become due, the nature of any uncertainty as to the amount claimed and the date when due, and a description of any security as to the claim.

Estate:

Estate:

Tiffany Lewis C/O Garryl L. Deas Attorney At Law PO Box 1211 Sumter, SC 2915 Estate:

REAL ESTATE

Crosswell- Newly remodeled brick home. Apprx 1,500 sq ft.

3BR/1BA, hdwd floors. $600/mo + dep. Owner fin. 803-464-5757

Manufactured Housing (2) 4BR/2BA (Dalzell, 15S). Easy Financing. 983-8084 Very Nice 4BR DW on 5 ac.

Owner fin. w/large down payment or boat trade. Call 803-236-5953 Looking for your DREAM HOME? LOW CREDIT SCORE? Been turned down for bad credit?

Come try us, we do our own financing. We have 3-4-5 bedroom homes. Layaway program available. For more information, call 843-389-4215.

Farms & Acreage For Sale By Owner, 10 Acres, 8 miles to Sumter. $55,000. Owner Financing 803-427-3888.

Land & Lots for Sale 3.1 acres, 385 W. Foxworth Mill Rd. $15,500 + closing cost. Will Perk. Call 803-607-9500 Minutes Walmart/Shaw, 1 Ac $6,000. 16.2 ac $32,600. Water, Electric, Paved 800-774-5720

RECREATION

Boats / Motors 1985 13'11 Polar Kraft with 1985 3.5 HP Johnson Motor w/trailer Asking $1500 OBO 803 795-9654

Autos For Sale

Ashby White #2014ES4300248

Personal Representative

Veronica Willis-Knight C/O Jeffrey T. Eady Attorney At Law 109 Wappoo Creek Dr Ste 1-A Charleston, SC 29412

Estate:

(Sumter) W. Sherwood Dr- Brick 3BR 1BA 1016 sq ft. attached garage.

Lease or Cash. $1,000/down & $605/mo.

877-499-8065

Tyrus Archie #2014ES4300241

Personal Representative

Eugene William Dick #2014ES4300229

Personal Representative Linda A. Dick C/O Kenneth Hamilton Attorney At Law PO Box 52359 Sumter, SC 29152

Church Building in Mayesville located on Willow St. for rent.

Contact 803-453-5187 or 803-775-3975

Homes for Sale

Pauline H. Potts #2014ES4300230

Personal Representative Susan P. Simpson C/O Kenneth Hamilton PO Box 52359 Sumter, SC 29152

Estate:

Commercial Rentals

Unfurnished Homes Safe, Affordable 2BR home.

Appl's, water, dumspter, sec. lights inc'd. Conv. Shaw. No H/A or PETS! $485/mo + $350/dep. 803-983-0043

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.

Reconditioned batteries $35. Also have lawn mower, truck, 4 wheeler, & marine batteries, starters & alternators. Car dealers/garages ask about special prices.

Auto Electric Co. 803-773-4381

LEGAL NOTICES Legal Notice NOTICE OF SUMTER BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS PUBLIC HEARING The Sumter City-County Board of Zoning Appeals will hold a regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers located on the Fourth Floor of the Opera House (21 North Main Street, Sumter, South Carolina). The following request is scheduled for public hearing: BOA-14-03, 12389 Lynches River Rd. (County) The applicant is requesting Special Exception approval for a Drinking Place as required per Article 3, Section 3.n.4.j Drinking Places (SIC Code 5813), Article 3, Exhibit 5 and Article 5, Section 5.b.3.e Special Design Review Criteria.

The property is located at 12389 Lynches River Rd. and is represented by Tax Map #380-00-02-016 and zoned Agricultural Conservation.

Documents pertaining to the proposed request(s) are on file in the Office of the Sumter City-County Planning Department and are available to be inspected and studied by interested citizens.

Personal Representative Michael Brodie C/O Ruben Gray Attorney At Law PO Box 2636 Sumter, SC 29151

Estate:

Public Hearing PUBLIC NOTICE Oswego Rural Water Co. Inc, proposes to file an application for a loan/grant with Rural Utilities, a division of Rural Development, and will hold a public meeting on Monday May 12, 2014 at its office located at 3060 Oswego Hwy at 7:30pm. The purpose of the meeting is to give an opportunity to become acquainted with a proposed Rural Utilities project, consisting generally of Expanding the system.

Citizen will have the opportunity to comment on such items as economic and environmental impacts, service area and alternatives to the project.

Estate:

Michael G. White, Sr. #2014ES4300252 Personal Representative Barbara E. White 2320 Lloyd Drive Sumter, SC 29154

Estate:

Robert Blair #2014ES4300235

Personal Representative Carolyn Blair 2334 Mt. Vernon Drive Sumter, SC 29154

Estate:

Virginia Evely #2014ES4300250

Personal Representative

Margaret Lawson 720 Orlando Circle Sumter, SC 29154 Estate:

Vurnese Seignious #2014ES4300238

Personal Representative Lisa Seignious and Michael R. Miles 120 Bellamy Loop # 14C Bronx, New York 10475

Estate:

Lucille Ashley #2014ES4300233

Personal Representative Ivan L. Kelly 1312 Cross Hill Road Hopkins, SC 29061

Estate:

Loretta Heyward #2014ES4300246

Personal Representative

Bernard Heyward 6530 Middleton Road Wedgefield, SC 29168 Lucious D. Smith #2014ES4300223

Personal Representative Olean Stewart C/O Larry C. Weston Attorney At Law 201 N. Main Street Sumter, SC 29150 Estate:

Fred F. McMillon #2014ES4300255 Personal Representative Shirley McMillon 107 Cherokee Road Sumter, SC 29150

Estate: Jerome Clinton Griffin #2014ES4300249 Personal Representative

Jeremy Herbert Griffin 2622 N. Rocky River Road Lancaster, SC 29720 Estate:

Altomese Cooper #2014ES4300231

Personal Representative Isaac Cooper 895 One Mile Road Gable, SC 29051

Estate: Projects funded by Rural Utilities, Rural Development are equal opportunity programs and discrimination in the program is prohibited by federal law.

Marvin T. Lyne #2014ES4300239

Personal Representative Linda Beardsley C/O Kenneth Hamilton Attorney At Law PO Box 52359 Sumter, SC 29152

Estate: SUMTER COUNTY COUNCIL Larry Blanding, Chairman Mary Blanding, Clerk

Lilla Mae Bailey #2014ES4300240

Jessie Neat #2014ES4300245

Personal Representative

Lisa Cooper C/O J/Cabot Seth Attorney At Law PO Box 1268 Sumter, SC 29151 Estate:

Alice B. Newmuis #2014ES4300254 Personal Representative Miraim Roman and Johnnie L. Roman, SR. 1625 Radical Road Sumter, SC 29153

Estate:

Charles Eli Robinson #2014ES4300237

Personal Representative Danyiel M. Robinson 1696 Indaba Way Charleston, SC 29414

Nancy Harrison: Grill or smoke?

C4 SECTION

C

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014 Online: www.theitem.com/clarendon_sun | Call: (803) 435-4716 | E-mail: jim@theitem.com

DOT seeks public comment on U.S. 301 bridges

BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com (803) 774-1272 What’s your opinion of the Pudding Swamp bridge on U.S. 301?

The answer to that question could determine whether a proposed multi-million-dollar plan to replace two Clarendon County bridges goes forward in the near future.

From now through May 6, the S.C. Department of Transportation is accepting public comment on its rankings of bridges across the state, including two in Pudding Swamp. The public’s opinion of those rankings, positive and negative, could determine how soon the local bridges get replaced.

The state DOT commission has set a priority list of 26 bridges, and two adjacent culverts, spread over 19 counties.

The highest ranked bridges at the end of the process will be the first to be replaced under the Federal Aid Bridge Replacement Program.

“The public comments determine whether the public agrees on which bridges are in need, or if a lot of comments say No. 20 is more in need than No. 5, then (the commission) will consider it,” said Mark Lester, the acting deputy secretary for intermodal planning.

On the current list, one bridge is ranked at No. 16, and the other at No. 18.

Both are on U.S. 301 between Pudding Swamp Road and Salem Road. DOT estimates the cost of replacing the bridges at $2,680,000 each.

The full list of projects, including maps of the area affected, is available online at www.scdot.org/inside/public_ comment.aspx. A hard copy of the material is available for review locally at the Santee-Lynches Council of Governments at 36 W. Liberty St., Sumter.

“If someone comes here we can give them assistance in reviewing the documents or even help them do it on the computer,” said O.J. Papucci, the transportation coordinator at Santee-Lynches.

“Then we forward any comments to DOT.” Lester said the soonest work may begin on approved projects is five to six years from now, which he said is a quick turnaround for a road project.

“At DOT, a long-term project is 20 years,” he said, “but to the general public, this would be considered long term.”

Bridges will be replaced as federal funding becomes available, based on their cost and final ranking. The former may be beyond the public’s control, but the latter could be changed if enough people speak out.

“We’re always interested in public comments. Even if something comes in a day late, we incorporate it,” Lester said.

Even after the comment period ends May 6, “there will be more opportunities for the public to be involved,” he said.

“This is not the end, it’s the beginning.”

PHOTOS BY JIM HILLEY/THE CLARENDON SUN

Workers fit together pipe as part of construction on an expansion of the Manning Wastewater Treatment Plant Monday. The plant expansion will double the plant’s capacity to treat wastewater before it is released into the Pocotaligo River.

Work begins on Manning Wastewater Treatment Plant M

ANNING – The City of Manning has begun construction on the Phase I Expansion of its Wastewater Treatment Plant. This facility, located on the east side of Manning along the Pocotaligo River, will double the plant’s treatment capacity in response to the growing demand for wastewater service in Manning and Clarendon County.

Manning City Manager Scott Tanner said work began on the plant from two to three weeks ago.

“It’s a pretty big deal,” he said.

“We are at 2.4 million gallons per day, and it will double our capacity to 5 million gallons a day, which is a good thing for development and industry.”

The Planning Study for this project was completed in 2009 as the city’s usage and future service commitments began to approach

the capacity of the Manning WWTP. Approximately 82 percent of its treatment capacity is currently in use or has been formally committed.

The budget for Phase I of the expansion program is approximately $8.2 million and includes an influent pumping station, a screening/ grit removal facility, installation of ultraviolet light disinfection, a post-aeration facility, a laboratory, an emergency generator and related items. Phase II will include the construction of new sequencing batch reactors, and Phase III will include construction of biosolids management improvements.

The United States Department of Agriculture-Rural Development (USDA-RD) is providing funding assistance for all phases. For Phase I, this includes a grant of $1.6 million, a long-term low interest loan

of $6 million, and a local match of $525,000. The local match represents the cost allocation fee due to the city from the Town of Summerton, as Summerton interconnects with the wastewater system. Terms of the City of Manning loan include a 40-year payback period at an interest rate of 2 percent.

Hybrid Engineering Inc. of Columbia is serving as the city’s engineer for the expansion project.

Construction bids for Phase I were opened late in 2013, and the construction contract was awarded to State Utility Contractors Inc. of Monroe, N.C. Work has been under way since late March, and construction is expected to be complete in early 2015.

Construction of the later phases is projected to cost approximately $12 million and should begin later this year.

Blackwell exhibition creative, thought provoking A REVIEW BY JANE G. COLLINS Special to The Clarendon Sun “Hey, that’s me!” My excited student pointed to a large picture by Tarleton Blackwell depicting children on a merry-goround. “He came to our school one year and painted our pictures.” I had brought my English 101 class to USC Sumter’s Tarleton Blackwell exhibit as a starting point for a writing assignment. Although that canvas is not part of the current exhibit, that experience underscores several of Blackwell’s strengths as an artist — his strong community ties and his ability to paint both realistically and creatively.

At first glance, “Tarleton Blackwell: Noble Beasts A MidCareer Retrospective” may seem a collection of whimsical animals — wolves, dogs, roosters, ubiquitous pigs and, of course, human beings. However, his compositions contain a complex mixture of fairy tales, allusions, symbols, personal

PHOTO PROVIDED

Tarleton Blackwell’s “Red Rooster and Cardinal” can be seen in a retrospective of his work through June 20 at the Sumter County Gallery of Art. history and political commentary. It is quite possible to enjoy the artwork for its cleverly portrayed figures and colorful, diverse styles. It is quite possible to spend hours contemplating the intricate interplay and meanings of the compositions. It is even quite possi-

ble to speculate on political overtones and theories and still be left with the enigma that makes Blackwell’s works so fascinating — endless possibilities.

Begun over 30 years ago and comprising 290 pieces on canvas and paper, his hog series features a rural southeastern culture understood by the artist’s own experiences with hog farming. Also important is his inspiration, Spanish artist Diego Velasquez (1599-1660) and his Baroque style. Just as Velasquez portrayed the court jesters and dwarves of King Philip IV with dignity and respect, Blackwell elevates his hogs with an underlying quality of worth. For example, “Hog Series CCX: Las Meninas” (1999) mirrors Valesquez’ court painting, capturing the Infanta Margarita’s wonder at what the artist is doing, and replacing the figures with his own animals. Blackwell inserts his self portrait as the painter just as the Spanish original. Several

pictures utilize the Spanish Maria Teresa, married to Philip IV as a political maneuver, and a piggy bank to underscore a relationship of power and money.

His earlier hog series pictures often capture the reality of butchering and hog farming, a large and important part of Southern culture and his own personal background. As early as 1860, sources estimated that hogs and other Southern livestock accounted for more income than the cotton industry.

“Hog Series XV: Sandra/H. Fox Tindal Farms” (1983) and its graphite version (1984) with its sign “Red Hog with More Meat” reveal the stark reality of butchering. The montage “Hog Series XXXIII: Grand Finale” (1987) celebrates children, hog workers, Swan Lake, dancing and barbecue, cleverly introducing Little Red Riding Hood, the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf at the window. In “Hog Series XXI: Stephanie II”(1986) Blackwell com-

bines a mixture of techniques — realism, cartoonish, playful figures of pigs, farmer and horses, the Three Little Pigs as separate entities and the starkness of hog butchering.

Another large canvas, a surreal visualization of styles and commentary, “Hog Series LXIV: Butcher’s Shop II” (1992) reveals the myriad influences and aspects of Blackwell’s artistic vision: the Rubenesque nude, the 17th-century rider, the wolf teeth bared — the watchful black dog, the gilded table holding the slaughtered pigs, the fireplace for cooking the hog and the mustached Blackwell. The stylized pigs and flowers in the lower right hand corner suggest the ludicrous situation of all that is going on.

Blackwell consumes his paintings with the juxtaposition of the real and unreal: Blackwell as General Cornwallis, pigs that fly, the continued

SEE BLACKWELL, PAGE C4

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CLARENDON SUN

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

BRIEF ENCOUNTERS BRIDGE CLOSING A portion on Liberty Church Road between S-14-262 and S-14-48 in Clarendon County will be closed for approximately two months, as the South Carolina Department of Transportation replaces a bridge. The SCDOT expects the new bridge to be open by June 18.

Motorists will be detoured on 2-14-262 and S-14-262. Some school bus routes in Clarendon School District 2 will be affected.

For more information, call (803) 435-4431.

BASS FISHING TOURNAMENT Sumter Chapter of Delta Waterfowl will hold its Bass Fishing Tournament (twoman team) on Saturday, May 3, at Pack’s Landing. Barbecue chicken plates will be sold for $5 each. Registration will begin at 4:30 a.m. the day of the event. Blast-off will be at safe light in the order of registration. Weigh-in will be at 3 p.m. Entry fee: $50 per boat.

Big fish: $10 per boat. Register at Williams Sporting Goods on Broad Street or Dubose Bait and Tackle on U.S. 15 South, both in Sumter, or online at Facebook/SumterChapterDeltawaterfowl. For more information, call Melvin at (803) 464-9741 or Richard at (803) 720-4269.

WEEKDAYS ON THE WATER Lake Marion is a popular draw for anglers, paddlers and outdoor enthusiasts of every variety. The lake is teeming with cypress swamps and wildlife, making it one of South Carolina’s most desirable paddling destinations.

On May 1-3, Santee State Park will offer visitors the opportunity to take to the lake for a three-and-a-half-hour ranger-guided paddle for the park’s Weekdays on the Water program. The paddle will depart from Spiers Landing and take participants through a cypress swamp to Church Island, where they can visit an old Confederate cemetery and explore the surrounding island.

Kayaks and life preservers will be provided, but guests are more than welcome to bring their own boat. While you don’t need to be an expert paddler to join the tour, the outing is expected to last at least three and a half hours, so some experience is beneficial.

The Weekdays on the Water package also includes a twonight stay in one of Santee’s

THE SUMTER ITEM

PETS OF THE WEEK

cabins, so you’ll have ample time to explore Lake Marion and the surrounding area on your own time. The program costs $200 per person for a single occupancy and $150 per person for double occupancy.

Space is limited to 25 people, so reserve a spot for you and a friend as soon as possible. For more information, contact Santee State Park at (803) 8542408.

MENTORING PROGRAM Rural Leadership InstituteClarendon is beginning a mentoring program, called Operation Generation, for atrisk youths in Clarendon County School District One. Initially, the program will focus on students at Summerton Early Childhood Center and St. Paul Elementary.

The board members of Rural Leadership Institute (RLI) Clarendon are asking adult members of the Clarendon community to volunteer to become mentors.

Often, children simply need to know that someone cares about them and to have a positive role model in their lives.

Mentoring time will take place on school property and only during school hours, possibly during the child’s activity time or lunch. The goal is to have mentors meet with children on a regular basis, for instance, once a week.

Mentors will become volunteers of Clarendon School District One and will go through background checks as well as be given an orientation on being a mentor.

For more information, call Bea Rivers at (803) 485-8164, Lesley Dykes at (803) 707-4901 or email rliclarendoncounty@ gmail.com.

THE TASTE The Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce and Weldon Auditorium will present The Taste, a day of “Homegrown Music, Food and Fun,” sponsored by the Bank of Clarendon on Saturday, May 10. The event will feature food from many different local cooks, caterers and restaurateurs, along with music from Blue Dogs, Blue Plantation Band and Gracious Day. The Taste begins at 2 p.m. on the grounds of Weldon Auditorium.Tickets are $45 in advance, $55 at the door and are available at Weldon and the Chamber of Commerce. For information on sponsorship opportunities, call (803) 435-4405.

CAMP HAPPY DAYS Camp Happy Days is here

again, and donations of hats, T-shirts, sunscreen, toothpaste and other toiletries are sought.

Cash donations are especially needed, as the camp is funded solely from donations. Camp Happy Days gives children with cancer and their siblings a chance to leave worries of hospitals and painful treatments far behind as they plunge into six days of more fun than a child could ever imagine.

“But most of all, we would like donations to help pay the cost of the camp,” Bill Ellis said. “The most important thing for me is that these kids have a great time and they pay nothing for it.

It’s a good cause, and we’ll take any help we can get.”

For more information or to make a donation, call Bill Ellis at 460-7666. For more information on Camp Happy Days, visit www.camphappydays.org.

REPUBLICAN PARTY MEETING The Republican Party of Clarendon County will meet Thursday, May 8, at the Cornerstone Free Will Baptist Church, 2116 Greeleyville Highway, Manning. Supper will be served at 6:30 p.m. and speakers will begin at 7 p.m.

Guest speakers include: State Treasurer Curtis Loftis; Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom; Pat McKinney, a candidate for lieutenant governor; Sally Atwater, a candidate for superintendent of education; and Republican National Committee representative Hope Walker. The public is invited.

Checkers, Mickey, Tang and Skipper Checkers, Mickey, Tang, and Skipper are good buddies who all love being the center of attention. If you’re looking for an affectionate, cuddle buddy, A Second Chance Animal Shelter should be your next stop. It’s a guarantee you’ll have your heart stolen. These guys are about 7 months old, up to date on vaccines and have already been neutered.

You can adopt any or all of these fellows, or one of their feline friends 6 months old and up for a special adoption price of $65 for the month of April.

Meet the four good buddies and their friends at A Second Chance Animal Shelter, 5079 Alex Harvin Highway (U.S. 301), which has numerous pets available for adoption.

Adoption hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. To drop off an animal, call (803) 473-7075 for an appointment. If you’ve lost a pet, check www.ccanimalcontrol.webs.com and www.ASecondChanceAnimalShelter.com.

Subscribe today, and stay in the loop

(803) 774-1200

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CLARENDON SUN

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

Grill or smoke?

G

RILLING: Grilling is cooking food over direct heat. Its intensity is similar to broiling, so tender meats and poultry are best for grilling. A grill is a utensil made of parallel bars on which food is cooked over charcoal, wood or special rocks heated by gas or electricity.

SMOKING: Smoking is cooking food indirectly in the presence of a fire. It can be done in a covered grill if a pan of water is placed beneath the meat Nancy on the grill; or meats can Harrison be smoked in a “smoker,” CLEMSON which is an outdoor EXTENSION cooker especially designed for smoking food.

Smoking is done much more slowly than grilling, so less tender meats benefit from this method, and a natural smoke flavor permeates the meat.

PRE-COOKING MEAT

PREPARATION

SAFE COOKING

Handling: Pack clean, soapy sponges, cloths and wet towelettes for cleaning surfaces and hands. Be sure there are plenty of clean utensils and platters for separately handling the raw foods and the cooked foods. Do not use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry.

Any bacteria present in raw meat or juices can contaminate the safely cooked meat.

This is a prime cause of foodborne illness.

Cooking Equipment: For grilling and smoking, buy good-quality charcoal briquettes or aromatic wood chips. Set the grill or smoker in a well-lit, well-ventilated area GRILLING AWAY FROM HOME away from trees, shrubbery and buildings.

Only use approved fire starter, never gasoWhen carrying food to a picnic site, keep line or paint thinner, for example. Cook it cold to minimize bacterial growth. If take-out foods such as fried chicken or bar- foods in grills made of material approved for contact with meat and poultry. Do not becued beef will be reheated on the grill, grill or smoke foods in makeshift containers and the food will not be eaten within two such as galvanized steel cans or other matehours of pickup, buy them ahead of time rials not intended for cooking. Chemical and chill thoroughly. residue contamination can result.

Place raw meat packages in plastic bags and pack separately from canned drinks Building a Fire: Keep children and pets SAFE MARINATING and ready-to-eat foods that might otherwise away from the fire. Have a squirt bottle of become contaminated. water nearby to control flare-ups. Do not Some recipes state to marinate meat and Use an insulated cooler with sufficient wear baggy clothes. Use flame-resistant poultry for several hours or days, either to ice or ice packs to keep the food at 41ºF. mitts, hot pads and cooking utensils with tenderize or add flavor. Acid in the mariPack food right from the refrigerator into long handles. Follow the manufacturer’s dinade breaks down connective tissue in the cooler immediately before leaving rections for igniting charcoal or preheating meats. This is especially beneficial in lean a gas or electric outdoor cooker. meats, such as “Select” grade, which do not home.

In the car, keep the cooler in the air-conLet charcoal get red-hot with gray ash, have a lot of fat marbling to enhance tenderabout 10-20 minutes depending upon the ness. Always marinate food in the refrigera- ditioned passenger compartment; at the quality. Spread out the charcoal under the tor, not on the counter. If some of the mari- picnic, in the shade or shelter.

Avoid opening the cooler’s lid, which lets grilling surface or bank it around the drip nade is to be used for basting during cooking or as a sauce on the cooked food, reserve cold air out and warm air in. Pack beverag- pan for smoking. Replenish charcoal if neces in one cooler and perishables in another essary for grilling. Add about 15 briquettes a portion of the marinade. Do not put raw cooler. every hour to maintain 225ºF to 300ºF in meat and poultry in it. Do not reuse the When handling raw meat, remove from smoker. For hickory-smoked flavor, add a marinade from raw meat or poultry on the cooler only the amount that will fit on half-cup water-soaked wood chips or flakes cooked food unless it is boiled first to dethe grill. during the last 30 minutes of smoking. stroy any bacteria.

BLACKWELL, FROM PAGE C1 connection of the wolf (and rooster) to the military and power, even the opossum and the law (there is a political observation here) and the lavish Cinderella Series (1997) with its swashbuckling BLACKWELL Blackwell, children and story.

Prismacolor, watercolor and graphite combine in “Hog Series CCXX: The Carolinas” (1999) to celebrate the ecumen-

Some people like to cook food partially in the microwave oven or on the stove to reduce grilling time. Some like to partially grill meats to give it that smoky flavor and then refrigerate or freeze the food to complete the cooking at a later date. Holding partially cooked food is not recommended because any bacteria present would not have been destroyed. If you choose to precook meat or poultry, do so immediately before grilling. Once food is on the grill, cook until it reaches a safe temperature as determined with a meat thermometer.

ical nature of the community.

Excited faces, the courthouse in the background, the eagle, daffodil, flag and his dog reflect the state’s diversity, personal histories and potential.

“Hog Series CLII: The History of Clarendon, SC ” (2004) brings the message closer to home. The students from differing ethnic backgrounds hold the flag, pigs and children are framed with lush greenery, the sign welcomes visitors from 95 and 521 to “ManningMatchless for Beauty and Hospitality.”

Two paintings in particular help translate the underlying seriousness of Blackwell’s perspective. “Hog Series CCXX-

VIII: Precious” (2001) features his dog Precious but encompasses him with other significant ideas—the black soldier unit and cross, the flag, the stuffed teddy bears and the verbal play on the word “precious.” His “Unity Series II: Sisterhood” (1985), a family portrait, captures the intensity of four young girls, their faces intent. Each one has a specific purpose and differing activities, yet they are framed by the symbols of Delta Sigma Theta, a combination that represents a popular African-American Sorority. The girls represent a future that moves beyond tea parties and fixing hair, and, like the older girl, will face the

Cooking Times: Cooking times depend on many factors: type of meat; its size and shape; distance of food from the heat; the temperature of the coals, and the weather.

Cook food to a safe internal temperature and doneness: ground poultry 165ºF; poultry breast 170ºF; whole poultry 180ºF; beef, veal and lamb roasts, steaks and chops 145ºF to 170ºF; pork 160ºF to 170ºF. When using a sauce, apply during the last 15 to 30 minutes of grilling to prevent excess browning or burning.

KEEPING MEAT HOT After cooking meat and poultry on the grill, at home or on a picnic, keep it hot until served. Outdoors, keep the cooked meats hot by setting them to the side of the grill rack, not directly over the coals where they would eventually overcook. At home, the cooked meat can be kept hot in a 200ºF oven, in a chafing dish or slow cooker or on a warming tray. Hold hot, cooked food at 140ºF or warmer.

SERVING AND LEFTOVERS Serving: When taking food off the grill, do not put the cooked item on the same platter that held the raw meat. Any bacteria present in the raw meat juices could contaminate the safely cooked meat or other grilled foods. In hot weather (90ºF and above), food should never sit out for more than one hour.

Leftovers: At home, store leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer within two hours of taking food off the grill. Leftovers that have been off the grill for less than one hour can be safely transported home in a cooler, if there is plenty of ice in it. Discard any food left out more than two hours.

future squarely and confidently.

Blackwell’s artistic skill and his dedication to promoting art in the community emphasize the importance of the exhibit. His work is a visual and intellectual feast, combining glorious color, a variety of artistic styles and a sensitivity for his subject matter. His biographical information reiterates his talent and many achievements. His “Mid-Career Retrospective”allows individuals to experience the creativity and thought-provoking discussions that he reveals through his art work. “Tarleton Blackwell: Noble Beasts A Mid-Career Retrospective”

will remain at the gallery through June 20, 2014.

The Sumter County Gallery of Art, 200 Hasell St. in the Sumter County Cultural Center is open Tuesday through Sunday. Reach the gallery at (803) 775-0543.

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LOCAL | STATE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

‘Lights, Camera, Action’ at prom Wilson Hall senior Gawon Kim, escorted by junior John Eagle Miles, is introduced along with the rest of the senior class during the grand march at the start of Wilson Hall’s 43rd prom.

PHOTOS PROVIDED

Wilson Hall senior class president McKenzie Smith offers the blessing before the senior prom dinner held at the home of Molly and Scott McDuffie. Wilson Hall’s 43rd-annual junior-senior prom, held in the Nash Student Center, was sponsored by the junior class as a gift to the seniors. With the theme of “Lights, Camera, Action,” the gym was decorated from floor to ceiling with scenes from popular movies.

Crews rescue father, 2 kids in Congaree National Park where the family entered the CONGAREE NATIONAL park.

PARK (AP) — Search crews “I was just hollering have found a father and his names,” said Gurtler. “They two children who had been all hollered back.” missing for more than two When they spotted each days in the vast woods and other on opposite sides of a swamps of Congaree National stream, Gurtler tossed over Park in South Carolina, offithree bottles of water. After cials said Tuesday. meeting up, Kimbler told the Dana Soehn of the National officer he had been on the Park Service said rangers had boardwalk that winds through located J.R. Kimbler, his the park but left it to follow 10-year-old son, Dakota, and another trail when he got lost.

6-year-old daughter, Jade. The Kimbler had taken the chilthree — who carried no food, dren to the park in his taxi water or camping equipment cab. The vehicle was found — got lost after taking to the parked near the visitor’s centrails on Saturday afternoon ter Monday. for what was apparently inThe family had tended to be a no food or water short hike. when they were “They were all rescued, but KimOK,” Soehn said bler said they at a news conferdrank water they ence. “They found in the park. looked remarkMeanwhile, mild ably well.” weather — with The three were low temperatures taken to a local in the 60s — hospital for obser- TAMMY BALLARD helped the family vation, officials endure three said.

Mother of children nights in the wild.

Eighty searchmissing for two “I don’t know if ers from nearly a it’s luck,” Gurtler dozen agencies days in Congaree said, of finding searched for the National Park the family just family in the hours before 27,000-acre site storms moved since the father sent a text message late Satur- into the area Tuesday. “It just worked out, fortunately, in our day saying they were lost. favor.”

Crews flew over the entire The park has marked trails, park, but Soehn said ground but beyond the paths are tansearchers combed 9,000 acres gles of old growth trees, on foot and by vehicle before swamps and underbrush. The finding the family. land has become even more Officials closed the park rugged since an ice storm in Monday afternoon during the February knocked down thousearch. An investigative team sands of trees and limbs. from the National Park SerTammy Ballard, the chilvice checked on possible leads dren’s mother, was at the park outside the park. during the search, walking Park Ranger Jared Gurtler down trails, calling their said he was elated to hear names.

Kimbler respond when he “It’s been tough,” Ballard called out his name at about told the AP in the hours be4:30 a.m. Tuesday during his fore the children were found. morning rounds of the park’s “I see so many footprints out trails. Gurtler was about two there.” miles from the visitors’ center

‘It’s been tough.

I see so many footprints out there.’

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

J.R. Kimbler receives medical assistance at Congaree National Park in Hopkins on Tuesday. Kimbler and his two children were lost in the park for two days. They were rescued and are all in stable condition.