Enough is enough $1.50
SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 2014
SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894
5 SECTIONS, 34 PAGES | VOL. 119, NO. 254
A FRIENDLY REMINDER
PHOTOS BY MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM
Sumterites take to the streets on Saturday during a demonstration calling for an end to violence in local communities.
Lafayette bridge closes this week SPORTS
Sumter punter wins national camp award B1 DEATHS, A9 Dr. Yolyndra S. Green Frank W. Yarbrough John M. Cooper Jr. Dorothy M. Levy Eartha Lee Martin
Edward D. Porter Ruby J. Freeman Barbara Moore Levi Evans Sr. Charlese P. Lloyd
WEATHER, A10 LOTS OF THUNDER, LOTS OF RAIN Heavy thunderstorms, varying cloudiness throughout the day; a couple of storms at night. HIGH 84, LOW 71
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Activists rally in South Sumter area to protest violence BY BRADEN BUNCH braden@theitem.com (803) 774-1201 Nearly 300 people braved the rainy forecast Saturday morning and marched two miles through South Sumter to promote their message of a community frustrated with the seemingly recent rise in criminal activity, especially violent crime. Deemed the “Stop The Crime and Violence Weekend,” supporters of the event made the circular route starting at the corner of Manning and Atlantic avenues, walking through both retail and residential areas, hoping their effort will help
People of all ages and from every corner of Sumter County showed up for the march. to stem the tide of what they say has been an unacceptable increase in criminal activity. “The support has been overwhelming. The good thing about it
is that the support has been from all over the county,” said State Sen. Kevin Johnson, D-Manning, who
SEE MARCH, PAGE A6
Running in penny-tax circles Roundabout at Wilson Hall-Wesmark intersection on table One of the many projects tied into the penny tax renewal involves turning the intersection of Wesmark Boulevard and Wilson Hall Road into a traffic circle.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a series of stories examining the proposed projects for a renewed penny sales tax, which Sumter County voters will be asked to approve in November. Money raised by the tax will go toward a series of building, infrastructure and other projects throughout the county.
BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bristow@theitem.com (803) 774-1272 Renewing the penny sales tax could give drivers a new perspective on a couple of Sumter roadways. Or it could leave them spinning in circles.
MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM
Officials hope to use $900,000 in new penny tax funds to improve the sometimes chaotic intersection of Wilson Hall Road and Carter Road/Wesmark Boulevard. And if
the dollar signs line up correctly, the four-way stop could turn into Sumter’s first traffic roundabout.
SEE ROUNDABOUT, PAGE A7
U.S. aids displaced Iraqis as airstrikes help Kurds KHAZER CAMP, Iraq (AP) — President Obama justified the U.S. military’s return to fighting in Iraq Saturday by saying America must act now to prevent genocide, protect its diplomats and provide humanitarian aid to refugees trapped by Islamic militants on a mountain ridge near the Syrian border. “This is going to be a longterm project” that won’t end and can’t succeed unless Iraqis form an inclusive government in Baghdad capable of keeping the country from
breaking apart, Obama said at the White House. Obama spoke after airstrikes from U.S. fighter jets and a drone killed several small groups of Islamic State extremists that were attacking Kurdish forces and refugees. The military support helped clear the way for aid flights to drop food and water to thousands of starving refugees. But the help comes too late for many of the religious minorities targeted for elimination by the Islamic State
INSIDE C-17 out of Charleston assigned to recent Iraq missions A2
group, which swept past U.S.trained and equipped Iraqi government forces in recent weeks and now controls much of Iraq. A delayed response by the Shiite-led government in Baghdad left Kurdish forces struggling to contain the Sunni extremists’ advances. With nowhere to go but up-
hill, Kurdish-speaking Yazidi refugees sought shelter in the mile-high Sinjar mountains, where their ancient religion holds that Noah’s ark came to rest. U.S., Iraqi and British cargo planes dropped tons of food, water, tents and other equipment to the refugees Friday and Saturday. Iraq’s defense ministry released a video showing people in the Sinjar mountains rushing to collect food and water as the Iraqi government’s fleet of C130 cargo planes dropped 20 tons
of aid at a time. But at least 56 children have died of dehydration in the mountains, UNICEF’s spokesman in Iraq, Karim Elkorany, told The Associated Press on Saturday. British officials estimated Saturday between 50,000 and 150,000 people could be trapped on the mountain. And Juan Mohammed, a local government spokesman in the Syrian city of Qamishli, told the AP that more than
SEE IRAQ, PAGE A7