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DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE Clemson looks to improve defensive secondary VOL. 118, NO. 258 WWW.THEITEM.COM
TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2013 | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA
FOUNDED OCTOBER 15, 1894
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Sumter unemployment rate ticks down BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com
LOCAL UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS
The Sumter County unemployment rate fell nearly a half point in July, fueled by a slight increase in jobs coupled with a narrow decline in the number of people in the area’s labor force. According to figures released by the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, the Sumter County rate fell to 9.5 percent, down 0.4 percentage points when compared to the previous month.
Sumter County Clarendon County Lee County
JUNE 9.9 percent 12.7 percent 11.1 percent
JULY 9.5 percent 12.1 percent 10.6 percent
The decline in local unemployment reverses the course Sumter County had seen in the previous summer months, as the local rate climbed by 1.6 percentage points in two months and threatened to return to the double-digit rates. Instead, July’s figures extend the time the Sumter
County rate has been below 10 percent to six months, the longest period in five years. After the 2008 recession, Sumter County saw its highest unemployment figures on record in June 2009, when the rate climbed to 13.5 percent. According to the DEW, about 100 more people were employed in Sumter in July than in June, raising the total to more than 40,400 people with jobs in the area. At the same time, about 60 fewer people were part of the Sumter SEE JOBLESS RATE, PAGE A8
Back-to-school Monday excitement Who’s running your kid’s school?
JAMIE H. WILSON / SPECIAL TO THE ITEM
Jacques McCoy, a new fifth-grade teacher at Rafting Creek Elementary School, encourages a team of students while they play an icebreaker on Monday morning, the first day of school for Sumter School District.
BY JAMIE H. WILSON Special to The Item Seven area schools in Sumter School District have a new principal at the helm as they start the school year this week. Most are transferring from other schools within the district, and one is new to the area. The Item reached out to the principals asking each for their expectations of the new school year. The following information was volunteered by those principals: John Michalik was the principal at Sumter County Career Center for the past four years. He is now the principal at Lakewood MICHALIK High School, where he once served as a teacher and assistant principal. Education: Bachelor’s degree in business management from Wilmington University; master’s degree in education from Cambridge College; master’s degree in education leadership from University of South Carolina Statement on upcoming year: As the new principal of Lakewood High School, we are initiating and implementing our “Culture of C.A.R.I.N.G.,” which is our philosophical belief that we are all committed to promoting great character, positive actions, establishing positive relationships with our students, parents and community, maintaining instructional rigor in every class, where we expect nothing but excellence, and our students are not just good, they are great. We believe that
School’s only male teacher begins 1st year BY JAMIE H. WILSON Special to The Item It was a wet start to the school year, but the inclement weather did little to dampen the spirits of Jacques McCoy, 21, a new teacher at Rafting Creek Elementary School. As the rain drizzled outside, the students in McCoy’s fifth-grade class eagerly played a game intended to break the ice among the new classmates. McCoy rotated among the two teams, offering suggestions. “When you walk in your first day, you don’t know who is next to you,” he said. “Of course there are some nerves.” But it wasn’t only the students who SEE FIRST YEAR, PAGE A8
TOP RIGHT AND RIGHT: Many parents opted to walk their children to Willow Drive Elementary School on Monday despite a moderate rainfall that lasted late into the morning. BELOW RIGHT: Parents attempt to get their children inside Alice Drive Elementary School’s doors before the tardy bell on Monday for the first day of school. Alice Drive staff said it is fairly common for parents to run a little behind on the first day of school, especially when rainfall interferes with travel arrangements. PHOTOS BY ROB COTTINGHAM / THE ITEM
SEE PRINCIPALS, PAGE A4
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