August 23, 2014

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SPORTS: Sumter, Lakewood kick off play in Week Zero action

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Shootout on North Main 2 injured, including bystander, in Friday gunplay at car wash BY ROB COTTINGHAM and BRADEN BUNCH braden@theitem.com (803) 774-1201 Two people, including one bystander, were shot during a Friday afternoon gun battle between three men at a North Main Street car wash, and police are searching for two of the men involved. Of the two victims, one was a 58-year-old man uninvolved in the altercation that occurred in the 700 block of North Main Street, less than half a block from Riley Park. RHABB The other man injured, who police said returned fire after two men fired at him, has been identified by police as 29-year-old Arterrell Marques Witherspoon. Tonyia McGirt, public information officer for Sumter Police Department, said investigators do not expect the injuries to be life threatening. Both shooting victims were able to drive themselves from the scene to the Tuomey

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Sumter Police Department officers investigate the scene in the 700 block of North Main Street where two people were shot at a car wash in SEE SHOOTOUT, PAGE A7 Sumter on Friday afternoon. Two people are still being sought in the incident.

Students’ ACT scores up from 2013 results

A hole created by a storm drain caving in on West Oakland Avenue is about six feet across and eight to nine feet deep and has cut into the lane in the fairgrounds parking lot. Sumter’s Assistant City Manager Al Harris said this type of cave-in is one workers see often.

BY RAYTEVIA EVANS ray@theitem.com (803) 774-1214

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Sinkholes, cave-ins continuing problem for Sumter motorists Storm drain creates new hole at parking lot on fairgrounds BY ROB COTTINGHAM rob@theitem.com (803) 774-1225 Don’t worry; the whole city isn’t caving in. But there does seem to be an ongoing issue involving the infrastructure of Sumter’s sewer system after a massive hole appeared in the fairgrounds parking lot recently. Just inside the gates on West Oakland Avenue, a crater measuring more than six feet across and eight or nine feet deep now occupies what used to be a solid lane in the parking lot. According to Assistant City Manager Al Harris, it’s not a sinkhole. “The hole actually came from a storm drain caving in,” he said. “That kind of hap-

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pens around structures like that.” As many citizens — and especially motorists — have noticed, many roadways around Sumter have been shut down in recent months for various reasons. One of the most prominent, Harris said, is renovating the city’s sewer system. “We’re replacing a lot of the infrastructure around the city,” he said. “Some parts of our water systems are 100 years old or older. When pipes and drains get that old, you can expect cave-ins around areas that haven’t been repaired or updated yet.” An example of the effort being made to alleviate the problem is the construction currently underway on Calhoun Street downtown. For the past two months, city employees have been working to renovate the water

SEE HOLES, PAGE A7

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The S.C. Department of Education released the latest ACT results this past week, showing Sumter School District as one of 32 districts in the state having dramatic improvement in their scores. Sumter High School was also one of 94 schools in the state to see increases of 0.3 or greater in their overall average score. “I commend our students for the gains they continue to achieve,” said Sumter School District Superintendent Frank Baker. “Sumter School District prepares students for both the ACT and the SAT. Collectively, our instructional leaders implement strategies to increase student achievement, and the results of their hard work are evident.” ACT officials said districts and schools that have a 0.3 point increase or greater show statistically significant improvement. Overall, Sumter School District improved by 0.5 points, and Sumter High School showed the most improvement with an increase of 0.8 points. Crestwood High School also saw some improvement

from 2013 to 2014 with an increase of 0.2 points. However, Lakewood declined by 0.6 points. Clarendon School District Two was also one of the 32 school districts to see improvement this year, increasing half a point. According to the state department, more South Carolina high school students took the ACT than ever before with the state seeing a 12.7 percent increase in the number of public school students who took the test compared to 2013. In all, there was an 11.3 percent increase in the number of all students who took the test in 2014. The ACT tests students in English, math, reading and science. While composite statewide students’ scores for English and math showed no change from 2013, there was a 0.1 point increase in both reading and science for 2014. “South Carolina students are to be commended for their performance on the 2014 ACT test,” said Mick Zais, state superintendent of education. “While South Carolina’s average ACT composite score was slightly under the national average, its proximity proves that we are making progress. These are positive results that we can build on for the future.”

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INSIDE

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2 SECTIONS, 16 PAGES VOL. 119, NO. 265

A thunderstorm in spots this afternoon; humid and stormy tonight HIGH 96, LOW 73

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August 23, 2014 by The Sumter Item - Issuu