USC announces Nikky Finney’s appointment to the John H. Bennett Jr. Chair for Southern Letters and Creative Writing. See more photos online at www.theitem.com.
Naomi will return to her school today BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com
BRADEN BUNCH / THE ITEM
Naomi McKinney, who was expelled in early January after bringing what her parents said was a broken toy gun to Alice Drive Elementary School, will return to school today. On Thursday, Sumter School District Superintendent Randolph D. Bynum overturned his decision to expel the kindergartner. Read Bynum’s full statement on page A8.
Naomi McKinney returns to school today. The 6-year-old kindergartner expelled from Alice Drive Elementary School last month for having a broken toy gun in her backpack is being permitted to return to school after Sumter School District Superintendent Randolph Bynum reversed his decision Thursday afternoon to uphold BYNUM the child’s dismissal. “I’m extremely satisfied with everything everybody’s done for me, and the outpouring from the community has really touched me and my family. I’m extremely happy that we could shine a light on something that needed to be rethought,” said Hank McKinney, Naomi’s father. McKinney said his family first learned of the new decision at about 3 p.m. Thursday after his wife, Angela, received a call from Anthonese Gamble, director of student services for the district. Naomi was first removed from school after an incident Jan. 4, when she informed a teacher that she had brought SEE NAOMI, PAGE A8
VOL. 118, NO. 89 WWW.THEITEM.COM FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013 | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA FOUNDED OCTOBER 15, 1894
Group home residents told facility will close County says zoning requirements not met BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com Residents of a men’s shelter on Laverne Street may be back out on the street soon because of an order from the Sumter County Planning Department. Jeff Yarborough, who runs the Lighthouse of Hope at 11 Laverne St. off North Main Street, received a letter Jan. 18 notifying him the facility housing several men in a home on a residential street did not meet zoning requirements and will have to cease operations.
BY JADE ANDERSON janderson@theitem.com
SEE COOKING, PAGE A7
Yarborough said Lighthouse of Hope, a registered nonprofit that currently houses five men, has been operating for seven years, even coordinating with public agencies such as the state Department of Probation, Pardon and Parole, without a problem. “We’re within all the guidelines for the house,” Yarborough said. “They told me when we first got set up that it was OK as long as we weren’t charging anybody rent. But they get one complaint from somebody, and that’s it.” SEE ZONING, PAGE A7
Legislators seek to change local S.C. government funding law
Students prepare meal for shelter Students at St. Francis Xavier High School had the kitchen smelling good recently, but the meal they prepared wasn’t for themselves. It was for six children at the Greenhouse Runaway and Homeless Youth Shelter. “We are very appreciative they brought out food for the youth here,” shelter director Evelyn Bradford said. “The youth enjoyed the dinner and fellowship.” The St. Francis students prepared and served Italian chicken, garlic cheese mashed potatoes, salad and cupcakes. “I like helping people, especially when it’s something I like doing,” said junior Roma Pescasio. As they prepared the food after school, cooking club adviser Lena Berard asked how easy the meal was to make and if it was something the young cooks would eat. “It’s easy to make, but it sounds hard,” said junior Katie Olsen, the vice president. They all agreed it was something they would eat. Berard, who is also the administrative assistant at the school, talked the highschoolers through prep, seasoning, cooking and clean up.
60 CENTS
Serves 10
Garlic Cheese Mashed Potatoes Directions
Ingredients 5 pounds peeled red potatoes, quartered 1 stick butter 1½ C mild cheddar cheese, grated 1 Tbsp. garlic 1½ tsp. salt 2½ tsp. dried oregano 1 C milk 16 oz. sour cream
20 N. Magnolia St. Sumter, SC 29150 (USPS 525-900)
www.theitem.com
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 25 minutes; drain. Stir in butter, cheese, garlic, salt and oregano, milk, and sour cream. Mix with an electric mixer. To see the recipe for Italian chicken, log on to our website at www.theitem.com.
JADE ANDERSON / THE ITEM
ABOVE: St. Francis Xavier High School sophomore Khalil Sumter grates cheese for garlic cheese mashed potatoes recently. He is the secretary of the cooking club and currently the only male in the group.
SEE LAW, PAGE A8
DEATHS Theodore Frierson Taylor C. Sutton Kelvin Levi Greene George R. Aycock Clarence L. Player III Daisy D. Wilson
COLUMBIA (AP) — After several years of not funding local governments at the level state law requires, South Carolina legislators are looking to change the law. The chairman of a House Ways and Means study panel said Thursday the goal is to come up with a funding method that reflects the economic conditions of the time. Being bound by an arbitrary number makes no sense, said Rep. Jim Merrill, RCharleston. “It’s prudent budgeting to attach it to something that reflects revenues,” he said. A 1991 state law mandates that local governments receive 4.5 percent of the previous year’s tax collections. The money is distributed based on population, with 83 percent going to counties and 17 percent to cities. But legislators have not followed that law since 2008, when the “local government fund” reached a high of $280 million. After several years of cuts — dipping down to $183 million last fiscal year — it’s back up to $213 million this year, still falling short at 3.7 percent. The money’s meant to cover costs that counties incur from state mandates. But whether it does, and what even counts as a mandate, have been a matter of debate. Tim Winslow with the state Association of Counties listed nearly two dozen county expenses required by state law, including public libraries, court security, public defenders, animal shelters and providing state agencies with free office space. Counties spent about $130 million more on those mandates than they collected through fees and state funding in 2009-10, according to a December report compiled for the association. It specifies that several counties didn’t participate and some expenses — such as specific duties of a sheriff — were impossible to break out.
Preston Johnson Tracy Brown Marion Rose Jr. Thomas Johnson Loman Brooks Sr. Linda Peterson
OUTSIDE STILL BREEZY
Roland Samuel Gary E. Collins B5, B6
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Partly sunny and breezy; clear tonight and getting chilly again HIGH: 49 LOW: 23 A8
Church News Classifieds Comics Daily Planner Opinion Television
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