February 1, 2015

Page 1

Chamber honors Brabham as its Business Person of the Year BY RICK CARPENTER rick@theitem.com

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2015

SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894

5 SECTIONS, 36 PAGES | VOL. 120, NO. 91

OUR GREATEST GAMES

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hen John Brabham Jr. was named Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year on Saturday, he became the first child of a former winner to follow in his father’s footsteps. John Brabham Sr. won the Chamber’s highest honor IN BUSINESS in 1990. And like his Chamber’s father, Brabpresident says ham Jr. was he’s retiring after 31 years honored for his of service. D1 representation across a wide spectrum of community involvement as well as service to the Chamber. Besides previous service on Chamber committees and as Chamber board chairman, Brab-

RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM

John Brabham, right, speaks with Grier Blackwelder, the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce president, at Friday night’s opening reception of the Chamber’s retreat in Spartanburg. Read more on the Chamber’s 2014 goals on page A9 and more about the journey of transformation of its host city on page A3. recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the business community in the last year or a number of years. The selection committee also expects the

ham Jr. has been actively involved in economic development organizations, education, service clubs, hospital boards, his church and has even created Sumter’s first eco-friendly development. The Business Person of the Year

SEE HONOR, PAGE A9

I-95 INTERDICTION TEAM BUSTS WOULD-BE SMUGGLERS

Policing ‘Cocaine Lane’ ‘Super’ Sumter teams recalled in pictures C3 LOCAL

Want to be a Well Armed Woman? Here’s how you can join the club A2 ENTERTAINMENT

‘Blacklist’ amps up the tension tonight E3 PHOTOS BY KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

DEATHS, A11

Senior Cpl. Bryan Rulong interviews a driver he stopped for speeding on Interstate 95, an infamous drug-smuggling highway, on Friday. Rulong only has the length of time it takes to write a ticket to determine if a person is committing a crime.

James E. Newbern Jr. Roberta P. Brown Dorothy A. Blanding Emma D. Davis Christopher F. Hicks

Unit’s job is to sniff out smugglers on infamous stretch of highway BY MATT BRUCE matthew@theitem.com

WEATHER, A12 WARMER BUT CLOUDY Nice today but cloudy skies; mild with rain tonight HIGH 63, LOW 56

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The bellow of big rigs roaring across the pebble-strewn asphalt provides the backdrop for Senior Cpl. Bryan Rulong’s office each day. The 9-year Sumter County Sheriff’s Office veteran sits in his squad car parked in the grassy median separating the northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 95. For the past five years, Rulong has served on the sheriff’s office’s I-95 Interdiction Team, and the thruway’s 13-mile portion of Sumter County has served as his work station. The officers in his unit attentively watch cars and trucks whiz by with the understanding that the 18-wheelers aren’t the only vehicles hauling big shipments on these roads. Every day an army of smugglers traffic illegal narcotics and large amounts of cash, using the 1,900-

Rulong has patrolled the stretch of I-95 running through Sumter County for five years and has made multiple drug arrests.

mile artery to ferry their stashed loads through the county, state and region. Drug experts say the I-95 pipeline is notorious for the role it plays in the American drug trade and has been so for decades. “Even with the Mexican cartel, the 95 corridor is crucial,” said Robert Murphy, assistant special agent in charge for the South Carolina Drug Enforcement Agency. “It’s a lifeline to the East Coast,

and you, as a drug trafficker and cartel member, have got to have people in those markets. So we’re going to always see traffic there because if you’re not in those markets, you’re just not making money.” I-95 is the longest north-south-running interstate in the United States, serving as the main expressway for

SEE PATROLLING, PAGE A7

Deaths of 2 young women spur proposals on waterway safety BY SUSANNE M. SCHAFER The Associated Press COLUMBIA — The parents of two young women killed in separate watercraft wrecks last year are hoping South Carolina lawmakers take steps to improve water safety and spare others their grief. Two senators have put forward proposals they say are meant to

save lives but allow people a chance to enjoy boating, too. Democratic Sen. Thomas McElveen of Sumter has sponsored BORDEAUX legislation that would require boaters to travel only at a slow, “no wake” speed after the sun sets. “It’s pretty unregulated out there,” the senator said of South

Carolina’s waterways. “I fish all the time, but it seems every holiday we seem to have accidents. I think it just makes common sense to put your boat at idle speed after dark.” Capt. Robert McCullough of the state Department of Natural Resources, which is responsible for policing the waterways, said there are no speed limits for boats. However, boaters are required to operate their watercraft in a safe

manner and not at speeds that put people in danger, McCullough said. McElveen said his bill was prompted by last summer’s wreck that claimed the life of 21-year-old Hailey Bordeaux, who died of injuries after July 4 boating wreck on Lake Marion. He dubbed his measure “Hailey’s law.” She was a rising senior at University

SEE SAFETY, PAGE A11


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