IN RELIGION:
President visits Maryland mosque A7 THE CLARENDON SUN
Travel back to 1950s Turbeville restaurant serves up tradition and food A8
SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016
75 CENTS
Could S.C. decide Democratic nominee? State politicians say black vote is key BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com After U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ narrow miss of an upset in the Iowa Caucuses and his predicted easy victory
Flooding continues
in the New Hampshire Primary on Tuesday, pundits are pointing to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s support among the black community in South Carolina as being critical to her regaining momentum.
On the other hand, any gains Sanders makes among blacks in the Palmetto State could be crucial to the Vermont senator’s chances of toppling the formidable Clinton juggernaut. With state Rep. Joe Neal declaring his support for Sanders at a press conference Tuesday, political junkies
are looking for signs that Clinton’s support among black South Carolinians is beginning to waver. “My support for Bernie Sanders is about the future and what it holds for us and our children,” Neal said. “A Sanders presidency will lead to access
SEE VOTE, PAGE A5
All in a day’s work
‘It’s a nightmare whenever it rains’ BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Fred Segee lives in one of three houses on Carlos Court, a cul-de-sac on a dirt road in Sumter County. When the 1,000-year flood hit in October 2015, Segee and his wife needed to be transported out of their neighborhood by boat. By the time heavy rains began to fall again in December, the Segees were almost done repairing the damage caused two months earlier. The family had the heating ducts under their home professionally cleaned and had fans under the house to remove moisture again. When Segee bought his home, he was told it was not in a flood zone so he was not required to get flood insurance and purchased hazard insurance instead. He is now being told that the water table on his property is very high because of the large ditches that were dug around the cul-de-sac after Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Segee said the ditches were meant to collect and flow water to a canal, but the ditch behind his home has gotten so overgrown with vegetation that the water is not
SEE WATER, PAGE A5
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Sumter firefighters work to contain an afternoon fire which destroyed this vacant mobile home on Collins Street. No one was injured. Firefighters from the Manning Road, Headquarters and Stadium Road stations worked to contain the Wednesday afternoon blaze.
New mall sign gets good reviews Legislators elect new
Supreme Court justice
BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com While the new sign for Sumter Mall reportedly generated some controversy on Facebook, nobody The Sumter Item spoke to Tuesday in the vicinity of the mall had anything but compliments for the new edifice. “I think it’s killer,” said Rene Bell. “It is a little large, but I don’t think it will cause any traffic problems.” Kevin Welch said it is “nice.” “It is an improvement over what they had,” he said. The mail requested and was granted a variance for the sign in 2014, said Sumter City Planner George McGregor. According to city codes, the mall would normally be allowed two 350-square-foot signs on Broad Street, but instead the mall asked for a replacement reader board sign
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BY SEANNA ADCOX The Associated Press
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
The Sumter Mall added a new digital sign on Broad Street that is being met with mostly positive reactions. of 529 square feet and a second sign of 81 square feet. The total square footage requested is less than the two combined 350 square foot
signs would be, McGregor said. Citing the special needs of
SEE SIGN, PAGE A5
DEATHS, B4 Nettie S. Tindal Rebecca J. Belle Elizabeth A. Richardson Phillip Wade Yates Rodney G. Hayden
COLUMBIA — The chief judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals is the newest justice on the state Supreme Court. In a joint session, legislators elected Judge John Few on Wednesday to fill the vacancy left by December’s retirement of Chief Justice Jean Toal. “It’s a big moment,” Few, of Greenville, said after the vote, adding he felt “relief, excitement. I understand the responsibility that comes with winning the seat.” It’s Few’s third attempt at a seat on the high court. First elected as a Circuit Court judge in 2000, Few has been chief judge of the Court of Appeals since 2010. The 52-year-old Greenville resident received 92 votes to appeals court Judge Bruce Williams’ 73 votes. Williams, 59, of Columbia, declined to comment after the vote. Toal, who sat beside Few in the House gallery during the voting, praised Few as highly qualified. “He will be a wonderful addition to the Supreme Court,” she said. Few is a graduate of Duke University and University of South Carolina School of Law, where he teaches.
William G. Atchley Pearl L. Welch Mildred Smith Susan Canty
SEE JUSTICE, PAGE A5
WEATHER, A12
INSIDE
COOLER WITH RAIN
2 SECTIONS, 18 PAGES VOL. 121, NO. 94
Temperatures are expected to drop some, and rain is likely during the day; cooler with rain this evening, too. HIGH 58, LOW 37
Classifieds B6 Comics B5
Opinion A11 Television A10