LOCAL: See photos from Saturday’s Westside Baptist Resolution 5K race A3
Obama asks for money to combat Zika virus TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2016
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Lawmakers Learning the ropes with the pros frustrated by ‘monster’ roads bill Local Senators suggest not bundling 3 issues in proposal BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com Most members of the South Carolina Senate agree finding a solution to the state’s crumbling highways is their No. 1 priority during this session, but after a month in session, the highway bill is still parked in the slow lane. Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, RGaffney, said his colleagues are “dilly-dallying” on the body’s top priority. “I have absolutely lost my patience when it comes to this infrastructure debate that we are not having,” Peeler said. “It’s past time. Every day, there are more potholes in my area.”
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COMMENTARY FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE
Rubio urges citizens to be serious about America’s future MANCHESTER, N.H. — “People think it’s a bad thing, but I’m gonna keep saying it over again: Obama is trying to change America,” Republican hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., shouted at the beginning of his Super Bowl showcase, just hours before kickoff. The sounds of ACDC’s “Thunderstruck” echoed around the Ultimate Sports Authority venue where baseball and softball astro-turf Amanda aligned the floor. About 300 Finney people piled onto the field with rows of foldable chairs armslength from the stage with hundreds of press cameras snapping behind them. As soon as Rubio came into the building, a
SEE RUBIO, PAGE A6
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Courtney Govan, 9, tries for the first time to Double Dutch as coach Remetha Staggers, from Florence, turns the ropes for her during a Double Dutch clinic on Saturday at Sumter Recreation and Parks Department.
Double Dutch workshop brings teams together from across state BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com For 13 years, Sumter hosted a world championship in Double Dutch until last year when the event moved to New York City for its 40th anniversary. It will return to Sumter this year.
On Saturday, 137 participants from throughout the state, in third through eighth grades, participated in a training session in Double Dutch at Sumter Recreation and Parks Department. The workshop brought together new and experienced teams and coaches.
Double Dutch is a game in which two long jump ropes turning in opposite directions are jumped simultaneously by one or more jumpers. Sumter had hosted the Annual American Double Dutch League
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Slow week for charity, but residents still need to pay bills BY JACK OSTEEN jack@theitem.com Even though it’s been a slow week for donations, that doesn’t mean the demand has been any less for families in need throughout the Sumter community. With extreme temperatures at night, there have been more and more requests for assistance with kerosene
and also extremely high electric bills, according to Salvation Army Social Worker Christy Lamb. More than 50 families were helped
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last week, including a single mom who just lost her husband and was a day or two before having her electricity cut off. Lamb said she’s seen bills ranging from $200 to $500 per month, and with individuals living on a fixed income, it’s impossible for them to pay those kinds of bills. Lamb encourages families to keep trying to call if they need assistance,
Inez A. Jacobsen Ari Donia McDonald Laco Davis Miriam DuBose Ford Clyde S. Blackshear III
Earline D. Canty Nathaniel G. Wilson Gregory L. Williams James E. Wilson Alberetta Golden
and any and all donations are most appreciated. This year’s Fireside Fund is in honor of Dr. Charles “Pap” Propst, who died on May 20, 2015, at the age of 90. Propst founded Sumter Pediatrics with Dr. Ted Young in 1954, where he practiced until 1986. Propst became a
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Some sun but windy and chilly today; mainly clear and cold tonight HIGH 46, LOW 27
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