IN SPORTS: No. 22 USC Gamecocks host Clemson Tigers in men’s basketball B1 THE CLARENDON SUN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016
| Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894
75 cents
Manning resident member of Electoral College A6
Sumter school board requests financial plan Trustees meet 4 hours in executive session in special called meeting after audit findings BY BRUCE MILLS bruce@theitem.com Sumter School Board of Trustees is requesting an emergency financial plan in early January from Superintendent Frank Baker and others outlining how the school district plans to recover from a shortfall last year, the district announced after a closed meeting with Baker Tuesday. The request follows the dis-
trict’s official audit report released Dec. 12 that showed the district went more than $6.2 million over budget for MCGHANEY the 2016 fiscal year, which ended June 30. The school board released a public statement concerning its request to the superintendent after meeting in executive ses-
sion for four hours Tuesday night at a special called meeting at the district office, 1345 Wilson Hall Road. BAKER In its statement Tuesday night, the board asked the superintendent to consult with the board’s outside auditor Certified Public Accountant Robin Poston and school finance con-
sultants to develop and present to it a financial plan “on an emergency basis” that explains the reasons for the district’s current financial condition, and how to reduce expenses and increase revenue to the general fund this fiscal year, ending June 2017. The statement didn’t clarify whether the board meant hiring more outside school financial consultants or using school district staff.
Additionally, the board wants the financial plan to include estimates of the district’s cash flow position through the end of this fiscal year. When Poston released the district’s audit report, she also said in the audit that the district’s general fund balance of $106,449 at the end of the fiscal year was at “a critical low level.” Baker said last week he would like to build that fund balance to close to $5 million
SEE BOARD, PAGE A3
Broken heart
Life-saving implants better patients’ lives BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com “I don’t want them to just live longer; I want them to live better,” said Dr. Roosevelt “Rosey” Gilliam about treating patients with chronic heart failure. Only a few years ago, Gilliam’s goal would have been a pipe dream. About half of first-time heart failure patients who do not get treatment die within five years, according to the American Heart Association. The most common cause of death is sudden heart failure. “That’s people who can be walking around looking fine, feeling fine,” Gilliam said. But treatment for chronic heart failure has been greatly improved in the past two decades, he said, particularly with the advent of implantable heart therapy devices. One such device is the biventricular defibrillator implant, such as the one Gilliam implanted in a patient at Palmetto Health Tuomey two weeks ago.
PROVIDED PHOTO
F. Roosevelt Gilliam III, M.D., talks about performing the first biventricular heart procedure at Palmetto Health Tuomey recently. Dr. Gilliam is a part of the new Palmetto Heart practice at the Palmetto Health Tuomey Medical Park. It was the first time such a procedure had ever been done in Sumter. Gilliam said the BVD implant does the work of three machines: a pacemaker, a defibrillator and a heart monitor. A pacemaker, he explained, is sort of like having heat in a house. “You can set the heart rate so it is
never below a certain level,” he said. “But heat won’t do a thing when what you need is an air conditioner; that is where a defibrillator comes in.” Defibrillators are active when the heart rate is above a certain level, he said. The BVD can also monitor the
heart, he said. Gilliam said implanting a BVD is much more difficult than implanting a pacemaker because the wire leads must go into both sides of the heart.
SEE HEART, PAGE A3
Team evaluates Shaw as home for drone program FROM STAFF REPORTS Teams from Air Combat Command and Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, conducted a site survey at Shaw Air Force Base on Dec. 13 to assess the base as a candidate for an MQ-9 Reaper mission, according to an article posted on Shaw’s website. Shaw AFB is one of four installations being evaluated for a wing-level mission and one of five in the running for a squadron-level mission, the article stated. The base chosen for the
VISIT US ONLINE AT
the
.com
25-50% Off Diamond Rings
MQ-9 squadron is scheduled to be announced in January 2017, while the base receiving the wing selection is scheduled to be announced in summer 2017, according to the article. If Shaw AFB is selected for an MQ-9 squadron, the base could potentially host an operations group with mission control elements in one to two years but would not bring any planes to the base, said James Olsen, 20th Civil Engineer Squadron community planner. Such a mission would employ approximately 400 offi-
CONTACT US Information: 774-1200 Advertising: 774-1246 Classifieds: 774-1234 Delivery: 774-1258 News and Sports: 774-1226
cers, enlisted men and civilians at the base, Olsen said. If selected to house a winglevel mission, the proposed 24 MQ-9s would arrive in three to four years, along with launch and recovery capabilities and a maintenance group. A wing-level mission would employ approximately 1,600 more individuals at Shaw, he said. Considering the number of officers, enlisted and civilian members, a wing-level mission would bring approximately
U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO BY SENIOR AIRMAN CHRISTIAN CLAUSEN
MQ-9 Reaper sits on the flight line on Nov. 22 at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. The Reaper is an evolution of the MQ-1 Predator and can carry four AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and two 500-pound bombs SEE SHAW, PAGE A3 and also fly 18- to 24-hour missions.
DEATHS, A4 Amanda W. Grinnell Harold Owen Foraker Martha Davis Daniel E. Alston Charles Ellis Walker Sr. Johnathan Bradley Cruse
WEATHER, A12
Dorine McGee Sievers Dorothy M. Holland Ida McBride Trammell Bertha Kimble Edna Dowdy Henrietta H. Smith
MOSTLY SUNNY
Sunshine with patchy clouds. Tonight, clear with no chance of rain. HIGH 65, LOW 36
We guarantee to save you money!
Jewelry Wholesale 41 E. Wesmark Blvd. • Sumter, SC 778-1031
Fine Jewelry for 36 years
25% Off
Diamond Stud Earrings
INSIDE
2 SECTIONS, 20 PAGES VOL. 122, NO. 49
Classifieds B7 Comics B6 Opinion B5 Television A11