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LOCAL SPORTS
Jones leaves Sumter for Darlington; Lane steps down at Wilson Hall B1 FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2015
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Bill calls for stiffer penalties Domestic violence legislation could be on state Senate floor soon BY HAMLET FORT hamlet@theitem.com A bill increasing penalties on domestic violence abusers has passed a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee and is being brought before the full com-
mittee for vote. According to statistics from Everytown.org, a gun advocacy group, and the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, South Carolina women are twice as likely to be shot to death by
DOT pushes for more S.C. road money
their partners compared to the average American woman. The bill, called S.3, would make it unlawful for convicted domestic abusers or individuals under domestic violence orders of protection to own or possess a firearm or
ammunition. Senate Judiciary Chairman Larry Martin, speaking of S.3 and another ethics bill passed through a judiciary subcommittee, said, “I’m pleased that both of these bills were reported out of subcommittee in the
first week of session and look forward to taking them up in full Judiciary on Tuesday.” Martin said the bill addresses an issue that has faced South Carolina “for far, far too long.”
SEE BILL, PAGE A8
Time to take down Christmas lights
Study: Bad roads cost drivers at least $1,150 extra each year BY JEFFREY COLLINS The Associated Press COLUMBIA — The Legislature’s session just started this week, and already business and transportation leaders are making a hard push to get more money into South Carolina roads. A group called The Road Information Program held news conferences Thursday in several South Carolina cities to release a report that said the average driver in South Carolina pays at least $1,150 extra a year because of extra maintenance, fuel used and the cost of fatal crashes caused by bad roads. At the news conference in Columbia were four of the state’s seven Department of Transportation commissioners, JOHN HARDEE who say the state must raise the S.C. Department state’s 16.75-cent-aof Transportation gallon gas tax, unchanged for almost commissioner 30 years. “You absolutely cannot maintain the state system with the money we have,” Commissioner John Hardee said. But a tax increase of any kind is tough to get support for in Republican-dominated South Carolina. Newly elected commission Chairman Jim Rozier said lawmakers must be willing to break their pledges to reject any tax increase made when the state’s roads weren’t crumbling. The report released Thursday said 46 percent of major South Carolina roads were in poor condition last year, compared to 32 percent in poor condition six years earlier. “You sign something that ties your hands tomorrow. That’s kind of foolish,” Rozier said. Organizers of the news conference promise a lot more push for roads on social media and through other outlets as the five-month legislative session continues. As lawmakers returned to Columbia this
‘You absolutely cannot maintain the state system with the money we have.’
SEE ROADS, PAGE A8
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Andre Witherspoon, a City of Sumter employee, works on removing Christmas lights from Rotary Centennial Plaza on Wednesday morning.
Train Saturday to be a Red Cross disaster volunteer BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com Every four hours, American Red Cross responds to a disaster in South Carolina. But with volunteers making up 96 percent of the organiza-
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tion’s workforce, the need for trained individuals is high, said Jennifer Heisler, regional communications officer with American Red Cross Palmetto South Carolina Region. New volunteer orientations are being held across the state,
and one will be held at Sandhills Service Center of the Palmetto S.C. Region, 1155 N. Guignard Drive, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The Red Cross especially needs those willing to be part of the Disaster Action Team
DEATHS, B5 and B6 Carrie Mae Romeo Maude W. Bowman Samuel Mark Sr. Wessie Johnson Miriam P. Scott Stephanie M. Brand Charlie Nelson Jr.
Pete Geddings Elease G. Wilson Susie Mae Anderson Edythe G. Clark Lenora H. Arnette Mary K. Lowery Robert Lee Nesbitt
that goes to the scene of home fires to help provide services to families, Heisler said in the Jan. 8 news release. Jennie Geddings is one of the 72 Disasters Services Volunteers for the Sandhills area and one of 4,000 volunteers in
the state, Heisler said. Geddings began volunteering with Red Cross a little more than 19 years ago after retiring from the state emergency management division.
SEE RED CROSS, PAGE A8
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INSIDE
HELLO, SUNSHINE
2 SECTIONS, 22 PAGES VOL. 120, NO. 77
Plenty of sun today; mainly clear tonight HIGH 57, LOW 32
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