January 18, 2014 by The Sumter Item

LOCAL HOOPS Knights host Gators in region rivalry game

B1 VOL. 119, NO. 80 WWW.THEITEM.COM

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014 | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA

FOUNDED OCTOBER 15, 1894

Detour on Alice Drive set for Wednesday to Friday BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com Your usual path to Wally World may need to change for a few days next week. Part of Alice Drive near Preot Street will be closed to through traffic Wednesday through Friday as Palmetto Corp. installs a

Signs along Alice Drive announce part of the road will be closed Wednesday to Friday, as the Department of Transportation continues its work to expand the road. The main detour will be Gion Street to North Guignard Drive to Wise Drive.

six-foot-diameter concrete pipe 13 feet down. “It’s very deep and a very large pipe,” said Justin Farnum, project manager. “Nothing will be cut off. I had a call from St. James (Lutheran Church) asking would they still be able to get to

BRISTOW MARCHANT / THE ITEM

SEE DETOUR, PAGE A8

The other side of the Stinney case

Tuomey: Feds forced Cox, Martin out BY BRADEN BUNCH BBunch@theitem.com

BRISTOW MARCHANT / THE ITEM

The living relatives of murder victim Betty June Binnicker hold a photo of their aunt. George Stinney Jr. was convicted and executed for Binnicker’s killing at the age of 14, and the family is opposing new efforts to overturn his conviction. From left are Harold Bailey, Carolyn Geddings, Gerald Bailey and Frankie Dyches.

Family of alleged Stinney victim oppose retrial of executed teen BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com Betty June Binnicker has nieces and nephews she never met. All of them were born after the 11-year-old Alcolu girl was murdered on March 23 or 24, 1944. But those children of Binnicker’s late siblings are determined to keep her memory alive. The family is now speaking out to ensure the deaths of their aunt and her 8-year-old friend Mary Emma Thames aren’t overshadowed by the coverage of a potential retrial of George Stinney Jr., who was convicted and executed for the girls’ murders at the age of 14. “We feel like it’s necessary to connect a face to her name,” said Carolyn Ged-

‘He repeatedly told my daddy how he hit one of the girls and the other girl was squealing, so he hit her to stop her squealing.’ James E. Gamble Jr. dings, whose mother was Binnicker’s sister. “It’s like nobody’s defending them.” The two young white girls were out on a bicycle picking wildflowers when they disappeared. Stinney, the young son of a black millworker, was arrested the day the girls’

www.theitem.com

bodies were discovered and sent to the death chamber within a few months. Activists have taken up Stinney’s case as an example of Jim Crowera injustice, and on Tuesday a hearing will be held at the Sumter County Judicial Center on a motion to have Stinney posthumously retried, effectively vacating his conviction. But the victims’ surviving family members and other Alcolu residents with memory of the case are opposing the motion. In contrast to supporters’ portrayal of Stinney as a railroaded innocent, some locals who remember Stinney say he was “mean” and a “bully” who they think is guilty of the killings. SEE STINNEY, PAGE A4

Federal prosecutors made it a precondition of any settlement of their lawsuit with Tuomey Healthcare System for the local hospital to separate itself from both its former chief executive officer and one of its vice presidents, lawyers for Tuomey pointed out in their latest filing in the ongoing legal battle. While this was generally COX considered to be the case, this week’s filing with the United States District Court MARTIN was the first time either side had officially said former president/CEO Jay Cox and Vice President/COO Gregg Martin left Tuomey as part of an effort to settle the lawsuit between the two sides, now in its ninth year. Both Cox and Martin left the hospital back in September, and in recent legal briefs federal prosecutors referenced, but redacted from the public, the financial separation agreements reached between Tuomey and its former employees. Prosecutors referenced the documents in an attempt to illustrate to Senior U.S. District Judge Margaret B. Seymour that Tuomey’s financial situation was not as dire as the hospital had recently indicated. In response, Tuomey’s lawyers have now requested a protective order, asking the court to prevent the government from releasing the separation agree-

DEATHS

20 N. Magnolia St. Sumter, SC 29150 (USPS 525-900)

Information: 774-1200 Advertising: 774-1237 Classifieds: 774-1234 Delivery: 774-1258 News, Sports: 774-1226

60 CENTS

George W. Cooper Jr. Bettie B. Walker Alice B. White Charlie Washington Harrison F. Mayrant Frank M. Evans

ments in the future. As part of its motion, Tuomey argues any desire for the government to release the documents would be “an attempt to further paint Tuomey in a negative light within the Sumter community.” These same lawyers had previously argued the hospital could ultimately not afford more than $30 million in any settlement agreement without facing the distinct possibility of having to close. Federal prosecutors responded by asking the courts to order Tuomey to place at least $70 million in escrow if the hospital plans to pursue an appeal. Without Seymour approving a lesser amount, federal guidelines dictate Tuomey will have to place about $300 million in escrow to continue the case in a higher court. This is because last year a federal jury found the local hospital violated several laws with the part-time contracts it used to secure the services of several local doctors, creating a system of illegal kickbacks and therefore committing Medicare fraud. Shortly after the verdict, Seymour awarded the federal government a $239 million judgment against the hospital. As part of their arguments to prevent the severance packages with Cox and Martin from becoming public, Tuomey’s lawyers not only say the settlement agreements are private and should be kept that way, but also that an agreement had already been reached between the two sides that they would remain confidential. Tuomey goes on to argue that these settlements SEE TUOMEY, PAGE A8

INSIDE

OUTSIDE THAT’S BRISK, BABY

Stephen Willis Garry B. Jasper Kenneth Dinkins Norwood E. Spann

2 SECTIONS, 16 PAGES

Classifieds Comics Daily Planner Television

Mostly sunny and cooler during A7

the day; partly cloudy at night. HIGH: 44 LOW: 29 A8

B6 B7 A8 B5

SECOND FRONT THE ITEM

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014 Contact the newsroom at 803-774-1226 or e-mail news@theitem.com

DOT to repave roads in tri-county area BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com A total of 26 roads in the tri-county area, most of them in Clarendon County, will see repaving projects begin this spring, the South Carolina Department of Transportation announced Friday. The five roads being paved in Sumter County, at least in part, are Bartlette Street, Black River Road, Cockerill Road, Oxford Street and University Drive. Repaving the estimated 4.17 miles of road will cost about $1.24 million. The projects are funded by legislation

WORK TO BE DONE

Sumter S 88: Bartlette Street S 645: Cockerill Road S 338: University Drive S 705: Oxford Street S 43: Black River Road

S 767: Frontage Road S 778: Buchanan Road S 85: South Street S 536: Railroad Avenue S 491: Watts Street S 493: Branchview Drive S 495: Bellwood Road S 89: McClary Street S 541: Mayland Street S 358: Roosevelt Drive S 230: State Road

Clarendon S 106: Jakes Road S 159: Hicks Road S 202: Diles Bay Road S 173: Apple Tree Lane S 206: Morgan Street

Lee S 62: College Street S 205: White Road S 374: Parkview Lane S 430: Kemp Road S 435: Ike Wright Road

The following is a list of roads in the tri-county area scheduled for at least partial repaving by SCDOT this spring.

approved last year that provides additional revenue for DOT to replace bridges, resurface roads not eligible for federal funding and fund a series of inter-

state projects. The DOT engineering staff received bids for the projects last month, and commissioners approved the construction contracts at

their meeting Thursday. Under the same contracts, Clarendon County will see about 8.88 miles of 16 different roads paved, while Lee County will have 2.36 miles of five different roads resurfaced. In total, DOT approved more than 270 road projects in 33 counties across the state using revenue collected from the state vehicle sales tax. The projects are expected to cost about $31.1 million. DOT says contracts for an additional 77 roads throughout the state are expected to be approved as early as next month.

ARTIST OF THE MONTH

Jim Wade, Sumter Jim Wade, the Sumter Artists Guild’s artist of the month, describes himself as a proud Tar Heel, born, raised and educated in eastern North Carolina. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he attended East Carolina University, receiving a bachelor of science degree in art education. He moved to Sumter 40 years ago, having moved here to teach art at Sumter High School and later at Alice Drive Elementary School. He received his master’s degree in art at the University of South Carolina. HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN ART?

I won a statewide art award in second grade, so school got me started. I have always enjoyed all the arts since childhood, and testing showed that was where my interest lay. As an adult, my interest in travel has taken me to 48 of the 50 states as well as five of the continents, where I visited all the famous museums that actually had the artwork I studied in art history. Having received a Fulbright grant to Belgium and the Netherlands for art educators, I got to work with other artists experiencing new ideas firsthand. WHAT ARTISTS INFLUENCED YOUR WORK?

No one artist really influenced me, as I have gained insight from the masters as well as hobbyists. Studying art history in college exposed me to all the greats both past and present. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEDIUM(S)?

With art education as my college major, I had to be able to teach all mediums and disciplines, and being a true Gemini, I did not want to stick to just one. I

ITEM FILE PHOTO

Jim Wade, Sumter Artists Guild’s artist of the month, talks with guild president Carole Carberry during a recent opening at the Sumter County Gallery of Art. Behind them are a painting attributed to Hudson River School artist Carrie Sumpter McIlwaine Greene and a sculpture by Frederic Remington.

paint in acrylics or watercolor mediums but also do sculpture using many different materials. DESCRIBE YOUR WORK CURRENTLY AT THE GALLERY.

When a viewer of art sees an art piece for the first time, they may glance at it briefly and move on. By overlaying words or letters over the background painting, I try to encourage the viewer to stop and read in order to involve them in the artwork momentarily. Sometimes this makes a painting become a collage when using something other than paint to do the lettering. WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?

At present I am formulating

ideas for expanding into more abstract work. WHAT OTHER ACTIVITIES ARE YOU INVOLVED IN?

Other than the visual art of painting and sculpture, I also have been very active in the Sumter Little Theatre over the years. Reading, movies, television ... and I travel as much as possible to fill my life during my retirement years. See works by Jim Wade, the Sumter Artists Guild’s artist of the month at the Sumter County Gallery of Art, 200 Hasell St., from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. — Ivy Moore

City council to meet at alternate location FROM STAFF REPORTS Sumter City Council will be traveling for this week’s meeting. Work going on inside council’s usual meeting place at City Centre means the council will be moving

to the South Sumter Resource Center. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the facility located at 337 Manning Ave. In addition to final reading of several items from the meeting earlier this month,

REGULAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Home Delivery — Tuesday through Sunday: One year $144; Six months - $75.25; Three months - $40; Two months - $27.50; One month - $13.75; EZPay - $12 per month. Saturday and Sunday: One year - $72; Six months - $36.75; Three months - $18.50; One month, $6.25. Mail — One year - $249; Six months - $124.50; Three months - $62.25; one month - $20.95. OUTLYING RURAL ROUTE SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Home Delivery — Tuesday through Sunday: One year -

council is scheduled to discuss acquiring a large tract of land on Thomas Sumter Highway. The property, listed at 694 acres, is being sought as part of the city’s effort to protect land encroaching on Shaw Air Force Base.

Sumter Police Chief Russell Roark is also scheduled to give council an “update” on activities at the police department. Normally in January, the department releases its yearend crime statistics for the previous year.

$153; Six months - $81.25; Three months - $43; Two months, $29; One month - $14.50. EZPay, $12.75 per month. Saturday and Sunday: One year - $84; Six months - $43; Three months - $22; One month - $7.50. HOME DELIVERY: Call (803) 774-1258, Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat./Sun., 7 to 11 a.m. The Item is published six days a week except for July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day (unless it falls on a Sunday) by Osteen Publishing Co., 20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter,

Diet. Diet! Diet? they are trying to gain control over — more often than not, the t any given time, control over how they one in four peofeel about themselves ple are on a diet. or their body image or their self-image. Out of those who are It’s important to unon a diet, 85 percent of them are female. Acderstand that body cording to the dieting image (weight, shape, industry statistics, 75 size) and self-image percent of these (who you are, your sucwomen report having cesses) are indepenunhealthy thoughts, dent of each other. One feelings and behaviors does not define the about food or their other. However, body bodies. image can have a treAttempt- mendous impact on ing a strict self-image if we allow it diet three to. Searching for validation and acceptance to five from others only makes times a matters worse. Knowyear is CORRIGAN known as ing that your weight or disordered eating. This what size you wear has type of behavior can no influence over the lead to unwanted eattype of person you are, ing disorders. some allow it to dictate While it is a comtheir abilities, reducing mon practice for diet any potential for perand weight-loss prosonal or professional grams to focus mainly growth and developon food and meal proment. gramming for success, The stress and presmost programs have sure to lose weight not strict guidelines reonly ruins our relationquiring caloship with ourrie counting, selves, damHEALTH TIPS eating only aging our • Seek self-acceptance one or two self–esteem, • Eat well to be healthy whole food but it also • Keep your internal meals each ruins the reladialogue positive day, measurtionships with ing food or loved ones as keeping a detailed well as the opinion we journal. This type of have of food. strict program can While on a diet, cause individuals to food is frequently seen think about food all as something we can’t day long. or shouldn’t have, For people following which creates negative a specific meal plan, it feelings. It should repisn’t at all unnatural for resent life and bring them to become obabout positive feelings. sessed with thoughts of Before you go on a food, wondering what diet, ask yourself why they will eat next or an- you are doing it and alyzing what they prewhat you expect to gain viously ate, or dreamfrom it. Having a ing about a food they healthy body and selfwant but can’t have. image is key to success. While those who are on a strict program Missy Corrigan is asmay appear to have an sociate executive direcobsession with food, tor of the Sumter Famithat’s generally not the ly YMCA. She can be case. Often the underreached at mcorrigan@ lying cause is someymcasumter.org or thing else, something (803) 773-1404. BY MISSY CORRIGAN Special to The Item

LOCAL BRIEF

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Driver cleared in bank robbery attempt

Reports indicated that Johnson entered the First Citizens Bank Investigators said on Washington and Friday they have deter- Calhoun streets about mined the second sus- 3:53 p.m. and presentpect in a bank robbery ed a note to the teller attempted Thursday demanding money. was not involved. While a weapon was Officers arrested not seen, his mannerFranklin R. Johnson, 24, isms suggested he of 1199 N. Lafayette might have been Drive, about 8 p.m. armed. Although he Thursday and charged was seen leaving in a him with attempted royal blue Ford or Merarmed robbery and cury driven by another possession of a weapon individual, police think during a violent crime. he acted alone. He was denied bond State Probation, Parduring a hearing Fridon and Parole officers day. assisted in the arrest.

SC 29150. Periodical postage paid at Sumter, SC 29150. Postmaster: Send address changes to Osteen Publishing Co., 20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter, SC 29150 Publication No. USPS 525-900 Member, Verified Audit Circulation.

Publishing Co. as agent. No responsibility for advance payments is assumed by the company until the money is received at this office.

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE: All carriers and dealers of The Item are independent contractors. Advance payment for subscriptions may be made directly to Osteen

RECYCLING: This newspaper is printed on recycled paper and uses environmentally safe soy inks to reduce ruboff. It is recyclable.

CORRECTIONS: If you see a statement in error, contact the City Desk. Corrections will appear on this page.

LOCAL

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

THE ITEM

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ZUMBA TIME, YAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LL

MATT WALSH / THE ITEM

Zumba instructor Randi Moore leads kids in a class during the Sumter YMCAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s after-school program on Thursday. The YMCA offers many activities for children and adults alike, including swimming lessons, youth soccer, healthy living programs and more. For more information on the local Y and event schedules, visit ymcasumter.org, email info@ymcasumter.org or call (803) 773-1404.

POLICE BLOTTER

FIRE:

STOLEN PROPERTY:

A fire caused $45,000 in damage to a one-story vacant residence in the 300 block of West Bartlette Street. The Sumter Fire Department responded to the fire at 5 p.m. and had the fire under control about 5:15 p.m. Firefighters found no plugged-in utilities, and the cause of the fire is currently unknown.

Approximately $700 of scrap copper was reportedly stolen from a residence in the 1000 block of Landscape Drive between 8:45 and 9 a.m. on Jan. 8. A gold 1995 Honda Accord valued at $4,000 with fading paint, a cracked windshield and two â&#x20AC;&#x153;perfect kidsâ&#x20AC;? bumper stickers was reportedly stolen between 6 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday from a residence in the 900 block of Miller Road. A cellphone valued at $600 was reported stolen at a building in the 4000 block of East Brewington Road, Gable, at 6:08 p.m. Tuesday. Ten 16x2x10â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 14 24x2x8â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 75 18x2x4â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and 32 24x2x6â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s were reported stolen at 9 a.m. Wednesday from a job site in the 400 block of Eastern School Road. The estimated total value of the stolen items is $1,810. An acid green and black 2010 BMW S1000R

CRIMINAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:

Officers responded to the 4000 block of Christine Drive at 6:38 p.m. Thursday in reference to a victim stating a suspect hit him in the face and sides with a plastic mannequin head. Officers observed the victim to see that his upper lip was bleeding. He requested EMS treatment but refused to go with them. Officers then made contact with the suspect, who told the officers that she and the victim began arguing over a door being locked, and they became engaged in mutual combat where he pulled her new â&#x20AC;&#x153;tracksâ&#x20AC;? out. They were both advised to seek warrants against each other.

materials were reported stolen at 7:30 a.m. Thursday from a site in the 3000 block of Preserve Court. An air-conditioning unit valued at $2,000 was reported stolen at 11:15 a.m. Thursday from a residence in the 100 block of Pearl Court. An Army-issued Digi-

tal ballistic vest valued at $3,000 was reportedly stolen from a residence in the 600 block of Dillon Trace Street between 7 p.m. Wednesday and 7:05 p.m. Thursday. A black Dell laptop computer valued at $700 was reportedly stolen from a vehicle parked in the 2000 block of Broad

Street between 8:15 p.m. and 9:13 p.m. Thursday. A white air-conditioning unit, an Element flat-screen 32-inch television and an RCA Bluray home entertainment center were reportedly stolen from a residence in the 10 block of Loring Drive between 10 a.m. and 11:08 p.m. Thursday.

e l a S e t i h W MAYTAG BRAVOS WASHER t DV GU 5PQ -PBEJOH 4UFBN t $PMPS (SBOJUF (SBZ

WE BUY GOLD! Per Penny Weight Per Gram 10 KT $24.00 14 KT $35.00 16 KT $42.00 18 KT $46.00 22 KT $59.00

VANDALISM:

An unknown suspect reportedly scratched the driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and passengerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s side as well as the tailgate and the hood of a black 2004 Ford F250 about 9:20 a.m. Thursday. The estimated total cost of the damage is $5,000.

valued at $20,000 was reportedly stolen from a residence in the 4000 block of Blanche Road between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday. A black Garmin NUVI, a handmade turkey spurs necklace, a Lanyard duck call necklace with six duck calls and silver bands, a pair of dry plus duck camo waders, a carton of Pall Mall Blue cigarettes, a furry camo hunting hat and two pairs of Nikon binoculars were reportedly stolen from a residence in the first block of Maplewood Drive between 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and 4:30 a.m. Thursday. The estimated total value of the stolen items is $625. A maroon 2011 Chevrolet Cruz valued at $12,000 was reportedly stolen from a residence in the 600 block of Coachman Drive between 7 p.m. Wednesday and 5:30 a.m. Thursday. Approximately $1,500 worth of construction

10 KT $15.72 14 KT $22.76 16 KT $27.24 18 KT $29.80 22 KT $38.12

All prices above based on gold market price.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We buy Silver Coins & Sterling alsoâ&#x20AC;?

Gold Shop & Big T Jewelers 6600 Bultman l Drive | SSumter, SC S 29150 | ((803)) 774-6767 46 6 520 West Boyce Street | Manning, SC 29102 | (803) 435-8094

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WINTER CLEAN-UP SEASON! Â&#x2021; 6KUXE 3UXQLQJ Â&#x2021; 3LQHVWUDZ 0XOFK $SSOLFDWLRQ Â&#x2021; :HHG&RQWURO

*5&. .78# #(

MAYTAG BRAVOS XL DRYER t DV GU &MFDUSJD %SZFS XJUI 4UFBN t $PMPS (SBOJUF (SBZ

*5&. .&%# #(

8F 4FMM t *OTUBMM t 4FSWJDF 8IBU 8F 4FMM 'JOBODJOH "WBJMBCMF 1152 Pocalla Rd, Sumter

(803) 773-8016

0QFO .PO 'SJ r BN QN

www.turfmastersc.com fmastersc.co fmast fm ste ters rsc sc.co co om

CALL US TODAY!

Celebrating 45 Years in Business!

LOCAL / NATION

THE ITEM

STINNEY from Page A1 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I KNEW GEORGE STINNEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mom didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like us to drink out of (our) well, so we went to one behind Green Hill Church,â&#x20AC;? in the area where the missing girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bodies would later be found in a shallow ditch, said Sadie Duke, who was 7 years old at the time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;George Stinney came up to us pushing a tricycle with his foot on the back. He asked us what we were doing there ... and then he told us â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;get away from here, or Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll kill you.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Duke remembers the encounter occurred the day before the girls went missing. She and her friends recognized him because he was often seen in the area grazing the family cow. Duke said she was threatened along with Violet Freeman, who was also friends with Binnicker. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My mother remembers (Binnicker) came to our home and asked for Violetâ&#x20AC;? on the day they disappeared, said Freemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister Ruth Turner. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She told her Violet wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t there, and they went on down toward the church.â&#x20AC;? Evelyn Roberson remembers her late husband, Bethea, would graze his familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cows â&#x20AC;&#x153;on the edge of the railroad tracks,â&#x20AC;? and Stinney, who was younger but a similar height, would often try to â&#x20AC;&#x153;wrestleâ&#x20AC;? or â&#x20AC;&#x153;fightâ&#x20AC;? with him.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like it was once a week; it was every day,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He always just tried to pick a fight with him, for no reason.â&#x20AC;? THE REVEREND SPEAKS

Turner said she thinks Stinneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s motive for the crimes was to steal the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bicycle, citing a story told by Francis Batson that Stinney once tried to push him off his bicycle. Batson today said he â&#x20AC;&#x153;vaguelyâ&#x20AC;? remembers the interaction as he rode near the black part of town. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if he meant to be malicious or playful,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I thought I got along with everybody in Alcolu.â&#x20AC;? Batson, a former pastor at Alice Drive Baptist Church who now lives in Arkansas, was a year older than Stinney and recalls the younger boy often coming into the store where he worked. A preacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son, Batson would go on to play a key role in discovering the bodies of Binnicker and Thames in a shallow ditch and is cited in defense motions pushing for a retrial because he was never called to testify about the scene. But Batson said he still believes in Stinneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guilt, as he did at the time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was always told that,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, I hope they find the person who did.â&#x20AC;?

The defense motion says Batson â&#x20AC;&#x153;did not see any footprints or drag marks leading to the ditch,â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;(t)here was not a significant amount of blood in or around the ditch,â&#x20AC;? facts they assert show the girls â&#x20AC;&#x153;were probably murdered elsewhere.â&#x20AC;? But Batson said he wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t looking around for any such evidence, merely trying to find the missing girls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve blotted a lot of that outâ&#x20AC;? of his memory, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t appreciate it being intimated I said anything like that.â&#x20AC;? The retired preacher is still friendly with relatives of George W. Burke, another man in the search party that day who went on to serve as foreman of the coronerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inquest that blamed the murders on Stinney, something defenders say constituted a due process violation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want them to think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m trying to implicate their father in anything,â&#x20AC;? he said. THE MISSING EVIDENCE

Another Binnicker niece, Frankie Dyches, said she spoke to one of the officers who arrested Stinney, the late S.J. Pratt, who happened to discuss the case while Dychesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; husband was cutting his hair. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He came to me and said there was never a broken link in the evidence, and he never had any doubt who killed my

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

aunt,â&#x20AC;? she said. While defense attorneys assert no evidence can be found from Stinneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original trial, family members have heard over the years how more evidence was collected but was never introduced at trial because Stinney confessed, and they cite previous reporting on the case to support the legitimacy of Stinneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s confession. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I would swear on a stack of Bibles today that that boy was guilty,â&#x20AC;? James E. Gamble Jr. told the Item in 1995. The son of J.E. Gamble, Clarendon Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sheriff at the time of the Binnicker and Thames murders, Gamble told how he rode with his father and Stinney on the way to the young convictâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s execution in Columbia. During the ride, Gamble remembered Stinney â&#x20AC;&#x153;repeated his confession several times.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;He repeatedly told my daddy how he hit one of the girls and the other girl was squealing, so he hit her to stop her squealing,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The boy said he was mainly trying to make them be quiet, but he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean to kill them.â&#x20AC;? Locals then and family members now also say they heard how law enforcement seized bloody clothes from Stinneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home, or even recovered a murder weapon, but thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no record any such evidence was intro-

STSM launches arts anti-violence project FROM STAFF REPORTS Calling all area artists. Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands is partnering with local artists and organizations to launch the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Imagine If â&#x20AC;? project, an arts and anti-violence initiative that invites community members to identify elements of violence around them and imagine a world where

those things do not exist. Formerly named Rape Crisis Network, STSM is a private, nonprofit, United Way member agency that provides a range of free services to survivors of sexual assault and abuse in Sumter, Richland, Lexington and Newberry counties. Artists are asked to create and submit their works by March 14, and STSM will display a selec-

tion of pieces at Tappâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Arts Center, Columbia, in April in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. STSM is also hosting workshops with Tappâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Artist-in-Residence Jim Dukes and others between now and the end of the project. To register for an â&#x20AC;&#x153;Imagine Ifâ&#x20AC;? workshop, contact Alexis Stratton at pec@stsm.org or visit stsm.org/imagineif.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Slightly hauntedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; home gets attention DUNMORE, Pa. (AP) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Between the mysteriously banging doors, the odd noises coming from the basement and the persistent feeling that someone is standing behind them, homeowners Gregory and Sandi Leeson are thoroughly creeped out by their 113-year-old Victorian. So when they put the house in northeastern Pennsylvania up for sale last month, they advertised it as â&#x20AC;&#x153;slightly haunted.â&#x20AC;? Then things got really weird. There were calls from ghost hunters. An open house attracted lots of curiosity seekers but no legitimate buyers. And a former resident came out of the woodwork to tell the couple that when he was a kid, he found a human skull in the basement â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the same basement whose door Sandi Leeson once barricaded because she swore she could hear the clicking of a cigarette lighter emanating from the subterranean depths. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enough to make her husband wonder whether he did the right thing when he playfully wrote about the homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

duced at the trial. CLOSURE REOPENED

Geddings and Dyches said they and other relatives met with Third Circuit Solicitor Ernest â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chipâ&#x20AC;? Finney III to encourage him to defend Stinneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original conviction when the retrial motion is heard at the Sumter County Judicial Center on Tuesday but arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t optimistic much can be done. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I know whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to happen,â&#x20AC;? Dyches said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll grant him a new trial, and then heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not going to be indicted because thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no evidence left, and then it will be as if it never even happened.â&#x20AC;? Marsha Bailey, a daughterin-law to Binnickerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister, said growing up with the violent murder of her sister as a child had a lifelong impact on her mother-in-law. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was devastating for her to have to live with that,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It changed her perception of people.â&#x20AC;? If the 1944 verdict in the Stinney case is overturned, the family of the victims feel theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll never have any closure for the brutal murder of the aunt they never knew. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The solicitor said he was sympathetic to the Stinney family,â&#x20AC;? Geddings said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And so are we. But Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sympathetic to my family, too.â&#x20AC;? Reach Bristow Marchant at (803) 774-1272.

AmeriCorps to host MLK Jr. health fair FROM STAFF REPORTS United Way AmeriCorps Program with host a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Community Health Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Sumter Mall, 1057 Broad St. The event is free and open to the public. With a focus on healthy decisions and combating the obesity-related issues facing America, the fair will feature local organizations providing information on available programs and services. There will also be activities for children and a Zumba class. United Way AmeriCorps Program is a kindergarten-through-third-grade literacy tutoring initiative of United Way of Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties funded by a grant from the South Carolina Commission for National and Community Services. Currently, 19 members are helping to improve the reading skills of more than 300 students in these grades in Sumter County at four elementary schools and two after-school programs and in Lee County at two elementary schools. As part of the service in the AmeriCorps Program, AmeriCorps members come together for the holiday to serve their neighbors and communities. The MLK Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, the presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems. The focus for 2014 MLK Day is health and wellness. For more information, contact Natasha Jenkins at (803) 773.7935 or email at njenkins@uwaysumter.org.

STATE BRIEF

From Associated Press reports THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The 1901 Victorian home at 1217 Marion St. in Dunmore, Pa., that is being advertised as â&#x20AC;&#x153;slightly hauntedâ&#x20AC;? is seen in December. Pennsylvania homeowners Gregory and Sandi Leeson are thoroughly creeped out by their 113-year-old Victorian home.

spooky charms: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Slightly haunted. Nothing serious, though,â&#x20AC;? says the listing on Zillowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real-estate site. It goes on to describe 3:13 a.m. screams and â&#x20AC;&#x153;the occasional ghastly visageâ&#x20AC;? in the bathroom mirror. The listing attracted local and national media attention. Now the Leesons just need an actual buyer for the four-bedroom home, on the market for $144,000. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I tried to word it with a little bit of a sense of humor,â&#x20AC;? said Greg Leeson, a 35-yearold who works in information technology, but â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think it has

helped with marketing. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not really getting very many interested buyers. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re getting a lot of nonsense people.â&#x20AC;? Spring should bring more traffic. But if it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sell, Leeson said they might consider renting it out â&#x20AC;&#x201D; by the night â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to folks looking for

BUYING GOLD EVERYDAY Paying Top Dollar in Sumter

JEWELRY WHOLESALE & 8FTNBSL #MWE t 778-1031

spooky thrills. While Leeson concedes the home has a â&#x20AC;&#x153;creepy vibe,â&#x20AC;? he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe in ghosts. And his wife? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I definitely think thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a spirit or a ghost in the house, just from my personal experiences,â&#x20AC;? she said.

2 die when SUV goes off Columbia bridge COLUMBIA â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Two people have died after an SUV ran off a bridge and fell into the Congaree River in Columbia. The vehicle went off the bridge to Cayce at about 9:45 p.m. Thursday. Columbia Fire Department spokesman Brick Lewis said the SUV was traveling from Columbia to Cayce when it crashed through a guardrail and went into the water. Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said Denzel E. Whyatt Jr., 35, of Columbia, was pronounced dead at the scene after the vehicle was pulled from the water. The passenger, 40-yearold Shannon Y. Mickens of West Columbia, was pronounced dead later at a Columbia hospital.

NATION

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

THE ITEM

Shoppers fret about authenticity of Target emails BY BREE FOWLER AP Technology Writer NEW YORK — An email sent to the roughly 70 million Target customers who may have been affected by a pre-Christmas data breach is causing panic among those who fear it could be an attempt to victimize them again. Target says the email, which offers free credit-monitoring ser-

vices to potential victims of the breach, is legitimate. But the company has identified a handful of scammers who are trying to take advantage of the public’s fear and confusion. Consumers have been on edge since news of the data breach broke last month. And they’ve been warned to be on alert for possible follow-up attacks that could come in the form of phishing emails,

electronic messages designed to implant malicious software on their computers or draw them to websites that prompt them to enter personal information. So when Target’s email began circulating earlier this week, many recipients questioned its authenticity. The email was especially suspicious to people who say they haven’t set foot in a Target store in years.

Jim Reid, 60, of Minneapolis said he was a little nervous about clicking on the link in the email, and he questioned whether it was a good idea to send Target even more personal information when they were unable to protect it in the first place. “There’s too much uncertainty,” Reid said. “They keep changing what they’re saying about how many people were affected, about

what kinds of information were stolen. It’s obvious that they really don’t know.” According to Target, hackers stole data related to 40 million credit and debit card accounts and also pilfered personal information, including email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses and names of as many as 70 million customers. Target spokeswoman

Molly Snyder said it’s those 70 million people that Target contacted by email. And while Target thinks the theft of the roughly 40 million debit and credit card numbers only affected cards swiped between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, the 70 million people whose personal information was stolen could have last shopped at a Target store months, or even years, ago.

Birds sync wing beats in formation NEW YORK (AP) — The next time you see birds flying in a V, consider this: A new study says they choreograph the flapping of their wings with exquisite precision to help them on their way. That’s what scientists concluded after tracking a group of large black birds — each equipped with a tiny GPS device — that had been trained to follow an ultralight aircraft. One expert in animal flight said just gathering the data, which included every wing flap, was a remarkable accomplishment. Scientists have long theorized that many birds such as these rare northern bald ibises adopt a V formation for aerodynamic reasons. When a bird flies, it leaves a wake. The idea is that an-

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Northern bald ibises are seen flying in formation. A new study released Wednesday says the birds choreograph the flapping of their wings, getting a boost from an updraft of air in the wake of the flapping wings by flying behind the first bird and off to the side.

other bird can get a boost from an updraft of air in that wake by flying behind the first bird and off to the side. When a bunch of birds use this trick, they form a V. It’s been difficult to study this in the wild, but researchers from the University of London’s Royal Veterinary College and elsewhere met that challenge by part-

nering with a conservation program that is trying to reintroduce the endangered wading bird in Europe. For about a decade, the program has hand-reared ibises from zoos and taught them their migration route by leading the way with a piloted ultralight craft. Normally, the leader of a V-formation would be a par-

ent bird. With the program’s help, the researchers tracked 14 juvenile ibises as they migrated between Austria and Italy. An analysis of a sevenminute period showed that when the ibises flew in a V, they positioned themselves in just the right places to exploit the updraft in another

bird’s wake, which lets them conserve their energy. They also appeared to time the flapping of their wings to take full advantage of that updraft, by making a wingtip follow the same undulating path through the air as the wingtip of the bird up ahead. It’s like one car following another on a roller coaster.

Future of executions unclear Convicted killer’s family questions new chemicals

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Trader Gregory Rowe, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. World stocks traded mixed Friday with a patchy performance in Asia and early gains in Europe and U.S. futures a day after losses on Wall Street.

U.S. stocks mostly lower as company earnings fall short NEW YORK (AP) — Investors weren’t impressed with the earnings news from big U.S. companies Friday. Intel slumped after giving a weak revenue forecast, and General Electric dropped after its profit margins fell short. Capital One also fell after the bank’s earnings missed expectations. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 7.19 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,838.70. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 41.55 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,458.56. The Nasdaq composite fell 21.11 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,197.58. The S&P 500 index retreated from a record high close on Wednesday. It ended the week 0.5 percent lower and continued its lackluster start to January. Still, many investors

aren’t ready to give up on the stock market’s latest rally, which capped an exceptionally strong 2013 with a gain of almost 10 percent in the final three months of the year. “Markets don’t go straight up to the moon,” said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING Investment Management. “This flat-lining is the market regrouping ... it’s a healthy pause.” GE slumped 62 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $26.58 after profit margins in the company’s industrial unit fell short of its own targets. Intel dropped 69 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $25.85 after its firstquarter revenue forecast disappointed Wall Street. Intel said revenue would reach $12.8 billion, “plus or minus” $500 million, less than analysts expected.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The long and restless execution of an Ohio inmate with an untested combination of chemicals brought cries of cruel and unusual punishment Friday and could further narrow the options for other states that are casting about for new lethal injection drugs. A gasping, snorting Dennis McGuire took 26 minutes to die after the chemicals began flowing Thursday — the longest execution of the 53 carried out in Ohio since capital punishment McGUIRE resumed 15 years ago, according to an Associated Press analysis. McGuire’s adult children complained it amounted to torture, with the convicted killer’s son, also named Dennis, saying, “Nobody deserves to go through that.” Whether McGuire felt any pain was unclear. But Ohio’s experience could influence the decisions made in the 31 other lethal-injection states, many of which have been forced in the past few years to rethink the

drugs they use. States are in a bind for two main reasons: European companies have cut off supplies of certain execution drugs because of death-penalty opposition overseas. And states can’t simply switch to other chemicals without triggering legal challenges from defense attorneys. “There’s only so many times you can say we’re going to try a new method, or try something different, where at this point it’s just going to invite a lot of skepticism,” said Fordham University law professor and lethal injection expert Deborah Denno. She added, “There’s a dead end we’ve never seen before with lethal injection.” In light of what happened in Ohio, “states will now have more of a burden to show that they are using a well-thoughtout best practice,” said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, which opposes capital punishment. Ohio’s prison system is reviewing the execution and declined to comment on the amount of time it took McGuire

to die from the two-drug combination, which had never been used before in a U.S. execution. McGuire, 53, was given both a sedative and a painkiller. Most Ohio death row inmates during the past 15 years took 15 minutes or less to die, records show. In years when Ohio used a three-drug combination, many inmates died in less than 10 minutes, according to the records. McGuire, who was sentenced to die for raping and stabbing to death a pregnant newlywed in 1989, appeared unconscious but gasped repeatedly as he lay on a gurney, his stomach rising and falling and his mouth opening and shutting. States have been hit with a series of setbacks as they attempt to refine lethal injection, with one problem cropping up as soon as another appears solved. To end constitutional challenges over the possibility of an inmate suffering undue pain from the widely used threedrug method, states beginning with Ohio switched to single doses of a powerful sedative, sodium thiopental.

...........Think.......... Lafayette L f Gold G ld & Silver Exchange We Buy Gold & Silver Jewelry Silver Coins/Collections Sterling/925 Diamonds, Pocket Watches & Wrist Watches

Karat 10K 14K 16K 18K 22K

Price per

Pennyweight (DWT) $24.00 $35.00 $42.00 $46.00 $59.00

Gram (Gr) $15.72 $22.76 $27.24 $29.80 $38.12

All prices above based on gold market price with this ad.

803-773-8022

South Carolina Newspaper Network

143 S. Lafayette Dr. Sumter, SC 29150 (at the foot of the bridge inside Vestco Properties)

LOCAL / STATE

THE ITEM

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

Ex-DEW employee sues agency director after data breach mation was part of her job and generally shouldn’t be considered a breach. Paul accuses director Cheryl Stanton of mounting a months-long campaign to make her leave because other employees viewed her as the agency’s informal leader. In a statement provided to The Associated Press on Friday, agency officials said the lawsuit had no merit. “This is nothing more than a disgruntled former employee who was fired for violating agency policy regarding the handling of personal identification information,” said Darrell T. Scott, DEW’s chief of staff. Paul’s lawsuit was filed Wednesday, the same day DEW began notifying more than 4,600 people that their information may have been compromised. Without identifying Paul at the time, agency officials said an employee had been suspended Dec. 19, a day after security software detected an unauthorized download from human resources files.

BY MEG KINNARD Associated Press Writer COLUMBIA — A former employee of South Carolina’s unemployment agency says in a lawsuit filed this week that the department’s director fabricated allegations that she improperly downloaded personal information to force her out. Kerry Paul was fired Tuesday from her post as human resources director at the Department of Employment and Workforce, or DEW. Agency officials said she downloaded personal data of thousands of current and former employees and their children and beneficiaries onto a personal flash drive. She wasn’t accused of downloading information from businesses or anyone receiving unemployment benefits. In a complaint filed this week in Richland County, Paul denies downloading the employee information on the day security software detected such a download but also says that handling the infor-

STATE BRIEFS

From Associated Press reports

Teen births drop in South Carolina

Citi laying off hundreds in Fort Mill

COLUMBIA — An advocacy group reported the teen birth rate in South Carolina has dropped 47 percent in 20 years. The South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy said the teen birth rate is at an all-time low. The campaign said the teen birth rate dropped 7 percent between 2011 and 2012. There were about 36 births for every 1,000 teen girls in 2012. Executive Director Forrest Alton said Thursday the decline represents 21,000 fewer teen births in the past 20 years. Alton said South Carolina still has the 11th-highest rate in the nation. Nineteen of the state’s 46 counties had increases in the teen birth rate in 2012, compared with 2011.

FORT MILL — Citi is closing a unit at its Fort Mill operation, eliminating hundreds of jobs. The financial company is closing its default mortgage service unit, which could affect up to half of its approximately 850 employees in the Fort Mill area, The Herald of Rock Hill reported. Citi public affairs director Mark Rodgers said about 200 workers will be laid off during the first quarter of this year. Affected employees were told this week, the same time it was announced that Citi had sold its mortgage servicing rights for about 64,000 Fannie Mae residential mortgage loans, with an outstanding balance of about $10 billion.

Sunday, Se ptember 27, 2013

mter w gym in Su

MAKIthNG UP FO

ND cenOU ts R LOST60GR SYRIAN CIVI

Sumter e ecocks look to

Gam rebound from Georgia loss with win against Vanderbilt B1

L WAR

Military str ike is avert Weapons concord te ed mpo

ITEM . strike

GENEVA breakthro (AP) — A diplom curing andugh Saturday on atic chemical destroying Syr seia’s weapons $1.50 ave 1894 sto inventory d the BER 15,rte threat of ckpile FOUNDED OCTO tar y action nents of and seizing all com U.S. mil Syr could swi for the moment ions progra ia’s chemical we poOLINA SOUTH CAR ending a ng momentum towand alties if Pre m and imposing ap| SUMTER,SER VING SOU 2013 hor 15, ard ER rifi TH EMB c civil wa CAROLINA governme sident Bashar AsspenMarath r. SUNDAY, SEPT SINCE OC tween U.S on negotiations TOBER 15, the term nt fails to comply ad’s be1894 s. with mats at a . and Russian dip Afte r day a sweepi Geneva hotel pro lonight neg s of intense day ng -andotiations require one agreement tha duced Secretary bet t of State Joh ween U.S. tious arm of the most am will Russian For n Kerry and bis-control 5 SEC TIONS, eig n tor Min effo Lav y. 34 PAGES ister Ser rts in his rov and | VOL. 118 THE ASSOCIATE U.S. Secreta powers ann their teams, the gey The deal , NO. 281 D involves left, worked ry of State John Ker PRESS framewo ounced they hadtwo making an mittee rk An ad hoc com Minister Ser with Russian For ry, ’s Syria’s che for ridding the wo a eign gey Lavrov micals wea rld of rovements to was named at Tuesday to ting on the pons. structure imp concerns. council mee mufe nty of-li cou lityqua g com ter begin collectinabout the SEE SYRIA, This week, Sum PAGE A9 back ncil took the County Cou ard putting a nity feed and how differproposal steps tow ld like to ers, if first the ballot for ent groups woud sales tax question on , asking plan extende r- see the November 2014 ed to rove by refe spent. voters to app n-year exg endum a seve county’s TAX, PAGE A9 NY PEN SEE tension of the sales tax. resstal penny infra- capi

rarily stem s

U.S. action

.S SIDgE?SUNUDA our penntuyregofINo1-cin ent tax onY Syria

discuss reach,

averted

Fun for all at the

Festival!

PHOTO PROVIDED

Region 1 Manager Sam Mumford, Sumter Office Manager Mary Peoples, Sumter Office Assistant Manager Natalie “Christy” Hendrix and Executive Director Kevin Shwedo are seen recently. Hendrix was named the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles Employee of the Year for Field Region 1.

Sumter woman wins DMV award BY TYLER SIMPSON tyler@theitem.com A Sumter resident was named the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles Employee of the Year for Field Region 1 at the annual employee Awards Ceremony held at the department’s headquarters in Blythewood on Monday. Natalie “Christy” Hendrix, assistant manager of the Sumter DMV, was one of four office employees awarded for their respective regions in the state. She was nominated for the

award by regional manager Sam Mumford, who said that her busy office was never over the 20 minutes wait-time standard for more than 365 days despite it being frequently short staffed. “The Sumter DMV is one of the top 15 offices in the state for transactions,” said Mumford. “Christy always let me know when the office was short staffed but not to worry because they could handle it. With her guidance and leadership, they never failed to provide excellent service.”

DMV executive director Kevin Shwedo said he considers Hendrix, as well as the other award winners, to be role models for the agency. “These employees are the embodiment of our agency’s values — competent, committed and courteous,” said Shwedo. “They represent our agency in the best possible manner, serving as role models to their co-workers and as positive examples of selfless public servants to their community.” Reach Tyler Simpson at (803) 774-1295.

ETV Radio adds live, classical program FROM STAFF REPORTS COLUMBIA — ETV Radio has added a live classical music program to its classical stations at 11 a.m. weekdays. The show, Classical Music with Jude Fox, is broadcast from the Wells Fargo studio at ETV Radio. Each weekday, host Fox brings listeners a sampling of the entire spectrum of classical music. She will be able to take requests for the program via e-mail at jfox@ scetv.org. Fox discovered her love of music in high school when she joined the chorus. “I loved it so much I decided to study music at the University of South Carolina,”

she said. “It was there that I learned music theory and music history. My favorite composers are Handel, Mendelssohn and Mozart, and while I hope to put some of my top picks in, it will be exciting to hear audience requests.” Fox also hosts and produces the choral music series Voices in Harmony, which airs at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on ETV Radio’s classical stations. Learn more about ETV Radio and stream programs online by visiting etvradio.org. ETV Radio classical stations are: WSCIFM 89.3/Charleston; WEPR-FM 90.1/ Greenville; and WLTR-FM 91.3/Columbia.

Our improved Sumter Item Is coming Tuesday, January 28th! We’re building a better newspaper to better serve our readers and advertisers!

IVAL

Making u p lost grounfor d

FEST the teamed up with ton Museum present the Carolina Cot Commerce to ar, the South Chamber of rday. Satu Lee County on ival in the Cotton Fest Lee County ola 5K Walk Coc ma-C uded aGa ecdow ocksntow The event incl rebn Bishndopthro s with paradewi nugh againstvenVadornds,ouride morning, a ville, food er bilt B1 e. mor and

Y COTTON

n made an

dma LEFT: The Lizar appearance

on the Harry

& Harry

s Scream Acre tures from BELOW: Crea rday. parade Satu march in the

THE ASSOCIATED

PRESS

left, John Kerry, ey y of State U.S. Secretar ian Foreign Minister Sergva, Russ speaks with a news conference in Gene Lavrov during Saturday. on Switzerland,

ord Weapons conc s em temporarily st se on military respomatic

) — A dipl GENEVA (AP rday on securing ph Satu breakthroug ng Syria’s chemical wea U.S. and destroyie averted the threat of ons stockpil on for the moment and acti tary toward end mili momentum could swing civil war. U.S. Jaton Rum a horrific ing 11, and negotiations between Bernice Kers the Lee Coup,Mar n brothe athohis a Geneva James A. haw r Mal ts atach nty Cot Smi Name here nt ton diploma Orozco eme g iagre , 5, try to Name here th and Russian Festiva l onepin Saturd Name here a swe i- give their ay. SEE PHOTOS BY t amb mos fath MORE PIC hotel produced Name here TURES ON er a high five whi KEITH GEDAMKE / SPECIAL ire one of the PAGE A4. le riding one TO THE that will requ ntrol efforts in history. nof the ride ITEM tious arms-co lves making an inve s at The deal invo all components of Syring seiz and ramBY BRISTOW tory and MOSTLY SUN Excellent wea weapons prog ar MARCHANT ical NY Bash t bmar chem iden chant ia’s @the if Pres the day; part ther with passing g penalties fails to comply item.com Blanding clouds and osin ly cloudy and imp will cool through sunshine in rnment tee, which chair the commit Sumter Co out the nigh Assad’s gove s. unty voters t. HIGH 84, ht council mewill also include goe-nig LOW 65 s acc with the termof intense day-and , y ofording to plan nexif all and Vivian mbers Charles Ede yeaetar r, wil After days Secr l be asked t Fle ns between U.S. ign “The nex ming-McGhane som negotiations y and RussiantleFore eths,ing ext to pay a litsame pro t step is to follow y. Kerr ra for a list new team r John thei cou State ces and the nty ov Business s as last tim of din ey Lavr a projec D1 g said. e,” Blanevehad they rything’s fromts, addressMinister Serg announceding Classifieds Information ers memb “There will be D3 Syria of rov infrastruc imp woreld Comics the two pow ridding the tur Advertising : 774-1200 - req er commission a sixof-life con ements to qua Daily Plan E1 framework for pons. lity- to uires to suggest proas the law Classifieds: : 774-1236 cerns. ner A10 council. 774-1234 jects bac Opinion A8 them s wein an chemicals wea Assad usedThi Delivery: of project They should get a k 774 Council tooek, Sumter Count Television The U.S. says s News and -1258 list to E3 y us k theA9firs next yea Sports: ward Still in its A, PAGE t ste SYRIting SEE put 774-1226 early stag r.” a questio ps to- posal wo ballot for es, the pro n on uld ing voters November 2014, the for Progress prolong the Penny ask VISIT US ON endum a to approve by refe - tially approv sales tax voted iniLINE AT th of the couseven-year extens r- more than ed in 2008. In the e fou .com sales tax. nty’s capital pen ion been collect r years the tax has ny million has ed, more than $48 An ad ens of diff been spent on doz named athoc committee wa ere eral other nt projects. But council meTuesday’s county s sevpro be comple jects still need lecting cometing to begin col to sunset dat ted before the tax about the munity feedba Octo’s ck county offie of April 30, 2016, e throughout different proposal and how and cials adm groups wo will take plac ing in Celebration , has it see God the uld n’t inat the will “Oh col tax t like extende lected to t even ber, culm theme is Oct. 20. Tha Council Cha d sales tax spent. nue as expecte as much revebration. The Ages Past.” Sunday on ed tours of the new d. irman Lar Our Help in wonderful sweetry include guidarchives room as well “All was not but through God’s SEE PENNY history and on of items for a t, TAX, PAGE A9 ness and ligh ived it all,” Pitts as the collectito be opened in we surv e, nts sule yea grac mter - rs. time cap a luncheon. Docume brat“W . cele said n such and s bee 3, e the item 206 out has com or udeswe The church ting with a heri dher- itage,”on edisp of will lay etnhan a gooincl ess n, atio and dly star , sai rpor rch ligh d Sue inco throug all year chu ofts, cha lesPit irwomas Gold’s gra t, but cofor thehcoa heri- ing tea for women in the mot anartic , billsviv of themin ce, we sur throughout niaher edt itthe Bicutes all,” enten- to hea Octob a tour of therch ofl Commwrit - nating rwom- tage itteten e. e used The chu Pitts said. the spring, in Celebr er, culmiThe second that was onc rch has bee mittee. in rch — the Baptist Chu an HISTORICA atio brating all A7 BY chu n cele- day on Oct. 20. Th n SunL HIGHLI tee — andis aSandra co-chairwom- 200 YEARS, PAGE yea man isjandeJADE AND GHTS SEE a her ERShON Hills of San . The fes Wallace. Hig 1813 A grou itage tea r, starting with will include guidedat event the rson@ theitem.com ’s musical program tivi for the new ties took the church is to tou wo yeas rs rs of townsfolk p of Sumterville children IDE two of High Hill plan. No INS in the sprmen in room histor y and attending years to tour ts tou ther archives even mit w r of as we the Ano ing, TSI the Church of tee is rea a DE yFirst Bap ONS, 34 PAGES Sept. 22, and the High Hills Baptist s read SECTIcol tion of item ll as 5the OU dy to inv com- the Bapthe mother chu tist Ch d for ers dule lec Sum brok to urc rch of Santee sche ite tist e off to form join h of s for a tim - ter has oth D1 — sule he cele esse cap their own to be ope Busin The theme in the celebratio - High Hills ofChurch of NY munity for ser ved the com ship grou the SUN D3 worTLY HS ned p that n. childr SanMOS is “Oh and lun - Help DEAT the past inifieds 2063, en’s music tee —weath ander awith passingaclouds E1 First Baptist of would become che Class 200 in Ages Pas God, Our ent Doics Sumter. al pro Excell cuments A10 display wilon.Com t.” Anoth Kershaw “AlBern gram.the day;on l waice partly cloudy nolia St. 181 er s not wo in suc h nderf ludPlann is scheduer tour ofandHig Daily h as articlel inc sunsh e items A8woo 8 Work began on a hine C 29150 James A. Smit Hills the ul simple den meeting incion hout tionight. and eventsled for Sep n, handw s ofOpin 774-1200 orp throug t. E3 5-900) on: 22, cool ora hou mati and se that served this ritten Telev Infor A9 will take minision 774-1236 group as well utes, LOW: 65 pla 84 ce A10 HIGH: Advertising: tem .com Presbyte as area 234 NA

FOUNDE

D OCTOB

The Sumter Item is locally owned and run. We’re part of this community and we believe in Sumter. News, information and advertising are vital services for the growth and future of the region, so for the past several months and throughout 2014, we’ve been reinvesting in your newspaper.

We’ve hired more staf to improve our content. We’ve improved visuals and typography, and freshened our branding. And we’re building a new and better web site. Our content will be more visual, more actionable and more engaging — and that makes The Item an even better vehicle to help you grow your business.

DEATHS, A9

WEATHER, A10

INSIDE

Where is your penn tax going?y

Local figur es di reach and scuss futu of 1-cent ta re x

es 200 years mter celebrat t of Su Celebratin g 200 years Festivities : ‘Through be the First Ba gin for Go pt Church of ist Su bicentenni mter’s al

Classifieds: 774-1258 Delivery: 774-1 226 774-1 News, Sports:

d’s grace, w

e survived

SEE 200 YEA RS, PAGE A7

rians and

it all’

Methodists

SEE HISTOR Y, PAGE A7

Wider columns: Better for readers and better for your message We’ve changed the sizes of our columns and advertising, both in print and online. And we’re ofering more targeted advertising options to improve the

efectiveness of even our least expensive advertising options.

Getting your business more exposure online and in print Our combined print and online audience is larger than ever in our history. And we know it’s important for your message to appear in both for maximum reach and efectiveness.

Beginning in 2014, every print ad will be showcased online, providing a web presence for your business. Many of our print packages will also include web ad components. And we’ll continue to ofer high-

profile web advertising options. Growing your audience, reach and effectiveness in print and online — it’s all part of doing a better job for you, our community and our readers.

OBITUARIES

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

GEORGE W. COOPER Jr. ALCOLU — George W. Cooper Jr., 61, died Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, at Clarendon Memorial Hospital, Manning. He was born in New Zion, a son of Hattie Abraham Cooper and the late George W. Cooper Sr. COOPER He received his formal education in the public schools of Clarendon County School District 2. He was a farmer. Survivors are his mother of Alcolu; five sisters, Mary E. Samuels of Manning, Hattie A. Hickman of Sumter, and Daisiy M. Slater, Eva R. Cooper and Patricia A. Cooper, all of Alcolu; five brothers, Johnny L. Cooper, Windell Cooper and Robert Cooper, all of Alcolu, Jonathan Cooper of Sumter and Elroy (Mary) Cooper of Charleston, W.Va. Celebratory services for Mr. Cooper will be held at 2:30 p.m. Monday at Friendship Presbyterian Church (USA), New Zion, with the Rev. Carnell Hampton, moderator, presiding, and the Rev. Jerome McCray, eulogist. Burial will follow in the churchyard cemetery. Mr. Cooper will lie in repose one hour before funeral time. The family is receiving friends at the home of his sister, Mary Samuels, 720 W. Huggins St., Manning. These services have been entrusted to Samuels Funeral Home LLC of Manning. BETTIE B. WALKER MANNING — Bettie Ruth Brock Walker, widow of Albert Walker, heard her master’s call on Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, at Greenville Memorial Hospital in Greenville. Born Feb. 4, 1948, in Manning, she was a daughter of the late Nettle and Gainful Cain Brock. Mrs. Walker was the mother of Kenya Brock, Tyron Walker and Shane

C. Walker. Service of remembrance will be held at 11 a.m. today at Society Hill AME Church, S.C. 260 South, Manning, with the Rev. Mary Rhodes officiating. The family will receive friends at her home, 1113 R. Johnson Road, Davis Station community, Manning. Fleming & Delaine Funeral Home and Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be sent to flemingdelaine@aol.com.

ALICE B. WHITE Alice Brock White, widow of Levi White Sr., died Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014. She was born May 15, 1920, in Clarendon County, to the late Dave Johnson and Victoria Brock. Her education was obtained in the schools of Clarendon County. Her life’s legacy was to care for others, as she took care of everyone who came across her doorsteps. She loved people and people loved her. Left to mourn her passing are her children, Carolyn E. Brock and Willie (Geneva) White, both of Manning; grandchildren caring for her in the home, Marie Brock, Wayne Brock and Samantha Brock; 26 additional grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; two sisters, Catherine Dixon of Philadelphia, Pa., and Mary Boyd of Buffalo, N.Y.; a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and many dear friends. Services for Mrs. White will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Society Hill AME Church, Morello Road, Jordan community, Manning. The family is receiving friends at the home, 1945 Kenwood Road, Manning. Fleming & Delaine Funeral Home and Chapel of Manning is in charge of the services. CHARLIE WASHINGTON Charlie Washington, 79, departed this life on

Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center. Born April 30, 1934, in Sumter, he was a son of the late Willie and Ocala Potts Washington. The family is receiving friends at the home of his son, Charles Washington, 11-A Somerset Drive, Sumter. Funeral plans are incomplete and will be announced later by Job’s Mortuary Inc. of Sumter.

HARRISON F. MAYRANT Harrison Freddie Mayrant, affectionately known as “Mop,” 64, departed this life on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014, at his home in Sumter. Born April 11, 1949, in Rembert, Sumter County, he was a son of James Mayrant Sr. and the late Elizabeth Miller Mayrant. He was united in holy matrimony to Shirley H. Mayrant. He leaves to cherish loving and unforgettable memories: father, James Mayrant Sr. of Rembert; a loving wife, Shirley H. Mayrant of Sumter; one son, Anthony (Yvetta) Burroughs of Bishopville; grandchildren; stepchildren, Eugenia Hunter of Camden, Abner (Desiree) Burroughs of Fredericksburg, Va., and Christine Jones of Sumter; stepgrandchildren; sisters, Bessie Workman of Capitol Heights, Md., a devoted and loving sister who stood by him to the end, Delulyn (Alfonso) Green of Sumter, Essie (Joe) Chandler of Lanham, Md., Janie (Richard) Crom and Mary Mayrant, both of Rembert, and Ella Jane Jackson of Camden; brothers, James (Diane) Mayrant Jr. of Inglewood, Calif., and Nehemiah Mayrant of Sumter; aunts and uncles, Essie Skinner of Brooklyn, N.Y., Minnie Mayrant (Joe) Crim, Queen Dennis and Georgia Mae (Arthur Jr.) Floyd, all of Rembert, and Haze Mayrant of Columbia; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Gone but not forgotten: his mother, Eliza-

beth Miller Mayrant; sisters, Eva Mae Ellis and Ruby Smith; and two brothers-in-law, Charlie Workman and Edward Lawson. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. today at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, 7355 Camden Highway (U.S. 521 North), Rembert, with the Rev. Anthony Taylor Sr., pastor, eulogist, Bishop Nathaniel D. Dixon Sr. presiding, assisted by the Rev. Derrick Arthur, Pastor Richard Croom and Evangelist Barbara Dinkins. The family will receive friends and relatives at the home of his father, James Mayrant Sr., 5490 Dais Road, Rembert. The remains will be placed in the church at noon. The funeral procession will leave at 12:30 p.m. from the home of his father. Floral bearers and pallbearers will be family and friends. Burial will be in Mt. Pisgah Baptist Churchyard cemetery. Online memorial messages may be sent to the family at williamsfuneralhome@sc.rr. com. Visit us on the web. Services directed by the management and staff of Williams Funeral Home Inc., 821 N. Main St., Sumter.

FRANK M. EVANS MANNING — Frank M. Evans, 38, died Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, at his residence, 4550 S. Brewington Road, Manning. He was born Feb. 21, 1976, in Freeport Long Island, N.Y., a son of Jonathan and Leola Hammond Evans. The family is receiving friends at the home of his parents, 145 Shady Lane, Kingstree. These services have been entrusted to Samuels Funeral Home LLC of Manning. STEPHEN WILLIS Stephen Willis, 76, husband of Susan Jackson Willis, died Friday, Jan. 17, 2014, at his

THE ITEM

home. Born Jan. 26, 1937, in Sumter County, he was a son of Mary Lee Taylor. The family will receive friends and relatives at the home, 913 Clay St., Sumter. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Williams Funeral Home Inc. of Sumter.

GARRY B. JASPER Garry Benjamin Jasper, 49, died Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, at his home. Born Jan. 15, 1965, in Sumter County, he was a son of Geneva Alston Jasper and the late Joseph Jasper. The family will receive friends and relatives at the home, 6210 Jasper Drive, Rembert. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Williams Funeral Home Inc. of Sumter. KENNETH DINKINS Kenneth Dinkins, 47, departed this life on Friday, Jan. 17, 2014, at his residence. Born July 7, 1966, in Sumter County, he was a son of Inez Wright Dinkins Mitchell and the late Samuel Dinkins. The family will be receiving friends at the home of Luke and Elizabeth Gayle, 66 Sally St., Wedgefield. Funeral plans are incomplete and will be announced later by Job’s Mortuary Inc. of Sumter. NORWOOD E. SPANN Norwood Edwin Spann, 96, husband of Janet D. Spann, died Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, at his home. Born in Sumter County, he was a son of the late Ernest Harleston Spann and Geraldine Aleada Beattie Spann. Mr. Spann was a farmer, a lifelong member of Trinity United Methodist Church, and a past president of the Trinity Fellowship Class. He was a U.S. Army-Air Corps veteran of World War II and served in the South Pacific. He was a member

of American Legion Post 15, serving as post commander 1969-70 and on the Sumter County Fair committee. He was also an avid P-15’s fan. Mr. Spann was with the original organizing group of Farm Bureau in the early 1940’s, serving on the board of directors for Sumter County Farm Bureau and on the Farm Bureau State Board of Directors. Surviving are his wife of Sumter; a son, Robert Edwin Spann (Daphne) of Orem, Utah; three daughters, Susan S. Trautsch (Alfred) of Sumter, Marcia S. Boettcher (Jon) of Waynesville, N.C., and Darlene S. Thrift (Philip) of High Point, N.C.; 11 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a brother, Wilbur Spann; and sisters, Aleada Weldon and Estelle Spann. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Trinity United Methodist Church with the Rev. Dr. Reginald Thackston and the Rev. Charles Clanton officiating. Burial will be in Sumter Cemetery. Pallbearers will be John H. Spann, Wesley Spann, Ryan Spann, Clifton L. Spann, Cliff Spann, Cory Osteen, Robert Carlisle and Brooks Stuckey. The family will receive friends from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home and other times at the home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Trinity United Methodist Church, 226 W. Liberty St., Sumter, SC 29150 or to a charity of one’s choice. Online condolences may be sent to www. sumterfunerals.com. Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 775-9386.

NATION

Another round of cold on the way MILWAUKEE (AP) — The polar vortex that gripped much of the country has moved on, but don’t get too comfortable — another round of frigid air is expected to arrive next week across the northern U.S., from the Dakotas eastward to New England. It’ll be cold, but not the lifethreatening cold of last week when subzero temperatures enveloped much of the country and contributed to at least a dozen deaths. Temperatures will start falling during the weekend into Monday, said Bob McMahon, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The cold is expected to persist until Thursday, just in time for a second blast of frigid air to move in and keep temperatures about 10 degrees below average, he said. “We get these periods of below-normal temperatures in the winter. It’s not abnormally cold, it’s not a record cold but it is colder than normal,” McMahon said Friday. “People just need to be aware of that and take normal precautions.” The freeze will start moderately today in Pennsylvania and states northward. Highs will generally range from the teens to lower 20s, and the cold spell could extend as far

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Poet and social activist Amiri Baraka speaks during the Black Political Convention in Gary, Ind. Baraka, a Beat poet, black nationalist and Marxist revolutionary known for his bluesbased, fist-shaking manifestos, died on Thursday at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, N.J., at age 79.

N.J. wake set for activist poet-writer Amiri Baraka THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Traffic moves slower than usual on I-94 west of Mandan, N.D., shortly after sunrise as high crosswinds and blowing snow reduced visibility and made for hazardous driving conditions and road closures on Thursday.

south as the Gulf states. But while states such as Florida and Texas will see temperatures in the 60s near 70 by Monday, the northern and northeastern states won’t see highs above the single digits. In parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, highs might not even top zero. Lows are expected to remain in the subzero range on

Tuesday night. While New England could see highs of about 20 on Wednesday, the upper Midwest probably won’t see temperatures above the teens. That cold front is expected to be gone by Thursday. However, meteorologists predict it’ll be followed by another blast of cold air pushing down from Canada on Friday or Saturday.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson will be among those honoring activist poet-playwright Amiri Baraka at a wake in New Jersey. The wake was to be held at Newark’s Metropolitan Baptist Church on Friday. The 79-year-old author of blues-based, fist-shaking poems, plays and criticisms died last Thursday. Baraka’s supporters considered him a genius and a prophet. But critics denounced him as

homophobic and antiSemitic. He was named New Jersey’s poet laureate in 2002, drawing criticism for the Sept. 11 poem “Somebody Blew up America.” “Who knew the World Trade Center was gonna get bombed,” read a line from the poem. “Who told 4,000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers to stay home that day?” Officials couldn’t fire him so they eliminated the position.

DAILY PLANNER

THE ITEM

DETOUR from Page A1 the school, and I said, ‘Yeah. Of course.’ If you are coming up Alice Drive to go to Walmart, you need to take a different route. If you live off Bay Blossom (Avenue) or Oriole Court, you can still get down to your house. Everybody can get where they need to go.” The main detour will be Gion Street to North Guignard Drive to Wise Drive. It will be clearly marked, Farnum said. Alice Drive will be barricaded at Preot for about two weeks, he said. People living in that area will need to take the back way off Guignard or Gion. This is the first and the most difficult of five such detours. “This is the largest pipe in the deepest area,” Farnum said. “All the others (detours) will be one or two days. The way the job is designed

is the most difficult part of the project is where we have to begin work. It’s very slow to begin with, but (afterwards) things should become a little easier and start moving a lot faster.” Overall, the project has been going slow, Farnum said. “Weather has been a big factor,” the project manager said. “You work a few days, you lose a few days.” Construction on the $9.3 million widening of Alice Drive began in August 2012 and was originally scheduled to be complete in July of this year. But in October, George McGregor, planning director for the Sumter City/County Planning Department, told The Item the project was running three months behind schedule. Reach Jade Reynolds at (803) 774-1250.

TUOMEY from Page A1 with their former employees should have no bearing on the ongoing lawsuit. In a separate motion, Tuomey also asked for a few additional days to respond to the federal government’s request that the hospital depos-

it $70 million in order to continue with its appeal. As it stands now, Tuomey has until Tuesday to file its response but has asked Seymour to give it until Thursday. Reach Braden Bunch at (803) 774-1201.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

QUIZ 795-4257

TODAY

TONIGHT

SUNDAY

MONDAY 59°

52° 44°

38°

23°

Mostly sunny and cooler

Partly cloudy

Breezy with plenty of sunshine

30°

Milder with a full day of sunshine

Partly sunny, breezy and cooler

Sunshine and patchy clouds

Winds: W 8-16 mph

Winds: SW 7-14 mph

Winds: WSW 10-20 mph

Winds: WSW 8-16 mph

Winds: NNE 10-20 mph

Winds: NNE 6-12 mph

Chance of rain: 0%

Chance of rain: 10%

Chance of rain: 0%

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 15%

Chance of rain: 20%

Sumter through 4 p.m. yesterday High ............................................... 57° Low ................................................ 30° Normal high ................................... 55° Normal low ..................................... 32° Record high ....................... 78° in 2013 Record low ........................... 9° in 1994

Greenville 42/29

Precipitation 24 hrs ending 4 p.m. yest. ........... Month to date .............................. Normal month to date ................. Year to date ................................. Normal year to date ....................

Lake Murray Marion Moultrie Wateree

Full 7 a.m. 24-hr pool yest. chg 360 356.40 -0.02 76.8 75.96 +0.48 75.5 73.90 +0.20 100 99.56 -0.20

River Black River Congaree River Lynches River Saluda River Up. Santee River Wateree River

Full pool 12 19 14 14 80 24

City Aiken Asheville Athens Augusta Beaufort Cape Hatteras Charleston Charlotte Clemson Columbia

Today Hi/Lo/W 45/30/s 32/24/pc 42/30/s 46/30/s 46/33/s 45/35/s 46/32/s 40/27/s 42/30/s 46/29/s

7 a.m. yest. 8.67 5.90 9.83 7.89 81.83 20.40

Bishopville 44/29

0.00" 2.50" 2.22" 2.50" 2.22"

24-hr chg +0.23 -1.10 +0.40 none -0.30 -0.20

Sun. Hi/Lo/W 52/28/s 43/23/s 49/29/s 53/26/s 55/35/s 50/43/s 55/35/s 49/25/s 52/29/s 52/29/s

Columbia 46/29 Today: Mostly sunny and colder. Sunday: Breezy in the morning; otherwise, mostly sunny.

Sun. Hi/Lo/W 51/28/s 49/32/pc 51/30/s 51/30/s 52/30/s 66/36/pc 51/26/s 50/30/s 55/33/s 47/28/pc

-10s -0s 0s 10s

40s 50s

80s 90s 100s 110s Stationary front

Cold front Showers Rain T-storms Snow Flurries

Federal law blocks horse slaughtering SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The resumption of commercial horse slaughter in the U.S. was blocked Friday as President Obama signed a budget measure that withholds money for required federal inspections of the slaughtering process. Although the measure provides temporary funding for the federal government, it stops the Agriculture Department from spending money for inspections necessary for slaughterhouses to ship horse meat interstate and eventually export it to overseas consumers. “This clear message from Washington echoes the opinions of an overwhelming number of Americans from coast to coast: Horse

slaughter is abhorrent and unacceptable,” said Matt Bershadker, president and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The president’s action came as a New Mexico judge granted a preliminary injunction against a Roswell company from moving forward with its plans to start slaughtering horses. The ruling by state District Judge Matthew Wilson will keep alive a lawsuit by Attorney General Gary King, who’s seeking to permanently block horse slaughter in New Mexico. The lawsuit could serve as a possible insurance plan in case the federal government provides inspection funding in the future.

Jan. 30 Full

Feb. 6

Feb. 14

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Charleston 46/32 The following tide table lists times for Myrtle Beach.

Sat. Sun.

City Greenville Hickory Hilton Head Jacksonville, FL La Grange Macon Marietta Marion Mount Pleasant Myrtle Beach

Today Hi/Lo/W 42/29/s 36/26/pc 45/36/s 52/32/s 44/29/s 46/29/s 40/29/s 36/25/pc 46/34/s 43/32/s

Sun. Hi/Lo/W 50/28/s 48/28/s 54/40/s 63/35/pc 50/29/s 54/28/s 47/29/s 47/26/pc 55/36/s 53/34/s

High Ht. 10:10 a.m.....3.0 10:35 p.m.....2.6 10:43 a.m.....3.0 11:08 p.m.....2.6

City Orangeburg Port Royal Raleigh Rock Hill Rockingham Savannah Spartanburg Summerville Wilmington Winston-Salem

Low Ht. 4:37 a.m....-0.2 5:07 p.m.....0.0 5:14 a.m....-0.1 5:39 p.m.....0.1

Today Hi/Lo/W 45/29/s 46/34/s 40/27/s 42/26/s 41/27/s 48/33/s 42/30/s 45/34/s 44/29/s 37/27/s

Sun. Hi/Lo/W 52/29/s 55/35/s 49/30/s 50/26/s 52/25/s 56/34/s 51/29/s 55/38/s 52/31/s 48/29/pc

Shown are today’s noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.

70s

Wild horses are seen at the Pryor Mountain National Wild Horse Range in south-central Montana in July 2004. The attorney for a New Mexico company that has been fighting to open a horse slaughter house says the company is not going to give up despite two lawsuits and Congressional action to block the resumption of domestic horse slaughter with a ban on funding for federal inspections at equine facilities.

Jan. 24 First

Aiken 45/30

60s

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

New

Myrtle Beach 43/32

Manning 44/29

Last

Florence 44/29

Sumter 44/29

Today: Mostly sunny and cooler. High 42 to 46. Sunday: Breezy with plenty of sunshine; warmer. High 52 to 56.

City Darlington Elizabeth City Elizabethtown Fayetteville Florence Gainesville Gastonia Goldsboro Goose Creek Greensboro

20°

Sunrise today .......................... 7:26 a.m. Sunset tonight ......................... 5:38 p.m. Moonrise today ....................... 8:10 p.m. Moonset today ........................ 8:34 a.m.

Gaffney 40/28 Spartanburg 42/30

Temperature

30s

WEDNESDAY 40°

29°

20s

NATION

TUESDAY 48°

Ice

Warm front

Today Sun. Today Sun. City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Albuquerque 54/27/s 55/27/s Las Vegas 66/42/s 65/40/s Anchorage 38/25/r 29/28/sn Los Angeles 83/53/s 79/50/s Atlanta 42/31/s 49/33/s Miami 70/44/s 71/52/s Baltimore 35/24/pc 42/26/pc Minneapolis 24/13/sn 32/-7/pc Boston 40/27/sn 38/22/sf New Orleans 56/46/s 64/49/pc Charleston, WV 28/26/pc 36/27/sn New York 42/27/c 38/29/sf Charlotte 40/27/s 49/25/s Oklahoma City 62/31/s 70/33/s Chicago 23/15/sn 35/12/pc Omaha 39/21/pc 55/17/s Cincinnati 26/21/sn 34/27/pc Philadelphia 36/26/pc 39/27/pc Dallas 68/38/s 70/46/s Phoenix 74/47/s 74/43/s Denver 56/27/s 60/25/s Pittsburgh 21/19/sf 31/23/sn Des Moines 34/21/c 47/15/s St. Louis 40/26/sf 51/25/s Detroit 21/16/c 28/9/sf Salt Lake City 36/20/s 36/20/s Helena 43/24/s 48/25/pc San Francisco 67/45/s 66/45/s Honolulu 81/64/s 81/67/s Seattle 46/38/c 50/37/c Indianapolis 26/16/sn 33/20/pc Topeka 50/23/s 63/25/s Kansas City 48/26/pc 59/24/s Washington, DC 36/27/pc 44/30/pc Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): What you ARIES (March 21-April 19): Use the last word in astrology do for others will make a difference. intelligence, timing and past Pitch in and help and you will avoid experience to help you wade eugenia LAST being criticized. Strategize and put through the information and your plan into motion. pressure you face. Annoyance must Procrastinating is not a form of not be dealt with angrily. Stay calm protection; it’s what’s holding you back. and controlled and make whatever you do or say count. An unpredictable move is favored. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Enjoy what life has to offer. Travel plans or sharing information will lead to TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Make a choice that will lead greater opportunities, insight and an innovative way to self-improvement. Sharing with a trusted friend or to make this year one to remember. Romance will ally will help you avoid an emotional situation that enhance your love life and secure your domestic can leave you in a vulnerable position. Stick close to situation. home and keep an eye on your possessions. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Discuss your plans regarding SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Go for it. Set your goal and don’t stop until you reach your destination. The work, status and the direction you want to pursue. journey will be well worth your while and the Don’t allow an emotional incident or betrayal to cost changes that result will bring you greater joy and less you mentally, physically or financially. Stand up, be conflict. Let your heart lead the way. counted and say what’s on your mind. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Spend time nurturing CANCER (June 21-July 22): Take a closer look at a important relationships. Open up conversations that pending contract, settlement or a financial need to be addressed and expect to endure some investment. Rely on a partnership to help you make unexpected problems. You cannot fix something if choices that will affect you professionally or you don’t recognize what the problem is. Listen and personally. Give love and romance top priority and make amends. Make love, not war. avoid a feud. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Keep your ears alert and LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take care of domestic problems, listen carefully to any complaints. How you handle home repairs or anything that will add to your emotional situations will make a difference to how convenience or improve your lifestyle. Listen to your personal life unfolds. A change will be a suggestions made by friends or your lover. A change reflection of the past. Learn from your mistakes. will do you good and help you move forward. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Ask questions if you aren’t VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Speak up about the way you clear what someone wants. You can show your good feel or regarding your intentions and you will find out faith and generosity, but don’t let anyone take where you stand and what you should do next. advantage of you. Stand firm with regard to what you Socialize, network and most of all, take good care of will and won’t do. Romance should be your priority. your needs and of those you love.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day closings schedule BANKS — All area banks and credit unions will be closed Monday. GOVERNMENT — The following will be closed Monday: U.S. federal government offices; U.S. Postal Service; South Carolina state government offices; City of Sumter offices; County of Sumter offices; Clarendon County offices; and Lee County offices. SCHOOLS — The following will be closed Monday: Sumter School District; Clarendon School District 1; Clarendon School District 2; Clarendon School District 3; Lee County Public Schools; Thomas Sumter Academy; St. Anne Catholic School; St. Francis Xavier High School; Laurence Manning Acad-

emy; Clarendon Hall; Sumter Christian School; William Thomas Academy; Morris College; USC Sumter; and Central Carolina Technical College. Wilson Hall will observe a teacher in-service day Monday and there will be no student attendance. Robert E. Lee Academy will be closed Monday in observance of Robert E. Lee’s birthday. OTHER — The following will be closed Monday: Clemson Extension Service; The Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce; the Harvin Clarendon County Library and the Sumter County Library. All offices of The Item will be closed Monday.

PICK 3 FRIDAY: 3-8-4 AND 9-8-7 PICK 4 FRIDAY: 9-3-2-2 AND 1-4-4-5 PALMETTO CASH 5 FRIDAY: 10-15-20-23-38 POWERUP: 5 MEGAMILLIONS NUMBERS WERE NOT AVAILABLE AT PRESS TIME

FOR WEDNESDAY: 7-8-9-24-29 POWERBALL: 25

SPORTS SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

THE ITEM To contact the Sports Department, call (803) 774-1241 or e-mail sports@theitem.com

Sumter earns im-press-ive sweep of Conway BY DENNIS BRUNSON dennisb@theitem.com The Conway High School varsity boys basketball team came out of a timeout in the second quarter of its game against Sumter on Friday with six players on the court. Nobody noticed it until the SHS coaching staff started screaming while the Tigers were trying to get the ball in bounds against pressure. That led to a technical foul being called against Conway

and its eventual undoing — along with said press — as the Gamecocks went on to a not-as-close-as-it-sounds 68-57 victory at the Sumter gymnasium. SHS also won the girls contest as Christian Hithe scored 28 points in a 40-25 victory. In the boys game, the Gamecocks were trailing 19-16 when Brandon Parker scored and Cedric Rembert hit a fast break layup after a turnover to make it 20-19 with 5:38 remaining in the

second quarter. Conway called a timeout, but it returned to the floor with six players and was eventually whistled for the technical. “They had six players on the floor and they still couldn’t get it in bounds,” ENGLISH said Sumter head coach Jo Jo English, whose team improved to 11-5 on the season and is 1-1 in Region VI-4A. “We actually

run our press against six players in practice so we’ve faced that.” Sonny Butler hit the two technical free throws to make it 22-19 with 5:28 left in the first half. SHS kept possession and Parker was fouled; he hit two free throws to make it 2419. Using the press, the Gamecocks stole the ball and Erick White scored. They stole the ball again off the press and Parker converted a 3-point play to push the lead to 29-19.

BY EDDIE LITAKER Special to The Item

Lady Knights top rival Lakewood for 17th straight region victory BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER mchristopher@theitem.com

SEE LADY KNIGHTS, PAGE B3

KEITH GEDAMKE / SPECIAL TO THE ITEM

Crestwood’s Shaquandra Miller-McCray (30) shoots over Lakewood’s Taja Randolph (24) during the Lady Knights’ 53-25 victory on Friday at The Castle. With the win, Crestwood took sole possession of first place in Region VI-3A.

Gators escape Castle with 47-42 win BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER mchristopher@theitem.com Sometimes you can tell a lot about a young team by how it responds coming off a loss. Both the Lakewood and Crestwood high school varsity boys basketball squads dropped their first region contests on Tuesday and Friday’s matchup gave the county rivals a chance to gain early bragging rights and gain some footing in Region VI-3A. Lakewood connected on 13 of 21 free throws compared to Crestwood’s 7 of 18 and escaped The Castle with a 47-42 victory. “It’s just good to get a win and go 2-1 in the region,” said Gators head coach Terrence Scriven, whose team improved to 10-8 overall. “I thought we played pretty well in spurts, and then I thought we got relaxed at times, but overall I’m proud of the guys.” For the second game in a row Crestwood head coach Dwayne Edwards said he felt

SEE SUMTER, PAGE B3

WH girls fall to OP, boys roll

Still at the top Going into Friday’s Region VI-3A contest against Crestwood High School, the Lakewood varsity girls basketball team faced the question of if it was ready to sit atop the region ladder. The Lady Knights supplied an emphatic answer with a 53-25 victory at The Castle on Friday, holding Lakewood to its lowest scoring output of the season. The Lady Knights, who took over sole possession of first place in the region with a 3-0 mark, are 14-3 overall and have now won 17 straight region contests dating back to January of 2012. “I felt like if we would’ve won we would’ve had a target on our back,” said Frances Fields, Lakewood’s firstyear head coach. “If we lost, now we’ve got something to work for and always strive to get better. And now maybe they’ll start listening to me more.” Things got out of hand early for Lakewood, which fell to 9-5 overall and 2-1 in region play. After knotting the game at 4-4 in the first quarter with a Sonora Dengkol 3-point basket, the Lady Gators did nothing offensively for the rest of the half. In fact, Dengkol’s shot was the only Lakewood field goal of the first half.

Sumter forced one more turnover and Butler drained a 3-point shot to make it 32-19 with 4:51 to go. In a span of 47 seconds, SHS had turned a 1-point deficit into a 13-point advantage. “We were just using a straight man-to-man press,” English said. “We went back to what we were doing earlier in the season; we had switched some things up, but it seemed like we were still in

KEITH GEDAMKE / SPECIAL TO THE ITEM

Lakewood’s Tyshawn Johnson, center, drives to the basketball between Crestwood’s James Brailsford, left, and Devin Nelson during the Gators’ 47-42 victory on Friday at The Castle.

like free throws kept his team from earning a victory. The Knights were looking to erase Tuesday’s triple-over-

time, heartbreaking loss to Marlboro County, but key turnovers and free throws hurt them once again.

“We didn’t help ourselves; we had too many turnovers and (missed) free throws — you’ve got to make free throws,” Edwards said. “We haven’t been making free throws.” Despite getting the win, Scriven echoed the thought and the importance of good shooting down the stretch. “It’s a sometimes thing with us — sometimes we’re shooting well, sometimes we’re not,” he said. “Luckily tonight we did a good job making our free throws.” Lakewood was consistent for the first three quarters offensively, scoring 12 points a quarter and getting out to a 36-32 lead heading into the final quarter. Crestwood’s Tyrell Allen hit a 3-point basket at the buzzer to end the third and help the Knights stay close to begin the final stanza. The Knights even had the foul situation on their side at the 7:46 mark of the fourth quarter but went 3 of 9 from the line in the final stanza. SEE GATORS, PAGE B3

Wilson Hall varsity girls basketball head coach Glen Rector knew his team had a tough draw for its SCISA Region II-3A opener on Friday with Orangeburg Prep coming to Nash Student Center. The Lady Indians lived up to their billing as perennial contenders for the region championship with a 63-44 win over the Lady Barons. “OP was very athletic and they just flat outplayed us,” said Rector, whose team dropped to 8-8 overall. “They shot the ball well, played really good defense and caused a lot of turnovers in the first half. They’re just a good, solid bas- RECTOR ketball team.” Victoria Williams paced the Lady Indians, now 15-2 overall and 2-0 in region play, with 25 points. Most of her scoring came in the first half as she matched Wilson Hall’s 7-point offensive output in a 15-7 first quarter and had 19 at halftime as OP led 30-17. “When they were on defense, she would just anticipate the passes really well,” Rector said. “She broke on the passes and was able to intercept a lot and take the ball to the basket, and I think she hit every shot she took in the first half. We knew she was a good player, but she was just hard to stop.” Lauren Goodson topped the Lady Barons with 11 points, but Rector was pleased to see nine players breaking into the scoring column for Wilson Hall and others make contributions that were not reflected in the box score. “We’re playing a lot of people, so we had a lot of girls score, which is encouraging for us,” Rector said. “Lauren Goodson on the inside had a good game and Hannah (Jordan with eight points) had a very nice game on the inside. But then even our post players, our young post players — SEE BARONS, PAGE B3

PREP SCHEDULE TODAY Varsity and JV Basketball Palmetto Christian at Laurence Manning, 4 p.m. B Team Basketball Holly Hill at Thomas Sumter, 2 p.m. Robert E. Lee at Carolina, 10 a.m. Varsity Equestrian Wilson Hall vs. Riverbend Equestrian Center (in Greenville), TBA Varsity Wrestling Sumter in Coach Trapp Duals (at Battery Creek High in Beaufort), TBA

SPORTS

THE ITEM

USC to honor McGuire era BY WILLIE T. SMITH III wtsmith@greenvillenews.com COLUMBIA — There will be something for every South Carolina sports fan today. While the main event features the men’s basketball team’s attempting to earn its first Southeastern Conference victory of the season against Mississippi, both football and old-school USC hoops will be featured. The second day of the Legends Weekend, which includes several greats from the Frank McGuire era, takes place before the 4:30 p.m. game. In addition to honoring the players who have returned for the celebration, USC coach Frank Martin is excited for his

team to interact with athletes who played when the program was at its peak. “The whole Frank McGuire celebration is long overdue,” Martin said. “It is a great thing for our program and our university. Some of the great, great, great Gamecocks are all MCGUIRE coming back to celebrate with us. It is a great weekend for out program. I hope we play well.” South Carolina enters with an 0-3 record in the SEC and without junior point guard and leading scorer Tyrone Johnson, who fractured his right foot in the first half against the Aggies.

The injury, which requires surgery, leaves the Gamecocks without an experienced point guard. Freshman Duane Notice, who has been starting at the position, will probably have to log even more minutes. He probably will be backed up by freshman Jaylen Shaw. With the adversity, Martin believes the timing couldn’t be better for his team to meet the Gamecocks’ former standouts. “We’ve got to put our players in front of all the greats that played here and all the people who maybe weren’t the popular names that wore that uniform,” Martin said. “It is because of their sacrifice. It is because of their commitment, their love for this university.”

Rule change doesn’t hamper Clemson D BY MANDRALLIUS ROBINSON Greenville News

COLLEGE SCHEDULE

CLEMSON — Before the season started, college basketball coaches predicted unnatural disaster. Some feared the closing moments would become free throw contests. Some warned of three-hour games with more stops than a downtown mail route. Some feared officials would become middle school dance chaperones, the vigilant protectors of personal space. In June, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel implemented four points of emphasis on the hand-checking rule, ordering an immediate whistle when a defensive player places a hand, forearm or arm bar on his opponent. The rigid restrictions threatened Brad Brownell’s standard strategy. The man-to-man defense Brownell utilizes at Clemson is predicated on stifling perimeter pressure. Yet, the hand-check emphasis prohibits the physical jamming with which Clemson’s guards previously disrupted ballhandlers. Brownell was forced either to loosen his pressure or award his foes cheap trips to the foul line. “You worry about putting teams in the bonus at the 13- or 14-minute mark of the half, watching the game run out of your hands that way,” Brownell said in November, before uttering a dreaded four-letter word. Zone. It is a term, and a strategy, Brownell prefers to use sparingly. Yet, in fear of quick whistles, Brownell also suspected he and his coaching counterparts would be forced to experiment more with zone schemes. Fortunately for Brownell, the preseason forecasts did not account for players’ adaptability. Clemson guards have backed off the ball slightly, and Clemson’s defensive dexterity has not been impaired. Last season, on average, Clemson committed 16 fouls and allowed 60.1 points per game. Through 16 games this season, Clemson has committed 15.9 fouls per game. The Tigers have

MEN STATE Today Wake Forest at Clemson, 4 p.m. (WKTC 63) Mississippi at South Carolina, 4:30 p.m. (FOX SPORTSOUTH) Furman at Citadel, 7 p.m. Chattanooga at Wofford, 7 p.m. Gardner-Webb at Presbyterian, 2 p.m. UNC Asheville at Charleston Southern, 5:30 p.m. Winthrop at Coastal Carolina, 7 p.m. Florida A&M at South Carolina State, 6 p.m. USC Upstate at Stetson, 1 p.m. Sunday Towson at College of Charleston, 3:30 p.m. (NBC SPORTS NETWORK) ACC Today (2) Syracuse vs. (22) Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. (ESPN) (23) Duke vs. N.C. State, 2 p.m. (WLTX 19) Boston College at North Carolina, noon (ESPN) Florida State at Virginia, noon (WKTC 63) Miami at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m. (FOX SPORTSOUTH) Sunday Virginia Tech at Notre Dame, 6 p.m. (ESPNU) SEC Today (7) Florida at Auburn, 4 p.m. (WOLO 25) (13) Kentucky vs. Tennessee, noon (WLTX 19) Texas A&M at Mississippi State, 1:30 p.m. Arkansas at Georgia, 1:30 p.m. (WOLO 25) Alabama at Missouri, 2 p.m. (ESPN2) Vanderbilt at Louisiana State, 9 p.m. (ESPNU) TOP 25 Today (3) Wisconsin vs. Michigan, 6 p.m. (ESPN) (4) Michigan State at Illinois, 8 p.m. (5) Wichita State vs. Indiana State, 4 p.m. (ESPN2) (6) Villanova vs. DePaul, 4 p.m. (SPORTSOUTH) (8) Iowa State at Texas, 4 p.m. (9) Oklahoma State at (15) Kansas, 4 p.m. (WLTX 19) (10) San Diego State vs. UNLV, 6:05 p.m. (CBS SPORTS NETWORK) (12) Baylor vs. (25) Oklahoma, 2 p.m. (ESPN) (16) Massachusetts at Elon, 7 p.m. (17) Memphis vs. LeMoyne, 2 p.m. (SPORTSOUTH) (18) Louisville at Connecticut, 9 p.m. (ESPN) (19) Cincinnati at South Florida, 5 p.m. (ESPNU) (20) Creighton at Providence, 8 p.m. (FOX SPORTS 1) (21) Colorado vs. Southern California, 2 p.m. (FOX SPORTS 1) (24) Saint Louis vs. Fordham, 2:30 p.m. (NBC SPORTS NETWORK) (25) UCLA at Utah, 4 p.m. (FOX SPORTS 1) Sunday (14) Iowa vs. Minnesota, 1 p.m. WOMEN Friday (4) Stanford at Arizona, (late) (15) California at (19) Arizona State (21) Colorado at Washington State (late) (22) Purdue vs. Indiana, 7 p.m. Today (11) Oklahoma State vs. Texas Tech, 1 p.m. (13) Iowa State at Kansas State, 8 p.m. Sunday (1) Connecticut at (23) Rutgers, 3 p.m. (ESPN2) (3) Duke at Virginia Tech, noon (FOX SPORTSOUTH) (5) Louisville at SMU, 1:30 p.m. (ESPNU) (6) Maryland vs. Georgia Tech, 2 p.m. (7) Baylor at Kansas, 3 p.m. (8) South Carolina vs. Alabama, 3 p.m. (9) North Carolina at Boston College, 1 p.m. (10) Kentucky at Auburn, 2 p.m. (WOLO 25) (14) LSU at (24) Vanderbilt, 2 p.m. (SPORTSOUTH) (16) Penn State at Michigan State, 5 p.m. (ESPN2) (17) Florida State at Virginia, 2 p.m. (18) Nebraska vs. (22) Purdue, 5 p.m. (20) N.C. State at Miami, 2 p.m. (FOX SPORTSOUTH) (21) Colorado at Washington, 7 p.m. (25) Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State, 3 p.m.

allowed 53.6 points per game, the best rate in Division I. Junior point guard Rod Hall, Clemson’s primary jammer, averaged 1.6 fouls per game last season. He has trimmed that average in half this year.

Tigers’ Beasley back to improve game, get degree BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press CLEMSON — Clemson All-American defensive end Vic Beasley said it was never more than a 50-50 chance he’d leave the Tigers for the NFL. And that made it easier for the Atlantic Coast Conference sacks leader to return to school to both improve his game and finish his degree. Beasley had received a second-round grade from the NFL draft advisory board and some analysts had him in their firstround mock drafts, usually a green light for juniors to jump to the pros. Still, Beasley took his choice

down to the wire, telling head coach Dabo Swinney he’d come back only a few hours before Wednesday night’s midnight deadline for eligible underclassmen to declare for the NFL draft. “You just have to know what’s best for you,” Beasley said. BEASLEY Beasley sounded like he was already gone after Clemson’s 40-35 victory over Ohio State at the Orange Bowl. He had a sack and four tackles and said then it was “good to leave Clemson University on a good note.”

On Friday, Beasley said he had never fully given up on finishing his college career before heading off to the pros. “Nothing really changed” after the bowl game, Beasley said. “I was 50-50 going into the bowl game and after the bowl game. I literally made my decision Wednesday night.” Beasley had 13 sacks this fall, tying for third overall nationally in the Football Bowl Subdivision. He has 21 sacks in his Clemson career and is eight away from breaking the school mark of 28, shared by Michael Dean Perry and the late Gaines Adams.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

SCOREBOARD

TV, RADIO TODAY 7:40 a.m. -- International Soccer: Barclays Premier League Match -- Southampton vs. Sunderland (NBC SPORTS NETWORK). 9 a.m. -- Professional Tennis: Australian Open Third-Round Matches from Melbourne, Australia (ESPN2). 9:55 a.m. -- International Soccer: Barclays Premier League Match -- Fulham vs. Arsenal (NBC SPORTS NETWORK). 11 a.m. -- College Basketball: Toledo at Akron (ESPNU). Noon -- College Basketball: Tennessee at Kentucky (WLTX 19). Noon -- College Basketball: Virginia at Florida State (WKTC 63). Noon -- College Basketball: Tulsa at Marshall (CBS SPORTS NETWORK). Noon -- College Basketball: Boston College at North Carolina (ESPN). Noon -- College Basketball: Southern Methodist at Central Florida (ESPNEWS). Noon -- College Basketball: Temple vs. La Salle from Philadelphia (ESPN2). Noon -- College Basketball: Seton Hall at Georgetown (SPORTSOUTH). 12:30 p.m. -- International Soccer: Barclays Premier League Match -- Aston Villa vs. Liverpool (WIS 10). 12:30 p.m. -- College Basketball: George Mason at Rhode Island (NBC SPORTS NETWORK). 1 p.m. -- College Basketball: Missouri State at Northern Iowa (ESPNU). 1 p.m. -- Women’s College Gymnastics: Missouri at Alabama (FOX SPORTSOUTH). 1:30 p.m. -- College Basketball: Arkansas at Georgia (WOLO 25). 2 p.m. -- College Basketball: North Carolina State at Duke (WLTX 19). 2 p.m. -- College Basketball: Marquette at Butler (CBS SPORTS NETWORK). 2 p.m. -- College Basketball: Oklahoma at Baylor (ESPN). 2 p.m. -- College Basketball: Alabama at Missouri (ESPN2). 2 p.m. -- College Basketball: Southern California at Colorado (FOX SPORTS 1). 2 p.m. -- College Basketball: Miami at Georgia Tech (FOX SPORTSOUTH). 2 p.m. -- College Basketball: Lemoyne at Memphis (SPORTSOUTH). 2:30 p.m. -- College Basketball: Fordham at St. Louis (NBC SPORTS NETWORK). 3 p.m. -- College Basketball: Dayton at Richmond (ESPNU). 3 p.m. -- PGA Golf: Humana Challenge Third Round from La Quinta, Calif. (GOLF). 4 p.m. -- College Basketball: Oklahoma State at Kansas (WLTX 19). 4 p.m. -- College Basketball: Florida at Auburn (WOLO 25). 4 p.m. -- College Basketball: Wake Forest at Clemson (WKTC 63, WWBD-FM 94.7, WPUB-FM 102.7). 4 p.m. -- College Basketball: Duquesne at Virginia Commonwealth (CBS SPORTS NETWORK). 4 p.m. -- College Basketball: Pittsburgh at Syracuse (ESPN). 4 p.m. -- College Basketball: Indiana State at Wichita State (ESPN2). 4 p.m. -- College Basketball: UCLA at Utah (FOX SPORTS 1). 4 p.m. -- College Football: East-West Shrine Game from St. Petersburg, Fla. (NFL NETWORK). 4 p.m. -- College Basketball: DePaul at Villanova (SPORTSOUTH). 4:30 p.m. -- College Basketball: Mississippi at South Carolina (FOX SPORTSOUTH, WDXY-FM 105.9, WNKT-FM 107.5, WDXY-AM 1240). 5 p.m. -- College Basketball: Cincinnati at South Florida (ESPNU). 6 p.m. -- College Basketball: Nevada-Las Vegas at San Diego State (CBS SPORTS NETWORK). 6 p.m. -- College Basketball: Michigan at Wisconsin (ESPN). 6 p.m. -- College Football: NFLPA Collegiate Bowl from Carson, Calif. (ESPN2). 6 p.m. -- College Basketball: Dartmouth at St. John’s (FOX SPORTS 1). 6:30 p.m. -- College Hockey: Penn State at Michigan State (NBC SPORTS NETWORK). 7 p.m. -- College Basketball: Penn State at Purdue (ESPNU). 7 p.m. -- NHL Hockey: Florida at Carolina (FOX SPORTSOUTH). 7 p.m. -- Senior PGA Golf: Champions Tour Mitsubishi Electric Championship Second Round from Kona, Hawaii (GOLF). 7:30 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: Los Angeles Clippers at Indiana (NBA TV). 7:30 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: Miami at Charlotte (SPORTSOUTH). 8 p.m. -- College Basketball: Creighton at Providence (FOX SPORTS 1). 8 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: Philadelphia at Chicago (WGN). 9 p.m. -- College Basketball: Louisville at Connecticut (ESPN). 9 p.m. -- Professional Tennis: Australian Open Round-of-16 Matches from Melbourne, Australia (ESPN2). 9 p.m. -- College Basketball: Vanderbilt at Louisiana State (ESPNU). 10 p.m. -- High School Basketball: Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions Championship Game from Springfield, Mo. (CBS SPORTS NETWORK). 10:15 p.m. -- Professional Boxing: Lucian Bute vs. Jean Pascal in a Light Heavyweight Bout and Mike Perez vs. Carlos Takam in a Heavyweight Bout from Montreal (HBO). 11 p.m. -- College Basketball: Washington at Stanford (ESPNU). 2 a.m. -- NHL Hockey: Colorado at Nashville (FOX SPORTSOUTH). 3 a.m. -- Professional Tennis: Australian Open Round-of-16 Matches from Melbourne, Australia (ESPN2). 4 a.m. -- Professional Golf: European PGA Tour Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship Final Round from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (GOLF).

NFL PLAYOFFS Conference Championships Sunday New England at Denver, 3 p.m. (CBS) San Francisco at Seattle, 6:30 p.m. (FOX) Pro Bowl Sunday, Jan. 26 At Honolulu TBD, 7:30 p.m. (NBC) Super Bowl XLVIII Sunday, Feb. 2 At East Rutherford, N.J. AFC champion vs. NFC champion, 6:30 p.m. (FOX)

NBA STANDINGS By The Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct Toronto 19 18 .514 Brooklyn 16 22 .421 New York 15 24 .385 Boston 14 26 .350 Philadelphia 13 25 .342 Southeast Division W L Pct Miami 27 11 .711 Atlanta 20 19 .513 Washington 18 19 .486 Charlotte 16 24 .400 Orlando 10 29 .256 Central Division W L Pct Indiana 31 7 .816 Chicago 18 19 .486 Detroit 16 22 .421 Cleveland 14 25 .359 Milwaukee 7 31 .184 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct San Antonio 31 8 .795 Houston 26 15 .634 Dallas 23 17 .575 Memphis 19 19 .500 New Orleans 15 23 .395 Northwest Division W L Pct Portland 29 9 .763 Oklahoma City 29 10 .744 Denver 20 18 .526 Minnesota 18 20 .474 Utah 13 27 .325 Pacific Division W L Pct L.A. Clippers 27 13 .675 Golden State 25 15 .625 Phoenix 22 16 .579 Sacramento 14 23 .378 L.A. Lakers 14 25 .359 Thursday’s Games Brooklyn 127, Atlanta 110 Indiana 117, New York 89 Oklahoma City 104, Houston 92 Friday’s Games Charlotte at Orlando, 7 p.m. Miami at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Chicago at Washington, 7 p.m.

GB – 31/2 5 61/2 61/2 GB – 71/2 81/2 12 171/2 GB – 121/2 15 171/2 24 GB – 6 81/2 111/2 151/2 GB – 1/2 9 11 17 GB – 2 4 111/2 121/2

L.A. Clippers at New York, 7 p.m. Minnesota at Toronto, 7 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Boston, 7:30 p.m. Utah at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Sacramento at Memphis, 8 p.m. Portland at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. Dallas at Phoenix, 9 p.m. Cleveland at Denver, 9 p.m. Golden State at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m. Today’s Games L.A. Clippers at Indiana, 7 p.m. Detroit at Washington, 7 p.m. Miami at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Chicago, 8 p.m. Utah at Minnesota, 8 p.m. Milwaukee at Houston, 8 p.m. Golden State at New Orleans, 8 p.m. Portland at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. Sunday’s Games L.A. Lakers at Toronto, 1 p.m. Boston at Orlando, 6 p.m. Sacramento at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m. Milwaukee at San Antonio, 7 p.m. Denver at Phoenix, 8 p.m.

NHL STANDINGS By The Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Boston 47 30 15 2 62 136 104 Tampa Bay 48 28 15 5 61 137 115 Montreal 48 27 16 5 59 123 115 Toronto 49 24 20 5 53 136 149 Ottawa 48 21 18 9 51 138 151 Detroit 47 20 17 10 50 118 128 Florida 47 18 22 7 43 109 144 Buffalo 46 13 27 6 32 83 129 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Pittsburgh 48 34 12 2 70 156 115 Philadelphia 48 24 19 5 53 128 136 N.Y. Rangers 49 25 21 3 53 120 126 Washington 47 22 17 8 52 140 141 New Jersey 49 20 18 11 51 113 120 Columbus 46 22 20 4 48 129 131 Carolina 46 19 18 9 47 111 130 N.Y. Islanders 49 19 23 7 45 134 157 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Chicago 49 30 8 11 71 177 135 St. Louis 46 32 9 5 69 164 104 Colorado 47 30 12 5 65 137 118 Minnesota 50 26 19 5 57 122 123 Dallas 47 21 19 7 49 134 145 Nashville 49 21 21 7 49 117 146 Winnipeg 49 21 23 5 47 138 148 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Anaheim 49 36 8 5 77 170 120 San Jose 48 30 12 6 66 153 117 Los Angeles 48 29 14 5 63 124 97 Vancouver 49 24 16 9 57 124 125 Phoenix 47 22 16 9 53 136 143 Calgary 48 16 26 6 38 107 153 Edmonton 50 15 30 5 35 129 178 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Thursday’s Games Nashville 4, Philadelphia 3, SO N.Y. Islanders 2, Tampa Bay 1, SO Colorado 2, New Jersey 1, SO N.Y. Rangers 1, Detroit 0 Montreal 5, Ottawa 4, OT San Jose 3, Florida 0 Los Angeles 4, St. Louis 1 Minnesota 4, Edmonton 1 Boston 4, Dallas 2 Winnipeg 5, Calgary 2 Phoenix 1, Vancouver 0 Friday’s Games Washington at Columbus, 7 p.m. Anaheim at Chicago, 8 p.m. Today’s Games N.Y. Rangers at Ottawa, 2 p.m. San Jose at Tampa Bay, 2 p.m. Edmonton at Winnipeg, 2 p.m. Columbus at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Montreal at Toronto, 7 p.m. Los Angeles at Detroit, 7 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Florida at Carolina, 7 p.m. Anaheim at St. Louis, 8 p.m. Colorado at Nashville, 8 p.m. New Jersey at Phoenix, 8 p.m. Dallas at Minnesota, 9 p.m. Calgary at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Sunday’s Games Boston at Chicago, 12:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Carolina, 5 p.m. Washington at N.Y. Rangers, 7:30 p.m.

GOLF Humana Challenge Par Scores The Associated Press Friday p-PGA West, Palmer Course; 6,950 yards, par 72 n-PGA West, Nicklaus Course; 6,924 yards, par 72 q-La Quinta Country Club; 7,060 yards, par 72 La Quinta, Calif. Purse: $5.7 million Second Round Patrick Reed 63p-63q—126 -18 Brendon Todd 65n-63p—128 -16 Ryan Palmer 64p-65q—129 -15 Charley Hoffman 64q-66n—130 -14 Bill Haas 65q-66n—131 -13 James Driscoll 68p-63q—131 -13 Charlie Beljan 68q-64n—132 -12 Matt Every 65n-68p—133 -11 Will MacKenzie 67n-66p—133 -11 Justin Leonard 66n-67p—133 -11 Matt Jones 66n-67p—133 -11 Daniel Summerhays 64n-69p—133 -11 Harris English 67q-66n—133 -11 Brian Stuard 67q-66n—133 -11 Zach Johnson 65q-68n—133 -11 Ben Crane 70q-64n—134 -10 Jerry Kelly 69q-65n—134 -10 Cameron Tringale 68q-66n—134 -10 Martin Flores 69p-65q—134 -10 Charlie Wi 65p-69q—134 -10 Seung-Yul Noh 68p-66q—134 -10 ALSO Tommy Gainey 74p-74q—148 +4

TENNIS Australian Open Results By The Associated Press Friday At Melbourne Park Melbourne, Australia Purse: $29.72 million (Grand Slam) Surface: Hard-Outdoor Singles Men Third Round Stanislas Wawrinka (8), Switzerland, def. Vasek Pospisil (28), Canada, walkover. Florian Mayer, Germany, def. Jerzy Janowicz (20), Poland, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. David Ferrer (3), Spain, def. Jeremy Chardy (29), France, 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-2. Tomas Berdych (7), Czech Republic, def. Damir Dzumhur, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. Kevin Anderson (19), South Africa, def. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, France, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 7-5. Fabio Fognini (15), Italy, def. Sam Querrey, United States, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. Tommy Robredo (17), Spain, def. Richard Gasquet (9), France, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (6). Novak Djokovic (2), Serbia, def. Denis Istomin, Uzbekistan, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5. Women Third Round Serena Williams (1), United States, def. Daniela Hantuchova (31), Slovakia, 6-3, 6-3. Angelique Kerber (9), Germany, def. Alison Riske, United States, 6-3, 6-4. Flavia Pennetta (28), Italy, def. Mona Barthel, Germany, 6-1, 7-5. Eugenie Bouchard (30), Canada, def. Lauren Davis, United States, 6-2, 6-2. Ekaterina Makarova (22), Russia, def. Monica Niculescu, Romania, 6-4, 6-4. Li Na (4), China, def. Lucie Safarova (26), Czech Republic, 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3. Casey Dellacqua, Australia, def. Zheng Jie, China, 6-2, 6-4. Ana Ivanovic (14), Serbia, def. Sam Stosur (17), Australia, 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-2.

PREP BASKETBALL

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

THE ITEM

LMA boys hold off Eagles 56-50 MANNING — Laurence Manning Academy improved to 2-0 in SCISA Region II-3A with a 56-50 victory over Florence Christian School on Friday at Bubba Davis Gymnasium. Shakei Green and Vaughnte Anderson led the Swampcats with 13 points apiece. Mark Pipkin added nine. LMA plays host to Palmetto Christian today. JUNIOR VARSITY BASKETBALL WILSON HALL 32 ORANGEBURG PREP 28

Wilson Hall defeated Orangeburg Prep 32-28 on Friday at Nash Student Center.

BOYS AREA ROUNDUP Jake Croft led the Barons with 12 points. LAURENCE MANNING FLORENCE CHRISTIAN

36 20

MANNING — Taylor Lee scored 11 points and Braydon Osteen added seven as Laurence Manning Academy earned a 36-20 region victory over Florence Christian School on Friday at Bubba Davis Gymnasium. LMA hosts Palmetto Christian today. HOLLY HILL THOMAS SUMTER

26 25

HOLLY HILL — Thomas

Sumter Academy lost to Holly Hill 26-25 on Friday at the Holly Hill gymnasium. Kyle Decker led TSA with seven points while Ryan Dixon had six. On Tuesday in Dalzell, TSA beat South Aiken Baptist Christian 34-14. Eric Lisbey led the Generals with 11 and Jared Washington had eight. B TEAM BASKETBALL HAMMOND LAURENCE MANNING

33 29

COLUMBIA — Laurence Manning Academy fell to

2-1 on the season with a 33-29 overtime loss to Hammond on Thursday at the Hammond gymnasium. Jake Jordan led LMA with 10 points. Chase Lee had six. MIDDLE SCHOOL BASKETBALL CHESTNUT OAKS 47 EBENEZER 43

Javonte Singletary scored 17 points to lead Chestnut Oaks Middle School to a 47-43 victory over Ebenezer on Thursday at the Ebenezer gymnasium. Dajon Butts added eight for the Falcons.

GIRLS AREA ROUNDUP

Lady Swampcats rout FCS 62-27 MANNING — Emily McElveen led three Laurence Manning Academy players in double figures with 19 points as the Lady Swampcats earned a 62-27 varsity girls basketball victory over Region II-3A foe Florence Christian School on Friday at Bubba Davis Gymnasium. Haley Hatfield added 15 points for LMA followed by Courtney Beatson with 10. The Lady Swampcats host Palmetto Christian today. LEE CENTRAL LAKE MARION

63 58

BISHOPVILLE — Asia Wright poured in 27 points to help lead Lee Central High School to a 63-58 Region VII-2A win over Lake Marion on Friday at the LCHS gymnasium.

GATORS from Page B1 “Lakewood played hard and perhaps had a little bit more energy than we had, but I think we didn’t help ourselves missing free throws and too many turnovers,” Edwards said of the loss that dropped his team to 7-7 overall and 1-2 in region play. “You can get it going, but if you don’t do those that’s going to hurt you and free throws hurt us.” Allen led Crestwood with 14 points, including three buckets from behind the arc, to keep the Knights in the game late. James Brailsford added nine points, four rebounds and two blocked shots. Travis Blakely pitched in eight points in the loss. Despite their youth, the key for the Gators this season has been getting different players involved. That game plan paid off as several players contributed, including seven scoring in the first half. Freshman Jalen White led Lakewood with 15 points. Junior Robert Grant added 12 points and sophomore Jarvis Johnson pitched in nine. “All 14, whether they play or get a certain amount of minutes, the guys have a great attitude and I think that’s been the difference in this ball club,” Scriven said. “I hope we can continue and the attitude stays the same.” Lakewood travels to Marlboro County on Tuesday while Crestwood goes to Hartsville.

LAKEWOOD 47, CRESTWOOD 42 LHS CHS

12 4

12 12 11-47 11 17 10-42 LAKEWOOD Grant 12, Wilson 2, Ja. Johnson 9, White 15, Epps 6, T. Johnson 2, Wactor 1. CRESTWOOD Robateau 1, Durant 4, Blakely 8, Brailsford 9, Nelson 6, Allen 14.

Alexis McMillan and Morgan Wilson each added 11 points for the Lady Stallions, who will travel to Kingstree on Tuesday.

Christian School on Friday at Bubba Davis Gymnasium. The Lady Swampcats host Palmetto Christian today.

JUNIOR VARSITY BASKETBALL WILSON HALL ORANGEBURG PREP

B TEAM BASKETBALL HAMMOND LAURENCE MANNING

41 27

Mary Daniel Stokes scored 11 points and Mary Margaret Munn added eight as Wilson Hall picked up a 41-27 victory over Orangeburg Prep on Friday at Nash Student Center. The Lady Barons improved to 11-0 on the season. LAURENCE MANNING FLORENCE CHRISTIAN

33 8

MANNING — Brooke Bennett had nine points and Cora Downer added seven as Laurence Manning Academy earned a 33-8 victory over Florence

COLUMBIA — Laurence Manning Academy dropped to 1-1 on the season with a 19-10 loss to Hammond on Thursday at the Hammond gymnasium. Olivia Coker led LMA with six points. MIDDLE SCHOOL BASKETBALL CHESTNUT OAKS EBENEZER

The Lady Knights used an 18-0 run to lead 22-4 at halftime; it was sparked by several different players. In fact, it was a team effort on both ends of the floor that helped Crestwood to the lopsided victory. Sophomore Cawasha Ceaser led the way with 21 points, contributing 11 in the second half. Senior Keanua Williams finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. Senior Zaria Kelley and sophomore Shaquandra Miller-McCray each finished with eight points and combined for 17 rebounds, five steals and three blocks. “I think the biggest thing was our girls were focused,” Crestwood head coach Tony Wilson said. “We know Lakewood is a team that likes to bring a lot of pressure, and I feel like we put a good defensive plan to solve that and give them more trouble because they’re more of a guard-oriented team on offense.” Wilson said his team practiced and worked on defending Dengkol, in effect forcing another Lakewood player to beat them. “Last time we played them (a 55-47 Crestwood victory in the Lake Marion Christmas Tournament finals) they played a full court man-to-man (defense) and we worked on that in practice so we were prepared for that this time,” Wilson said. “I put a boxand-1 (defense) on Sonora in the tournament, but I went to a 1-2-2 zone. I knew she was going to

Haley Hawkins, Nicolette Fisher, Mary Paisley Belk — they all contributed on offense and defense.” Ali Stephens closed with 11 and Cassidy Hills added 10 for the Lady Indians. Wilson Hall’s boys overcame a slow start to roll to a 56-36 win, running their overall record to 8-6. The Indians led 13-7 with 1:34 to go in the opening quarter before Brent Carraway hit a 3-point shot and John Ballard scored on a putback to cut the lead to one, 13-12, heading to the second quarter. The run would continue as the Barons jumped to a s7-point lead, 20-13, before Derek Andrews hit the front end of a 2-shot foul. Drew Talley scored on a follow to make it 22-14, then Kai Legette Gideon hit one of two at the line

CRESTWOOD 53, LAKEWOOD 25 LHS CHS

4 10

0 4 17 -— 25 12 14 17 — 53 LAKEWOOD Lemon 4, Dengokl 13, Randolph 8. CRESTWOOD Williams 10, Cole 2, Pressley 1, Ceaser 21, Kelley 8, McCray 8, Saunders 3.

penetrate against the 1-2-2 zone and every time she drove there was a guard there to cut her off. We tried to keep the ball out of her hands and let someone else beat us.” Dengkol scored a basket and connected on both of her free throws as the lone third-quarter points for LHS. She then added six in the final stanza to finish with a team-high 13. Lakewood sophomore Taja Randolph was the next highest scorer with eight points and five rebounds. Freshman Kamryn Lemon had four points but added six rebounds and three steals. And despite not getting in the scoring column, sophomore Shanekia Jackson had 10 rebounds. LHS didn’t reach double digits until the 5:12 mark of the final quarter. They eventually went on a 12-0 run to cut it to a 20-point deficit with 2:50 to play, but Crestwood’s experience and defense proved too much. Fields said her team didn’t play well together. “We didn’t play our game and we didn’t come out and do as well as we wanted to,” Fields said. “I think at times we froze up, and it’s a learning experience. If you want to be the best it comes with a process so we’ve got to keep working at it.”

GIRLS ORANGEBURG PREP 63, WILSON HALL 44 OP WH

15 7

15 10

18 14

15 — 63 13 — 44

ORANGEBURG PREP Cassidy Hills 10, Fralix 8, Mims 5, Victoria Williams 25, Iglesias 2, Ulmer 2, Ali Stephens 11. WILSON HALL Kelley 4, Smoak 7, Jordan 8, Lauren Goodson 11, Zilch 2, Fisher 3, Hawkins 4, Scannella 2, Scott 3.

BOYS WILSON HALL 56, ORANGEBURG PREP 36 OP WH

13 12

12 26

4 8

39 33

Kianna McElveen scored 18 points to lead Chestnut Oaks Middle School to a 39-33 victory over Ebenezer on Thursday at the Ebenezer gymnasium. Dasia Simon added eight.

LADY KNIGHTS from Page B1

BARONS from Page B1

19 10

7 — 36 10 — 56

ORANGEBURG PREP Hutto 3, Gideon 4, Andrews 7, Marion McCurry 10, J.J. Union 10, Schriver 2. WILSON HALL Bochette 4, William Kinney 11, John Ballard 13, Brent Carraway 11, Drew Talley 10, Schwartz 7.

for OP. After baskets by Ballard and Carraway made it an 11-point game, Marion McCurry scored on the

SUMTER from Page B1 a quagmire. We did a really good job with the press, especially Erick White.” The Gamecocks actually pushed the lead to 15 before the Tigers, who fell to 6-8 while losing their region opener, finally broke a scoring drought of over three minutes. Sumter led 42-24 at halftime as it scored 30 points in the second quarter, 11 of them coming from Butler. SHS maintained a comfortable advantage throughout the second half. Only a late run by Conway in the final two minutes made the final score as close as it was. Butler led the Gamecocks with 14 while White had 12. Micah McBride scored eight, including hitting two treys, and Parker had seven. Christian Jeffords and Jalen Hennigan both scored 11 to pace Conway, while Tyrell Denney and Travis Samuel both had nine. In the girls game, Hithe didn’t start for Sumter and didn’t get on the floor until the end of the first quarter. The sophomore, who had missed the three previous games due to personal issues, wasted little time making an impact. With SHS trailing 7-4 after one quarter, Hithe scored 11 points in the second quarter to give her team a 19-13 halftime advantage. She scored 12 more in the third quarter as the Lady Gamecocks pushed the lead to 33-17. “I thought it was unselfish 28 points too,” said Sumter head coach Chris Vandevander, who watched her team improve to 10-5 overall and 2-0 in region play. “We were moving the ball around, and she was taking the shots when they were there. She was making those jumpers. “I thought she came back really focused and ready to play,” Vandevander said. “She was looking for her teammates, but she was being aggressive, which is something I’ve been trying to get her to do.” Aishera Williams led the Lady Tigers with 11 points. Conway fell to 11-6 overall in dropping its region opener.

GIRLS SUMTER 40, CONWAY 25 CHS SHS

7 4

6 15

4 14

8 — 25 7 — 40

CONWAY A. Williams 11, Chadmon 3, Hemingway 4, Spain 2, Greene 3, Johnson 2. SUMTER Reid 2, Wilson 4, McBride 4, Hithe 28, N. Kennedy 2.

BOYS SUMTER 68, CONWAY 57 CHS SHS

15 12

9 30

16 11

17 — 57 15 — 68

CONWAY Henningan 11, Denney 9, Jeffords 11, Samuel 9, Williams 7, Benson 3, Brown 3, Venable 4. SUMTER Butler 14, McBride 8, Rembert 4, Ta’Bon 2, White 12, Richardson 4, Rhinesmith 2, Parker 7, Sloan 2, Moore 5, Kershaw 6, Johnson 2.

low post with 4:58 left in the half. McCurry’s basket was OP’s first field goal since that 1:34 mark of the opening quarter. The Barons outscored the Indians 26-12 in the second for a 38-25 halftime lead. The third quarter didn’t have nearly as much offense as the teams combined for 12 points, with Wilson Hall taking a 46-29 lead into the final quarter. The Indians managed a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 13, 48-35, but the Barons closed on an 8-1 run, with the final 20-point margin representing the largest lead of the night for Wilson Hall. Ballard led four Barons in double figures with 13 points. Carraway and William Kinney had 11 apiece while Talley closed with 10. McCurry and J.J. Union both had 10 for OP, which dropped to 2-15 and 0-2. Wilson Hall’s varsity teams host The King’s Academy on Monday. The girls game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

SPORTS

THE ITEM

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

SPORTS ITEMS

Reed up 2 shots at Humana Challenge LA QUINTA, Calif. — Patrick Reed found La Quinta Country Club to his liking, too, leaving everyone else behind again in the Humana Challenge. A day after shooting a 9-under 63 at PGA West’s Arnold Palmer Private Course to take the lead, Reed had another 9-under 63 down the road Friday at treeREED lined La Quinta to stretch his advantage to two strokes over Brendon Todd. Bishopville native Tommy Gainey shot a 74 again and is 4-over for the tournament. MCILROY 2 SHOTS OFF ABU DHABI LEAD

AP PHOTOS

Both Denver and New England have had to overcome a number of obstacles this season in order to reach Sunday’s AFC championship game — from the health problems of Broncos head coach John Fox, left, to the Patriots losing star tight end Rob Gronkowski, right, with another late-season injury.

Pats, Broncos overcame adversity BY ARNIE STAPLETON The Associated Press ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Embarrassing headlines. Sidelined superstars. Retooled offenses. Shredded defenses. It’s a wonder the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos made it this far. Bill Belichick’s smarts and Tom Brady’s tenacity always seems to trump tribulation. This season, they brushed aside the Tim Tebow distraction and overcame Aaron Hernandez’s arrest and the losses of Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo to put the Patriots (13-4) into the AFC championship for the third straight year. “I’m sure every team is probably at this point overcome a lot,’’ Brady said. “I know Denver has done a lot of those things, too. They’ve overcome a lot of things and injuries and so forth. It’s just part of the NFL football season. “To get out there and play 16 weeks and really see where you stand at the end of those 16

weeks, getting to the playoffs, play the best teams and see if you can advance. It’s certainly not easy to do. It’s very challenging.’’ Nobody does it better than Brady and Belichick, the best quarterback/coach combo in history with a record 18 playoff wins. After last year’s stumble against Baltimore in the playoffs, John Fox and Peyton Manning also steered the Broncos (14-3) through a minefield to send Denver to its first conference championship in eight years. “That shock of what happened against the Ravens contributed to this team being able to be as flexible as it has been and survive the adversity that it’s gone through,’’ said Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, who led the Broncos

to back-to-back Super Bowls in the late 1990s and now leads them from the front office instead of the huddle. After losing Elvis Dumervil in the infamous fax fiasco when his renegotiated contract didn’t reach team headquarters in time, Elway hit the jackpot in free agency by signing Welker and Louis Vasquez on offense and Shaun Phillips, Terrance Knighton and Dominique RodgersCromartie on defense. They helped the Broncos weather an injury epidemic that claimed Von Miller, Kevin Vickerson, Rahim Moore, Derek Wolfe and Chris Harris while rendering captains Champ Bailey and Wesley Woodyard backups for most of the season. Fox overcame his own heart operation that sidelined him for a month and even a player quitting at midseason, and Manning set a slew of records, including throwing for 55 TDs and 5,447 yards, to help the Broncos become the first 600point team in league history.

Intimidation is real with 49ers, Seahawks BY BARRY WILNER The Associated Press RENTON, Wash. — Big, bad football players don’t get intimidated. Not by noise, weather, statistics or hard hits. Tell that to the two defenses about to attempt to dominate the NFC championship game Sunday. Or to the offenses, for that matter. Seattle and San Francisco ranked first and third in points allowed this season. The Seahawks (14-3) won the NFC West with the stingiest defense in yardage yielded, and the 49ers (14-4) were fifth in that category. SHERMAN The Seahawks led the league in takeaways (39), interceptions (28) and turnover margin (plus-20), while the Niners had a plus-12. They did it with units that don’t back down — ever. Physical, aggressive, relentless. Choose your favorite term. “I think DBs playing physical is the way football should be,’’ Seahawks All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman said. “A lot of people want to see great offense. You see great offense all the time, people

running through zones and guys not being able to cover them. “We stand up there and have a dog fight every play. You know, there are going to be some pushing-offs and grabbing here and there, and that is the game of football. That’s how it is. That’s how it’s always been.’’ Pointing to the Seattle secondary for instilling trepidation in opponents is a natural place to start. They specialize in tight coverage and rugged tackling. They don’t back down. But for every Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner and Michael Bennett in Seattle, there are Patrick WHITNER Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Donte Whitner and Justin Smith in San Francisco. And more. Everywhere. “You have to be physical, you want to make them think about you out there,’’ said Whitner, who considered changing his name to Hitner last year. “That’s an important part of the game.’’ It works both ways, too. Bowman, an All-Pro linebacker, revels in the physicality of Anquan Boldin, the veteran receiver who joined the 49ers this season.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes to post a 5-under 67 and lie two shots off the lead two rounds into the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday. Playing partner Phil Mickelson was also happy, though in relief to make the cut by two shots at 1 under after a 70. In a 2-way tie for the lead were Scotland’s Craig Lee (67) and Spain’s Rafa Cabrera-Bello (68) at 9 under. BRAVES REACH DEALS WITH MEDLEN, MINOR, JOHNSON

ATLANTA — The Braves have agreed to one-year contracts with pitchers Kris Medlen and Mike Minor, infielder Chris Johnson and outfielder Jordan Schafer. Medlen (15-12, 3.11 ERA) and Minor (13-9, 3.21) were key members of the rotation, while Johnson surprisingly wound up second in the NL with a .321 batting average. KERSHAW CALLS LUCRATIVE DEAL ‘HUMBLING’

LOS ANGELES — Even Clayton Kershaw has trouble contemplating the enormity of a $215 million, 7-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers that makes him baseball’s richest pitcher. Kershaw calls the money both “a tremendous blessing and a tremendous responsibility.’’ SCHERZER, TIGERS AGREE AT $15,525,000 FOR 1 YEAR

DETROIT — Max Scherzer agreed to a oneyear contract that leaves his future with the Detroit Tigers as uncertain as ever. The AL Cy Young Award winner’s deal for 2014 is worth $15,525,000, and it enables Scherzer and the Tigers to avoid arbitration. The 29-year-old Scherzer went 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA and 240 strikeouts last season. EX-USC RB MILES ACKNOWLEDGES SUICIDE ATTEMPT

COLUMBIA — Former South Carolina tailback Kenny Miles acknowledged he tried to kill himself when he was shot in the arm in November, saying he was struggling with depression. Miles released a statement this week through his attorney, Neal Lourie. Miles has been charged with giving authorities a false story when he was discovered with a gunshot wound to his arm. NBA BOBCATS MAGIC

111 101

ORLANDO, Fla. — Al Jefferson had 30 points and 16 rebounds, Kemba Walker added 19 points and 10 assists and the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Orlando Magic 111-101. The Bobcats shot 16 for 20 on free throws in the final period to help secure the win. Josh McRoberts and Gerald Wallace added 17 points apiece for Charlotte. HEAT 76ERS

101 86

PHILADELPHIA — LeBron James had 21 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds to help the Miami Heat snap a 3-game losing and beat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-86. RAPTORS TIMBERWOLVES

94 89

TORONTO — Kyle Lowry scored 24 points, Amir Johnson had 19 and the Toronto Raptors beat Minnesota 94-89 for their 10th straight home victory over the Timberwolves. From wire reports

Djokovic, Serena advance to 4th round at Aussie Open BY JOHN PYE Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — The heat wave didn’t claim any major casualties at the Australian Open. Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams extended their winning streaks to move into the fourth round, and all except one of the leading contenders made it through to the weekend. Five-time champion Williams saw off the worst of the searing, once-in-a-century conditions that scorched Melbourne for four straight days, beating Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-3 on Friday. Melbourne Park didn’t quite reach DJOKOVIC the forecast peak of 44 Celsius (111 Fahrenheit) — it did get to 43 C (109 F) — that had some players complaining about “inhumane’’ conditions. Williams has never been one to be seriously affected by the heat, but even she had to admit she was looking forward to the cooler conditions expected from Saturday. She also admitted to a little

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Serena Williams hits a backhand return to Daniela Hantuchova during their third-round Australian Open match on Friday in Melbourne, Australia. Williams won 6-3, 6-3.

bit of relief after an injury to her sister, Venus, meant they had to withdraw from the doubles. Djokovic used to struggle in the heat, but has

grown accustomed to it with three consecutive Australian titles. He’s aiming to be the first man in the Open era to win four in a row, and thinks he’s getting there. He benefited from the cool change that swept in late Friday before his 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 win over Denis Istomin. He wrapped it up at 12:10 a.m., and thanked the crowd — including new coach Boris Becker — for staying past midnight. The other active major winners are either on the opposite side — Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer play their third-round matches today — or out of the competition. No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, was the biggest casualty of the second round. Of the contenders on Djokovic’s side, third-seeded David Ferrer beat No. 29 Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-2 and No. 7 Tomas Berdych defeated Bosnian qualifier Damir Dzumhur 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. Ana Ivanovic had a 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-2 win over 2011 U.S. Open champion and local favorite Sam Stosur, while two-time finalist Li Na beat No. 26-seeded Lucie Safarova 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3.

TELEVISION

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

AROUND TOWN

TW FT

Clarendon School District 2 will hold Saturday with the Superintendent from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. Superintendent John Tindal will be at the district office, 15 Major Drive, Manning, to meet with anyone who would like to speak with him. Lincoln High School Class of 1963 will meet at 2 p.m. today at American Legion Post 202, 310 Palmetto St. Class reunion plans will be discussed. Call (803) 968-4464. The Manning Branch NAACP will meet at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, at Triumph the Church and Kingdom in Christ, 1285 Pearson Road, Davis Station. The group will pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Col. Alexander Conyers, commander of the 16th Military Police Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C., will speak. The Lincoln High School Preservation Alumni Association will meet at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, at 26 Council St. The 14th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dream Walk will be held Monday, Jan. 20. This three-mile walk will start and end at USC Sumter Nettles Building, 200 Miller Road. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with walk beginning at 9:30 a.m. A celebratory program will follow at 11 a.m. Call (803) 9383760. The Sumter Branch NAACP will honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20, at Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church, 805 S. Harvin St. The Rev. Clifton N. Witherspoon will speak. The Westside Neighborhood Association will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20, at Birnie HOPE Center, 210 S. Purdy St. Contact Jim at (678) 429-8150 or jtmccain@bellsouth. net. The Carolina Coin Club will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 155 Haynsworth St., the Parks & Recreation Department building. Call (803) 775-8840. The Dalzell COPs (Community Oriented Police) will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, at Ebenezer Community Center, 4580 Queen Chapel Road and the corner of Ebenezer Road, Dalzell. The Sumter County Teachers AssociationRetired will meet at noon Wednesday, Jan. 22, at North HOPE Center, 904 N. Main St. Call Brenda Bethune at (804) 469-6588. Hillcrest High School Class of 1974 will hold a reunion meeting at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at American Legion Post 202, 310 Palmetto St. Call E.B. Brooks at (803) 481-5148 or (803) 3167652 or Kevin Vannoy at (803) 968-3238.

7 PM

7:30

8 PM

8:30

THE ITEM

9 PM 9:30 LOCAL CHANNELS

10 PM

10:30

11 PM

11:30

12 AM

Paid Program Sponsored television Chicago P.D.: Stepping Stone Drug Chicago P.D.: Wrong Side of the Bars Saturday Night Live Late-night com- WIS News 10 at (:29) Saturday Night Live Schedprogramming. cartel murders are investigated. (HD) A drug gang is suspected of kidnap- edy featuring sketch comedy, celeb 11:00pm News uled: host and musical guest Drake. (N) (HD) ping. (HD) hosts, and music. (HD) and weather. Inside Edition (N) Paid Program Mike & Molly: 2 Broke Girls: 48 Hours Award-winning broadcast 48 Hours Award-winning broadcast News 19 @ 11pm (:35) CSI: Miami: Darkroom Photos (HD) Sponsored. Mike the Tease And the Bear journalists present in-depth investi- journalists present in-depth investi- The news of the of missing women found in safe. (HD) (HD) Truth (HD) gative reports. gative reports. day. 20/20 Investigative journalists re- ABC Columbia White Collar: Need to Know Neal Jeopardy! (HD) Hancock (‘08, Action) aac Will Smith. A drunken, ill-mannered Wheel of Forport on various news stories from News at 11 (HD) goes undercover in politics. (HD) superhero gets help in rehabilitating his tarnished public image from a tune: Pet Lovers around the world. (HD) grateful public relations consultant whom he rescues. (HD) (HD) Masterpiece: Upstairs Downstairs Father Brown: The Wrong Shape Doc Martin: Born (:47) Doc Martin: Mother Knows (:33) Sun Studio Austin City Limits: fun.; Dawes Indie Nature: The PriGerman-Jewish refugee is the new Poet hangs himself in his conserva- with a Shotgun Best Louisa’s mom has calming ef- Sessions: Lucero pop music group fun. performs. (N) vate Life of Deer maid. (HD) tory. (HD) fect on baby. (HD) (HD) Modern Family: Modern Family: Almost Human: Simon Says Kennex The Following: The Final Chapter WACH FOX News The Middle: Sib- Golan The Insa- (:45) Golan The Ring of Honor Little Bo Bleep Me? Jealous? is targeted by a virtual killer. (HD) Ryan races to put an end to Carroll at 10 Nightly lings Perfect kids. tiable Tooth fairy. Insatiable Wrestling (N) (HD) (HD) and his plans. (HD) news report. (HD) (N) (HD) Chicken pox. (HD) (HD) Community: Intro The First Family: The First Family: Mr. Box Office: Mr. Box Office: Access Hollywood Scheduled: the The Arsenio Hall Show Late night Futurama: PropoCommunity Pierce’s revenge. to Political Sci- The First The First Recital Man Up (HD) Uniformed Strike top entertainment stories of the variety/talk show. (HD) sition Infinity (HD) (HD) ence (HD) Makeover (HD) (HD) (HD) week. (N) (HD)

CABLE CHANNELS Bad Ink Tattoo re- Bad Ink (HD) Bad Ink Spiteful Bad Ink Bad doo- Bad Ink Tattoo Bad Ink (HD) Bad Ink (HD) Bad Ink (HD) (:01) Don’t Trust (:31) Don’t Trust Bad Ink Spiteful moval. (HD) tattoo. (HD) dle. (HD) portrait. (HD) (HD) (HD) tattoo. (HD) (3:30) Titanic (‘97, Romance) Get Smart (‘08, Comedy) aac Steve Carell. A quirky analyst is promoted to help an agent Failure to Launch (‘06, Comedy) aa Matthew McConaughey. A aaac Leonardo DiCaprio. (HD) fight evil syndicate’s crime wave. (HD) 35-year-old man still lives at home. (HD) To Be Announced Too Cute! (HD) Pit Bulls and Parolees (HD) Pit Bulls and Parolees (N) (HD) Pit Bulls and Parolees (HD) Pit Bulls (HD) (5:30) Glory Road (‘06, Drama) Josh Men of Honor (‘00, Drama) aac Robert De Niro. In the 1950s, a courageous sailor faces racism and a tyrannical diving instructor Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Lucas. Groundbreaking team. in his quest to become the Navy’s first African American master diver. Story (‘09) Cuba Gooding Jr. The Real Housewives of Atlanta: Coyote Ugly (‘00, Drama) aa Piper Perabo. An aspiring singer finds fame Coyote Ugly (‘00, Drama) aa Piper Perabo. An aspiring singer finds fame Burlesque (‘10, Crunk in the Truck as a dancing bartender in a trendy NYC bar. as a dancing bartender in a trendy NYC bar. Drama) Cher. Treasure Treasure Treasure Treasure The Suze Orman Show (N) The Profit: LA Dogworks The Profit: Eco-Me Suze Orman CNN Presents (HD) CNN Presents (HD) Anthony Bourdain Parts Anthony Bourdain Parts CNN Presents (HD) Anthony South Park (HD) South Park Hand South Park (HD) Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (‘06, Comedy) aac Will Ferrell. Moronic Dave Chappelle: Killin’ Them Softly Women and puppet. (HD) NASCAR star must rebuild his life after losing to a French driver. (HD) Lincoln Theater. Black Dudes (N) Good Luck Char- Good Luck Char- Jessie (HD) I Didn’t Do It: Pi- Liv and Maddie Dog Blog: Lost in Lab Rats: Llama Kickin’ It (HD) A.N.T. Farm Truth Good Luck Char- Good Luck Charlie (HD) lie (HD) lot (HD) Stanslation Drama (HD) serum. (HD) lie (HD) lie (HD) Fast N’ Loud Shelby at risk. (HD) MythBusters (N) (HD) Treehouse Masters (HD) Treehouse Masters (HD) Treehouse Masters (HD) Treehouse (6:00) College Basketball (HD) College GameDay (HD) College Basketball: Louisville vs Connecticut z{| (HD) SportsCenter (HD) SportsCenter (6:00) College Football: 2014 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl no~ (HD) 2014 Australian Open Tennis: Round of 16: from Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia z{| (HD) Practical Magic (‘98, Fantasy) aac Sandra Bullock. Sibling witches flee The Blind Side (‘09, Drama) aaac Sandra Bullock. A family takes a poor youth into their home, and he beLetters to Juliet to New England after a boyfriend’s inadvertent death. (HD) comes a football star. (HD) (‘10) aac (HD) Chopped (HD) Chopped Duck fat. (HD) Chopped Hot cross buns. (HD) Chopped Catfish and soda. (HD) Restaurant: Impossible (HD) Chopped (HD) FOX Report Saturday (HD) Huckabee (N) (HD) Justice with Judge Jeanine (N) Geraldo at Large (HD) Red Eye (HD) Huckabee NHL Hockey: Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes from PNC Arena z{| (HD) Postgame Golden Boy Live: from Indio, Calif. no} (HD) NHL Hockey June in January (‘14, Romance) Brooke D’Orsay. A woman receives the When Calls the Heart: Cease and June in January (‘14, Romance) Brooke D’Orsay. A woman receives the Frasier: Guns ‘n marriage proposal she’s been awaiting her entire life. (HD) Desist (N) (HD) marriage proposal she’s been awaiting her entire life. (HD) Neuroses Hunters (HD) Hunters (HD) Property Brothers (HD) Property Brothers (HD) Hunters (HD) Hunters (HD) Hunters (HD) Hunters (HD) Prop Bro (HD) Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Faith- Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Folie Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Fam- Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Law & Order: fully Doctor murdered. (HD) Astoria Helen (HD) a Deux Missing youth. (HD) ily Values (HD) Salome in Manhattan (HD) Criminal (HD) The Preacher’s Mistress (‘13, Flowers in The Attic (‘14, Drama) Heather Graham. Siblings hidden in an at- House of Secrets (‘13, Thriller) Bianca Lawson. A young woman is unaware Flowers in The Drama) Sarah Lancaster. (HD) tic grow close. (HD) that her new home has been bugged by her ex. (HD) Attic (HD) Sam & Cat Sam & Cat Sam & Cat (N) (HD) Thunderman Awesome Full Hse Full Hse Friends (:36) Friends (:12) Friends Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Cops (N) (HD) Cops (HD) Auction (N) Thrift (N) Cops (HD) Cops Boa constrictor call; traffic violation. (HD) Auction (HD) Resident Evil: Extinction (‘07, Science Fiction) Milla Jovovich. Survivors of Zombieland (‘09, Horror) aaac Woody Harrelson. Unlikely partners Dawn of the Dead (‘04, Horror) aaa Sarah Polley. the disaster fight for survival and against Umbrella Corp. must survive zombie attacks to find the last place of refuge. Group battles zombies in shopping mall. (HD) The Big Bang The Big Bang 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild comes to- Cougar Town Ground Brody’s Men at Work: Sky High (‘05, Family) aac Kelly Theory (HD) Theory (HD) gether to honor television and film performers. (HD) choice. Pre-Posal (HD) Preston. School for heroes. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer Lifeboat (‘44, Drama) aaa Tallulah Bankhead. People are stranded in a Faithless (‘32, Drama) aac Tallulah Bankhead. Die! Die! My Darling! (‘65, Horror) (‘47, Comedy) Cary Grant. lifeboat after a ship goes down during World War II. Spoiled heiress gets her comeuppance. aac Tallulah Bankhead. Untold Stories of the E.R. (HD) Untold Stories of the E.R. (HD) Untold Stories of the E.R. (HD) Sex Sent Me to the ER (N) (HD) Untold Stories of the E.R. (HD) Untold ER (5:00) The Help (‘11, Drama) Emma 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild comes to- 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild comes to- Pursuit of Stone. Unlikely friendship. (HD) gether to honor television and film performers. gether to honor television and film performers. Happyness (HD) S. Beach S. Beach S. Beach S. Beach S. Beach S. Beach S. Beach S. Beach (:01) Top 20: Dumb Dudes 5 (:02) S. Beach (6:49) Cosby (:21) Cosby (:54) Cosby (:27) Cosby Raymond (HD) Raymond (HD) Raymond (HD) Raymond (HD) Raymond (HD) Raymond (HD) Raymond (HD) NCIS: Enemies Domestic New twist Modern Family Modern Family Modern Family Modern Family Modern Family Modern Family The Mechanic (‘11, Action) aac Jason Statham. An in case. (HD) (HD) (HD) (HD) (HD) (HD) (HD) assassin avenges his friend’s murder. Will Grace Will Grace Will Grace Will Grace Will Grace Will Grace Will Grace Will Grace Will Grace Will Grace Will Grace Home Vid Bulls Eye (N) NBA Basketball: Philadelphia 76ers at Chicago Bulls from United Center (HD) News (HD) How I Met Rules (HD) Rules (HD)

Lifetime airs wilted version of ‘Flowers in the Attic’ BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH An adaptation of the bestselling 1979 novel by V.C. Andrews, “Flowers in the Attic” (8 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime, TV-14) sports an enviable cast, including Oscar-, Emmy- and Golden Globe-winner Ellen Burstyn. Heather Graham (“Drugstore Cowboy”) and Kiernan Shipka (“Mad Men”) also star. “Flowers” kicks off with a cliched view of 1950s America, as beautiful mother Corrine (Graham) dotes on her four perfect children in split-level heaven. Gears shift when her ambitious husband dies in an accident, leaving the family only with debts. Suddenly, Corrine’s forced to take the brood, including teens Cathy (Shipka) and Christopher (Mason Dye) and twin tykes, to her rich parents’ creepy estate in Virginia. Unfortunately, Corrine had grown estranged from her parents. We quickly discover that her unseen father refuses to recognize Corrine or her children’s existence, and her mother, Olivia (Burstyn), has been driven to cruelty and madness by longpast intimations of a relationship between Corrine and her father. As with many horror movies, a viewer might think, “get the heck out of the house!” at this point. But that would make way too much sense. Corrine, who seemed slightly lobotomized when the going was good in the suburbs, is a complete doormat now. She agrees for the children to live secretly in a hidden room with a passage to a spooky attic. And that’s where they become abandoned to the clutches and cruelty of evil Grandma as Corrine becomes increasingly distracted. This preposterous story is not helped by performances that are either wooden or purposefully affected. Shipka’s Cathy comes the closest to a real human being. But on “Mad Men” she’s had a lot of practice dealing with family dysfunction in mid-20th-century America. • “Sherlock” returns for a third three-episode season on “Masterpiece Mystery” (10 p.m. Sunday, PBS, TV-14, check

local listings). As fans of this addictive series surely know, Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) appeared to be dead at the end of season two. It’s not giving too much away to reveal that reports of his death were highly exaggerated. And how, or, more importantly, why he created this illusion is a subject well covered in tonight’s episode. While viewers may be happy and eager to see Holmes return, Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman) has some trouble adjusting after three years of grieving. Perhaps he should have been watching “The Returned” on Sundance. Look for visual quirks, special effects and jaunty, effervescent music to accompany Sherlock’s remarkable feats of deduction. I have a quibble with the direction of “Sherlock,” and it’s not a minor one. The series is turning him into too much of an action hero — the James Bond of Baker Street. Tonight’s developments, which include a terror attack on Parliament and plots involving the London subway (or “Underground”), have a few too many echoes of the last James Bond installment, “Skyfall.” It would be a shame to turn this modern adaptation of the Arthur Conan Doyle character into yet another pop culture cartoon. • For fans of smart, quality television, Sundays have become an embarrassment of riches. During most weeks, “True Detective,” “The Good Wife” and “Downton Abbey” all air at the same time. Now add “Sherlock” to the mix. And the NFL playoffs. And don’t forget “Episodes.” These are times that test the boundaries of our DVR and TiVo technology. The bad news (or is it good news?) is that the new HBO series “Looking” (10:30 p.m. Sunday, TV-MA) will not add to many viewers’ DVR dilemmas. “Looking” follows three 30-something gay men as they look for love and fulfillment in contemporary San Francisco. Patrick (Jonathan Groff) is rattled by a recent breakup and his ex’s impetuous engagement.

Agustin (Frankie J. Alvarez) has agreed to move in with his lover, but has qualms about monogamy. And single Dom (Murray Bartlett) frets as he nears the big 4-0. It’s a bit unfair to call “Looking” the “Girls” for gay men, but it shares that series’ penchant for turning a cinematic look at the dating scene into a grim cautionary tale. • Hosted by Karl Pilkington, “The Moaning of Life” (10 p.m. Saturday, Science, TV-14) examines how cultures around the world address notions of happiness, career, death, raising children and marriage.

Saturday’s Highlights

• Higher-ups want to appoint a special task force on “True Detective” (9 p.m., HBO, TVMA). • Sara’s life is threatened on the series finale of “Betrayal” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG). • “Castle Secrets & Legends” (10 p.m., Travel, TV-PG) examines the places behind fictional tales, including “Frankenstein” and “The Man in the Iron Mask.” • Adam’s sister descends on “Girls” (10 p.m., HBO, TV-MA). • As Ryan Hardy tries to recover, his obsession with Joe Carroll grows on the secondseason premiere of “The Following” (10:30 p.m., Fox, TV14). Time approximate due to football coverage. • Carol warms up to the new network boss on “Episodes” (10:30 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).

• Will Smith stars as a blundering superhero in the 2008 comedy “Hancock” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14). • Actors honor their own at the “20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards” (8 p.m., TBS, TV-14). • The coal barons put widows out on the street on “When Calls the Heart” (9 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).

Survivors of a U-boat attack offer a cross-section of society in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1944 drama “Lifeboat” (8 p.m. Saturday, TCM), starring Tallulah Bankhead and William Bendix.

Sunday’s Highlights

Saturday Series

• The Seattle Seahawks host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game (6:30 p.m., Fox). • Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS, r): an interview with Jessica Buchanan, who was rescued from Somali pirates; a look at Sudan’s “Lost Boys.” • Valerie Harper and Lauren Holly star in the 2014 romantic comedy “The Town That Came A-Courtin’” (7 p.m., UP, TVPG). • Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph star in the 2011 comedy “Bridesmaids” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14). • The old firm proves less than cooperative on “The Good Wife” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14). • Emily risks ruining everything on “Revenge” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG). • Mary and Edith mull private matters on “Downton Abbey” on “Masterpiece Classic” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings).

Mike’s delicate procedure on “Mike & Molly” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) * On two episodes of “Chicago PD” (NBC, r, TV-14): a stepping stone (8 p.m.); a wrong step (9 p.m.) * A killer publicizes his sadism on “Almost Human” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) * A cabin in the woods on “2 Broke Girls” (8:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) * Ryan stymies Joe on “The Following” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) * A new bomb material is discovered on “Intelligence” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).

Cult Choice

Sunday Series Updates on “The Bachelor” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14) * A counselor to troubled vets is found slain on “The Mentalist” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) * A Dallas sniper is inspired by a grim anniversary on “Criminal Minds” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14). Copyright 2014, United Feature Syndicate

CLASSIFIEDS

THE ITEM

For Sale or Trade

LEGAL BUSINESS NOTICES SERVICES

Expert Tech, New & used heat pumps & A/C. Will install/repair, warranty; Compressor & labor $600. Call 803-968-9549 or 843-992-2364

Bid Notices

Tree Service

NOTICE FOR BID

STATE TREE SERVICE Worker's Comp & General liability insurance. Top quality service, lowest prices. 803-494-5175 or 803-491-5154 www.statetree.net

The Sumter County Transportation Committee will accept separate sealed bids until 10:00 A.M., Wednesday, 12 February 2014 in the County Council Chambers of the County Administration Building located at 13 East Canal Street, Sumter, SC for the paving of approximately 2.99 miles of county roads in Sumter County. Bid packages may be obtained from the Office of the Public Works Director, 1289 North Main Street, Sumter, S.C. or email khyatt@sumtercountysc.org. Sumter County reserves the right to reject any or all bids. Sincerely; Karen Hyatt Asst. Public Works Director Cc: Mr. Robert Galloway, Jr. Purchasing Agent/Sumter County

A Notch Above Tree Care Full quality service low rates, lic./ins., free est BBB accredited 983-9721 The Tree Doctor Any size tree removal & stump grinding. Trimming & clearing. No job too big or small. Call 775-8560 or 468-1946. We accept credit cards and offer senior discounts

PETS & ANIMALS Dogs

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Reg Boykin Spaniel Pupps 2F 1M $800 Call 460-6947

Announcements

AKC or CKC Puppies & Dogs $300 & up. (Cash) Alice 803-428-3803

Tuesday, January 21, 2014, is the last day to redeem winning tickets in the following South Carolina Education Lottery Instant Game: (514) WEEKLY BONUS

Found: at the Solo Gas Station in Wedgefield blk male lab mix. Call to identify. Call 494-2299.

In Memory

Electrical work. New & Repair Call 803-499-4127 Got door dings on your car?? Call me at Humdinger Dent Repair 803-840-2008

Auction-Conway, SC January 21st, 9AM EST. Real Estate & Industrial Equipment, Rail & Road Tankers, Trucks, Van, Boilers, Pumps, 33-ft. SeaRay, Jet Skis, Cone Bottom Tanks, Shaker Separator, Desk, Printers, Office Equipment, Much More. www.gre atwesternauctioneering.com 214-957-1910 SC#4444

Garage, Yard & Estate Sales 733 Bay Springs Dr. 7 am - 10 am. Multi-family, children & adult clothes, tools, video games, collectibles, toys, power tools, bunk bed w/ mattress, plenty of other misc. Sumter County Flea Mkt Hwy 378 E. 803-495-2281 500 tables. Sat. $8 free return Sun. Big Yard Sale, 755 Stratton Ct. Sat 7AM-3PM. Furn., hshld items, clothes, toys, misc items. 3500 Horizon Dr. Sat. 8-12pm. Weight bench, weights, hshld items, clothes, books. LARGE GARAGE SALE 1st & 3rd Weekend Tables $1 & Up FLEA MARKET BY SHAW AFB

Open every weekend. 905-4242

Home Improvements

Large Sale @ Saint Anne's Catholic Church Sat 1/25/14 7am-12

WINTER-SPECIAL - 20% Awnings, Patio Covers, Screen Rooms Ventu-Lite Inc 773-9545

Multi-family Sale: 1240 Alice Dr. Sat. 7am - 2pm. Dryer, some furn., Music keyboards, tv's, and much more.

H.L. Boone, Contractor additions, painting, roofing, gutters, sheetrock, blown ceilings, decks. 773-9904

Roofing All Types of Roofing & Repairs All work guaranteed. 30 yrs exp. SC lic. Virgil Bickley 803-316-4734.

Tree Service Ricky's Tree Service Tree removal, stump grinding, Lic & ins, free quote, 803-435-2223 or cell 803-460-8747.

Cemetery Plot (Evergreen). #1 lot No. 46-C. Fountain section #2. Asking $1,800. Call 803-773-5386 Firewood for Sale Will Deliver. Call 803 651-8672

EMPLOYMENT Help Wanted Full-Time

Qualified candidates must have:

My Computer Works. Computer problems? Viruses, spyware, email, printer issues, bad internet connections - FIX IT NOW! Professional, U.S.-based technicians. $25 off service. Call for immediate help. 1-888-269-7891

Business Services

REDUCE YOUR CABLE BILL!* Get a whole-home Satellite system installed at NO COST and programming starting at $19.99/mo. FREE HD/DVR Upgrade to new callers, SO CALL NOW 1-866-981-7319

STC Now Hiring Diesel Mechanic

ADVERTISE YOUR AUCTION in 105 S.C. newspapers for only $375. Your 25-word classified ad will reach more than 2.6 million readers. Call Jimmie Haynes at the S.C. Newspaper Network, 1-888-727-7377.

Mary E. Hilton 12/27/1960 - 01/17/2013 A year ago seems just like yesterday that you went away. Life without you has become a constant struggle, It's like trying to breathe with no air. If heaven was a mile away, that would be a mile worth traveled every day. Although you have left us physically, you remain here in spirit, memories, and deep in heart.You are truly missed, but well deserved of your wings. Until we meet again, continue to rest beautiful Angel. Love, Kenny, Chad, & Shae

DirecTV - Over 140 channels only $29.99 a month. Call Now! Triple savings! $636.00 in Savings, Free upgrade to Genie & 2013 NFL Sunday ticket free!! Start saving today! 1-800-908-5974

Free Guinea Pig to a good home. Cage & food included. 803 469-4108

MERCHANDISE

Lost & Found

White Kenmore electric stove, $75. Large floor model bird cage, $50. Call 481-9911.

For Sale or Trade Split Oak Firewood, $60/dump, $70/stacked. Darrell Newman 803-316-0128. Tree Service also available. DISH TV Retailer - Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 mos.) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available.) SAVE! Ask About SAME DAY Installation! CALL Now! 1-800-635-0278 Martin's Used Appliance Washers, Dryers, Refrigerators, Stoves. Guaranteed. 803-464-5439 or 469-7311

â&#x20AC;˘Valid driver license â&#x20AC;˘High School Diploma or GED â&#x20AC;˘Three years or more of diesel mechanical experience â&#x20AC;˘Must provide tools / picture at interview STC offers competitive salary and benefits EOE and Drug Free Workplace Contact - Pat Joyner 803-775-1002 x107 50K-100k Opportunity Make 50-100K a year plus residual income. Looking for licensed Ins professionals plus natural sale persons that must earn 50-100K, plus Health and Dental benefits. Fortune 500 training provided. Local Opportunity. Please call 795-3962 for Seminar details. Thomas Sumter Academy in Rembert, SC, is seeking an applicant for a part-time General Ledger Bookkeeper. Some of the requirements are: preparing balance sheet and income statements on a monthly basis, reconciling bank accounts, creating and maintaining budget figures, maintaining the financial aid account, and being responsible for all accounts receivable collections and other related duties. Please contact/send resume to Susan Hux, Administrative Assistant, at tsa.generals@thomassumter.org or call 803.499.3378. $$$ AVON $$$ FREE TRAINING! 803-422-5555 Wanted Church Musician pianist or keyboardist. call 843-647-9103 Driver Trainees Needed Now! Learn to drive for US Xpress! Earn $800+ per week! No experience needed! CDL -Trained and Job-Ready in 15 days! 1-888-263-7364

Schools / Instructional AIRLINE CAREERS begin here Get trained as FAA certified Aviation Technician. Housing and Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance 866-367-2513

t 53*..*/( t 53&& 3&.07"t 456.1 3&.07"Po Boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rex Prescott Tommy Thompson

ADVERTISE YOUR DRIVER JOBS in 105 S.C. newspapers for only $375. Your 25-word classified ad will reach more than 2.6 million readers. Call Jimmie Haynes at the S.C. Newspaper Network, 1-888-727-7377. WE NEED DRIVERS!! Immediate openings. OTR drivers, minimum 1yr. OTR experience. Late model conventional tractors/48' flatbed trailers. Top pay, insurance. Home most weekends. Senn Freight 1-800-477-0792 Train to be a PROFESSIONAL TRUCK DRIVER through Prime's Student Driver Program. Obtain your Commercial Driver's License, then get paid while training! 1-800-277-0212 driveforprime.com Start the New Year with a Great Career by Joining our Team. Class A Professional Drivers Call 866-501-0946 for more details or visit SuperServiceLLC.com COLONIAL LIFE is seeking B2B sales reps. Commissions average $56K+/yr. Training & leads. Sales experience required, LA&H license preferred. Call Elisabeth at 803-391-5536. MEDICAL BILLING TRAINEES NEEDED! Become a Medical Office Assistant now at Advanced College. NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED! Online training gets you job ready! HS Diploma/GED & PC/Internet needed. 1-888-528-5176

RENTALS Senior Living Apartments for those 62+ (Rent based on income) Shiloh-Randolph Manor 125 W. Bartlette. 775-0575 Studio/1 Bedroom apartments available EHO HOLLY COURT APARTMENTS located in Manning, currently have spacious two bedroom apartments for rent. Fully carpeted with central air and heat, water and sewer included. Please call to inquire about our Move in Special. Ph:( 803) 435-8786 1st Month Special 2BR/2BA Apt. Call 803-236-5953 In Town Manning 3BR 2BA Brick house $800 Mo/Dep Call 803-473-7577 Rent or buy: 438 E. Charlotte, $600 mo. 913 Holly Dr. $500 mo. Both homes have 3 br, 2 ba. 803-778-0796.

3BBR/2BA Doublewide (Wedgefield). $600. Call 803-983-8084

STATEBURG COURTYARD 2 & 3 BRs 803-494-4015 Winter Special (Dalzell) MHP 2BR/1BA, washer, dryer, sewer & garbage P/U. Section 8 accepted. $360/mo + $360/dep. Call Mark at 803-565-7947.

SUPERIOR TRANSPORTATION OTR Drivers Needed! Class-A CDL 2yrs. Exp. Flatbed or stepdeck Get paid for your Experience! We provide everything you need! Call #800-736-9486 Ext 266

TREE REMOVAL t 5011*/( t 413":*/( t 136/*/( t '&35*-*;*/( t #64) )0((*/(

OVER 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE LICENSED & INSURED

FIREWOOD DELIVERY

469-7606 or 499-4413

5 & 6 Acre Lots available North Santee, Lake Marion SC. Owner fin. available with as little as 10% down. 803-435-8679 or 803 513-4649 5775 Cane Savannah Rd. (Wedgefield). 1+ acre land for sale. Perfect for a new home or future investment. Close to Shaw AFB. 803-983-2261

RECREATION

Scenic Lake 2Br, 1Ba. No pets. Call between 9am - 5pm ONLY! (803) 499-1500. Lots for rent: Booker St. & Murphy St. 236-5782 or after 7pm 778-1083 for info. Vacation Rentals Santee, Garden City Beach Michelle Hodge, 803-491-4914 2.36 acres with two double-wide mobile homes, 3/4 bedrooms. Numerous storage buildings, livestock pasture, dog kennel and gardens. Self-sufficiency possibilities. Ruffin,SC. 843-599-9881 or 715-567-0808. ADVERTISE YOUR VACATION PROPERTY FOR RENT OR SALE to more than 2.6 million South Carolina newspaper readers. Your 25-word classified ad will appear in 105 S.C. newspapers for only $375. Call Jimmie Haynes at the South Carolina Newspaper Network, 1-888-727-7377. Guignard Storage: 57 Neal St. Personal storage units. No deposits. Call 803-491-4914 862 E Liberty St Storage/Retail/ Office 1550 Sq Ft. $250 Mo. Agent Owned Call 803-236-2425

REAL ESTATE FSBO: 2 Br $45,000, 3 Br, $65,000. Good starter home or rental. Call 803-983-9671.

2003 Scout 235 Sportfish with 225 HP Yamaha. $32,000. Call 803-491-7300.

TRANSPORTATION

97' Acura 2 Door all pwr, sunroof, new tires, 4cyl, AT, Excellent Car $3000 OBO Call 972-0771 A Guaranteed Credit Approval AUTO LOANS We will arrange financing even if you have been turned down before. Loans available for no credit, bad credit, 1st Time Buyers & Bankruptcy buyers. No co-signers needed. Call Mr. Ashley Brown at 803-926-3235

C&C Recycling Parts & Wrecker Service Top price paid for junk cars! We buy scrap metal, alum cans, batteries, copper. 773-7702

3 & 4BR Doublewides in Dalzell. Owner Financing with large down payments. 803-983-8084 2007 Singlewide. Owner financing with $5,000 down. Call 803-236-5953 LOW CREDIT SCORE? Been turned down for bad credit? Come try us, we do our own financing. We have 2-3-4-5 bedroom homes on our lot. Layaway program available. For more information, call 843-389-4215. Multiple lots for sale: 803-236-8495 ask for Bruce.

Call

LAND FOR SALE: 3.25 acres (Airport Rd). Asking $8,000. Call 803-406-3596.

2BR house Carolina Ave. & 2BR Apt Miller Rd. C/H/A. First month rent free! 774-8512 / 983-5691

JANUARY 19TH, 2014

Large 3BR $400 Dep/Rent Large 4 BR $525 Dep/Rent Large 1 BR Apt $300 Dep/Rent 468-1900

Open House

2-4 PM

Available Feb. 1st. 1001 Arnaud St. 2 br, 2 ba, townhouse. Stove, refrig, $750 mo. + dep. 773-5436 2BR Home on Patricia Dr. Completely remodeled. Den, DR, C/H/A $375/mo. + $375/dep. 3BR/2BA MH with Den, LR, DR, W/D hook up, C/H/A with large fenced backyard. Located in Country Springs on 15S. $550/mo + $550/dep. Call 803-316-7958 or 803-773-1838 Mon-Fri between 9-5pm. Section 8 welcome. 2, 3 & 4/BR's Trailers for rent, Cherryvale & Dogwood Area $250 & up. (803) 651-9926

2354 CROSSFIELD BEHIND OAKLAND SCHOOL This is a great buy and has 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath, Living room, Great Room, kitchen, laundry room + room for Dads crafts or just a man cave. Big roomy home sitting on 2 lots with fruit trees, storage buildings and a dog pen. Refreshments will be served. We will have an Attorney and a Mortgage Broker available to answer any questions you may have. Looking forward to seeing you ....

American MHP, 2 & 3/BRs, lot rentals, water/sewer/garbage pkup inc'd. Sec. 8 ok. 803-494-4300.

2 & 3BR 2BA Starting $375-$500 Month. Nice quiet park convenient Shaw/Sumter Call 499-9501 or 494-5643 No Calls after 8pm

Experienced OTR Flatbed Drivers earn 50 up to 55 cpm loaded. $1000 sign on to Qualified drivers. Home most weekends. Call: 843-266-3731 / www.bulldoghiwa y.com EOE

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TREE SERVICE PO BOYFREE ESTIMATES TREE CARE

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

June Floyd is your Host! 983-0138

A WALTON AGENCY

Each office independently owned & operated.

300 W. Wesmark Blvd. 469-9800 &."*- $ 8"-50/!"0- $0. t +PIOOZ 8BMUPO #*$

DRIVERS WANTED â&#x20AC;&#x153;NO GIMMICKSâ&#x20AC;?

PL RQ DOO PLOHV Â&#x2021; /D\RYHU 3D\ Â&#x2021; /RDGLQJ XQORDGLQJ IURP st KU *XDUDQWHHG 0LQLPXP 3D\ Â&#x2021; $FKLHYDEOH *RDOV IRU /XFUDWLYH ,QFHQWLYHV - CDL (Class A) w/ hazmat & tanker - At least 2 yrs. exp. - Clean MVR - Excellent pay ($.45 per running mile - includes $.06 per diem non-taxable expense) - Paid Vacation - Paid Holidays - Paid Sick Days - BC/BS Health Ins. - Dental Insurance - Life Insurance - Short Term Disability - 401(k) w/co. Match

MAYOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SUIT CITY

CONTACT Pat Joyner at 803-775-1002 Ext. 107 OR visit our website to download a job application and fax to (954) 653-1195 www.sumtertransport.com 170 S. Lafayette Drive Sumter, SC 29150 EOE

569&%04 "7"*-"#-& GPS SFOUBM PS QVSDIBTF

Winter Clearance Sale */ 130(3&44 /08

If your suits arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t becoming to you, Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good time to be coming to Mayoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s!

8FTNBSL 1MB[B t t .PO 4BU t XXX .BZPT%JTDPVOU4VJUT DPN

COMICS

BIZARRO

SOUP TO NUTZ

DOG EAT DOUG

GARFIELD

ZITS

BEETLE BAILEY

BLONDIE

ANDY CAPP

DILBERT

BORN LOSER

MOTHER GOOSE

Jeff MacNelly’s SHOE

THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

THE ITEM

Long friendship suffers after man makes pass at neighbor

SUDOKU

EAR ABBY — friendship with her is Our neighbors of going to continue, it will 14 years watch have to be without her our dog while we are husband being included. away, which is quite (She should have herself often. They have free acchecked for STDs in case cess to our home with the her husband has mankey we have given them. aged to get lucky with a Two months ago, the neighbor who WAS willhusband hit on me, really ing.) pushing the issue for me to have sex with him. DEAR ABBY — I am Then he apolo10 years old and I gized like it was have a major boy nothing. I was problem. My ex upset, scared, (Bob) broke up shocked and told with me, and I felt my husband befunny around him cause I was conand a little mad. cerned. My husSo I kind of Abigail band was not moved on. I went VAN BUREN happy about it. to my crush who We have not had previously been able to look at him asked me out, and I said or his wife (my friend) yes. Now I’m stuck and I since then. We are all don’t know what to do. I middle-aged. Should I asked my mom and tell her why we have didn’t like the answer, so been absent, or can you now I’m asking you. help me figure out what CONFUSED GIRL IN to do? ARKANSAS BADLY IN NEED OF ADVICE DEAR CONFUSED GIRL — I don’t know DEAR BADLY IN what your mother told NEED — Make other you, but here’s my advice: plans for your dog when At 10, you’re too young to you travel, change the be in an exclusive relalocks on your doors, and tionship with anyone. Beif your friend asks why cause you regret saying you have been “absent,” yes to your crush, tell him tell her why. She may not your mother disapproves like to hear it, but she and you cannot go should know that if your against her wishes. dear abby

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

THE ITEM

CLASSIFIEDS

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014