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B1 VOL. 119, NO. 81 WWW.THEITEM.COM
SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2014 | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA
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Sumter man dies in wreck with police officer BY TYLER SIMPSON tyler@theitem.com A Sumter man is dead after a wreck Friday night on U.S. 15 that also put a Bishopville police officer in the hospital. Vincent Jackson, 24, of Rast Street, was pronounced dead on the scene by Sumter County Coro-
ner Harvin Bullock after his vehicle collided with a police cruiser at the intersection of U.S. 15 and Colony Road about 10:51 p.m. in Sumter County, just south of the Lee County line. Bullock said Jackson died upon impact and mentioned he was not wearing a seatbelt. The driver of the cruiser, Cpl.
Roniea Conyers, 35, of the Bishopville Police Department, suffered incapacitating injuries and was transported to Tuomey Regional Medical Center for treatment. According to reports from the South Carolina Highway Patrol, Conyers was driving north on U.S. 15 in a 2005 Chevy Impala police cruiser with her blue lights on, but
her police siren wasn’t on. Jackson, who was driving west on Colony Road, attempted to turn left onto the highway when Conyers’ vehicle collided with his Suzuki. Bishopville Police Department responded to the incident to find SEE WRECK, PAGE A4
Symptoms only half of HIV patients’ struggle Shaw, schools team up Mentoring program features soldiers, airmen, educators BY RAYTEVIA EVANS revans@theitem.com Both soldiers and airmen stationed at Shaw Air Force Base are once again taking the opportunity to connect with the Sumter community and become mentors for area youth. Through a partnership with Sumter School District, a number of soldier and airmen will go through mentorship training in preparation to interact and make a positive impact on students’ lives. Major Heather Hall said “Promoting Excellence through Partnership” began in 2011 when the military urged service members to become more involved with the Sumter community. After the program was developed, Shaw partnered with the Sumter School District so administrators could sign up students. “I think the impact is tremendous. They basically spend time with these kids and show them some attention. They also provide incentives to encourage them and help them to succeed,” Hall SEE MENTORING, PAGE A4
JADE REYNOLDS / THE ITEM
Patricia Wilder, left, and Wesley DuRant, center, listen to Kevin Johnson, executive director for the Wateree AIDS Task Force, at a meeting Friday. Both Wilder and DuRant have lived with HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS, since the early 90s.
Group battles stigmas, raises awareness about controversial disease BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com They are parents, siblings, aunts and uncles. They are your neighbors, friends and coworkers. They are some of the nearly 15,000 South Carolinians living with HIV or AIDS, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. With the advancement in medical technology, more and more are also grandparents. But they, along with the newly diagnosed, still face
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‘I was shocked and hurt. I didn’t want to live. I wanted to commit suicide, but I (thought) of my children.’ Patricia Wilder stigma and misconceptions. Most say the best way to combat these challenges is with open-minded education. “It’s not a death sentence anymore, (but) people are ashamed they have it,” Patricia Wilder said. “People
wouldn’t stigmatize cancer or high blood pressure.” She was diagnosed in 1993 while living in New Jersey. She believes she became infected from having unprotected sex with a man who didn’t tell her he had it. “I was shocked and hurt,”
DEATHS Charlie Washington Isaac Bowman Mildred V. Moore-Helton Vincent A. Jackson Becky P. Humphries Booker T. Cooper Jr.
Addie L. McCray Rosa Wilder Hilton Allen W. Griffin Sr. Bobby Joe Brown David Wayne Sisk I Julius Thomas
Wilder said. “I didn’t want to live. I wanted to commit suicide, but I (thought) of my children.” She went from not taking an aspirin for a headache to doing crack cocaine. She spent months in the hospital with pneumonia and battled AIDS-related dementia. She’s been clean almost 16 years now, and last year, she turned 50. “Life is good right now,” Wilder said. “I’m blessed and highly favored.” SEE STIGMAS, PAGE A4
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