Haley shares emotions, plans in State of State 75 CENTS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016
SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894 2 SECTIONS, 18 PAGES | VOL. 121, NO. 82
Governor’s speech focuses on education COLUMBIA — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley outlined her plans
to improve education and fight domestic violence at her State of the State ad-
dress on Wednesday. But there was plenty of emotion in her speech, too, as she recalled a series of tragedies and crises her state faced in 2015, from the police shooting of an unarmed black man to the killing of nine black churchgo-
ers during Bible study to October’s historic floods. She cried as she asked for prayers for the three survivors at the church group, and lawmakers gave them a minute-long standing ovation.
SEE STATE, PAGE A9
RAYMOND ‘RAY’ DAVENPORT • 1926 - 2016
‘He’ll be missed from this world’ Are you the next Miss Clarendon? Hear from 2015’s winner and learn what it’s all about A7 RELIGION
Over The Top coming this weekend A4 Can I deduct that? Charitable donations dos and don’ts A10 DEATHS, B4 Esaw Thames Trevor J. Hodge Shirly Ann B. Hansford Ruth Cousar
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Patricia O. Conyers Robert Isiah White Joyce Peace H. McCall
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Ray Davenport, right, is seen in Marion Square in Charleston during a past Piccolo Spoleto festival. He exhibited and sold his paintings, such as “Winter Thaw,” above, there for many years.
Friends recall Sumter artist With last Saturday’s passing of Ray Davenport, Sumter lost one of its greatest artists, and many local artists and other residents lost one of their best friends. Sumter Little Theatre Director Emerita Katie Damron, Davenport and a few others started the Sumter Artists’ Guild in 1965 as way for local artists to get to know one another and share ideas. They remained close friends until his death Jan. 16. “He was the kind of person that if you didn’t see each other for a good while, you were still good friends,” Damron said. “He’s one of the most true-blue people you’d ever know. Like his artwork, he’s honest and genuine. I just can’t believe he’s gone. He’ll be missed from this world.” The Rev. Keith Getz of St. James Lutheran Church, who was Davenport’s pastor, agreed. “Ray Davenport was a man of strong faith in Christ and extremely dedicated to the church,” Getz said.
Capital improvement request for Pinewood Site aired at meeting BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com
SEE DAVENPORT, PAGE A3
Taking a more detailed look at the 2015 police crime report BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com
Only a few residents of the Pinewood area made the 20-mile drive to Oakland Primary School, west of Shaw Air Force Base, to hear Robert Kerr, vice president of Pinewood Interim Administrators Inc., review a report outlining capital improvement project needs at the Pinewood Site, a toxic waste dump located near the shores of Lake Marion. Those that made the trip expressed concerns about the site contaminating the lake and ruining the area as a tourist destination. Some attendees recounted tales of indiscriminate dumping during the site’s early operation. The landfill operated from 1978 to 2000, when it was closed by court order. Capital improvements listed in the report include $3.2 million for cover enJIM HILLEY / THE SUMTER ITEM hancements for Section 1, the oldest and Pinewood Interim Administrators closest section to Lake Marion, which Inc. Vice President Robert Kerr contains only single-lined cells. The report also includes a request for talks to attendees at a public
meeting Tuesday at Oakland Primary School.
“He had an abundant, giving, cruciform heart. Ray possessed the unique ability to see the extraordinary beauty of God’s creation in the ordinary and had the talent to capture that beauty in his amazing art. He will be greatly missed.” While most people knew Davenport primarily through his art, his children, Raymond, Susan and Louise, knew him more intimately. Daughter Louise Davenport Fudger said her father at home was similar to “the same way people knew him.” A “wonderful, incredible dad,” she said. “He was funny, always joking, sweet, easygoing and super, super sweet.” She recalled that “when we were little and living in that tiny house on Milton, we had a little blackboard in the kitchen. We children would make marks on it at night, and the next morning, there would be a little cartoon.”
SEE PINEWOOD, PAGE A9
During Sumter City Council’s meeting Tuesday, Sumter Police Chief Russell Roark III said that while crime in the city dropped by nearly 4 percent in 2015, the rates of some crimes, mainly auto break-ins and homicides, did increase. According to a news release from the department, the city has experienced a nearly 23 percent decrease in crime during the last five years. “A majority of our work focuses on proactive approaches and prevention,” Roark said in the release. “Only a small part involves enforcement.” During the council meeting Roark said officers cannot prevent people from having the desire and ability to commit crimes, but the department is working to prevent opportunities for crimes to take place. “But despite our best efforts, human factors come into play in categories such as homicides, which can vary
greatly from one year to the next,” Roark said in the release. Four homicides were reported in the City of Sumter in 2015, a 300 percent increase from 2014 when only one homicide was reported. Also, Roark mentioned the increase of vehicular break-ins that occurred in 2015, an increase of 23.5 percent from the previous year, stating that most break-ins are made possible because the vehicles are left unlocked. The release states that 83 percent of the auto break-ins reported were partly attributed to unlocked doors. While the rates of some crimes increased in 2015, others experienced significant decreases. According to the department’s crime report, there was a 54.5 percent decrease in sexual assaults, a nearly 41 percent decrease in copper thefts and 15.5 percent decrease in reported thefts from homes or businesses. Roark said the department had a
SEE CRIME, PAGE A3