January 30, 2016

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IN SPORTS: Knights battle Monarchs in region basketball matchup B1 FACT CHECK

A look at claims from Thursday’s GOP debate A3 SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2016

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Sheriff announces re-election bid Dennis seeks a 5th term in 2016 BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis announced Friday morning he intends to run for his fifth term as sheriff in the upcoming 2016 election. Dennis said the election will tell him how county residents have viewed his fourth term.

He said being an incumbent means he gets graded every four years during the election and receives a report card from county residents. “I feel confident the citizens will grade me positively,” he said. Dennis is a graduate of South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy in Columbia and Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, has a master’s degree in criminal justice and served all of his 33 years in law enforcement with the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff Anthony Dennis talks about the successes of his office during his announcement at the sheriff’s office on Friday that he is seeking re-election.

Dennis, who will run on the Democratic ticket, said he will focus on himself and will not pass judgment or negativity about other candidates during his campaign. Dennis first ran for sheriff in 2004 when he was chief deputy and took office as sheriff the following year. He has been re-elected twice since then. He said the agency has taken several proactive steps under his leadership in the past 12 years with the addition

KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

SEE DENNIS, PAGE A7

Lafayette bridge reopens

KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

Traffic flows across the Layafette Drive Bridge on Friday afternoon now that construction is mostly completed.

Officials say widespread Zika outbreaks not expected locally BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com There are no confirmed cases of the Zika virus in South Carolina at this time, said Dr. Teresa Foo, a consulting epidemiologist for the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. “Right now the risk is very, very low in South Carolina because there are no infections at this time, and it is not peak mosquito season,” she said. However, Zika cases are now confirmed in more than 20 countries in South America and Central America, and a limited number of cases have been reported in two U.S. territories, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a teleconference Friday. Zika is a mosquito-borne virus and usually causes mild illness, unlike the related virus, dengue, which causes life-threatening disease or life-threatening symptoms, she said. Most people infected with

While the Zika virus has been confirmed in more than 20 countries, local officials said the risk of South Carolinians getting the virus is low. Zika never have symptoms, and those who are sick have mild symptoms such as fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes or conjunctivitis for a couple of days or up to a week.

.com

It can put unborn babies in mortal danger, however. “Increasing lines of evidence

DEATHS, A7

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Thomas E. Cook William B. Logan Elvia R. Terry Nettie S. Tindal Sadie Coneley

Betty Jean Rhodes James R. Oxendine Larry Caldwell Bertha E. Wiley

U.S. declares 22 Clinton emails as ‘top secret’ WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration confirmed for the first time Friday that Hillary Clinton’s unsecured home server contained closely guarded government secrets, censoring 22 emails with material requiring one of the highest levels of classification. The revelation comes just three days before the Iowa presidential nominating caucuses in which Clinton is a candidate. Department officials also said the agency’s CLINTON Diplomatic Security and Intelligence and Research bureaus will investigate whether any of the information was classified at the time of transmission, going to the heart of one of Clinton’s primary defenses of her email practices. The State Department will release its next batch of emails from Clinton’s time as secretary of state..

SEE ZIKA, PAGE A7

SEE CLINTON, PAGE A7

WEATHER, A8

INSIDE

WARM AND SUNNY

2 SECTIONS, 16 PAGES VOL. 121, NO. 90

A beautiful Saturday in store with lots of sunshine and warm temperatures; tonight, clear to partly cloudy, not as cold. HIGH 62, LOW 39

Classifieds B7 Comics B6 Lotteries A8 Television A4-A5


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