IN SPORTS: Sumter, Lakewood girls look to stay perfect in region hoops B1 REVIEW
Dylan pulls off unlikely album of Sinatra covers A5 SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2015
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Chamber encourages, trains mentors to work with schools BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com The Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce Education Committee would like to promote partnerships between local businesses, faith-based organizations and key leaders in the community to improve education in the area by identifying and training youth mentoring programs. “We have to have an educated and talented workforce to not only supply the businesses in Sumter but to promote
Sumter to other businesses coming in,” said Dennis Turner, chairman of the education committee. The education committee also wants to encourage local organizations to get involved and support Sumter’s mentoring initiative financially or through potential mentors. “We all believe that if the community gets behind mentoring, we can really make a positive difference in Sumter County,” said Turner. He said sometimes the word
“mentor” can be a daunting term but is actually very inspiring. “A mentor is really a role model who is just taking a deliberate interest in someone’s life,” he said. He also said that mentors are not exclusive to students and that he himself has a mentor who provides guidance in his career. Sumter School District has its own mentoring program available for all students in the district. The district’s mentoring program mirrors national
standards of screening, training, monitoring, supporting and matching prospective mentors with mentees. Mentorships last for an academic year and mentors are encouraged to follow their mentee to the next school year. Mentors can choose to work with students in specific grades and schools or with students with whom they share a similar background. “We’ve had some of our bilingual military personnel request an English language
learner to work with,” said Robin Mixon, prevention specialist and mentor coordinator for the district. Mentors are required to meet with students at least twice a month during school hours but can meet more frequently and outside of school with parents’ permission. The only cost for the mentorship is a $25 fee for potential mentors to have a background check by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
SEE MENTORS, PAGE A7
CCTC No measles reported in S.C. outlines Counselor Initiative BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com During its annual guidance counselor breakfast on Friday, Central Carolina Technical College President Tim Hardee announced the school’s plans for its Guidance Counselor Initiative. Guidance counselors from high schools in Sumter, Kershaw, Clarendon and Lee counties will meet at CCTC for two weeks during the summer to learn about courses offered at the college and the industrial job opportunities available in those HARDEE four counties. Counselors will also provide their students with information about transferring from CCTC to fouryear colleges when they return to school in the fall. Twenty guidance counselors are anticipated to participate in the training, which is expected to start in July. And for their time, the counselors will receive a $1,000 stipend. The counselors will take tours of Central Carolina’s educational departments and the industrial businesses in the area. Hardee said the initiative will be great for students to “know that they need training beyond high school to make it in the industrial business industry.” Together, Sumter Economic Development Board and Sumter Industrial Association, comprised of representatives of Caterpillar Inc., Sumter Packaging and Kaydon Corp., pledged $10,000 to CCTC to fund the training initiative. “We’re fortunate to have the business community’s initial financial support in the program,” said Hardee. Hardee said the initiative will be especially helpful for Sumter School District students in the STEM program which prepares high school students for careers in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.
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Pediatrician Charles Goodman, right, talks with Carmen Lopez, 37, seen holding her 18-month-old son, Daniel, after he was vaccinated with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, or MMR, at Goodman’s practice in Northridge, California, on Thursday. Some doctors are adamant about not accepting patients who don’t believe in vaccinations, with some saying they don’t want to be responsible for someone’s death from an illness that was preventable.
DHEC officials don’t expect recent California outbreak to reach state
Some doctors won’t see patients with anti-vaccination views
BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com
BY ALICIA CHANG AP Science Writer
Most South Carolinians above a certain age probably remember measles as a fairly common disease from their childhoods. Through the years, however, vaccinations reduced the incidence of the disease to the point that it was declared eradicated in the United States. A recent, multi-state outbreak that started in California in December — reportedly at a Disneyland park — has raised concerns about the possibility of the virus making a comeback in the Palmetto State, however. State health officials think the chances of an outbreak in South Carolina are unlikely. Department of Health and Environmental Control spokesman Jim Beasley said officials in the department know of no cases in the state since 1999.
“We have a pretty good vaccination rate in South Carolina,” he said. They caution, however, that measles is easily spread and can have serious consequences. Letitia Pringle-Miller, an administrative director at Tuomey Regional Medical Center, said proper immunization is the best way to avoid the disease. “The main thing is to have children immunized according to the childhood vaccination schedule,” she said. Pringle-Miller said many people today know little about the disease. “Measles is something the younger generation hasn’t seen, so they probably don’t realize how easily measles is spread,” she said. “It can be spread through the air; that’s why when folks are in close contact it can be easily shared.”
SEE DHEC, PAGE A7
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LOS ANGELES — With California gripped by a measles outbreak, Dr. Charles Goodman posted a clear notice in his waiting room and on Facebook: His practice will no longer see children whose parents won’t get them vaccinated. “Parents who choose not to give measles shots, they’re not just putting their kids at risk, but they’re also putting other kids at risk — especially kids in my waiting room,” the Los Angeles pediatrician said. It’s a sentiment echoed by a small number of doctors who in recent years have “fired” patients who continue to believe debunked research linking vaccines to autism. They hope the strategy will lead parents to change their minds; if that fails, they hope it
will at least reduce the risk to other children in the office. The tough-love approach — which comes amid the nation’s second-biggest measles outbreak in at least 15 years, with at least 98 cases reported since last month — raises questions about doctors’ ethical responsibilities. Most of the measles cases have been traced directly or indirectly to Disneyland in Southern California. The American Academy of Pediatrics says doctors should bring up the importance of vaccinations during visits but should respect a parent’s wishes unless there’s a significant risk to the child. “In general, pediatricians should avoid discharging patients from their practices solely because a parent refuses to immunize his or her child,”
SEE MEASLES, PAGE A7
WEATHER, A8
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ANOTHER PRETTY DAY
2 SECTIONS, 16 PAGES VOL. 120, NO. 90
Sunny and pretty today, not too cold until tonight’s freeze. Clouding up with slight chance of rain late. HIGH 52, LOW 32
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