January 3, 2016

Page 1

Christmas season isn’t over just yet C1 A look back at achievements of local athletes B1 IN HEALTH: In 2016, think

SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894

SUNDAY, JANUARY 3, 2016

more about what you eat A5

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2015 YEAR IN REVIEW Historic flooding tops news BY RICK CARPENTER rick@theitem.com The Sumter Item ranked the top story, but the rest of our top stories for the year are not ranked in any particular order. Some will agree they had significant impact.

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BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Sumter County Administrator Gary Mixon said all but two of the 16 2008 Capital Penny Sales Tax projects, with a budget of $70 million, are at least 90 percent complete. The two projects requiring extensive work are Southern Gateway, at $1.6 million, and Lafayette Diamond, at $6 million. According to Sumter County’s MIXON website, the Southern Gateway project will consist of improvements to the intersection of South Lafayette Drive and Manning Avenue. Mixon said the county has already issued a notice to proceed to the contractor, and the public can expect to see work in that area before the end of the month. Improvements will include traffic signal upgrades, new crosswalks and a new median

SEE PROJECTS, PAGE A7

FLOOD The Sumter Item news team easily declared the early October flood that the National Weather Service declared as a 1,000-year flood event as the top news story of 2015. Forecasters began predicting a major flood event for the area a few days before the rain started to fall. Light rain began falling on Friday, Oct. 2. By Monday, more than 21 inches of rain had fallen on Sumter and Clarendon counties, bursting dams and washing away homes, roads and bridges. Some cellphone services alerted residents to a flash-flood warning, but many awoke in the early hours of Sunday, Oct. 4, to rising water in their homes. There were more heroic rescues during the flood than we could possibly write about. First responders from every jurisdiction spent most of Sunday and Monday rescuing people from their homes and automobiles. The flood affected every resident in one way or another. Workers couldn’t get to work. Students couldn’t get to school. Power was out at many locations. Hospitals had to use back-up power systems, and most Sumter residents were under an order to boil tap water. Emergency shelters were opened by the American Red Cross and local gov-

County jumps on ’16 penny projects

Monday is last day to register for FEMA aid SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO

Damage is seen on Golfair Road after historic flooding in October. ernment agencies. Flood damage relief resources, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration as well as state services, brought makeshift offices to local communities to make it easier for residents to receive services in a one-stop location. If disasters reveal the true character of a community, local communities illustrated they are in good health. Residents in Clarendon and Sumter counties rallied to help neighbors, friends and people they didn’t know. Church groups, graduates of area high schools and college students who had no connection to the area made a pilgrimage

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here to volunteer to help people rebuild their homes, bring food and water supplies to local agencies and provide manpower to help people who didn’t have the means to help themselves. With Clarendon and Sumter counties at the epicenter of the flood disaster, the state asked for more than $300 million in federal assistance in addition to FEMA disaster funds and SBA loans. Farmers were particularly hit hard. S.C. Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers told a Special Senate Committee Regarding Flood Relief Efforts in December that crop insurance only

Monday is the final day for October flood victims to register for individual assistance with Federal Emergency Management Agency. City of Sumter and Sumter County officials encourage residents to register for assistance whether property has suffered major or minor damage. Kurt Pickering, FEMA media relations specialist, said 9,727 Sumter County residents had registered for individual assistance, and nearly $11.5

SEE TOP 10, PAGE A3

SEE HELP, PAGE A7

DEATHS, A9

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

BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com

Antawne D. Dargan Johnnie M. Harris Mary B. Boatwright Deloris J. Parker Darryl L. Johnson

WEATHER, A10

INSIDE

COOL AGAIN TODAY

5 SECTIONS, 34 PAGES VOL. 121, NO. 67

Partly sunny; partly cloudy skies tonight and cool HIGH 57, LOW 36

Business D1 Classifieds D5 Comics E1 Lotteries A10

Opinion A8 Outdoors D4 Sports B1 Television E3

It’s 2016! Bank local. We’ll give you something to whistle about. bankofclarendon.com


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