July 24, 2014

2 women take law and order into their hands THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

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Afternoon chase ends with 1 scrap metal theft suspect caught; 1 flees

Melissa Mouradjian speaks Wednesday afternoon with Cpl. Richard Martin on Highview Street beside a pickup truck loaded with scrap metal reportedly stolen from her family’s property.

BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bristow@theitem.com (803) 774-1272 Two men attempting to take scrap metal from behind a home ran into trouble Wednesday when the women inside decided they weren’t going to let them get away with it.

They chased down the men’s truck, forced them to stop and held one of them there until law enforcement arrived, all while armed with nothing more than a car horn.

BRISTOW MARCHANT / THE SUMTER ITEM

“This was their unlucky day,” said Melissa Mouradjian, who chased the men from her home on Oatfield Road in the Nettles Road area in southern Sumter County along with her 19-year-old daughter-in-law, Courtney Anderson.

Mouradjian’s stepfather has a collection of scrap metal piled behind the property on the end of a dirt road, and the family has lost about $400 worth of metal to

SEE CHASE, PAGE A8

YOUTH MILITARY TRAINING CORPS

Military, ministry create alliance

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8 teams, 5 days, 1 state tourney Everything you should know about teams coming to town is in our special section C1

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Roberta P. Pearson Jean N. Rogers Inez Brunson Susie Mae Mellott Morris N. Carter

Students in the Youth Military Training Corps summer program salute during military formation training at Church of God of Prophecy in Sumter on Wednesday. The program began 13 years ago with the motto “Uncuffing Young Minds.”

Program teaches children leadership skills, biblical lessons

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Eradicating bad behavior and instilling leadership, good behavior and teamwork encompasses everything Director and CEO Levern McFadden wanted to accomplish when he started the Youth Military Training Corps program in 2001.

Now, 13 years later, McFadden has finished conducting another six-week summer program for about 25 students, who will graduate with certificates of participation next Saturday.

“Having been in this for more than 10 years, I know there are plenty of summer programs out there for students who are likely to succeed, they’re doing well,” McFadden said. “This program is for those students as well as kids who have behavioral issues or

‘I’ve enjoyed the experience, and I understand that you can’t just have life how you want it. You have to follow instructions and listen to people.’

JOBEY McLEOD 15-year-old Youth Military Training Corps program participant other problems.”

This summer the students — ranging in age from 4 to 16 — learned military-style formations as well as leadership skills and discipline. With the help of five other program employees, McFadden said they also took time throughout the past six weeks to mentor the children and for English, math, black history and physical education lessons.

The program — using the motto “Uncuffing Young Minds” — dis-

tinguishes itself from other local and statewide summer camps and leadership programs by also including an inspirational and spiritual component.

Through group mentoring and an inspirational hour every day, the students were instilled with biblical principles and learned and performed gospel music while participating in the program at the Church of God of

SEE CORPS, PAGE A8

2 dead, 1 airlifted in wreck

BY ROB COTTINGHAM rob@theitem.com (803) 774-1225 Two men are dead and another was airlifted Wednesday after a single-vehicle wreck on Poole Road in which a truck apparently rolled over and ignited.

CATHERINE FOLEY / THE SUMTER ITEM Emergency workers rushed EMTs and firefighters move one of the victims of a single-vehicle to the 1400 block of Poole wreck to a LifeNet helicopter on Wednesday after a Chevrolet truck Road shortly after 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday. Upon arrival, rolled over several times and ignited on Poole Road. Two other men, one ejected from the vehicle and another severely burned, were pro- emergency workers found at least one man was ejected nounced dead at the scene.

from the vehicle and another was severely burned.

According to Sumter County Coroner Harvin Bullock, the truck appeared to have been traveling north on Poole Road when the driver overcorrected and lost control of the Chevrolet S10-type truck.

As it was rolling over, one of the occupants was ejected from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Once the truck stopped, a fire began and spread throughout the cabin. Bullock

said another occupant appeared to have been trapped in the backseat of the truck as the fire spread, unable to escape the vehicle. He was also pronounced dead at the scene.

Bullock did not specify whether the second victim was killed during the rollover or if the flames took his life but did say he was severely burned, which might hinder efforts to identify him. Once the fire was under control,

SEE WRECK, PAGE A8

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THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: pressrelease@theitem.com

30 years later, former city councilwoman files for old seat Yates wants to focus on neighborhoods

BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bristow@theitem.com (803) 774-1272 Thirty years is a long enough break from politics.

An unexpected opening on Sumter City Council may allow Colleen Yates to return to her old council seat for the first time since 1984. Yates has filed for the seat being vacated

by Charlie Burns, triggering a special election in Ward 4 in November for the final two years of his term.

“I’ve been involved in every part of the city,” said the

84-year-old Yates, “so for two years, I will enjoy it, and I hope it will be productive.”

Yates formerly served on city council for 12 years in the 1970s and ’80s and wants to use her two years back on council to focus on issues affecting the downtown area and the historic YATES district, where the former teacher and dietician at Tuomey Regional Medical Center lives.

“My big platform is the neighborhoods,” she said.

“We’ve spent a lot of time and money improving Main Street, so we don’t need it to be bordered by poor housing.”

LOCAL BRIEFS FROM STAFF REPORTS

Campbell appointed to workers’ comp panel COLUMBIA — Gov. Nikki Haley has appointed Mike Campbell to serve on the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission.

The Greenville News reported Wednesday that Haley cited Campbell’s business experience and community involvement in the appointment.

Campbell is a business development consultant and is the son of the late Gov. Carroll Campbell. Mike Campbell lost to Henry McMaster in his second bid for lieutenant governor this year.

Haley’s office said Campbell will be paid $116,000 a year for his commission work.

In 2003, Campbell was appointed to the governing board of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, where he served as vice chairman. He also served as chairman of the Law Enforcement Advisory Committee for eight years.

Riverbanks Zoo tops 1 million visitors COLUMBIA — Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia has had a fifth straight year with attendance of more than 1 million people.

Zoo officials said attendance for the year that ended June 30 was 1,053,377. That’s up about 14,000 from last year.

Officials said the opening of zip line canopy tours last August helped boost attendance.

The zip line has attracted nearly 5,000 customers.

Riverbanks first topped 1 million visitors in 1990 after opening the aquarium-reptile complex.

CORRECTION In a story that ran in Wednesday’s edition titled “2 minutes a fugitive,” Staff Sgt. Gerald Richardson of Sumter Police Department was incorrectly identified as Gerald Robinson.

When the seat opened up, Yates started thinking of who could represent the ward when she was asked if she would be interested in serving again.

“My neighbors kind of formulated it,” she said of the idea of running again. “I wanted someone who would work for the goals of the neighborhood association. I helped organize the association in the historic district, and I’ve been involved in every step of this neighborhood, so they said, ‘Why don’t you run?’”

Yates said she’d like the city to do more to rehabilitate older homes that have fallen into disrepair and help revitalize the downtown area as a place to live.

“You should not be allowed to own a house and let them sit empty for years and years.

That shouldn’t be profitable for them,” she said. “As one mayor told me, a city is more than pipes in the ground.”

The city has already made a lot of progress on downtown revitalization since she was last on council, Yates said, and now needs to take the next step.

“Main Street looks a lot better. They worked extremely hard to bring people downtown for a lot more entertainment,” she said, citing cityrun events such as the Fourth Fridays concert series. “Now we need to bring in more stores.”

Burns is leaving in the mid-

dle of his term because he’s moving out of his downtown ward, meaning the winner of November’s election will serve only two years on council before the regular election for the seat in 2016. Yates said if elected again, two years will probably be enough.

“I have no ambition to serve for the long term,” Yates said.

“I know we need new people and new ideas, but we also need someone with experience, and I’m fortunate enough that through the years I’ve served with a lot of good men and women.”

Burns is continuing to serve on council until the election.

Filing for the seat and three others remains open until Aug. 15.

Summerton fair attracts job seekers

BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com (803) 774-1211 SUMMERTON — Organizers of the Summerton Job Fair at the Scott’s Branch High School gymnasium said Wednesday more than 180 people visited the fair by 10:50 a.m., an hour and 20 minutes after it opened.

“This is typical of this type of event,” said Rosalind Harps of SC Works. “We had 25 exhibitors signed up, including 10 employers, five schools offering work training and several law enforcement agencies with jobs and recruiting information.”

Inside the gym, about two dozen tables were lined up promoting technical and trade schools, government agencies and services, as well as a few job opportunities.

Kay Finley of Trimaco, a Manning company that sells products to the paint industry, said the Trimaco booth was set up to search for sales associates.

“We have had some pretty good candidates,” she said.

Finley said Trimaco, which is located in Manning, wanted to come to the event and show its support for the community.

Rob Taylor was manning a booth for Limestone Technical College, which has extended campuses in Kingstree

JIM HILLEY / THE SUMTER ITEM

Job seekers talk to visitors at the Summerton Job Fair on Wednesday. and Florence, he said. “Most of the people were looking for jobs as opposed to school or training,” he said.

Several booths represented government agencies, such as adult education, vocational rehabilitation, financial education services, veterans programs and Clarendon County Disability Services.

The Clarendon County Experience Works desk was staffed by Mamie Mellerson.

“We help those 55 and older who are unemployed and looking for work,” she said. “We get host agencies, and they allow us to place participants at no charge to the host.”

Mellerson said her agency’s clients can work up to 18 hours a week and earn minimum wage.

“We currently have eight people placed in Clarendon County at seven active agencies,” she said.

She said she had connected with 12 people at the fair who were interested in the program.

“The job fair was nice,” said Vernice Curry of Manning. “I came looking for plant jobs,” she said. “I talked to Trimaco, B&D and South Carolina Legal Services. We got some brochures to tell us what we need. I would say it was worth it.” Curry said she was currently employed part time.

Glenda Nelson, who recently moved to Manning from Georgia and is unemployed, said she, too, thought the fair was worth visiting.

“I was looking for work at a plant or helping special needs kids,” she said.

Clemson students rebuild S.C. Botanical Garden CLEMSON (AP) — After a nearly unprecedented flood destroyed the site, the South Carolina Botanical Garden is almost as good as new, thanks to the work of more than a dozen Clemson University architecture students.

While garden staff worked to restore the thousands of plant species wiped out by a July 2013 flood, the students spent the past year designing and building trails, bridges and drainage plans for the garden on the edge of campus.

They finished their work last week.

“It’s cool to know that 30 or 40 years

from now, I can come back here and see some of my work at my alma mater and know people are still appreciating it,” said William Craig, a student from Lexington who ran the “C’’ flag on the field during Clemson football games last fall.

The garden was destroyed when a rainy summer culminated with a freak storm that dumped 8 inches of rain on campus and the garden in four hours on July 13, 2013. Engineers called it a once-in-787-years flood that overwhelmed any drainage on campus.

Water rushed into the pond at the gar-

den and topped the dam, sending more than 100 million gallons of water into the low area where the garden sits.

About 30 percent of the garden’s 8,000 different plant species disappeared in minutes, South Carolina Botanical Garden Manager John Bodiford said. Trails and bridges were obliterated, too.

Clean up had just started about two weeks later when another freak storm dumped 6 inches of rain in hours, causing even more damage and threatening the Hunt Cabin, a log cabin built in 1825.

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THE SUMTER ITEM

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

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Manning election hearing is today

BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com (803) 774-1211

BRADEN BUNCH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Employees at Pocotaligo Wastewater Treatment Plant discovered a body at one of the facility’s dump receptacles Wednesday afternoon.

While an autopsy will be conducted, Sumter County Coroner Harvin Bullock said preliminary investigations showed no sign of foul play.

Body found at wastewater plant Coroner: No foul play suspected, autopsy scheduled to determine cause of death

BY ROB COTTINGHAM rob@theitem.com (803) 774-1225 Officials are still looking into the cause of death of a utility worker who was found at Pocotaligo Wastewater Treatment Plant on Wednesday.

Shortly before noon, a pair of workers were doing their three-hour checks of the grounds at the plant when they discovered the body of an A Mobile Storage Co. truck driver at one of its dump receptacles.

According to a co-worker with the storage company, the deceased is Joe Wyatt, a Columbia resident and retired military veteran who had been working with the company for several years.

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office depu-

ties and EMTs with Sumter County EMS responded to the scene quickly, but it appeared Wyatt had been dead for quite some time. Sumter County Coroner Harvin Bullock said nothing seemed amiss in Wyatt’s death.

“There doesn’t appear to be any foul play involved,” Bullock said. “There’s no sign of trauma at all. We’ll have to do an autopsy to determine the cause of death.”

Willie Burgess, an alternate driver with A Mobile Storage Co., spoke with the men who discovered Wyatt’s body and said efforts were made to save him.

“One of the men who found him tried to perform CPR,” Burgess said. “But there was nothing they could do for him.”

Burgess and mechanic Robert Dwyer said they’d known Wyatt for years and

spoke fondly of him as they looked on.

“He was a good man,” Burgess said, smiling. “He’d do a lot of talking, but he was a hard worker. He was always 100 percent serious about his job.”

“And when it came to directions, he was better than a GPS,” Dwyer said.

“He always had that military part in him, following the rules to a ‘T.’” Both men said Wyatt was very close to his family.

“He was a big family man,” Dwyer said. “He’s got kids, grandkids ...”

“This is going to affect a whole lot of people,” Burgess said. “He’s going to be missed.”

Bullock said he was informed that Wyatt had checked in to the facility about 10 a.m., but had not been heard from until his body was found a couple hours later.

The City of Manning has announced the Municipal Election Commission will meet at 9 a.m.

Thursday to recount the ballots cast in the City Council District 5 runoff election Tuesday. After the recount, the commission will meet at 10 a.m. at Clarendon County Election Central to certify the results.

Unofficial totals from Tuesday’s runoff show Julius “Jay” Dukes with 48 votes and Gloria Frierson with 47 votes.

The commission has announced two ballots are being challenged, which could result in either candidate winning or a tie. If there is a tie, state law requires a second runoff election to be held Aug. 5.

The District 5 council seat has been open since the death of longtime councilman Gregory Witherspoon in March.

A special election July 8 had three candidates on the ballot: Dukes, Frierson and W. Louis Griffith, as well as a write-in candidate Sharmane Anderson.

Nobody in that election gathered more than 50 percent of the vote, pitting Dukes and Frierson against each other in Tuesday’s runoff.

Soon after that election, Anderson protested the election to the Manning Election Commission, which scheduled a hearing to consider Anderson’s complaints. The commission determined there were not enough disputed votes to change the results, and the election was certified.

POLICE BLOTTER CHARGES Christopher Jamal Bracey, 20, of 336-I Woodville Circle, was arrested at 11:54 p.m.

Tuesday and charged with aggravated assault and public disorderly conduct.

According to reports, Bracey became physically aggressive when a female victim informed him she no longer wished to be his significant other. The victim said Bracey then knocked her to the ground several times, threatened to kill her and continued to assault her in various ways. At one point, the victim said Bracey grabbed her throat and began to squeeze. She eventually broke free and barricaded herself in her home, and Bracey reportedly ran into the woods nearby when deputies arrived.

As deputies were interviewing the victim, Bracey reportedly kept coming out of the woods, shouting at the victim and causing a disturbance. Deputies soon received another report in which Bracey was allegedly running around a nearby mobile home park with a knife in his hand and screaming at the top of his lungs. Officers located Bracey hiding in the back of a black vehicle. Bracey was then served a bench warrant for a previous charge, and as deputies removed him from the car, he reportedly continued to shout threats at nearby residents.

A strong odor of alcohol was also detected on him.

He was then transported to Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center. The victim was advised to seek a warrant for the assault.

John Timothy Mitchum, 48, was arrested at 10:05 p.m.

Tuesday and charged with pointing and presenting a firearm and criminal domestic violence of a high

and aggravated nature. According to reports, a woman was sitting at home with Mitchum when he pointed a silver pistol at her. She then reportedly fled the home and made contact with law enforcement. When officers arrived, they made contact with Mitchum, who reportedly gave them consent to search the home. During their search, officers found a silver BB gun in a hole in the floor, though Mitchum had reportedly denied the presence of any guns, including BB guns. The victim then reportedly positively identified the weapon as the one Mitchum pointed at her. Mitchum was then arrested and transported to Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center.

Kevin Tamaine Wright, 34, of 5435 Byron Lane in Wedgefield, was arrested at 3 p.m.

Tuesday and charged with improper turning without a signal, driving without a license and failure to stop for blue lights, second offense. According to reports, an officer on patrol observed a burgundy Ford Contour make a left turn from Cane Savannah Road onto a private driveway without using a signal.

When the officer engaged his blue lights, the suspect vehicle then exited the driveway. The officer then engaged his siren, but the vehicle reportedly continued to drive down Cane Savannah Road, ignoring the siren and blue lights. The driver then reportedly drove on the wrong side of the road and threw a clear plastic bag containing what appeared to be a white substance into a wooded area. The driver then swerved back into the

proper lane and made a left onto Byron Lane, pulling into the driveway of 5435 Byron Lane. The driver was then ordered from the vehicle and detained. As the officer was giving commands to the driver, identified as Wright, a woman began walking from the home toward the officer, ignoring several commands to stop.

She was then detained, as well, but then reportedly began complaining of chest pains. EMS was called to respond to examine the woman. A records check revealed that Wright did not possess a valid driver’s license and had been previously convicted of failing to stop for blue lights in 2008.

He was then arrested and transported to Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center.

The plastic bag was not recovered.

STOLEN PROPERTY A black 2006 Honda Civic parked in the 1700 block of Broome Street was reported stolen at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

The vehicle is valued at $5,000.

VANDALISM A South Carolina Department of Transportation excavator parked near the 134 mile marker of Interstate 95 was reported at 10 a.m.

Tuesday as having sustained $1,500 in damage when the access door to a hydraulic pump was damaged.

A 2004 GMC Yukon parked in the 4000 block of Bank Lane was reported at 7 a.m.

Tuesday as having sustained $1,500 in damage when an unknown suspect scratched the word “stop” into the paint of the vehicle several times.

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THE SUMTER ITEM

Young MH17 victim had premonition of crash Boy asked about death, God, souls days before trip

BY KRISTEN GELINEAU The Associated Press In a bedroom in a townhouse near Amsterdam, Miguel Panduwinata reached out for his mother.

“Mama, may I hug you?”

Samira Calehr wrapped her arms around her 11-year-old son, who’d been oddly agitated for days, peppering her with questions about death, about his soul, about God. The next morning, she would drop Miguel and his big brother Shaka at the airport so they could catch Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the first leg of their journey to Bali to visit their grandmother.

Her normally cheerful, well-traveled boy should have been excited. His silver suitcase sat in the living room, ready to go.

Jetskiing and surfing in paradise awaited. But something was off. A day earlier, while playing soccer, Miguel had burst out: “How would you choose to die?

What would happen to my body if I was buried? Would I not feel anything because our souls go back to God?” And now, the night before his big trip, Miguel refused to release his mother from his grasp.

He’s just going to miss

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

From left, Miguel Panduwinata, Mika Panduwinata, Samira Calehr and Shaka Panduwinata are seen recently. Shaka and his brother Miguel were killed aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17. me, Calehr told herself. So she stretched out beside him and held him all night.

It was 11 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16. Miguel, Shaka and the 296 other people aboard Flight 17 had about 15 hours left to live.

The next morning, Samira Calehr and her friend Aan ushered her sons onto the train to the airport.

They were joking and laughing. Shaka, 19, had just finished his first year

Nazi war suspect, 89, dies as extradition approved PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An 89-year-old Nazi war crimes suspect died in custody hours before a U.S. ruling Wednesday that he should be extradited to Germany to face trial.

Johann Breyer died Tuesday night at a Philadelphia hospital, where he had been transferred Saturday after a month in jail, his lawyer and the U.S. Marshals Service said. His death was disclosed Wednesday just as U.S. Magistrate Timothy Rice approved the extradition request, which would still have needed final U.S. government review.

Rice found probable cause that Breyer was the person being sought by German authorities regarding his suspected service as an SS guard at Auschwitz during World War II. U.S. Marshals had arrested him in June outside his home in Philadelphia. He was facing charges of aiding in the killing of 216,000 Jewish men, women and children at a Nazi death camp.

“As outlined by Germany, a death camp guard such as Breyer could not have served at Auschwitz during the peak of the Nazi reign of terror in 1944 without knowing that hundreds of thousands of human beings were being brutally slaughtered in gas chambers and then burned on site,” Rice wrote.

Breyer claimed he was unaware of the massive slaughter at Auschwitz and then that he did not participate in it, but “the German allegations belie his claims,” the judge wrote.

of college, where he was studying textile engineering, and promised to keep an eye on Miguel. Their other brother, Mika, 16, hadn’t been able to get a seat on Flight 17 and would travel to Bali the next day.

At the check-in counter, Calehr fussed over her boys’ luggage.

Shaka, meanwhile, realized he’d forgotten to pack socks. Calehr promised to buy him some and send

them along with Mika.

Finally, they were outside customs. The boys hugged Calehr goodbye and walked toward passport control.

Suddenly, Miguel whirled around and ran back, throwing his arms around his mother.

“Mama, I’m going to miss you,” he said. “What will happen if the airplane crashes?”

What was this all about? she wondered.

“Don’t say that,” she said, squeezing him. “Everything will be OK.” Shaka tried to reassure them both. “I will take care of him,” he said to his mom. “He’s my baby.”

She watched the two boys walk away. But Miguel kept looking back at his mother.

His big brown eyes looked sad.

Then he vanished from view.

Flight 17 took off about 12:15 p.m. on what should have been an 11-hour and 45-minute flight.

It lasted two hours.

Calehr had just finished buying Shaka’s socks when her phone rang. It was her friend Aan. “Where are you?” he screamed. “The plane crashed!”

She made it home just in time to faint.

She grapples now with the what-ifs, the astronomical odds, the realization that the world she knew has grown alien in a blink. She thinks about how her baby boy seemed to sense that his time on Earth was running short. She imagines the futures that will never be: Shaka’s dream of becoming a textile engineer, gone. Miguel’s dream of becoming a go-kart race driver, gone.

How could he have known? How could she have known?

“I should have listened to him,” she says softly. “I should have listened to him.”

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(:35) The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Actor Morgan Freeman from “Lucy.” (N) (HD) (:35) Late Show with David Letterman Ryan M. Pitts; Sharon Van Etten.

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The First 48: Gun Fight; The Ring Bal- The First 48: After the First 48: Love (:01) Beyond Scared Straight Possi- (:02) Beyond Scared Straight Rela- (:01) The First 48 tectives race against time. (HD) listics evidence. (N) (HD) Thy Neighbor (N) (HD) ble future. (N) (HD) tive in jail. (HD) (HD) The Karate Kid (‘84, Drama) aaa Ralph Macchio. A teenager in a new 180 (5:00) The Karate Kid (‘84, Drama) The Karate, Kid Part II (‘86, Action) aac Pat Morita. An old feud and new foes await Mr. aaa Ralph Macchio. (HD) Miyagi and Danny in Okinawa, Japan. (HD) town is bullied until an old man teaches him karate. (HD) 100 Alaska: The Last Frontier (HD) Alaska: The Last Frontier (HD) Railroad Alaska: The Beast Railroad Alaska: Disaster Trail Railroad Alaska: The Beast Railroad 162 (6:00) 106 & Park Gun Hill (‘14, Action) Larenz Tate. Twin brothers, one a cop and other a con, Slow Burn (‘07, Drama) aa Ray Liotta. A district attorney learns that his assistant has killed Wendy Williams (N) (HD) switch roles when one dies. (HD) a man in self-defense.

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Greed: Crash for Cash Greed: The Bling Ring Greed 64 Erin Burnett OutFront (N) Anderson Cooper 360° (N) (HD) The Sixties: 1968 (N) The Sixties: 1968 Anderson Cooper 360° (HD) Sixties: 1968 It’s Always It’s Always Tosh.0 (HD) Tosh.0 (HD) Tosh.0 (HD) Daily Show (N) The Colbert Re- (:01) @midnight 136 (:58) The Colbert (:29) Daily Show Chappelle’s Report (HD) (HD) Show Blackzilla. Sunny (HD) Sunny (HD) (HD) port (N) (HD) (N) (HD) Liv and Maddie Girl Meets Jeal- Girl Meets: Girl Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (‘03, Adventure) ac Anto- Jessie: Teacher’s Austin & Ally Liv and Maddie Good Luck Char80 Austin & Ally (HD) (HD) ous Riley.

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L.A. Hair: Ready, Set, Blow L.A. Hair: For the Record L.A. Hair (N) L.A. Hair: A Tale of Two Cakes L.A. Hair: A Tale of Two Cakes L.A. Hair 172 Funniest Home Videos (HD) MLB Baseball: San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs from Wrigley Field z{| (HD) Rules (HD) Rules (HD) How I Met

Lifetime takes tentative steps into talk show territory

BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH Lifetime enters the talk show fray. Sort of. Its new series, “Undone With @AmandadeCadenet” (10:30 p.m., TV-PG) debuts tonight. But it’s not exactly new.

Back in the mid-’90s, de Cadenet was the co-host of a British talk show called “The Big Breakfast.” This is not even her first series for Lifetime.

She hosted another talk show, “The Conversation,” back in 2012. And for those keeping score, she has been married to rock stars from both Duran Duran and the Strokes.

“Undone” will air weekly and in prime time, so it’s not exactly a typical late-night show. Chelsea Handler remains the sole female participant in that arena for now.

After seven years, she will be leaving her E! series “Chelsea Lately!” in August. Despite the exclamation point in its logo, Handler has described E! as “a sad, sad place.” Her future plans include specials and a talk show on Netflix.

Amanda de Cadenet’s seminew talk show coincides with the launch of a new season of “Project Runway” (9 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14). Host Heidi Klum and mentor Tim Gunn return, along with judges Nina Garcia and Zac Posen. Over the course of the season, guest judges will include actresses Julie Bowen and Elisabeth Moss, “Runway” favorite Christian Siriano and — surprise — Lifetime talk show host Amanda de Cadenet.

• A new season of “Doomsday Preppers” (9 p.m., National Geographic, TV-14) celebrates the delusions of people like Jimi Falcon, profiled tonight. He’s convinced that the invasion and occupation of the United States by a “major power” is “imminent.” It’s so imminent that he’s been stockpiling food for 25 years. Who confuses “any day now” with “a quarter century”? People like Jimi, who, presumably, watched “Red Dawn” and thought it was a documentary.

• Elsewhere on National Geographic, participants on “Survive the Tribe” (10 p.m., TV-PG) endure extreme conditions in Kenya’s mountains and deserts. “Tribe” visits a new, thoroughly unpleasant and inhospitable locale every week.

TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS • The top two chefs compete on the season finale of “Hell’s Kitchen” (8 p.m. Fox, TV-14).

• Dr. Black tries to gain some equilibrium on the two-hour season finale of “Black Box” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14).

• Gender barriers tumble on “Defiance” (8 p.m., Syfy, TV-14).

• Ryan proves his bona fides to the GTF by handcuffing Javier on “Gang Related” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).

• Rush treats an ultimate fighting champ harboring a medical secret on “Rush” (9 p.m., USA, TV-14).

• Daniel vanishes on “Rectify” (9 p.m., Sundance, TV-14).

BARBARA NITKE / A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS LLC

Nina Garcia, Zac Posen, Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn are ready to judge the first challenge of season 13 on “Project Runway,” premiering at 9 p.m. today on Lifetime.

• Neil strives to keep his new vocation under wraps on “Satisfaction” (10 p.m., USA, TV-14).

• Jimmy and Gretchen go out on a tentative date on “You’re the Worst” (10:30 p.m., FX, TVMA).

new alliance on “Working the Engels” (9:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14) * A roast on “Last Comic Standing” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14) * A search for vital signs on “NY Med” (10 p.m., ABC).

LATE NIGHT SERIES NOTES Sheldon deals with failure on “The Big Bang Theory” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) * A semiformal pity party on “The Vampire Diaries” (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-14) * Carol drives Nathan to distraction on “The Millers” (8:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) * Immigration hurdles on “Welcome to Sweden” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) * Klaus comes clean about his past on “The Originals” (9 p.m., CW, r, TV-14) * Jenna makes a

Fareed Zakaria is booked on

“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (11 p.m., Comedy Central) * Dwayne Johnson, Taye Diggs and Tori Amos appear on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) * Natasha Lyonne, Uzo Aduba, Jeff Wild, Arden Myrin and Ross Mathews are booked on “Chelsea Lately” (11 p.m., E!) * Elon Musk sits down on “The Colbert Report” (11:30 p.m., Comedy Central) * Simon Amstell and Sharon Van Etten appear on “Late Show With David Letterman” (11:35 p.m., CBS) * Jimmy Fallon welcomes Morgan Freeman, Kesha and Tweedy on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) * Justin Theroux, Angie Harmon and 5 Seconds of Summer appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (11:35 p.m., ABC) * Mary Lynn Rajskub and Brendan Gleeson visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) * Craig Ferguson hosts David Duchovny and Gloria Estefan on “The Late Late Show” (12:35 a.m., CBS).

Copyright 2014, United Feature Syndicate

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THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

RELIGION

Real faith, spiritual passion happen daily

T

he summer mission trip is a touchstone for a teenage believer’s experience.

Most will forever remember the summer when they were taken from the cushioned seat of their Sunday School classroom and plopped into a culture or situation where the main focus is on sharing one’s faith. It’s a great experience that renders most at least temporarily impassioned in the faith.

Admittedly, Faith Matters some of the exciteJAMIE H. ment about misWILSON sion trips stems from the nuance of the experience itself: traveling to a foreign land, immersing yourself in another culture, eating a different part of the pig, eating what you thought was a pig but turned out to be an entirely different animal all together.

But in most cases, the spiritual growth evident in a believer fresh off a mission trip is the most recognizable.

Parents of short-term missionaries can expect a child who has been, in some way, humbled by their experience. I know I re-

turned from my mission trips a little more grateful for the opportunities I enjoyed. Any who have had the ability to participate in foreign trips, good news in tow, can attest: It can be both an exhilarating and humbling experience.

You learn to love a people in the name of your faith.

It’s only a week or two after returning home that the vividness of that life-changing experience dims.

We return to our modus operandi and the full complement of life’s little distractions. For some reason, the familiar can turn a passion for the faith into comatose routine.

For a teenager just on the brink of realizing the Almighty’s call in her life, the letdown can be confusing. Such was mine, as well as others in my circle of friends.

I had just realized the excitement inherent in putting legs to my faith, like so many of my peers.

I needed someone to fuel that passion, to encourage me to pursue God in every aspect of my life. It seemed, however, my passion was marginalized by the more seasoned believers in my congregation.

Granted, the excitement of a young teenage girl is rarely matched by more emotionally sta-

ble adults, but I still needed to know a passion for spiritual service could be sustained throughout a lifetime.

By not acknowledging and encouraging the budding faith of our children and teenagers, we teach an especially detrimental lesson: namely, that practical faith can only happen in special circumstances.

They need to know real faith happens every day, and spiritual passion can be ignited whenever and wherever. Better still, they need an example.

I know the teenagers in your church are weird. They look weird. They act weird. Some of them smell weird, but inside them is potential for great spiritual change that could affect the world around us.

It is incumbent upon us to create a legacy for spiritual passion.

As your youth — or anyone for that matter — return from the mission field this summer impassioned and renewed in the faith, make an effort to spur them to future spiritual opportunities.

They may not become full-time ministers or missionaries, but they will certainly be on the lookout for more ways to practice their faith.

Reach Jamie H. Wilson at faithmatterssumter@gmail.com.

THE SUMTER ITEM

RELIGION BRIEF FROM STAFF REPORTS

Evensong service to honor retiring rector In honor of the ministry of the Very Rev. Dr. John M. Barr III and his wife, Laura, the Church of the Holy Comforter will have a choral Evensong at 6 p.m. Friday evening in the sanctuary. The public is invited to attend.

The service, sung mainly by the parish choir and also in part by the congregation, is similar to Vespers in that it is a service for the closing of the day.

Taken from the order for Evening Prayer of the Book of Common Prayer, Evensong comprises almost entirely prayers set to music, including the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed, some responsive prayers and selections taken directly from Scripture.

The former Bishop of South Carolina, the Right Rev. FitzSimons Allison, will preach. He is widely recognized as one of the foremost theologians and New Testament scholars of our time. Also participating in the service will be the Rev. Marcus A. Kaiser and former Holy Comforter Associate Rector Hamilton Smith.

An informal reception will follow the service.

The Church of the Holy Comforter, 213 N. Main St., is on the southeast corner of Main and Calhoun streets.

RELIGION

THE SUMTER ITEM

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

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Church holds VBS for local children with special needs Volunteer hopes event will inspire creation of similar ministries

BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com (803) 774-1250 Like many congregations, members of Bethesda Church of God saw a need and filled it.

About a year ago, the Sumter worship center started providing a place for children with special needs to stay during the worship service, and this year, it held a vacation Bible school just for them.

“This is one of the most

fulfilling ministries,” said Al Sims Jr., senior pastor.

“We’re so thrilled to be able to offer this. The main thing is these young people feel important, and their parents get some time off.”

The program started kind of by accident, said Gale Dollar, the coordinator. Tonya Nash came into church with a baby in one arm and holding the hand of her son, Daniel, who has special needs.

The regular child care was suspended that Sunday, and Nash knew Daniel would not cope well in the service setting.

“That’s when she had what she called her ‘mini meltdown,’” Dollar said. “‘Well, I might as well go home,’ she

said. I told her I could take care of Daniel. That’s when it got a hold of me. Now I dream special needs. I eat special needs.”

So she quickly realized a regular Bible-school setting could be intimidating for children who have certain sensitivities. Dollar approached the church’s leadership about a three-day pilot.

Fourteen children ranging from 3 to 21 with conditions from autism to cerebral palsy and mitochondrial disease signed up for the crafts, music, Bible lessons and more.

And fortunately, nearly that many volunteers, ranging from teenagers to the pas-

tor’s own mother, assisted.

“I’ve worked with children most of my life,” Marie Sims said. “The need here is great.

Hopefully, this will inspire other churches to start a special-needs ministry.”

Rachel Elliott, 15, and Hayley DuBose, 14, started off helping with music.

“Then we started helping with the kids a little bit, and we befriended many of them,” Hayley said.

The children are generally sweet and happy, Rachel said, and Taja Hunley agreed.

“All the kids here are so nice,” said the 13-year-old.

“It’s very interesting and fun.”

Her mother, Tia Hunley

Buchanan, is also volunteering. She is a counselor who works with children who have been in a crisis or experienced a trauma.

“It’s going very well,” Buchanan said Friday. “You have to take each kid individually to see how he or she learns. You can’t just fit them in a box.”

Besides the Sunday morning offering, Dollar said she hopes to add a respite care every other month for maybe four hours on a Saturday.

All these services are free, but pre-registration is requested so the appropriate staff is available.

For more information, visit bethesdacog.org or call the church (803) 469-2585.

Children flock to Agency D3 The theme of Alice Drive Baptist Church’s recent vacation Bible school was Agency D3 – Discover, Decide, Defend. As special agents, kids examined reports, physical proof and Biblical accounts to uncover and defend the truth about who Jesus really is. Each night averaged 840 children and volunteers with more than 1,000 people on family night. One of the mission projects of VBS was to collect shoes for Third World countries. More than 1,500 pairs were collected during the week, as well as enough money to adopt two children through Compassion International for two years. The adopted children will receive birthday and Christmas gifts, as well as notes throughout the year from VBS children.

PHOTOS PROVIDED

CHURCH NEWS Allen Chapel AME Church, 471 Lynam Road, announces: * Sunday — Pastor appreciation at 10 a.m.

Calvary Baptist Church, 459 Calvary Church Road, Bishopville, announces: * Saturday, Aug. 2 — Mid-Carolina singing at 6 p.m. featuring the Staffsmen, of Whiteville, North Carolina, and Cedar Creek Quartet.

Canaan Missionary Baptist Church, 774 Douglas Ave., announces: * Sunday — Church dedication at 3:30 p.m. The Rev. Dr. Sammie D. Simmons will speak.

Concord Baptist Church, 1885 Myrtle Beach Highway, announces: * Saturday — Gospel concert at 6 p.m. featuring Keith Plott. A love offering will be received.

Covenant Bible Church, 2805 Frierson Road, Dalzell, announces: * Sunday — Chris Smith, the one man quartet, and Samuel Smith, instrumentalist, will provide music at 11 a.m.

Cross Road / St. Peter Baptist Church, 845 Webb St., announces: * Today-Sunday — 2014 Holy Convocation as follows: 7:30 p.m. today, Pastor Kenneth Wilder, of New Deliverance Outreach Ministries, Pamplico, will speak; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Prophetess Stephanie Mathis, of Land Flowing with Milk and Honey, will speak; 11 a.m. Saturday, youth day; and 11 a.m.

Sunday, Bishop Sylvester Francis II will speak.

Ebenezer AME Church, 119 E. Sumter St., Mayesville, announces: * Today-Friday — Revival at 7 nightly. The Rev. Wallace Preston, of Willow Drove AME Church, Horatio, will speak.

Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, 105 Dinkins St., Manning, announces: * Monday-Friday, Aug. 4-8 — Revival at 7 nightly. The Rev.

Mitchell Adger, of Mount Zion Baptist Church, Pawleys Island, will speak.

Edwin Boyle Santee Summer Ministry, 1098 Lemmon Ave. at Boyle’s Point on Wyboo (across from Camp Bob Cooper): * Outdoor lakeside nondenominational worship at 9:30 a.m. each Sunday through Aug. 31.

Freewill Baptist of the Pentecostal Faith Conference, 3868 Pudding Swamp Road, Turbeville, announces: * Monday-Sunday, July 28-Aug. 3 — Camp meeting services as follows: 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Tuesday through Friday, various local speakers; and 7:30 nightly Monday through Saturday, the Rev. Randy Webb, of Keen Mountain, Virginia, will speak.

Find the church on Facebook or visit fwbpfc.com.

Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, 182 S. Pike East, announces: * Today-Friday — Revival at 7 nightly.

Full Proof Deliverance Ministry, 2758 S.C. 341 S., Olanta, announces: * Friday, Aug. 1 — A night with the king “Rest, Relax, Refresh” at 7:30 p.m.

Heart of Christ Family Fellowship announces: * Tuesday-Friday, July 29-Aug. 1 — Vacation Bible School 7-8:30 nightly at Westend Community Church, 101 S. Salem St. Classes for all age groups. Food nightly.

Call (843) 206-2793.

Sunday. The Rev. Dr. James E. Wilson Jr., pastor of First Union Baptist Church, Bronx, New York, will speak at 7 nightly Monday-Friday.

Knitting Hearts Ministry, meets at Bethesda Church of God, 2730 Broad St., announces: * Saturday, Aug. 9 — Knitting Hearts Café will meet from 10 a.m. to noon. Nicky Raiborde, of International Family Church, Columbia, will speak. Knitting Hearts is a community wide, multidenominational women’s ministry. www.knittingheartsministry.org Mount Pleasant AME Church, 1800 Vista Lane, Lynchburg, announces: * Sunday — Homecoming celebration at 10:30 a.m. featuring the Gary Green Ensemble.

Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 325 Fulton St., announces: * Sunday-Thursday, July 31 — Revival. Pastor L.W. Barnes, of Bethlehem Baptist Church, will speak at 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Pastor Willie Tiller Jr., of First Baptist Church of Ardmore, Oklahoma, will speak at 7 nightly Monday-Thursday. * Sunday, Aug. 3 — The Rev. Lee Dingle will speak at 6 p.m. * Sunday, Aug. 10 — Back-toschool worship service at 10:45 a.m. * Sunday, Aug. 24 — Usher’s ministry anniversary worship at 10:45 a.m. * Sunday, Aug. 31 — Youth worship service at 10:45 a.m. The Rev. Rossi Ramsay, field missionary, Sumter Baptist M&E Association, will speak.

Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church, 803 S. Harvin St., announces: * Applications for the 4k first steps enrollment are available until Sept. 1 at JMBC Christian and Academic School, 415 Manning Ave. * Wednesday, July 30 — “Saving Money God’s Way” at 7 p.m.

Mulberry Missionary Baptist Church, 1400 Mulberry Church Road, announces: * Today-Friday — Revival services at 7 nightly. Pastor George P. Windley Jr., of First Baptist Missionary Church, will speak.

Joshua Baptist Church, 5200 Live Oak Road, Dalzell, announces: * Sunday-Friday, Aug. 1 — Revival. The Rev. Richard James, pastor of St. John Baptist Church, Camden, will speak at 6 p.m. on

New Hope AME Church, 18808 Panola Road, Pinewood, announces: * Thursday-Friday, July 31-Aug. 1 — Revival at 7 nightly. Bishop Leroy T. James, pastor of King-

dom Builders Deliverance Ministry, will speak.

New Testament Lighthouse Church, 1114 Boulevard Road, announces: * Today-Friday — Youth for Christ Vacation Bible School 6-8:30 nightly. The Rev. Kirk Baker will speak.

Paxville Baptist Church, 10278 Lewis Road, Manning, announces: * Saturday, Sept. 27 — Gospel singing at 6 p.m. to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the church featuring Karen Peck and New River. Tickets are $25.

Call (803) 452-9969 or visit www. paxvillebaptistchurch.org. * Sunday, Sept. 28 — Celebration of the 125th anniversary of the church at 11 a.m. Former pastor Lawrence Dennis will speak.

Luncheon will follow in the fellowship hall.

Pine Hill AME Church, 1505 U.S. 521 S., announces: * Sunday — Homecoming celebrating 87 years of God’s faithful, at 4 p.m.

Second Baptist Church, 323 Alfred Henry Drive, Manning, announces: * Sundays, Aug. 3, 10, 17 and 14 — Practical Profits children’s activity and devotion program (ages 3-11) 5:30-7 p.m.

Society Hill AME Church, 1030 Morello Road, Manning, announces: * Today-Friday — Summer Revival at 7 nightly. The Rev. Dr. Alice Ridgill, pastor of New Faith Presbyterian Church, Abbeville, will speak.

St. John United Methodist Church, 136 Poinsett Drive, announces: * Sunday-Wednesday, Aug. 3-6 — Vacation Bible School 6-8 nightly with food, fun, crafts, music and stories of Jesus. A light supper will be available for students. Nursery available.

St. Matthews Missionary Baptist Church, 1126 St. Matthew Lane, Manning, announces: * Monday-Wednesday, Aug. 4-6 — Revival at 7:30 nightly. Bishop

Jeffery Johnson, pastor of Community Deliverance Temple of Manning and Faith Deliverance Temple of Mayesville, will speak.

St. Paul United Methodist Church, 16 Clarence McFadden Road, Elliott, announces: * Sunday — Homecoming service at 11 a.m. Jeffery Wilson will speak.

St. Phillip UME Church, 1458 St. Phillip UME Church Road, Summerton, announces: * Sunday — Women’s day program at 4 p.m. Pastor Eartha Carter, of Prayer House Mission Church, will speak.

Taw Caw Missionary Baptist Church, 1130 Granby Lane, Summerton, announces: * Sunday-Friday, Aug. 1 — Revival as follows: 7 p.m. Sunday, the Rev. Hazel Charles, pastor of Mount Nebo Baptist Church, Alcolu, will speak; and 7:30 nightly Monday-Friday, the Rev. Dr. Lester W. Taylor Jr., of Community Baptist Church of Englewood, New Jersey, will speak.

Victory Full Gospel Interdenominational Church, 601 Pitts Road, announces: * Monday-Friday, July 28-Aug. 1 — Vacation Bible School 6-8 nightly.

Willow Grove AME Church, 8105 A/B Sumter Landing Road, Horatio, announces: * Sunday — Senior and junior ushers anniversary program.

Church school begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by 10 a.m. worship.

World End Time Harvest Ministries announces: * Saturday, Aug. 9 — “An Evening with Bishop Carter & Friends” mission fundraiser concert at 5 p.m. at Patriot Hall, 135 N. Haynsworth St. On the program: Abrams Singers; Prayer House Mission Choir of Davis Station; Mt. Olivet Choir of Charleston; Alfonzo Udell & Company of Columbia; and many more. Silver tickets: $10, available at SEACO Music. For additional information or platinum or gold tickets, call (818) 839-2278.

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LOCAL | STATE

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

CORPS FROM PAGE A1 Prophecy in Sumter.

Shakeya Singleton, a Dalzell resident and mother, said she found out about it through her job and put her 13-year-old son, Shikeem Singleton, in the program after he had been expelled multiple times in the past. She explained that Shikeem was previously involved in gang-related activity and also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and has been off his medication since the beginning of the summer. Since Shikeem started the program, Shakeya Singleton said she has seen a huge difference in his behavior, and he is no longer affiliated with a gang.

“This program teaches him leadership skills. He is 13, and he has a younger brother, and he has to set an example,” Shakeya Singleton said Wednesday. “He’s no longer in a gang, and his brother will follow him and understand that it’s not cool. This has not only been about their behavior and the military. It’s also a ministry.”

Shikeem said he has learned a lot from being a part of the program and will use the skills he has learned during the past six weeks to help him succeed when he returns to public school.

“I have a little brother, and I

CHASE FROM PAGE A1 thieves during the last few months, said Anderson.

“We heard them putting metal on a truck, so we did a little private investigating,” Anderson said.

The two women jumped in their own vehicle and chased after the thieves, writing down the license plate number and honking at the men to stop. They pursued the men for about half a mile down Highview Street until the truck came to a stop near Ramsey Road.

“We were going to follow them as far as we could,” Mouradjian said.

One suspect got out of the car and looked back at the women before he ran from the scene on foot.

ZOEY MILLER / SPECIAL TO THE SUMTER ITEM

A student in the Youth Military Training Corps summer program enjoys some free time on Wednesday. know he wants to be just like me.

I’ve learned to respect others and to always try to do well in my work and chores,” Shikeem said.

Like Shikeem, 15-year-old Jobey McLeod was also having behavioral issues — often wanting to fight and

not listening at home, explained Julie McLeod. However, Jobey said the program has taught him he simply can’t just do what he wants in his life.

“I’ve enjoyed the experience, and I understand that you can’t just

“You’ve got to go to jail,” Anderson said she yelled after the man.

The other man plead ignorance, telling them he didn’t realize the metal didn’t belong to the man that fled.

“He apologized,” Anderson said.

“He said he didn’t realize it was stolen.”

The second man was taken into custody when sheriff ’s deputies arrived on scene a short time later.

The women said they hadn’t thought of what they would do if the situation turned dangerous after the men stopped their truck.

The sheriff ’s investigator told them if they had the information needed to identify the men, they should have stayed behind at the home and not pursued them.

“Actually, that probably was dangerous,” said Anderson, as if just realizing she’d helped run down two criminals while unarmed.

“We’ll probably get cussed out for chasing them,” Mouradjian said. “But we’ve had bunches of metal stolen, and I wasn’t going to let them get away.”

Mouradjian said she’s long been concerned about staying in a rural home with two young children knowing that thieves often come onto the property and wasn’t going to miss her chance to do something about it.

“I get worried about people looking in the windows or trying to break in, and it scares the crap out of me,” she said. “Today, we were just going to go.”

Number of sea turtle nests down sharply MYRTLE BEACH (AP) — The number of loggerhead sea turtle nests on the South Carolina coast is down sharply this year, but apparently there is no cause for concern.

The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported that figures from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources show there have been only about 1,700 loggerhead turtle nests recorded this year compared with a record of almost 5,200 a year ago.

Myrtle Beach State Park ranger Ann Malys Wilson says she’s not concerned.

“We’re in a natural lull,” she said. “We’ve had three really great years for the state. Turtles don’t nest every year.”

In Horry and Georgetown counties, there were 234 nests last year.

This year there have been only 58.

Wilson didn’t receive many calls

Your community news source www.theitem.com

‘We’re in a natural lull.

We’ve had three really great years for the state.

Turtles don’t nest every year.’

ANN MALYS WILSON Myrtle Beach State Park ranger this spring from volunteers that tracks on the beach indicated the endangered turtles had crawled up onto the beach to lay eggs.

She thought the season might be slow following a cold winter and doesn’t expect a spike in new nests this late in the season.

“Usually the season is done by mid-August. We thought perhaps

the numbers might start increasing, but not anymore,” she said.

She said she hopes new federal protections for the turtles will mean strong numbers of nests in the coming years.

Earlier this month, almost 700 miles of coastline and nearly 200,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico were declared critical turtle habitat by the federal government.

Conservation groups say it’s the largest such designation ever.

It includes 88 nesting beaches from North Carolina through Mississippi, plus waters just off those beaches, floating algae mats where baby turtles live and other marine areas.

The beaches were listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the marine habitats by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries service.

have life how you want it. You have to follow instructions and listen to people,” Jobey said.

The students’ parents said they also recommended the program to family members and co-workers after they saw the change in their own children. During the past month, they agreed their children have taken more initiative and become more helpful around the house. Uyvonnie Ford said her 10-year-old son, Jidae Ford, has always done well in school and with his responsibilities at home; however, the program has expanded on his character, giving him more leadership skills and encouragement to step up at home and lend a hand.

McFadden said his five children have all gone through the program and are either in college or the military. Through the program, McFadden offers mentoring and leadership programs during the school year as well — collaborating with schools in Williamsburg and Clarendon counties.

David and Barbara Sims of the Church of God of Prophecy showed the program a lot of hospitality, and McFadden said they hope to return next summer and also collaborate with schools in Sumter and surrounding counties during the school year to design and organize mentoring and after-school programs for South Carolina youth.

WRECK FROM PAGE A1 firefighters had to excavate the passenger by removing the roof of the truck.

According to reports, a third man was found walking around the scene of the wreck when officers arrived. He was eventually airlifted from the scene by a LifeNet helicopter after being tended to by Sumter County EMS. He was taken to Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia, and his condition remains unknown.

Bullock said as of late Wednesday afternoon, there was no indication as to who the driver of the vehicle was or what caused the wreck.

Bullock also said he needed to notify the families but would have to discover their identities and where they resided.

“Typically, it depends on where the victim or deceased lives as to who informs the family,” Bullock said. “Most of the time, if they die in Clarendon County but live in Sumter County, the coroner over there would tell me, and I would inform the family along with (S.C.) Highway Patrol.”

Bringing such terrible news to a family weighs heavily with the coroner, who said he makes an extended effort to comfort them.

“I’ve stayed with them all night before,” he said. “I don’t want them to be alone while they’re dealing with this. I like to at least leave them with a neighbor, a friend or a family member.”

Autopsies for the two deceased occupants are scheduled for today, and Bullock said he would wait until their conclusion before officially announcing a cause of death.

THE SUMTER ITEM N.G. Osteen 1843-1936 The Watchman and Southron

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014 H.G. Osteen 1870-1955 Founder, The Item

H.D. Osteen 1904-1987 The Item

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Margaret W. Osteen 1908-1996 The Item Hubert D. Osteen Jr. Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Graham Osteen Co-President Kyle Osteen Co-President Jack Osteen Editor and Publisher Larry Miller CEO Braden Bunch Senior News Editor

20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter, South Carolina 29150 • Founded October 15, 1894

COMMENTARY

Goldwater 2.0 M

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SUMTER NEEDS TO FOCUS ON YOUTH IN THE COMMUNITY When did we give over to the criminals?

We sit in our homes held hostage to crime.

We are afraid to venture out after dark.

Loud noises cause us to duck and look for cover. Our rights as citizens are controlled by the crime in our neighborhoods. A march will not change anything but give face time to political hacks.

With a greater and greater percentage of our crimes being committed by the youth of our community, we should focus on them. My grandfather told me that there is no such thing as a bad kid, just bad parents. It is not social services’, the police, the church or the school system’s responsibility to raise our children. It is the parents’.

Being a parent is a life commitment of love, understanding, moral discipline and sacrifice. You do not get time off or call in sick. A parent is the first and foremost teacher a child will have in their lifetime.

A parent needs to have knowledge of what their children are doing at all times. Children need a schedule for their daily life, from waking up to going to bed. Things that should be part of that schedule are chores, homework, exercise and positive examples of good people.

So many parents today assume that they are entitled without sacrifice. And without parental sacrifice our children will, like water, find the lost level. There is a reason that we call criminals “low life.” It is easier to quit school than to graduate. Using a gun or knife is faster than using your words. Stealing something is by far less work than actually working for it.

It may take a village, but it must start with the parents.

MICHAEL W. BARRY Sumter

FREE SCHOOL LUNCH BENEFITS ALL CHILDREN IN SUMTER In reading the letter from Wallie Jones on July 18, what was his meaning? Is he comparing children to deer dogs? Does he mean that children starved for two weeks will eat anything? The free lunches, which I commend Sumter for, are for all children, not just the ones whose families get food stamps.

Wallie Jones needs to understand that hunger is the most terrible pain that human beings can suffer. Cheating on the “food stamp” program didn’t start with the free lunches. The Sumter way is to do unto others, but do it first.

LEE INGLE Sumter

EDITORIAL ROUNDUP Recent editorials from South Carolina newspapers:

The Post and Courier of Charleston July 22

WRONG-WAY ENERGY CHOICES The Obama administration won’t allow construction of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the United States, citing environmental concerns. But it is willing to allow ocean drilling off the Atlantic coast — a risk to the environment and to the economic well-being of states such as South Carolina that depend on coastal tourism.

Indeed, the administration is willing to let the anticipated Atlantic oil boom start off with a bang. Exploratory work preparatory to sinking offshore wells will be done with sonic cannons, which help determine where oil might be located. ...

The Keystone XL pipeline has been vetted for years by a variety of federal agencies and has passed every test. It is a project that would create thousands of construction jobs in the U.S. It would provide a conduit for Canadian tar sands oil, which will be produced in any event. Sending that oil to U.S. refineries would help make this nation energy independent. And it would be an economic boon to Canada — one of our closest allies.

Keystone is a shovel-ready project. There is nothing speculative about the venture. ...

Drilling off the Atlantic, however, will require exploration that risks the well-being of marine mammals, including a whale species on the brink of extinction.

And assuming oil or natural gas is discovered, there will be further hazards to the coastal environment — for example, the threat of spills and oil rig accidents.

Coastal tourism, in contrast, is a clean industry, and an economic mainstay of South Carolina.

It’s highly unlikely that offshore drilling will somehow improve the quality of our clean beaches and wetlands.

So why buy a pig in a poke? Elected officials in this state should oppose it.

If the administration wants to increase the quantity of oil flowing into the U.S., allow the Keystone pipeline to be built.

But keep ocean drilling off limits.

The Greenville News July 22

RULING FURTHER UNDERMINES FOIA The South Carolina Supreme Court last week dealt another serious blow to the public’s ability to know what government officials are doing with a curiously reasoned ruling that autopsy records are exempt from the state Freedom of Information Act because they are medical records. The court’s decision ... reflects a dangerously limited view of the state law designed to ensure that citizens have access to the actions and records of public bodies and public officials. ...

Government allowed to operate in the dark can quickly become a threat to the very citizens that it is supposed to serve. Public officials allowed to hide their actions eventually are allowed to operate with impunity because people lack the means to track what they are doing and hold them accountable for misdeeds. ...

The incident that led to this court case proves why on occasion it is imperative that the public is allowed to examine an autopsy.

The case came from Sumter County where the local newspaper, The Sumter Item, sued because the coroner would not release an autopsy report after a 25-year-old man was shot by police.

The first official account was that the young man fired on officers. When the newspaper got the autopsy report from another law enforcement agency, it discovered several important points, such as the victim did not have gunshot residue on his hands and he had been shot in the back. The difference between the first official account and the facts revealed in the autopsy prove why these reports must be open to the public. ...

The state Legislature needs to quickly correct both Supreme Court rulings that undermine the state law that gives people access to public information essential to holding their elected officials accountable.

ENLO PARK, Calif. — Fifty Julys ago, up the road near San Francisco, in the unfortunately named Cow Palace, the Republican National Convention gave its presidential nomination to Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, who knew he would lose: Americans were not going to have a third president in 14 months. Besides, his don’tfence-me-in libertarian conservatism was ahead of its time. His agenda, however, was to change his party’s national brand.

Today, in this state where one in eight Americans live, and where Democratic presidential candidates can reap 55 electoral votes without spending a dime or a day campaigning, the Republicans’ gubernatorial candidate has an agenda and spirit similar to Goldwater’s.

Neel Kashkari is not, as some careless commentary suggests, an anti-Goldwater, diluting the state party’s conservatism. He is Goldwater 2.0, defining conservatism half a century on.

He relishes “turning upside down” the parties’ stereotypes.

The DemoGeorge cratic candiWill date, 76-yearold Gov. Jerry Brown, is “the old white guy.” Kashkari, the 40-year-old son of Indian immigrants, was born in 1973, the year before Brown was first elected governor. Brown is a child of the establishment — his father Pat, California’s 32nd governor, was defeated in 1966 by Ronald Reagan. Jerry Brown, California’s 34th and 39th governor, is a government lifer, having been secretary of state, attorney general and Oakland’s mayor when not unsuccessfully seeking a U.S. Senate seat and the presidency (three times).

Kashkari prospered in the private sector, a place as foreign to Brown as Mongolia.

Born in Ohio, Kashkari studied mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois, came to California to work in the aerospace industry, then earned an MBA from Wharton, joined Goldman Sachs and landed a Washington job with a Goldman Sachs alumnus, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. As a treasury official during one of the most dangerous periods in America’s economic history, from July 2006 to May 2009, Kashkari says: “I saw the best in our political system.”

He remembers that, with a liquidity-deprived financial system pushing the nation to the precipice of a depression, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell simply said, “Of course we’ll find a way to get this done.” The politically perilous but nationsaving business of bailing out the banking system was done in days. “What other democracy in the world,” Kashkari asks, “can move that fast to deal with a crisis?”

Just as McConnell’s opponent in this year’s Kentucky Republican primary execrated McConnell’s finest hour, Kashkari’s primary opponent vociferously deplored Kashkari’s role as administrator of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). This opponent, a factually challenged fire-breather (of illegal immigration, he said, “We are in a

‘Neel Kashkari (Republican gubernatiorial candidate in California) is not, as some careless commentary suggests, an antiGoldwater, diluting the state party’s conservatism. He is Goldwater 2.0, defining conservatism half a century on.’

war”), also said Kashkari supports Shariah law. That would be peculiar for a Hindu who calls himself “a libertarian socially” (he is pro-choice and pro-same-sex marriage) and lives in Southern California’s culturally relaxed Laguna Beach.

Today, California is a oneparty state: Democrats have 2-1 majorities in both legislative chambers and 40 of 55 members of Congress. Republicans hold no statewide office and have only 28 percent of voters registered by party. All of which has something to do with these facts: California has the nation’s highest income tax, sales tax and poverty rate (adjusted for the cost of living), and the second-highest gasoline tax.

Only four states have higher unemployment rates. Kashkari says California’s “U-6 unemployment rate” — which includes unemployed people seeking full-time jobs, and part-time workers who want full-time jobs, and people too discouraged to seek jobs — is above 16 percent.

Running against Brown requires discerning silver linings on black clouds. Kashkari says of polls showing Brown leading 52-32: Well, 100 percent of Californians know who Brown is, so 48 percent are looking for an alternative.

Kashkari promises to derail Brown’s obsession — the (at least) $68 billion San Francisco-to-Los Angeles bullet train. Brown has been silent about the recent court decision striking down the tenure system that entrenches incompetent public school teachers. The public likes the decision; teachers unions loathe it. Brown, Kashkari says dryly, has “multiple owners.”

“If I get Jerry on a debate stage,” Kashkari says, “anything can happen.” That is true, as is this: Goldwater lost 44 states but won the future. His conservative cadre captured the GOP, which won five of the next six and seven of the next 10 presidential elections. If California becomes a purple state, and Democrats can no longer assume its 20 percent of 270 electoral votes, Republicans nationwide will be indebted to the immigrants’ son who plucked up Goldwater’s banner of conservatism with a Western libertarian flavor.

George Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com. © 2014, Washington Post Writers Group

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THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

AROUND TOWN A School House Bar-B-Que Inc. fundraiser, sponsored by the YWCA of the Upper Lowlands Inc., will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, July 25, at the Sumter County Recreation Department, 155 Haynsworth St. Tickets are $7.50.

Delivery may be possible for several orders. Call (803) 7737158.

The Shannontown Neighborhood Association will meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 24, at South HOPE Center, 1125 S. Lafayette Drive. Call Hattie Watson at (803) 316-9461 or Dorothy Witherspoon at (803) 773-4730.

The Sumter Unit of the National Association of Parliamentarians will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 24, at the Sumter School District office, Wilson Hall Road. Douglas Wilson will speak. Call (803) 775-0830.

The Sumter Branch NAACP monthly membership meeting will be held at 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 27, at Union Station AME Church, 945 S. Main St. The American Red Cross will offer the following classes: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Thursday, July 31, New Volunteer Orientation / Disaster Services Overview at the Red Cross office, 1155 N. Guignard Drive; and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, Shelter Fundamentals / Simulation class at Taw Caw Community Outreach, 1126 Granby Lane, Summerton.

Call (803) 775-2363 for information or to register for either class.

A Sumter Back-to-School Jamboree will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, at the South Sumter Resource Center, 337 Manning Ave. Event will feature educational and activities exhibits, school supplies, haircuts, wellness screenings and more. Call (803) 9833399.

The Devine Sistas of Pretty Girls Rock S/C will hold a back-to-

school drive from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, at Expos baseball field, 645 Eagle Road (off of Patriot Parkway). Event will feature school supplies, food and games. Call (803) 406-5917 or (803) 406-9621.

The Sumter Benedict Alumni Club will meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 4, at the North HOPE Center. Call Shirley M. Blassingame at (803) 5064019.

The Sumter Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 12, at Shiloh-Randolph Manor, 125 W. Bartlette St. The associate members and guest speakers on marital tips will begin with Jerry and Judy L. Simon.

The spotlight will shine on Beatrice Oyekan. The associate members are Laura Colclough and Lee James. Transportation will be provided within the coverage area.

Contact Debra Canty, chapter president, at DebraCanC2@frontier.com or (803) 775-5792. For pertinent information about the upcoming gala, call the 24/7 recorded message line at (206) 3765992.

The Stroke Survivors Support Group will hold its first meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14, at the Alice Drive Baptist Church library, 1305 Loring Mill Road and Wise Drive, far left front entrance.

Following the initial meeting, the group will continue to meet on the second Thursday of each month. Call Wayne Hunter at (803) 4643003 or Joyce at (803) 4647865.

Sumter Green Fall Feast will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18. Music will be provided by 4-Way Stop and a variety of food will be available from chefs, caterers, restaurateurs and gourmet cooks. Tickets are $30 in advance or $40 at the door if not sold out. Adults only. Call (803) 436-2640.

lbcgn9@aol.com; or visit www.usslongbeach-assoc. org.

The Lincoln High School Class of 1969 will hold a reunion Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 2-3, at the Lincoln High School Alumni Building, 26 Council St. For information, contact Cynthia Mack Harvin at (803) 773-9790 or Rosalie Pringle at (803) 773-5706.

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEATHER

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2014

AccuWeather® five-day forecast for Sumter TODAY

TONIGHT

FRIDAY

Partly sunny, a strong t-storm

A couple of evening t-storms

Couple of thunderstorms

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

A t-storm around in A t-storm in spots in A thunderstorm in the p.m. the p.m. the afternoon

92°

72°

87° / 71°

90° / 74°

94° / 75°

91° / 70°

Chance of rain: 55%

Chance of rain: 65%

Chance of rain: 60%

Chance of rain: 40%

Chance of rain: 40%

Chance of rain: 50%

Winds: SW 8-16 mph

Winds: WSW 4-8 mph

Winds: WSW 4-8 mph

Winds: SW 4-8 mph

Winds: SW 8-16 mph

Winds: SW 8-16 mph

TODAY’S SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER

Gaffney 87/68 Spartanburg 88/69

Greenville 85/67

Columbia 94/74

Sumter 92/72

IN THE MOUNTAINS Aiken 93/70

ON THE COAST

Charleston 93/77

Today: A thunderstorm around. High 88 to 94.

Friday: A couple of showers and a thunderstorm. High 86 to 91.

LOCAL ALMANAC

LAKE LEVELS

SUMTER THROUGH 4 P.M. YESTERDAY

City Atlanta Chicago Dallas Detroit Houston Los Angeles New Orleans New York Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC

Full pool 360 76.8 75.5 100

Lake Murray Marion Moultrie Wateree

90° 74° 91° 70° 101° in 1952 58° in 1974

Precipitation 24 hrs ending 4 p.m. yest.

Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date

SUN AND MOON 7 a.m. yest.

358.00 75.46 75.26 97.35

24-hr chg +0.15 +0.03 -0.05 +0.07

Sunrise 6:28 a.m.

Moonrise 4:33 a.m.

RIVER STAGES River Black River Congaree River Lynches River Saluda River Up. Santee River Wateree River

trace 4.44" 3.96" 22.86" 34.27" 26.75"

Today Fri. Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W 83/68/t 85/69/pc 75/57/s 74/64/t 100/78/s 101/79/s 76/56/s 79/63/s 96/76/t 96/75/s 90/69/s 87/67/s 88/74/t 87/74/t 80/67/t 82/67/s 92/74/t 91/75/t 82/67/t 84/67/s 112/92/pc 110/90/pc 80/59/pc 82/61/pc 82/67/t 86/68/s

Myrtle Beach 89/75

Manning 93/72

Today: Storms; some heavy. Winds west-southwest 6-12 mph.

Friday: A shower or thunderstorm around.

Winds south 3-6 mph.

Temperature High Low Normal high Normal low Record high Record low

Florence 92/73

Bishopville 93/72

Temperatures shown on map are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

NATIONAL CITIES

FYI The USS Long Beach CGN-9 Association Inc. 2014 Reunion will be held Sept. 8-14, at the Hilton St. Louis Airport, 10330 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, Missouri. Call (314) 426-5500 for reservations and identify yourself as a member of the USS Long Beach reunion. For details, call Don Shade at (866) 3522469 or (716) 569-2314; email

DAILY PLANNER

Flood 7 a.m. stage yest.

12 2.48 19 5.16 14 3.99 14 4.49 80 76.99 24 6.63

Sunset Moonset

8:29 p.m.

6:44 p.m.

New

First

Full

Last

July 26

Aug. 3

Aug. 10

Aug 17

TIDES

24-hr chg +0.15 +0.98 -0.68 +1.31 +0.62 -0.62

AT MYRTLE BEACH

Today Fri.

High 7:55 a.m.

8:22 p.m.

8:42 a.m.

9:04 p.m.

Ht. 2.7 3.3 2.7 3.3

Low 2:41 a.m.

2:37 p.m.

3:26 a.m.

3:22 p.m.

Ht. 0.4 0.0 0.3 0.0

REGIONAL CITIES City Asheville Athens Augusta Beaufort Cape Hatteras Charleston Charlotte Clemson Columbia Darlington Elizabeth City Elizabethtown Fayetteville

Today Hi/Lo/W 78/63/t 87/67/t 92/70/t 94/76/t 86/75/t 93/77/t 85/68/t 88/69/t 94/74/t 91/72/t 90/70/t 90/72/t 91/71/t

Fri. Hi/Lo/W 80/62/pc 88/68/pc 89/69/t 88/75/t 84/74/t 88/75/t 85/68/pc 88/69/pc 89/73/t 87/71/t 83/70/t 85/70/t 87/70/t

City Florence Gainesville Gastonia Goldsboro Goose Creek Greensboro Greenville Hickory Hilton Head Jacksonville, FL La Grange Macon Marietta

Today Hi/Lo/W 92/73/t 90/72/t 84/68/t 90/71/t 93/76/t 85/67/t 85/67/t 83/66/t 90/76/t 92/73/t 89/70/t 87/69/t 82/67/t

Fri. Hi/Lo/W 87/72/t 88/72/t 84/66/pc 84/69/t 88/74/t 83/66/pc 84/66/pc 83/65/pc 87/75/t 90/72/t 88/69/t 85/68/t 84/68/pc

City Marion Mt. Pleasant Myrtle Beach Orangeburg Port Royal Raleigh Rock Hill Rockingham Savannah Spartanburg Summerville Wilmington Winston-Salem

Today Hi/Lo/W 84/64/t 93/76/t 89/75/t 91/73/t 93/76/t 86/70/t 85/68/t 91/71/t 95/75/t 88/69/t 90/76/t 90/74/t 83/67/t

Fri. Hi/Lo/W 84/64/pc 91/75/t 86/73/t 88/71/t 90/75/t 86/68/t 85/67/t 88/69/t 90/74/t 87/68/pc 87/75/t 86/72/t 84/65/pc

Weather(W): s–sunny, pc–partly cloudy, c–cloudy, sh–showers, t–thunderstorms, r–rain, sf–snow flurries, sn–snow, i–ice

PUBLIC AGENDA SUMTER COUNTY DEVELOPMENT BOARD Today, 7:30 a.m., Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce boardroom, 32 E. Calhoun St.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Keep life EUGENIA LAST simple, uncomplicated and focused. Refuse to let emotional issues stir up trouble at home or work. Focus on how you can be and do your best. Choose self-improvement over trying to change someone else.

The last word in astrology

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Ask questions and you’ll find solutions.

Helping your community or those less fortunate will raise your profile, but don’t neglect your home or family in the process. Leave time for romance. It’s important to acknowledge what someone does for you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Show initiative when working alongside others, but don’t harness your freedom to be original. Share your vision and you’ll gain respect and support you need to bring your ideas to fruition. Don’t let a past incident hold you back.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Follow through with an idea you’ve been thinking about pursuing. Gather information and size up your situation. Make your move based on experience and intuition. Keep what you decide to do reasonable and you’ll avoid interference.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You may feel impulsive, but before you make a drastic move, check all the possible outcomes. Someone is likely to withhold information, making it critical that you share your concerns and ask direct questions.

Take a pass if uncertainty prevails.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Keep an open mind, but don’t feel obliged to give cash to everyone with an open hand. Put greater emphasis on your goals. Use your money as a means to set up an incentive that will make you work harder or more efficiently.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You are best not to share personal information. Work hard and finish what you start. Your reputation should be based on performance, not an emotional situation or how someone portrays you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Back away from anyone putting too many demands on you. Focus on the people, places and things you enjoy most and refuse to get dragged into situations that you find unsatisfying. Something or someone unusual will grab your attention.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Secure your money or use it to make changes at home or toward a move you want to make. Change is good and will help you see new possibilities. Don’t let someone from a different background lead you astray.

LOTTERY NUMBERS PALMETTO CASH 5 WEDNESDAY

MEGAMILLIONS TUESDAY

6-19-23-24-33 PowerUp: 2

14-18-22-31-47 Megaball: 15 Megaplier: 3

PICK 3 WEDNESDAY

PICK 4 WEDNESDAY

1-6-3 and 3-4-9

2-6-5-6 and 3-2-1-1

POWERBALL numbers were unavailable at press time.

PICTURES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Keep things in perspective and refuse to jeopardize your position to accommodate someone taking advantage of you emotionally, physically or financially. Back away from anyone taking advantage of your kindness. Question other people’s motives.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You’ve got everything going for you, so don’t sit there when you should be making moves that count. Follow through with whatever plans you deem important to your advancement.

Do something nice for yourself.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Consider your destination.

Strategize how to make your journey run smoothly. Include the people you feel can contribute the most. Don’t argue with those you have to leave behind. Tough choices will lead to your success.

Love is highlighted.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A clown performs with a dog dressed in a lion’s costume during a free public show to protest Mexico City’s ban on circus animals in the Zocalo, the city’s main square. Mexico’s “circus wars” are heating up, with a growing movement to ban all circus animals other than horses and dogs meeting rising anger from circus workers.

SECTION

B

Newton looks to find early chemistry with new receivers

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

B4

Call: (803) 774-1241 | E-mail: sports@theitem.com

LEGION BASEBALL

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Jacob Watcher, left, and brother Phillip are a big reason for the success of the Sumter P-15’s this season. Both players are extremely competitive, not only against the competition, but against one another as well.

Constant competitors Watcher twins always pushing each other, team to new levels

BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS justin@theitem.com Even in the middle of a game it still makes Curtis Johnson laugh, at least inwardly.

While making a pitching change, it’s hard not for the Sumter P-15’s head coach to occasionally hear the backand-forth between his start-

ing shortstop and second baseman.

“It’s pretty funny every time you go out there and they’re jawing and talking smack to each other,” Johnson said. “They’re constantly trying to fire each other up and get the absolute best out of the other one.”

That type of on-field dynamic might not be typical

GET RILED UP AT RILEY Read about the teams vying for the American Legion baseball state championship.

CHECK OUT THE C SECTION

for most infield pairings, but then again, Phillip Watcher and Jacob Watcher are hardly a typical up-the-middle

combo.

As most fans in Sumter are already well aware, Phillip and Jacob are not just brothers playing together on the same team, but identical twins who have manned the infield and mound for both the P-15’s and Sumter High School a majority of the last four years.

Now, with their freshmen

seasons at The Citadel on the horizon, this weekend’s American Legion baseball state tournament might be the final time the Watchers take their familiar positions at Riley Park.

“It’s been fun,” Phillip said.

“I don’t know about next year.

It depends on what happens at

SEE COMPETITORS, PAGE B3

Georgetown wins play-in game Outrage Manning-Santee’s season comes to close with 19-7 loss

LOCAL COMMENTARY

BY DENNIS BRUNSON dennis@theitem.com MANNING – ManningSantee Post 68 saw an upand-down American Legion baseball season come to an ugly end on Wednesday in a 19-7, 8-inning loss to Georgetown Post 114 in a state tournament play-in game at the Manning High School field.

Manning ended its season with a 10-18 record while Georgetown improved to 11-

15. Post 114 plays in Kelleytown today where it will play Hartsville Post 53 beginning at 7 p.m.

CUTTER The winner will earn the final spot in the state tournament and will face Inman at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday at Riley Park.

Manning’s pitching simply fell apart as the game progressed. Five Post 68

pitchers combined to walk 16 batters and hit four more while also giving up 13 hits.

Three Georgetown runs scored on wild pitches while four were forced in on walks and another forced in on a hit batter.

Manning head coach G.G. Cutter was more upset with the players who were not at the game than he was with the ones who were there competing.

“It’s been this way the last several games for us,

not having people show up for practices or for games,” Cutter said. “There has been no commitment to this team from several of the players. You just can’t be a good team when things like that are happening.”

Georgetown starting pitcher Ethan Wright worked six innings, allowing just three hits and three runs, only one of which was earned. The right-hander

na.

Clemson led all ACC teams with the three defensive selections. Florida State had the most overall selections to the team with nine. The Seminoles are the preseason favorite to win the ACC and the Atlantic Division, while Clemson was chosen second in the Atlantic Division.

Beasley was the leading

SEE ALL-ACC, PAGE B3

SEE DUNGY, PAGE B4

SEE MANNING, PAGE B2

Beasley, Jarrett, Anthony named 1st team All-ACC CLEMSON —Clemson All-American defensive end Vic Beasley, Grady Jarrett and Stephone Anthony were all named to the first-team preseason All-ACC football team announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference on AP FILE PHOTO Wednesday. The team was Clemson linebacker Grady Jarrett (50), All-American defensive end Vic selected by media who atBeasley and linebacker Stephone Anthony were named to the pretended last weekend’s ACC season All-ACC first team. Clemson was the only team with three deFootball Kickoff in fensive selections.

Greensboro, North Caroli-

T

ony Dungy is an oratorical genius!

Dungy proved his point as to why he would not have drafted Michael Sam by making his point in the first place.

All of the outrage, hullabaloo and yadda, yadda, yadda that has been fired at Dungy from all sides for saying he wouldn’t have drafted Sam, the first openly gay player to try and play in the National Football League, is the exact reaDennis son why the Brunson former Super Bowl winning head coach wouldn’t have selected Sam in the first place.

Never mind the fact that Dungy made the statement almost three months ago just after the NFL draft when Sam was selected in the seventh —

CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Clemson Athletic Department

proves Dungy’s point

B2

|

SPORTS

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

SCOREBOARD TV, RADIO

MLB ROUNDUP

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

TODAY

8 a.m. -- Professional Golf: European PGA Tour Russian Open First Round from Moscow (GOLF).

8 a.m. -- International Cycling: Tour de France Stage Eighteen from Hautacam, France (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

11:30 a.m. -- LPGA Golf: International Crown First Round from Owings Mill, Md. (GOLF).

Noon -- Senior PGA Golf: Champions Tour Senior British Open First Round from Southport, England (ESPN2).

1 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: Texas at New York Yankees or San Francisco at Philadelphia (MLB NETWORK).

4 p.m. -- PGA Golf: Canadian Open First Round from Bizard, Quebec (GOLF).

6:05 p.m. -- Talk Show: Sports Talk (WDXY-FM 105.9, WDXY-AM 1240).

7 p.m. -- Minor League Baseball: Akron at Reading (CBS SPORTS NETWORK).

7 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: Miami at Atlanta (SPORTSOUTH, WPUB-FM 102.7).

8 p.m. -- International Soccer: International Champions Cup Match from Toronto -- AC Milan vs. Olympiacos (FOX SPORTS 1).

8 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: San Diego at Chicago Cubs (WGN).

9 p.m. -- CFL Football: Calgary at Edmonton (ESPN2).

10 p.m. -- International Athletics: Commonwealth Games Highlights from Glasgow, Scotland (CBS SPORTS NETWORK).

10 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: Detroit at Los Angeles Angels or Baltimore at Seattle (MLB NETWORK).

10:30 p.m. -- WNBA Basketball: Phoenix at Los Angeles (NBA TV).

MLB STANDINGS

By The Associated Press AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST DIVISION W Baltimore 55 New York 51 Toronto 52 Tampa Bay 48 Boston 47 CENTRAL DIVISION W Detroit 55 Cleveland 51 Kansas City 49 Chicago 48 Minnesota 46 WEST DIVISION W Oakland 61 Los Angeles 59 Seattle 53 Houston 42 Texas 40

Tampa Bay 7, St. Louis 2 Washington 7, Colorado 4 Arizona 5, Detroit 4 N.Y. Mets 3, Seattle 1

L 44 48 49 53 53

Pct .556 .515 .515 .475 .470

GB – 4 4 8 81/2

L 42 50 50 53 54

Pct .567 .505 .495 .475 .460

GB – 6 7 9 101/2

L 38 40 47 58 60

Pct .616 .596 .530 .420 .400

GB – 2 81/2 191/2 211/2

Milwaukee 5, Cincinnati 1 Colorado 6, Washington 4 Detroit 11, Arizona 5 N.Y. Mets 3 Seattle 2 Pittsburgh 6, L.A. Dodgers 1 San Francisco at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta 6, Miami 1 Tampa Bay at St. Louis, 7:15 p.m.

San Diego at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES

San Francisco (Hudson 8-6) at Philadelphia (Hamels 4-5), 1:05 p.m.

Miami (H.Alvarez 6-5) at Atlanta (Harang 9-6), 7:10 p.m.

San Diego (T.Ross 8-10) at Chicago Cubs (E.Jackson 5-10), 8:05 p.m.

N.Y. Mets (Gee 4-2) at Milwaukee (Garza 6-7), 8:10 p.m.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

St. Louis at Chicago Cubs, 4:05 p.m.

Arizona at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.

Washington at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.

San Diego at Atlanta, 7:35 p.m.

Miami at Houston, 8:10 p.m.

N.Y. Mets at Milwaukee, 8:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Colorado, 8:40 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.

NASCAR The Associated Press

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Minnesota 3, Cleveland 1 Kansas City at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 p.m.

Detroit at Arizona, 3:40 p.m.

N.Y. Mets at Seattle, 3:40 p.m.

Texas at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m.

Boston at Toronto, 7:07 p.m.

Tampa Bay at St. Louis, 7:15 p.m.

Baltimore at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

Houston at Oakland, 10:05 p.m.

W Atlanta 15 Indiana 11 Washington 11 Connecticut 10 Chicago 9 New York 8

L 7 13 13 15 14 13

Pct .682 .458 .458 .400 .391 .381

WESTERN CONFERENCE

W L Pct x-Phoenix 19 3 .864 Minnesota 18 6 .750 San Antonio 12 12 .500 Los Angeles 10 12 .455 Seattle 9 16 .360 Tulsa 8 16 .333 x-clinched playoff spot

GB – 2 8 9 111/2 12

TUESDAY’S GAMES

Chicago 60, Indiana 57 Minnesota 112, Atlanta 108, OT San Antonio 95, Tulsa 93 Phoenix 89, Seattle 71

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Wednesday’s Sports Transactions

NATIONAL LEAGUE L 43 46 52 53 57

Pct .561 .540 .475 .470 .430

GB – 2 81/2 9 13

L 45 46 47 50 57

Pct .559 .540 .530 .505 .418

GB – 2 3 51/2 14

L 44 46 57 56 60

Pct .560 .549 .436 .434 .400

GB – 1 121/2 121/2 16

TUESDAY’S GAMES

Pittsburgh 12, L.A. Dodgers 7 San Francisco 9, Philadelphia 6, 14 innings Miami 6, Atlanta 5 Chicago Cubs 6, San Diego 0 Milwaukee 4, Cincinnati 3

TODAY’S GAMES

New York at Seattle, 10 p.m.

Phoenix at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Tulsa at Washington, 7 p.m.

Chicago at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

San Antonio at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

TRANSACTIONS The Associated Press BASEBALL

COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE — Suspended San Diego OF Cameron Maybin 25 games after testing positive for an amphetamine in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

American League BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Optioned RHP Preston Guilmet to Norfolk (IL).

Recalled RHP Miguel Gonzalez from Norfolk.

CLEVELAND INDIANS — Optioned LHP T.J. House to Columbus (IL). Recalled INF Jose Ramirez from Columbus.

HOUSTON ASTROS — Placed OF George Springer on the 15-day DL. Recalled UT Marc Krauss from Oklahoma City (PCL). Sent RHP Collin McHugh to Oklahoma City for a rehab assignment.

MINNESOTA TWINS — Designated RHP Matt Guerrier for assignment.

Recalled RHP Yohan Pino from Rochester (IL).

NEW YORK YANKEES — Placed UT Kelly Johnson on the 15-day DL. Designated RHP Bruce Billings for assignment. Selected the contract of RHP Chris Leroux from Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre (IL).

SEATTLE MARINERS — Optioned RHP Erasmo Ramirez to Tacoma (PCL).

Recalled RHP Taijuan Walker from Tacoma. Sent LHP James Paxton to Tacoma for a rehab assignment.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Assigned RHP Sergio Santos outright to Buffalo (IL).

National League ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Sent C Jordan Pacheco to Reno (PCL) for a rehab assignment.

MANNING FROM PAGE B1 struck out nine and walked six.

Post 68 starting pitcher Russell Thompson held Georgetown down the first two innings, but he ran into trouble in the third. A throwing error by shortstop Steven Cox let the first run score and Justin Colegrove and Daniel Jones added RBI singles.

Post 114 added two runs in the fourth. Seth Wall, who was 3-for-4 with three walks and five runs batted in, had an RBI triple and Jordan Cantley had an RBI single.

Post 68 got two runs back in the bottom of the inning, both scoring on errors. Georgetown grabbed the momentum back in the fifth, scoring a single run to go up 6-2.

Thompson, the side-arming

PITTSBURGH — Josh Harrison had two hits with two RBIs and the Pittsburgh Pirates jumped on Dan Haren early in a 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.

ROCKIES 6 NATIONALS 4

DENVER— Jorge De La Rosa struck out a season-high 11 as he pitched efficiently into the eighth inning and the wobbly Colorado bullpen held off Washington’s late rally, helping the Rockies snap a sevengame skid with a 6-4 win over the Nationals on Wednesday.

BREWERS 5 REDS 1

MILWAUKEE — Mark Reynolds homered twice to help the Milwaukee Brewers swept the three-game series from the Cincinnati Reds with a 5-1 win on Wednesday.

NEW YORK 3 GB – 5 5 61/2 61/2 61/2

Washington 89, Connecticut 75 New York at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

By The Associated Press EAST DIVISION W Washington 55 Atlanta 54 Miami 47 New York 47 Philadelphia 43 CENTRAL DIVISION W Milwaukee 57 St. Louis 54 Pittsburgh 53 Cincinnati 51 Chicago 41 WEST DIVISION W San Francisco 56 Los Angeles 56 Arizona 44 San Diego 43 Colorado 40

DODGERS 1

INTERLEAGUE

Boston (R.De La Rosa 3-2) at Toronto (Stroman 5-2), 12:37 p.m.

Texas (Lewis 6-7) at N.Y. Yankees (McCarthy 1-0), 1:05 p.m.

Houston (Feldman 4-7) at Oakland (Samardzija 1-1), 3:35 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (Noesi 4-7) at Minnesota (P.Hughes 10-6), 8:10 p.m.

Cleveland (Kluber 10-6) at Kansas City (Duffy 5-10), 8:10 p.m.

Detroit (Scherzer 11-3) at L.A. Angels (Richards 11-2), 10:05 p.m.

Baltimore (W.Chen 10-3) at Seattle (Iwakuma 8-4), 10:10 p.m.

Toronto at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m.

Boston at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m.

Oakland at Texas, 8:05 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Minnesota, 8:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Miami at Houston, 8:10 p.m.

Detroit at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

Baltimore at Seattle, 10:10 p.m.

ATLANTA — Freddie Freeman hit a three-run homer, Ervin Santana won his second straight start and the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 6-1 on Wednesday night.

The victory pulled Atlanta within one game of first-place Washington in the NL East.

Third-place Miami snapped a three-game winning streak to stay 8½ games back.

Freeman, an All-Star first baseman, broke out of a slump in the season series against the Marlins, ending a 2 for 44 stretch by hitting his 14th homer as the Braves took a 5-0 lead in the four-run third inning.

Santana (9-6) won for third time in four starts, giving up six hits and one run with three walks and 10 strikeouts in 7 1-3 innings.

WNBA STANDINGS

By The Associated Press

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

TODAY’S GAMES

Freeman paces Braves past Miami

PIRATES 6

Sprint Cup Leaders Through July 13 Points 1, Jeff Gordon, 670. 2, Dale Earnhardt Jr., 658. 3, Brad Keselowski, 634. 4, Matt Kenseth, 621. 5, Jimmie Johnson, 598. 6, Carl Edwards, 574. 7, Ryan Newman, 573. 8, Kyle Busch, 567. 9, Joey Logano, 551. 10, Clint Bowyer, 548. 11, Paul Menard, 541. 12, Denny Hamlin, 530. 13, Kevin Harvick, 528.

14, Kyle Larson, 524. 15, Austin Dillon, 524. 16, Greg Biffle, 519. 17, Kasey Kahne, 515. 18, Brian Vickers, 507. 19, Tony Stewart, 502. 20, Marcos Ambrose, 489.

Money 1, Brad Keselowski, $4,435,136. 2, Dale Earnhardt Jr., $4,074,129. 3, Jimmie Johnson, $4,048,318. 4, Jeff Gordon, $3,953,343. 5, Jamie McMurray, $3,850,390.

6, Kevin Harvick, $3,651,706.

7, Matt Kenseth, $3,635,687. 8, Kyle Busch, $3,567,145.

9, Joey Logano, $3,566,033. 10, Denny Hamlin, $3,481,056. 11, Greg Biffle, $3,093,994.

12, Austin Dillon, $3,015,504.

13, Paul Menard, $2,980,836.

14, Carl Edwards, $2,965,577.

15, Clint Bowyer, $2,961,680.

16, Brian Vickers, $2,943,649.

17, Aric Almirola, $2,943,409.

18, Tony Stewart, $2,871,386. 19, Kyle Larson, $2,783,125.

20, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., $2,766,695.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

TUESDAY’S GAMES

N.Y. Yankees 2, Texas 1, 14 innings Toronto 7, Boston 3 Cleveland 8, Minnesota 2 Kansas City 7, Chicago White Sox 1 Tampa Bay 7, St. Louis 2 Arizona 5, Detroit 4 Baltimore 4, L.A. Angels 2 Houston 3, Oakland 2, 12 innings N.Y. Mets 3, Seattle 1

THE SUMTER ITEM

righty, left in the fifth, going 4 2/3 innings and allowing six runs, four of which were earned. He allowed eight hits and five walks while striking out four.

Post 114 broke the game open with four runs in the sixth and five more in the seventh. It had just one hit in each of the innings. Georgetown took advantage of three walks and two hit batters in the sixth and five walks and another hit batter in the seventh.

Jared Hair and Adam Lowder both had two hits for Manning.

Colegrove had three hits and three RBI for Georgetown, while Lucas Freeman was 2-for-2 with three walks, a hit by pitch and two RBI.

SEATTLE 2 SEATTLE — Bartolo Colon came within seven outs of a perfect game, giving up a single to Robinson Cano with two outs in the seventh inning, and the New York Mets held off a late rally to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Wednesday.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman follows through on a 3-run home run in the Braves’ 6-1 victory over Miami in Atlanta on Wednesday. double and the Detroit Tigers wore out the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-5 in a slugfest at Chase Field on Wednesday.

AMERICAN LEAGUE TWINS 3 INDIANS 1 MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Swarzak pitched five sharp innings in a fill-in start, Oswaldo Arcia homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians 3-1 Wednesday.

ROYALS 2 WHITE SOX 1

CHICAGO — Mike Moustakas scored the tiebreaking run in the top of the ninth inning when White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers could handle a throw home and the Kansas City Royals beat Chicago 2-1 Wednesday in the rubber game of a three-game series.

BLUE JAYS 6 RED SOX 4

DIAMONDBACKS 5

TORONTO — Jose Bautista homered and drove in two runs, R.A. Dickey won for the first time in three starts and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 6-4 on Wednesday.

PHOENIX — Miguel Cabrera hit a threerun homer, Austin Jackson a three-run

From wire reports

TIGERS 11

SPORTS ITEMS

SHS swim team begins practice on August 4 The Sumter High School swim team begin practice on Aug. 4 at 4 p.m. at the City of Sumter Aquatics Center.

Those who are interested need a current physical, insurance and permission forms completed. Those things can be picked up at the school or can be downloaded from the Sumter School District website.

The team is open to both boys and girls in grades 7-12 in the district.

For more information, contact head coach Cathy Kirkhart at cathykirkhart@ yahoo.com.

SEATTLE’S RICE ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT

RENTON, Wash. — Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice is retiring from the NFL after an injuryplagued career that included issues with concussions.

The Seahawks announced Rice’s decision Wednesday, two days before the start of training camp. The news was first reported by Pro Football Talk.

Rice missed half of last season with the Seahawks after tearing his ACL against St. Louis. Rice resigned with Seattle in the offseason on a $1 million, one-year deal. But he was going to be pushed to make the Seahawks’ final roster with the additions of draft picks Paul Richardson and Kevin Norwood and a healthy Percy Harvin.

Rice signed with Seattle as a free agent before the 2011 season. He played in 33 regular-season games with the Seahawks, his best season coming in 2012 when he had 50 receptions and seven touchdowns and played all 16 games.

HALL OF FAMER JIM BROWN SUES OVER 1964 TITLE RING

NEW YORK — Hall of Fame football star Jim Brown — running out of time to retrieve his 1964

AP FILE PHOTO

Former University of South Carolina, Minnesota and Seattle wide receiver Sidney Rice, center, announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday.

NFL championship ring — has sued a memorabilia dealer.

The 78-year-old Los Angeles resident filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Manhattan federal court against Lelands. com and Lelands Collectibles Inc. The lawsuit seeks to halt the sale of the ring in an online auction that ends Friday. It also seeks unspecified damages over broadcast remarks that Lelands’ founder, Joshua Evans, made about Brown.

Evans said Wednesday that Brown’s claims “are entirely without merit and we intend to vigorously defend against them.”

TESTIMONY ENDS IN TRIAL OVER $2B CLIPPERS SALE

LOS ANGELES — Testimony ended Wednesday in the trial to determine whether Donald Sterling’s estranged wife can sell the Los Angeles Clippers in a proposed $2 billion deal with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Shelly Sterling, who had testified early in the trial, was expected to be the final witness, but her husband’s lawyers decided not to call

her back to the stand.

Instead, they called Dr. Jeffrey Cummings to discuss the protocol of examinations such as the ones given to Donald Sterling to determine his mental competency and ability to act as owner.

AP SOURCE: CHIEFS, CHARLES REACH 2-YEAR DEAL

Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles has reached a two-year contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The deal will keep Charles in Kansas City through the 2017 season, a person familiar with the contract said Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the team has not disclosed details. He is now expected to take part in the first practice scheduled for Thursday.

The six-year NFL veteran ran for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns last year as the Chiefs reached the playoffs.

He also had 70 catches for 693 yards and seven more TDs as Kansas City went 11-5 before losing to Indianapolis in an AFC wildcard game.

From staff, wire reports

SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

COMPETITORS

B3

LEGION BASEBALL STATE TOURNAMENT

FROM PAGE B1

SATURDAY

The Citadel and what opportunities come from that, but the experience of being at Sumter High and with the P-15’s has been awesome.”

“It’s been a blessing playing in a town like Sumter – a baseball town,” Jacob added.

“We’ve had so much support from everyone. I’m glad we both had the opportunity.”

The opportunity did not come without merit, though.

“They’re both really good players,” Johnson said. “I’ve been fortunate to be able to write their names down on a lineup card every day at one position or another for the last three years. They work hard and they’re good guys.

“They want to be the best at whatever they do.”

Game 1 — Inman vs. Play-In Winner, 9:30 a.m.

Game 2 —Chapin-Newberry vs.

Sumter, 1 p.m.

Game 3 — Camden vs. Rock Hill, 4:30 p.m.

Game 4 — Florence vs. Spartanburg, 8 p.m.

SUNDAY

Game 5 — Game 1 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser, 9:30 a.m.

Game 6 — Game 2 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser, 1 p.m.

Game 7 — Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner, 4:30 p.m.

Game 8 — Game 2 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner, 8 p.m.

MONDAY

Game 9 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Loser, 2 p.m.

Game 10 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser, 5 p.m.

Game 11 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY

Game 12 – Game 11 Loser vs. Game 9 Winner, 3 p.m.

Game 13 – Game 10 Winner vs.

Game 11 Winner, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY

ALWAYS A PAIR

Both Phillip and Jacob are aware of the uniqueness of identical twins playing shortstop and second base on a baseball field.

“You hear guys from other teams say things like, ‘Oh, that’s really cool,’ “Jacob said. “But I really don’t think about it. It’s always been that way.”

Ever since they were eight years old, in fact.

Growing up, Phillip said he was more of a football fan actually while Jacob always leaned toward baseball.

“He kind of forced me into it,” Phillip said. “He knew I’d like it. I didn’t really know much about it at the time, but he really got me into it.”

When the time came, recreation baseball seemed like a natural fit – and from Day 1, the infield was where they started.

“We could catch and throw, so that was pretty much all the coaches needed to see and they put us up the middle,” Phillip said. “That’s basically how we got started.”

Even at that early of an age, the chemistry and familiarity between them was evident, Jacob said.

“We turned a double play when we were in 9-10-yearold rec ball,” he said. “That was kind of unusual because the bases are so close together. It’s hard to do.”

Turning two almost seems routine now, Jacob added.

“We’ve had a lot of practice and a lot of time to work on things so that helps,” he said.

“But we’ve just been doing it

|

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Phillip Watcher, left, and brother Jacob have been steady performers at the plate and on the mound for Sumter this year. for so long and we’re so familiar with each other that you don’t really even think about it. I know where he’s going to be and where he’s going to throw the ball at.”

Playing side-by-side for so long and being brothers to boot has led to candid conversations over the years as well.

“I’ll get on him after an error or after a mistake, and he does the same thing to me,” Phillip said. “We really just say exactly what’s on our minds and don’t hold anything back. I don’t think we do that with other players, but with us it’s different.”

DIFFERENT APPROACHES

There is a physical way to tell the Watchers apart — courtesy of an errant backswing from Phillip.

Prior to a rec ball game when the two were around eight years old, they began playing around with a golf club in the yard while waiting to be driven to the game.

“I was standing behind Phil and he swung back and caught me under the right eye,” Jacob said. “It was an accident. I had to go to the hospital and get six stitches, though.”

There are other subtle differences between the two as well, both on the field and off.

While both pitch, hit and play defense, the first two are often approached differently, Johnson said.

“Jake is probably a little

more of a finesse guy on the mound,” he said. “He throws his curveball and changeup early in the count and comes with the fastball later. Phil’s more of the strikeout guy and he relies on his fastball more early.

“At the plate, Phil’s got a little more power, but Jake’s had the higher average this year.”

Their styles on the mound and at the plate mirror their personalities too, Johnson added.

“Phil’s probably a little more aggressive, shows his emotions more while Jake is a little more even-tempered.

Nothing seems to faze him.”

WHO’S THE BEST?

The Watchers can’t remember a day when they weren’t competing against each other at something – baseball, basketball, ping pong, Frisbee, golf.

That constant matchup has led to a lifelong desire to top the other as well.

“My first year here, we were playing Darlington in the playoffs and Jacob was out with an injury,” Johnson said. “We were a little worried because he’d been our top guy all year, but Phil basically said, ‘Hand me the ball coach. My brother threw a no-hitter against them. I can handle this.’

“That was pretty funny, but it shows you how competitive they are.”

AP FILE PHOTO

Clemson linebacker Stephone Anthony (42) is an All-ACC preseason first team pick. Anthony was the Tigers’ leading tackler last season and is on the Butkus Award Watch List.

ALL-ACC FROM PAGE B1 votegetter on the defensive team with 96 votes. Only returning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston, Florida State’s quarterback, had more votes overall with 97.

Beasley was a consensus All-American last year when had 23 tackles for loss, including 13 sacks and four caused fumbles. He ranked in the top five in the nation in tackles for loss and sacks. He led the ACC in sacks, the third Clemson player in the last four years to lead that category.

Beasley has been named a preseason firstteam All-American by virtually every publication this summer and is on the Watch List for the Lombardi Award, the Bednarik Award and

the Nagurski Award. He was a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award last year. That honor goes to the top defensive end in the nation.

Jarrett has been on the preseason watch lists for the Lombardi Award, Bednarik Award, the Nagurski Award and the Outland Trophy. He is the top returning tackler among Clemson defensive linemen with 83 last season when he helped Clemson lead the nation in tackles for loss.

Anthony was the top tackler on Clemson’s 11-2 team of 2013 that finished seventh in the final USA Today poll. He had 131 tackles overall, including 13.5 tackles for loss, four of which were sacks. He is on the Butkus Award Watch List in addition to being on the Watch List for the Lombardi Award, Bednarik Award and Nagurski Award.

The Watchers are always keeping up with how well they’re doing compared to the other. Statistically this season, Phillip owns the edge on the mound with a 4-0 record and a 1.76 earned run average along with 38 strikeouts.

Jacob is 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA and 36 Ks, although he has thrown 12 2/3 more innings.

At the plate, Jacob has the advantage with a .383 average and 22 runs driven In. Phillip is batting .292 with 17 RBI, but does have a home run.

“You never want the other to do badly, you just want to be a little bit better,” Phillip said. “Batting average, pitching record, strikeouts, errors – everything is a contest. But when he does well, it makes me feel good.”

Game 14 – Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 12, 10:30 a.m.

Game 15 – If Necessary Note 1: Pairing for games 12 and 13 will not match previous opponents against each other unless necessary.

Note 2: If three teams remain after Game 13, the winner of Game 11 automatically draws the bye for Game 14.

Tickets: 15-game tournament passes $30 for both adults and students. Individual game tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students.

No session tickets will be sold.

Tickets go on sale Saturday morning when gates open prior to the first game beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The two will continue their rivalry in Charleston next season. There was thought about maybe going their separate ways, but when The Citadel – the same school their father, Tony, played for – offered them both, they couldn’t refuse.

“I think in the long run, we’ll be happier that way,” Phillip said.

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NFL

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

Panthers QB Newton seeks chemistry with new WRs CHARLOTTE (AP) — Cam Newton will have plenty to do when the NFC South champion Panthers report to training camp.

In between spending time in the training room rehabbing from offseason ankle surgery, Newton hopes to develop some on-field chemistry with a completely revamped group of wide receivers.

Toss in the fact coach Ron Rivera is counting on Newton to take on a bigger leadership role following the departures of longtime offensive captains Steve Smith and Jordan Gross and you have the makings of an important, pressurepacked summer for the fourth-year quarterback.

“I’m excited to take this challenge to be this team’s leader,” said Newton “More has been given to me on my plate, and be a leader of men.”

Newton has never missed a start in three seasons. He’s expected to be ready to go when camp opens Friday after sitting out all but one practice during OTAs and minicamp.

None of the wide receivers on the roster caught a pass from Newton last season.

After releasing Steve Smith and allowing Brandon LaFell, Ted Ginn Jr. and Domenik Hixon to leave in free agency, the Panthers restocked by drafting Florida State’s Kelvin Benjamin in the first round and adding free agents Jerricho Cotchery, Jason Avant and Tiquan Underwood. Marvin McNutt and Tavarres King are the only two returning wide receivers, but neither has caught an NFL pass.

Tight end Greg Olsen, one of Newton’s favorite targets the past three seasons, will return, providing at least some

stability in the passing game.

Still, Newton said he will spend quite a bit of time learning the tendencies of his new wide receivers: how they come out of their breaks; where they like the ball thrown; what routes they feel most comfortable running in games.

Newton doesn’t seem overly concerned.

“We’ll have plenty of time to develop that chemistry” in training camp, he said.

Rivera, whose defense has 2013 Defensive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly at linebacker, isn’t worried about the offense, either. He was quick to point out Newton didn’t get any OTA or minicamp work his first year due to the NFL lockout in 2011, but still managed to put up big numbers and was the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Newton and Rivera seem more focused on the big picture: getting the Panthers to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time, and winning a postseason game for the first time since 2005.

“Status quo isn’t good enough,” Rivera said.

Here are some things to watch from the Panthers at training camp:

RUNNING ON EMPTY? Rivera is hoping veteran running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart still have something left. Williams turned 31 in April, while Stewart has missed 17 games over the past two seasons due to ankle and foot injuries. Williams has been running with the first team, but Rivera thinks Stewart looks healthier than he’s been in a few years and is ready to

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, left, will be focusing on quickly building chemistry with the Panthers’ new receivers this season. Carolina let veteran standout Steve Smith go as well as several other receivers from last year’s playoff team. make an impact.

SECONDARY COHESIVENESS The Panthers return everyone from a strong front seven, but questions still remain about a suspect secondary. To make matters worse for the Panthers, starting cornerback Captain Munnerlyn and safety Mike Mitchell parlayed big seasons into substantial free agent contracts in Minnesota and Pittsburgh. The Panthers added cornerback Antoine Cason and safeties Roman Harper and Thomas DeCoud, but the secondary remains the weakest position on the league’s No. 2-ranked defense.

Pats TE Gronkowski cleared to play FOXBOROUGH, Mass.

(AP) — Rob Gronkowski was a training camp spectator last summer while recovering from surgery.

This summer, after another operation, the New England Patriots star tight end is expected to be on the field for the first practice Thursday.

“He’s been cleared to play,” coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday.

That’s welcome news to his teammates after a season in which Gronkowski played just seven regularseason games. He missed the first six following back surgery about a month before camp and the last three, plus both playoff games, with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

“We were all hoping Gronk would have a good recovery and so far he has,” Patriots left guard Logan Mankins said. “We’ll just see where he is, how good he is right now. It’s great to have him out there.”

The team could use his sure-handed receiving, powerful blocking and funloving personality.

“He’s a tremendous player,” defensive end Rob Ninkovich said. “He’s one of the best guys you could ever meet. He’s a great guy off the field. He’ll say ‘hi’ to anybody. He’ll do anything for you.”

Gronkowski stayed healthy his first two seasons after the Patriots drafted him out of Arizona in the second round in 2010.

He played all 32 regularseason games with 132 receptions and 27 touchdown catches.

But while blocking for an extra point in the 11th game of 2012, a 59-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts, he broke his left forearm.

That injury ended a season in which he had 55 catches for 11 touchdowns and was chosen for his second consecutive Pro Bowl even though he couldn’t play.

He had four forearm surgeries and a back operation. He watched training camp practices from the sideline, often wearing a Tshirt and shorts. His first practice in pads came last

AP FILE PHOTO

New England tight end Rob Gronkowski runs during a minicamp in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Gronkowski has been cleared to practice less than eight months after suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Sept. 1, seven days before the season opener.

After missing the first six games, he led all NFL tight ends in the next six with 37 catches and 560 yards receiving.

But his second reception in the next game was his last of the season. Safety T.J. Ward knocked him down with a hit to the right knee in a 27-26 win over the Cleveland Browns in Foxborough on Dec. 8.

Gronkowski was driven off the field on a cart. He underwent surgery in January.

Less than seven months later, is there anything the Patriots can do to better protect him?

“The health of the team is the most important thing that we have,” Belichick said. “We always try to do everything we can to help all the players stay healthy and stay on the field. We do that for everybody, every single guy. It’s a consideration for all them. Certainly Rob, but everybody.”

He said Gronkowski cannot be put on the physically unable to perform list because he’s been cleared to play.

“Rob’s always worked hard. He worked hard as a rookie,” Belichick said.

“What we’ve seen, he’s been consistent.”

Tom Brady has certainly seen Gronkowski’s consis-

tency as a receiver and blocker. With Gronkowski limited to seven games, the quarterback was sacked 40 times last season, one less than his career high in 2001, his first year as a starter.

“He’s a very good blocker, especially for his position,” Mankins said. “A lot of times the guys that catch the ball as well as he does, they don’t really block at all. They try to get in the way sometimes, but Gronk goes after people and he tries to block the best that he can and most of the time it’s pretty good.”

His return also would give Brady his most reliable receiver. The team’s other tight ends caught just 14 passes last season.

“He’s a big target for Tom to get the ball to and he gets open,” Mankins said. “Anytime you can have Gronk on the field, it’s great.”

Gronkowski was on the field at Gillette Stadium on July 1 at a Beyonce and Jay-Z concert where his knee didn’t seem to inhibit his lively dancing.

Now he seems on target to showing his moves in a game, starting with the opener at Miami on Sept. 7.

“I’m happy to see his progress and see him coming into the season and staying healthy,” Ninkovich said. “Obviously, that’s what everybody is talking about.”

PROTECTING CAM

the return game. He handled kickoffs and punts last season and provided not only stability, but plenty of big plays. The Panthers don’t have any returners nearly as explosive, and it’s unclear who’ll replace him. They’ve looked at Kealoha Pilares, Underwood and Cason as options, but this is a position that is wide open.

Gross retired in February after 11 seasons, leaving a huge hole at left tackle. The Panthers didn’t address the vacancy in free agency or the draft, confident they could find the answer on their own roster. They’re counting on Nate Chandler, a converted defensive tackle, or Byron Bell, last year’s starting right tackle, to win the job. That’s a considerable risk considering that job involves protecting Newton’s blind side. Both guard spots are also up for grabs.

PREPARING FOR SEPTEMBER The Panthers have started no better than 1-3 in each of their past three seasons under Rivera, so it’s not surprising he’s considering changing his approach at training camp.

Exactly what he’ll tweak is uncertain.

RETURN TO SENDER Losing Ginn really hurts

DUNGY FROM PAGE B1 and final — round by the St. Louis Rams. Still, Dungy was asked if he would draft Sam and his answer was to the negative; not because he’s a devout Christian and doesn’t approve of Sam’s sexual orientation or anything of the sort, but because of the sideshow that he knew was to follow Sam around.

After all, Oprah Winfrey already had a show in the works on Sam’s life. That’s nothing out of the ordinary in the NFL as the league has used the camera to build the brand over the years.

That may not be as much of a distraction though as all the chatter that will come from every move that Sam makes. The furor over Dungy’s opinion is the tip of the iceberg. When Sam plays in his first exhibition game and his play is critiqued, the same thing will happen. And when the Rams start making cuts, either the celebration that comes if he survives or the furor that arises if he does not will be ridiculous.

Some of criticized Dungy for saying this about Sam after saying he would have drafted Johnny Manziel, who has a huge circus tent following him around, for taking disgraced dog-fighting quarterback Michael Vick under his wing and getting him back into the league after his time in jail or for sticking by his former Indianapolis wide receiver Marvin Harrison when Harrison was questioned in a shooting all the while knowing of the zoo that would surround them.

While Dungy didn’t say this, I am in his defense.

Manziel is a first-round draft pick and Vick and Harrison were proven commodities, and in professional sports, if a player is deemed to be or is a standout, all of the possible distractions can be handled.

And even though Sam was the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year last season at Missouri, he was seen as nothing more than a marginal prospect in the NFL because he may not have the skill set to be a defensive end or a linebacker.

There was even a question of whether he would even be drafted. In fact, he was the 249th out of 256 players se-

‘Even though I don’t agree with his lifestyle, I love him. And I wish him the best, and I’d love to say that to him.’

TONY DUNGY Commenting on Michael Sam, the 1st openly gay player in the NFL lected. Apparently, there were several general managers and/or coaches who agreed with Dungy.

That doesn’t mean that Sam can’t make the Rams; there have been plenty of late-round picks and free agents to go on to have long careers in the NFL. The debate in this case is are the risks of taking that chance with him knowing the possibility of all the distractions that would come with him worth the reward?

Dungy, in his opinion, said no.

There are those trying to make this into Dungy’s Christian beliefs leading him to this statement. While he sees marriage as being only between a man and a woman, that had nothing to do with stance here. He was being Tony Dungy, Super Bowl-winning coach, not Tony Dungy, a devout, sincere Christian.

He was, however, being Tony Dungy, devout, sincere Christian on Wednesday on The Dan Patrick Show.

“I hadn’t thought about it, but I think it might be a good idea; I’d love to do that, and hopefully I get the chance,” Dungy said. “I would want to wish him the best and let him know I have no bitterness or animosity toward him. Even though I don’t agree with his lifestyle, I love him. And I wish him the best, and I’d love to say that to him.”

I’ve never met Dungy, but I’ve always been impressed with the way he speaks and handles himself as a Christian. That same sincerity is evident here.

OBITUARIES | SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

ROBERTA P. PEARSON Roberta Pinkney Pearson, 93, was born on May 5, 1921, in Sumter, to the late Ben and Minnie Hutlin Pinkney. She departed this life on Saturday, July 19, 2014, at Sumter Health & Rehab.

She leaves to mourn her passing and cherish her memories: one daughter, Agatha Geneva (retired Lt. Col. PEARSON James H.) Murry; one son, Richard (the Rev. Vera M.) Pearson Jr.; four grandchildren, Veronica Murry, Derrick (Joellyn) Murry, Tuesday (Donell) Pearson-Freeman and Richard (Tiffiny Dozier) Pearson III; six great-grandchildren, Grace, Tess and Alexander Derrick Murry, and Richard J. IV, Anaya L. and Trinity N. Pearson; three nieces, Barbara, Harriett and Alpheia; and a host of relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard Pearson Sr.; her parents, Ben and Minnie; her sisters, Susan Hastie and Roxie Ballard; and a brother, Julius Pinkney.

AREA SCOREBOARD GOLF CHURCHES CHALLENGE

The 15th Annual Churches Challenge Golf Tournament & Praise Rally will be held Aug. 22-23.

The praise rally and dinner will be held on Friday, Aug. 22, at Alice Drive Baptist Church at 1305 Loring Mill Road beginning at 6 p.m. The event will be open to the players, tournament sponsors and their families. Gospel group The Last Generation will provide entertainment.

The tournament will be held on Saturday, Aug. 23, at Sunset Country Club. The tournament will be split into a morning flight and an afternoon flight. The sign-in time for the morning flight is 7 a.m. with a tee time of 8, while the sign-in time for the afternoon flight is 11:30 with a tee time of 1 p.m.

The format for the tournament is 4-man Captain’s Choice. The team must have a minimum handicap of 50 and only one player on each team can have a handicap of 8 or less.

The entry fee is $45 per player and that includes the praise rally and dinner for the players and their families as well.

Registration deadline for the tournament, which is

Public viewing will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. today at Job’s Mortuary.

The body will be placed in the church at 10 a.m. on Friday for viewing until the hour of service.

Funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday at Salem Chapel and Heritage Center, 101 S. Salem Ave., Sumter, with the Rev. Douglas Fisher officiating. Interment will follow in Hillside Memorial Park, Sumter.

Job’s Mortuary Inc., 312 S. Main St., Sumter, is in charge of arrangements.

Online memorials may be sent to the family at jobsmortuary@sc.rr.com or visit us on the web at www.jobsmortuary. net.

JEAN N. ROGERS BISHOPVILLE — Memorial services for Jean Myrtle “Nanny” Nobles Rogers, age 70, widow of John “Pa” A. Rogers, will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday at the Chapel of Norton Funeral Home, Bishopville Chapel. The Rev. Cecil Stevens will officiate.

Visitation will be held today

hosted by the Christian Golfers’ Association, is Friday, Aug. 16.

There will be a $50,000 holein-one prize. The person who makes the ace will receive $1,000 while the church for which the player is playing will receive $50,000 from sponsor Jones Automotive Group.

The winning team as well as the second- and third-place teams will receive prizes. All cash prizes, with the exception of the $1,000 hole-in-one prize, will go to the churches of the respective winners.

There are many different sponsorship opportunities available to businesses as well.

For more information, call the CGA office at (803) 7732171. If no one answers, leave a message.

PAR 4 PETS TOURNAMENT

The Par 4 Pets 3rd Annual Golf Tournament will be held on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Crystal Lakes Golf Course.

The format for the tournament is 4-Man Captain’s Choice. The entry fee is $160 per team and $40 per player.

The tournament is limited to the first 20 teams. Prizes will go to the top three teams and prizes will be given to closest to pin on all par 3 holes.

The last day to register is Sept. 5.

Money raised from the tournament goes to K.A.T.’s Special Kneads. For more in-

at her residence, 97 Woodham Road, Bishopville.

Mrs. Rogers passed away on Tuesday, July 22, 2014, at her residence. She was born in Bishopville, a daughter of the late Marvin and Ruby Minnie White Nobles.

Surviving are a daughter, Diane Rogers of Bishopville; son, Jerry Rogers of Bishopville; grandchildren, Wesly Rogers, Danielle Gardner and Nicholas Rogers; great-grandchildren, Willow Rogers, Aleara Rogers, Leah Rogers and Caine Gardner; special adopted grandchild, Rique “Toot” Ignacio; sisters, Mary Branham of Bishopville and Nora Humphries of Sumter; brothers, Fred Nobles of Bishopville and Howard Nobles of Cassatt; half-sister, Elinata Fairfax of North Carolina; a host of family and friends; and a special friend, Donna (Tibby) Archer. www.nortonfh.net

INEZ BRUNSON SUMMERTON — Inez Brunson, 96, died on Tuesday, July 22, 2014, at Lake Marion Nursing Center in Summerton.

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014 Born on June 6, 1917, in Clarendon County, she was a daughter of the late Henry and Rosa Smith Allen.

The family will receive friends at the home of her niece, Sarah Mae Ragin, 2433 Furse Road, Summerton.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by Summerton Funeral Home LLC, (803) 485-3755.

SUSIE MAE MELLOTT MANNING — Susie Mae Johnson Williams Mellott, 91, passed away on Sunday, July 20, 2014, at Lake Marion Nursing Facility.

Born on May 15, 1923, she was a daughter of the late Thomas Jefferson Johnson and Madell Bagnal Johnson.

She was a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church.

She is survived by a daughter, Katherine Farmer (Jim) of Alabama; a son, Norwood Williams (Marilyn) of Manning; 10 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents and a son,

formation on the organization, check it out on Facebook or go to katsspecialkneads@yahoo.com.

For more information on the tournament, call Kathy Stafford at (803) 469-3906, Teresa Durden at (803) 917-4710 or Mike Ardis at (803) 7751902.

There will be six divisions — Open, A, B, C, D and novice. The tournament will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, call (803) 773-1404 or visit www. ymcasumter.org or www.facebook.com/SumterYmca.

4-PERSON SCRAMBLE

POP WARNER REGISTRATION

The Links at Lakewood Golf Course will host a 4-person scramble every Thursday.

The cost is $25 per person and includes golf, prizes and food following the scramble.

Call the pro shop at (803) 481-5700 before 4 p.m. on Thursday to sign up.

Youth Athletics of Sumter, a division of Pop Warner Little Scholars, is registering children ages 5-16 for football for the 2014 season.

The last day to register is July 31, and the registration fee is $80. Payment plans are available.

The fee includes security, ID Badge, use of shoulder pads, use of helmet, use of practice clothes, insurance and a mouthpiece. Parents will be responsible for buying a game jersey, game pants, cleats, a cup and socks.

The practice season will run from Aug. 1 through Aug. 29. Games will begin on Aug. 30 and run through Oct. 25.

Registration is being held every Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Golden Corral on Broad Street.

To request registration and volunteer forms or for more information, email youthathleticsofsumteryas@yahoo.com.

GOLFERS BIBLE STUDY

The Sumter chapter of the Christian Golfer’s Association holds a golfers Bible study each Tuesday at its offices at Crystal Lakes Golf Course.

The study begins at 8 a.m. and is followed by a round of golf.

RACQUETBALL YMCA TOURNAMENT

The Sumter Family YMCA is taking registration for its first racquetball tournament scheduled for Aug. 16.

Registration will run through Aug. 7 with a fee of $15 for YMCA members and $22 for potential members.

After Aug. 7, add a $10 late registration fee.

FOOTBALL

AUTO RACING SPEEDWAY CHAMPS SEARCH

Sumter Speedway is trying

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B5

Thomas David Williams.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Emmanuel Baptist Church with the Rev. Drew Taylor and Norwood Williams officiating.

Burial will be in the Union United Methodist Church Cemetery.

The family requests that memorials be made to Emmanuel Baptist Church, 1794 Old Georgetown Road, Manning, SC 29162.

Stephens Funeral Home & Crematory, 304 N. Church St., Manning, is in charge of arrangements, (803) 435-2179. www.stephensfuneralhome.org

MORRIS N. CARTER Morris N. Carter, age 68, died on Wednesday, July 23, 2014, at Sterling House of Sumter.

Arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by Bullock Funeral Home of Sumter.

to gather information on all of its champions from 1957 to the present.

The name of the driver, the year and the division in which the title was won and the track promoter is the information hoping to be gathered.

To provide information, call James Skinner at (803) 775-5973 or e-mail Virginia Ayers at vayers@ftc-i.net.

CHEERLEADING POP WARNER REGISTRATION

Youth Athletics of Sumter, a division of Pop Warner Little Scholars, is registering children ages 5-16 for cheerleading for the 2014 season.

The last day to register is July 31 and the registration fee is $80. Payment plans are available.

The fee includes security, ID badge, use of uniform, use of pom-poms, socks, undergarment and insurance. Parents will be responsible for buying shoes.

The practice season will run from Aug. 1 through Aug. 29. Games will begin on Aug. 30 and run through Oct. 25.

Registration is being held every Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Golden Corral on Broad Street.

Volunteers are also needed.

All volunteer applications must be turned in by July 5.

To request registration and volunteer forms or for more information, email youthathleticsofsumteryas@yahoo.com.

NASCAR

Stewart initially opposed stock cars at Indy INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Drivers always say there’s something magical about Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the opportunity for NASCAR to race there opened the door for one of Jeff Gordon’s most treasured victories.

It was a race Tony Stewart initially opposed.

Stewart, a diehard open-wheel STEWART driver at the time of the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994, was one of the many IMS loyalists who firmly believed NASCAR did not belong on the hallowed grounds of the speedway. The Indiana native had grown up dreaming of one day winning the Indy 500.

Until 1994, it was the only big race.

“I was one of them that absolutely thought it was a crime,” Stewart said. “I’m a purist. I’m old school. It’s always been sacred ground to me.”

He wasn’t in Indy when NASCAR made his debut, and had to watch the race later on a replay.

Stewart’s mind was instantly changed.

“There were other people that I knew that were dead against it that went just to see what it was going to be like,

and they came back and felt the same way,” he said. “I think everybody changed their mind and their opinion after they saw that first one.”

The 20th anniversary of NASCAR’s first race at Indy is Sunday, when Gordon will go for his fifth Brickyard win.

A California native, Gordon moved to Indiana before high school to race around the Midwest. Like Stewart, he was enamored with Indy but his path into NASCAR made him believe he’d never get a shot to race at the speedway, which has been home to the Indy 500 since 1911.

Then the speedway opened its gates to NASCAR, and a 23-year-old Gordon won the inaugural event. It was only his second career victory, but remains one of the biggest in a career of 89 wins and four championships.

“My love for Indianapolis and the Indianapolis 500 goes way back to when I was racing in California, and I was racing open wheel cars on an oval,” he said. “Sprint cars were what I looked up to and what I loved to watch as a kid.

The drivers were my heroes.

The (Indy 500) was one that I always put on the calendar that I was going to watch. I always wanted to race there, and to get that opportunity, especially an opportunity to

win, it just is a way to live out a childhood dream.”

Gordon also won the Brickyard in 1998, 2001 and 2004.

Jimmie Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, tied his mark with wins in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2012.

Gordon recalled the excitement surrounding his first race at Indy, which sold out in less than 24 hours after the ticket office opened.

“Most of the things that stand out to me was really about just the madness and craziness of how big that event was, how popular it was among fans, not just traditional NASCAR fans but new fans to the sport,” Gordon said.

“So many fans and you just couldn’t walk anywhere without getting mobbed. That just showed you the impact and significance of that inaugural event.”

Stewart, a two-time Brickyard winner, never got his victory in the Indianapolis 500.

But he treasures his two NASCAR wins and looks forward to returning to his home track every year. He won the race as Ryan Newman’s car owner last year.

“When you grow up 45 minutes from Indy — that is sacred ground to me. It always has been, always will be,” Stewart said. “I don’t care how many times you win

there, it’s never enough.”

HUNTER-REAY HONORED

Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay has been named second quarter Driver of the Year, an award voted on by a panel of American broadcasters and journalists Hunter-Reay also won the Honda Indy Grand Prix in Alabama and was runner-up in the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix in the second quarter.

Hunter-Reay received eight first-place votes and totaled 102 points in the voting system. NASCAR’s Johnson received six first-place votes and totaled 84 points.

NHRA driver Antron Brown was third in voting with 45 points. NASCAR’s Brad Keselowski, who finished fourth in the voting, also received one first place vote.

A total of 20 drivers scored points in the second quarter voting. In its’ 48th year, the Driver of the Year award is decided by 17 panelists. Two panelists didn’t vote in the second quarter.

SCHEDULE CHANGES

Just a few weeks after saying there would be a “robust discussion” about the 2015 Sprint Cup schedule, NASCAR Chairman Brian France

has now stated nothing drastic will be done to next year’s schedule.

France made his initial comments about the schedule at Daytona International Speedway in a midseason state of the sport question and answer session. But he downplayed his earlier remarks this week in an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR. “There’s not going to be a dramatic change, but there may be some things that are a little different — that’s not unusual,” he said. “You come back to moving dates around ... we don’t do a lot of it, but we do a little of it from time to time and this will be one of those moments.”

France said the schedule will be released in September.

Fans have been clamoring for change, and there was an expectation that there could be as NBC Sports Network replaces ESPN for the final 20 races of the season beginning next season.

KARAM RETURNS

Sage Karam will be back behind the wheel at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday when he races in the Brickyard Grand Prix.

The Chip Ganassi Racing development driver will join Scott Pruett in the TUDOR United SportsCar race.

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COMICS

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

BIZARRO

SOUP TO NUTZ

ANDY CAPP

GARFIELD

BEETLE BAILEY

BORN LOSER

BLONDIE

ZITS

MOTHER GOOSE

DOG EAT DOUG

DILBERT

JEFF MACNELLY’S SHOE

Guest howls over dog’s attendance at wedding DEAR ABBY — Is it acceptable to bring a teacupsized dog to a wedding?

The excuse was, “Well, the wedding Dear Abby was at the beach.” The ABIGAIL pre-dinner VAN BUREN and dancing were inside a high-end resort on the beach.

The dog was taken inside these establishments.

After a guest — a family member of the dog’s owner — asked the owner to remove the animal because the occasion was not about her and her dog but the bride and groom’s day, the owner put the dog in a carrying case and the dog re-

THE SUMTER ITEM

turned to the wedding for the rest of the night. Only this one couple made an issue of it and they weren’t in the wedding party, but relations of the dog owner. What do you think?

Doggone disgusted DEAR DOGGONE DISGUSTED — The rule of etiquette states that nothing should distract attention from the happy couple -- and especially the bride — at the wedding. However, IF the dog owner had first asked for and received permission to bring the animal to the festivities, then it wasn’t rude and the relatives of the dog owner were wrong to intervene.

DEAR ABBY — A sibling died recently and I have received numerous sympathy messages in the form of cards, gifts

THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

and online posts. Do the people who send them typically expect a response? I feel a little overwhelmed with the amount of attention, and I worry that they’ll think I’m not appreciative if I don’t respond in kind. What is your advice?

Grieving but grateful DEAR GRIEVING BUT GRATEFUL — Their kindness should be acknowledged. To those who sent gifts and cards, a short note saying how much their support meant during this difficult time would be a gracious response. The online condolences could be handled with one email “blast” conveying the same thing, which shouldn’t be offensive to those who sent their sympathy that way.

JUMBLE

SUDOKU

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

HOW TO PLAY: Each row, column and set of 3-by-3 boxes must contain the numbers 1 through 9 without repetition.

ACROSS 1 Hit with force 4 Group on a dais 9 Egyptian Peace Nobelist 14 “Take heed, __ summer comes ...”: Shakespeare 15 “Just like me” 16 Last Olds model 17 Require medication 18 Britney Spears hit with the lyric “A guy like you should wear a warning” 19 Old-fashioned 20 Adjustable light source 23 His face is seen with Powell and Loy on many film posters 24 Rodeo wrestling match participant 25 Dedicatory opus 28 “Hold your horses!”

31 Pot-holder shape 33 Medieval slavery 37 Gallery array 38 Donald Sutherland film role 41 Fed. org. researching neuropsychiatry

42 Solemn conclusion?

43 Just about 45 Got ready, with “up” 49 Classic Pontiac 50 Misleading name 54 Concave landform 55 Carpentry connection 59 Golfer Davies, seven-time Ladies European Tour Order of Merit awardee 61 TV comic Kovacs 62 Golfer’s concern 63 Certain campaign managers 64 Complaints 65 Solution: Abbr.

66 Amtrak structure 67 Tizzies 68 Big Bird fan DOWN 1 “Trust, but verify” president 2 Melodic 3 Giant with power 4 Cracker topper 5 “And she shall bring forth __”: Matthew 6 Gives a thumbsdown

7 Official order 8 Age of Reason philosopher 9 Exotic vacation 10 One at a reunion 11 Totalitarian 12 Objet d’__ 13 Happy Meal bonus 21 Skeptic’s comeback 22 Migratory rodent 26 Expunge from a manuscript 27 USN rank 29 Terrified cry 30 Bridge framework 32 Phenomenon measured by the Fujita scale 34 Forwarder’s abbr.

35 Atl. state 36 Ajar, in poems 38 Maximum degree

39 Military storage facility 40 Juillet’s season 41 Henpeck 44 Erudite person 46 Scold harshly 47 Ocean-warming phenomenon 48 Find intolerable 51 Agenda fodder 52 “Fanfare for the Common Man” composer Copland 53 Exodus mount 56 Cookies n’ Creme cookie maker 57 Dryer detritus 58 Zooey’s “New Girl” role 59 Youngster 60 Sweet drink

CLASSIFIEDS

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

THE ITEM

B7

803-774-1234

OR TO PLACE YOUR AD ONLINE GO TO WWW.THE ITEM.COM/PLACEMYAD

CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EMPLOYMENT Lost & Found $200 REWARD! lost black female 40 lb. dog. Wearing a red collar.

Answers to Sophie. Lake Ashwood area. 803-428-2553

BUSINESS SERVICES Home Improvements H.L. Boone, Contractor additions, painting, roofing, gutters, sheetrock, blown ceilings, decks. 773-9904

Lawn Service Four Seasons Lawn Care Serving Sumter for almost 20 yrs!

Free est. 494-9169/468-4008

Roofing Robert's Metal Roofing 35 Years Experience. 18 colors & 45 year warranty. Financing available. Long list of satisfied customers. Call 803-837-1549.

Tree Service Ricky's Tree Service Tree removal, stump grinding, Lic & ins, free quote, 803-435-2223 or cell 803-460-8747.

STATE TREE SERVICE Worker's Comp & General liability insurance. Top quality service, lowest prices. 803-494-5175 or 803-491-5154 www.statetree.net A Notch Above Tree Care Full quality service low rates, lic./ins., free est BBB accredited 983-9721

MERCHANDISE Garage, Yard & Estate Sales 130 Chappell St. Fri 10 am - 4 pm & Sat. 9 am - ? Lot of kids clothes, toys, furniture.

Will buy furniture by piece or bulk, tools, trailers, lawn mowers, 4 wheelers, etc or almost anything of value Call 803-983-5364 LARGE GARAGE SALE 1st & 3rd Weekend Tables $2 FLEA MARKET BY SHAW AFB

Open every weekend.

905-4242

Indoor Sale: 1944 Pinewood Rd. Thurs/Fri. & Sat. 7am. Lots of Furn., Misc. items. Rain or shine.

For Sale or Trade Martin's Used Appliance Washers, Dryers, Refrig., Stoves.

Guarantee 464-5439 or 469-7311

Industrial Rack & Shelving. Plus many items of industrial products.

Contact 773-1825 Deluxe electric wheelchair, like new cond. Selling for $1,200.

Recharable batteries. Send email msg to: papatom@ftc-i.net

Help Wanted Full-Time Wee Academy Learning Center, Inc (Manning) is seeking a Four-Year Old Pre-K Lead teacher. Applicants possessing a four-year degree or higher in Early Childhood Education, with at least two years experience working with pre-school children are preferred.

Applicants must demonstrate effective planning, organization and communication skills. Submit resume' to: jjjoniwee@gmail.com Deadline July 29, 2014.

Thomas Sumter Academy in Rembert, SC is seeking applicants in the following teaching areas for the 2014-2015 school year: •Full-time Upper School Spanish Teacher (Spanish II & III) •IT Specialist/Computer Apps Teacher Minimum requirements include a bachelor's degree, strong interpersonal skills, and a willingness to become involved in the school's extracurricular program. Please contact/send resume to Debbie Nix, Headmaster, at tsa.generals@thomassumter.org or 803.499.3378.

Experienced Floral Designers needed. Full and part time. Please call Laura at The Daisy Shop 803-773-5114 Service Tech Needed to perform minor repairs to Stoves/Refrigerators. Must be able to pick up and deliver appliances. Clean driving record. Willing to work 42 hours per week. Please send all responses to P-Box 364 c//o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151 Seeking executive director.

Must be a team player, self starter for non profit organization. Financial background a must, to include fundraising, technology a plus.

Policies and procedures ability.

Community involvement and strategic planning. Only qualified need apply. Send resume to Box 365 c//o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151 Full Time Sales position available. Some experience preferred but will train. No calls. Apply at Wally's Hardware 1291 broad St .

Immediate Opening for Assistant Managers / Manager Trainees Sunset Finance Company is seeking two assistant managers/manager trainees in the Sumter SC Location. Competitive salary with aggressive bonus plan and benefits package included. Excellent communication, customer service, mathematical, spelling and computer skills are necessary. Inside collections, outside collections, valid driver's license and dependable transportation are required.

Qualified applicants will be trained to manage their own consumer finance location. Apply online at www.sunsetfinance.net Accountant Needed. Applicant is required to have a Bachelor's Degree in accounting with 3 years of equivalent experience in the field of accounting. Pay is commensurate with experience. Great benefits. Please send all resume to P-Box 360 C/O The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151

subscribe call us today TODAY CONTRACTOR WANTED! For Route In The

Paxville & Home Branch Area Great for person looking for extra LQFRPH ,I \RX KDYH JRRG GHSHQGDEOH WUDQVSRUWDWLRQ DQG D SKRQH LQ \RXU KRPH DQG D GHVLUH WR HDUQ D JRRG LQFRPH

CALL HARRY PRINGLE at 774-1257 OR COME BY AND APPLY AT

CLASSIFIED DEADLINES 11:30 a.m. the day before for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday edition.

9:30 a.m. Friday for Saturday’s edition 11:30 a.m. Friday for Sunday’s edition.

We will be happy to change your ad if an error is made; however we are not responsible for errors after the first run day. We shall not be liable for any loss or expense that results from the printing or omission of an advertisement. We reserve the right to edit, refuse or cancel any ad at any time.

Help Wanted Full-Time

Unfurnished Apartments

Mobile Home with Lots

STC Now Hiring Diesel Mechanic

Newly renovated Apts. 2BR All appl's, hrdwd fls, ceramic tiles, C/H/A, $550/mo, 7B Wright St. 803-773-5186 or 631-626-3460

FSBO: 10 +/- acres plus custom built D/W MH. For a list of amenities & info, send email to: papatom@ftc-i.net.

SOUTH FORGE APTS. 1 & 2 BR, Water, stove & fridge furnished. Linda at 803-494-8443

Farms & Acreage

2BR 1BA, Conv. to Sumter Mall. $530/mo + dep. 803-775-1281.

5.1 acres (Lee Cty)for lease (cheap) for farming or ranching on long term basis. Mth or yrly.

561-502-8598 Owner lives in Fla.

Qualified candidates must have:

•Valid driver license •High School Diploma or GED •Three years or more of diesel mechanical experience •Must provide tools / picture at interview STC offers competitive salary and benefits EOE and Drug Free Workplace Contact - Pat Joyner 803-775-1002 x107 Auto Mechanic needed ASAP. Apply in person B & C Automotive, 601 Broad St. 803 -774-2026 State Tree Service is looking for experienced bush hog operators for line clearing.

Call 803-491-5154.

Help Wanted Part-Time Church Nursery Attendant Sunday mornings 8:30-12:45 Wednesdays 5:45pm-7:45pm. $8 per hr.

Send resumes to Box 366 c//o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151

Trucking Opportunities TRUCK MECHANIC/ TECHNICIAN Immediate openings for experienced truck and trailer mechanics / technicians for a locally based truck fleet. Duties include PM Service, general repair and some component rebuild or replacement and experience with Cat and Cummins engines a plus. Knowledge of Tanker HM - 183 inspections, hydraulic systems and some welding helpful. Benefit package includes medical, dental, prescription plan and life insurance. Paid holidays, Paid Vacation, 401k, profit sharing and uniforms supplied. Must have tools and pass pre-employment drug test, physical and have a valid driver's license. Salary will be commensurate with experience.

Apply at FCI 132 Myrtle Beach Hwy Sumter, SC 29153; 803-773-2611 x-24 or email resume to tmancini@freeholdcartage.com

P/T Class-A CDL drivers needed to haul poultry. Night Shift. Must have 2yrs verifiable exp & good MVR. Call Danny 803-236-0682.

Medical Help Wanted CMA'S & Medical Scribes with 1-3 years exp. Please send resumes to Box 363 c//o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151

Work Wanted I'm Available to clean your home.

Affordable, reliable 16 yrs exp ref's. Melissa 803-938-5204

RENTALS Rooms for Rent Rooms for rent in spacious home. Call 803-404-4662 for details

Furnished Apartments 1bedroom Apt, liv. rm, kit, bath, fully furnished. $475 per month, incl. TV, garbage, water and sewer. Quiet Country Setting. No Smoking, drinking or drugs!

803-481-0015 Excellent for elderly person. Single Occupancy.

Senior Living Apartments for those 62+ (Rent based on income) Shiloh-Randolph Manor 125 W. Bartlette.

775-0575 Studio/1 Bedroom apartments available EHO

Land & Lots for Sale 5775 Cane Savannah Rd. (Wedgefield).over 1 acre on main hwy. City water avail. Perfect for a new home or future investment.

Close to Shaw AFB. $8,900 803-983-2261

Unfurnished Homes 2BR Apartments Miller Rd $320-$395 & 3BR Homes Burgess Ct $495 Call 774-8512 or 983-5691

Mobile Home Rentals

We will arrange financing even if you have been turned down before.

Loans available for no credit, bad credit, 1st Time Buyers & Bankruptcy buyers. No co-signers needed. Call Mr. Ashley Brown at 803-926-3235

1998 Chevy Blazer 4x4, Exc. condition. Asking $2,300 OBO. Call 803-229-8119

Miscellaneous

RECREATION

Hunting / 55 lbs bag Iron Clay peas.

Combine run. $35 bag.

803-473-6406.

Reconditioned batteries $35. Also have lawn mower, truck, 4 wheeler, golf cart & marine batteries, starters & alternators.

Car dealers/garages ask about special prices. Auto Electric Co. 803-773-4381

(Scenic Lake) 3BR 2BA 16x80.

No pets Call 803-499-1500. From 9am- 5pm

Resort Rentals Ocean Lakes 2BR/2BA C/H/A Sleeps 8, near ocean. Call 803-773-2438

Vacation Rentals Waterfront @ Lake Marion 3BR 2BA DW $750/Mo. + Dep 2BR 1BA SW $525/Mo. + Dep. Call 803 983-9035 or 773-6655

Acreage Farm Rentals Land for rent any purpose or use. Call 803-427-3888

REAL ESTATE Homes for Sale

I’ve never seen so many cars and people!

What do you think is going on over there?

580 Beacon Scores, 2 yr work history & down payment. You can own a home. Payments starting as low as $450. Call 803-236-5953 3BR 1.5 BA C/H/A Millwood School Area $35,000 Firm. Call 803-468-1012

Manufactured Housing (2) 3BR/2BA (Dalzell) with land.

Easy Financing. 803-983-8084 Looking for your DREAM HOME? LOW CREDIT SCORE? Been turned down for bad credit?

Come try us, we do our own financing. We have 3-4-5 bedroom homes. Layaway program available. For more information, call 843-389-4215.

4BR/2BA 32x80 DW w//land for sale. Fin. available, Payments approx. $450/mo. 803-236-5953

Well, I was told she’s having one of those ‘Garage Sales.’ Can you imagine?!

Minnie told me she made over $100 last time she had one... Just by placing a Classified Ad in

Do you think we should have one and place an ad?

It sure would help with Spring Cleaning!

Looking to find...

A NEW BEST FRIEND? CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT Call, email or fax us today!

FODVVLILHG#WKHLWHP FRP ‡ FAX 1 0DJQROLD 6W ‡ 6XPWHU 6&

A Guaranteed Credit Approval AUTO LOANS

FSBO: Lake House: 1931 Clubhouse Lane on Lizzie's Creek.

1,605 sq ft, 4BR/2BA, Kitchen /Dining Room, Den, Shower house, Boat house, Pier, Carport.

803-469-3807

Oaklawn MHP: 2 BR M.H.'s, water/sewer/garbage pk-up incl'd.

RV parking avail. Call 494-8350

2 & 3 BRs 803-494-4015

Autos For Sale

Lake Property

2BR for rent. $450/mo. Call 803-983-8084

STATEBURG COURTYARD

TRANSPORTATION

(803) 774-1234

20 N. Magnolia St. Sumter, SC 803.774.1234 www.theitem.com

B8

CLASSIFIEDS

THE ITEM

LEGAL NOTICES Legal Notice SUMTER EAST SELF STORAGE 800 MYRTLE BEACH HWY. AUCTION August 2, 2014 10:00 A.M.

UNITS FOR AUCTION A-8 - LAKEISHA BROGDON A-19 - CHARLOTTE WELLS A-35 - TINA CHILDERS B-7 - TERRY LAND B-15 - ARTRELLE FELDER C-22 - MARIE MACK D-2 - ASHLEY STUKES D-20 - DORA M. GREEN E-29 - DOROTHY COOLEY G-25 - CYNTHIA WILSON H-29 - FELICIA SLATER

Abandon Vehicle / Boat Abandoned Vehicle Notice: The following vehicle was abandoned at Sumter Wrecker, 324 Green Swamp Rd. Sumter, SC. Described as a 2003 Ford Taurus, VIN # 1FAFP55463A196321. Total Due for storage is $1275.00 as of July 21, 2014. Owner is asked to call 803-773-4955. If not claimed in 30 days. it will be turned over to the Magistrate's Office for public sale.

Abandoned Boat Notice To all persons claiming an interest in: 1972, 65 hp, 65ESLR72S - Johnson will apply to SCDNR for title on watercraft/outboard motor. If you have any claims to the watercraft/outboard motor, contact SCDNR at (803) 734-3858. Upon thirty days after the date of the last advertisement if no claim of interest is made and the watercraft/outboard motor has not been reported stolen, SCDNR shall issue clear title. Case No: 20140617950422.

Summons & Notice NOTICE OF FILING IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Case No.: 2011-CP-43-1972 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER Dorothea L. Bryant, Seth O. Cook, Marcia Sanders, Eric A. Cook, Plaintiffs, vs.

Elizabeth Perry, John C. Perry, Marcia Sanders, Albert Williams, Katrina Chestnut, Heirs of Edith Myers, and Heirs of Lloyd Perry, Defendants.

YOU WILL PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Second Amended Summons and Second Amended Complaint were filed with the Clerk of Court for Sumter County, South Carolina on July 1, 2014. John S. Keffer, Esquire, whose address is 23 West Calhoun Street, Sumter, South Carolina 29150, has been named Guardian ad Litem Nisi to represent any unknown minors and persons under disability who have or may claim an interest in the subject-property.

AMENDED LIS PENDENS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an action has been commenced and is pending in the Court of Common Pleas by the above-named Plaintiffs, against the above-named Defendants, to partition the real property described in the attached Property Description.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION All that certain tract of land, with improvements thereon containing eighty-five and one-half (85 1â „2) acres, more or less, known as the "Agnes Perry and Robert Perry Place," in Concord School District, Concord Township, Sumter County, South Carolina, about six (6) miles east from the Town of Sumter, on or near the waters of Black River, and no in the possession of Agnes Perry and Robert Perry, bounded now or formerly as follows: On the north by lands of Perry; on the east by lands of Jones and lands of the Williams Estate; on the south by lands of the Williams Estate, lands of the Singleton Estate, and land of Brogdon, and on the west by lands of Brogdon. The said tract of land is particularly shown and delineated on a plat prepared by W. Loring Lee, Surveyor, in June 1934, which is recorded in Plat Book Z-5, at page 67, in the office of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County, South Carolina, which plat and the record thereof are by reference incorporated herein.

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

Summons & Notice

Summons & Notice

Summons & Notice

Summons & Notice

LESS: all that parcel of land with the improvements thereon, if any, in School District #2, County of Sumter, State of South Carolina, shown on plat of J.P. Edwards, R.L.S., dated March 14, 1969, recorded in Plat Book Z-27, page 32, Sumter County records; being bounded on the North by other land of Robert and Agnes B. Perry; on the East by land of French Williams and of C. Hudnall; on the South and Southwest by lands of Ida Lou Leaf and R. M. Jones; on the West by land of R. M. Jones and by public road as shown on said plat.

This is the property conveyed to Wilbert Perry and Sara A.L. Perry by deed of Robert and Agnes B. Petty dated June 19, 1969 and recorded in the office of the RMC for Sumter County in Volume P-9 at page 1488.

This property is shown on the tax maps for Sumter County as parcel number 288-00-03-013.

Sumter County, South Carolina, which plat and the record thereof are by reference incorporated herein. Part of this tract is shown on a plat of Palmer & Mallard & Assoc.

Inc. Engineer's-Surveyors dated September 6, 1966 and recorded in the office of the RMC for Sumter County in Plat Book Z-24 at Page 18.

by a county dirt road on which it measures 150 feet; on the East by land of Wilton Britton on which it measures 368.9 feet; on the South by land of Henry Britton on which it measures 172.6 feet; on the West by land of Agnes Perry on which it measures 274.2 feet. This is the same property conveyed to Hattie Sharpe by deed of Agnes B. Perry dated July 31, 1971 and recorded in the office of the RMC for Sumter County in volume T-9 at page 66. This property is shown on the tax maps for Sumter County as parcel number 288-00-03-002.

property shown on a plat of Palmer & Mallard & Assoc.

Inc. Engineer's-Surveyors dated September 6, 1966 and recorded in the office of the RMC for Sumter County in Plat Book Z-24 at page 18.

This property is shown on the tax maps of Sumter County as Parcel Number 288-00-01-015.

AND LESS: All that parcel of land with the improvements thereon, if any, in School District #2, County of Sumter, State of South Carolina, shown on plat of J.P. Edwards, R.L.S., dated May 15, 1987, recorded in Plat Book 87, page 925, Sumter County RMC records; bounded on the Northeast by other property of Agnes Perry, 1141,32 feet; South and Southwest by other property of Wilbert Perry in courses 264.06 feet and 900.00 feet in length, respectively; and Northwest by S.C. Road 43-1255, 85.85 feet. This is the property conveyed to Wilbert Perry by deed of Agnes Perry dated May 20, 1987 and recorded in the office of the R.M.C. for Sumter County in volume 451 at page 1545. This property is shown on the tax maps for Sumter County as parcel number 288-00-03-017.

This is part of the property conveyed to Luvenia P. Cook, Elizabeth Perry, and John C. Perry by Deed of Distribution from the Estate of Agnes Perry dated May 12, 1994 and recorded May 17, 1994 at 3:51 p.m. in the Office of the RMC for Sumter County in Deed Volume 601 at Page 1333.

Parcel II All that certain tract of land, with improvements thereon containing one hundred (100) acres, more or less, known as the "Agnes Perry and Robert Perry Place," in Concord School District, Concord Township, Sumter County, South Carolina, about six (6) miles east from the Town of Sumter, on or near the waters of Black River, and now in the possession of Agnes Perry and Robert Perry, bounded now or formerly as follows: On the north by land of the McFadden Estate; on the east by land of Wilson on the south by lands of Agnes and Robert Perry, and on the west by lands of the Witherspoon Estate. Said tract of land is particularly delineated on a plat prepared by W. Loring Lee, Surveyor, in June 1934, which is recorded in Plat Book Z-5, at Page 67, in the office of the RMC for

LESS: All that certain piece, parcel or tract of land lying, being and situate in Sumter County, South Carolina containing 1.2 acres as shown on a plat of Carl J. Croft, C.E. dated June 10, 1977 and recorded in the Office of the RMC for Sumter County in Plat Book Z-40 at page 195.

Said tract being bounded and measuring as follows: On the North by land of Perry measuring thereon 212.7 feet; on the East by lands of Perry and measuring thereon 212.7 feet; on the South by State Road SC43-759 and measuring thereon 212.7 feet and on the West by lands of Perry and Georgia-Pacific and measuring thereon 212.7 feet. This is the same property conveyed to Berkeley Land Corporation by deed of Agnes B. Perry and Elizabeth Perry dated November 2, 1977 and recorded in the office of the RMC for Sumter County in Volume H10 at Page 147. This property is shown on the tax maps for Sumter County as parcel number 288-00-01-027.

AND LESS: all that certain piece, parcel or tract of land situate, lying and being in the Concord Township, in the County of Sumter, State of South Carolina, being more particularly shown and delineated on that certain plat of J.P. Edwards, RLS, dated November 20, 1970 and recorded in the office of the RMC for Sumter County in Plat Book Z-30 at page 40, said tract of land being more particularly bounded and measuring as follows: on the north by a county road which lies between the Mims Road and the Plowden Mill Road whereon it measures 250.65 feet; on the East by lands of Ruth Britton whereon it measures 772.0 feet; on the South by lands of Agnes B. Perry along the center line of a drainage ditch whereon it measures 458.77 feet; on the West by lands of Agnes Perry where it measures 378.8 feet, be all measurements according to said plat and a little more of less.

This is the same property conveyed to Henry Britton by deed of Agnes B. Perry dated May 27, 1971 and recorded in the office of the RMC for Sumter County in volume S-9 at page 1183. This property is currently shown on the tax maps for Sumter County as parcel numbers 288-00-03-003 and 288-00-03-004.

AND LESS: All that piece, parcel or lot of land situate, lying and being in Concord Township, Sumter County, South Carolina shown on a plat of Ferrell J. Prosser, RLS, dated June 1, 1971 and recorded in the Office of the RMC for Sumter County in Plat Book Z-30 at page 80, according to said plat being bounded and measuring as follows: on the North

AND LESS: All those certain pieces, parcels and lots of land with improvements thereon situate, lying and being in the City and County of Sumter, State of South Carolina designated as Lots No. 1, 2 and 3 and shown on plat of Ben J. Makela, RLS, dated January 21, 1994 and filed for record in the office of the RMC for Sumter County in Plat Book 94 at page 430 and all those certain pieces, parcels and lots of land with improvements thereon situate, lying and being in the City and County of Sumter, State of South Carolina designated as Lots No. 4, 5 6, and 7 and shown on plat of Ben J. Makela, RLS, dated January 21, 1994 and filed for record in the office of the RMC for Sumter County in Plat Book 94 at page 431. Pursuant to Section 30-5-250 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina, (1976, as amended), reference to said plats is hereby craved for the particulars of the boundaries, metes, courses, and for distances of the property delineated thereon and hereby described.

These lots are bing conveyed to the several heirs of Agnes B. Perry according to the terms of her will, documentation of which it recorded simultaneously herewith.

This is part of the property conveyed to Luvenia P. Cook, Elizabeth Perry, and John C. Perry by Deed of Distribution from the Estate of Agnes Perry dated May 12, 1994 and recorded May 17, 1994 at 3:51 p.m. in the Office of the RMC for Sumter County in Deed Volume 601 at Page 1333.

Parcel III All that tract of land containing 10 acres situate in the State of South Carolina and County of Sumter, bounded as follows: on the north by land formerly of A.F. Moses, on the east by land formerly of Mrs. S. J. McFadden, on the south by land formerly of C.G. Brogdon, and on the west by land formerly of Mr. Agnes Witherspoon.

SECOND AMENDED SUMMONS TO THE NAMED:

DEFENDANTS

ABOVE

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Second Amended Complaint herein, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, or otherwise appear and defend, and to serve a copy of your Answer to said Complaint upon the subscriber at his office, 28 North Main Street, Sumter, South Carolina, 29150, within thirty (30) days after service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service, and if you fail to answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid, or otherwise appear and defend, the Plaintiff in this action will apply to the Court for the relief demanded therein, and judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

MCGOWAN, HOOD & FELDER, LLC Patrick M. Killen 28 North Main Street Sumter, SC 29150 (803) 774-5026 (803) 774-5026 Facsimile pkillen@mcgowanhood.com Attorney for Plaintiffs

vs.

Laura J.. Price (formerly Huggins), Jimmy T. Huggins, and a Caucasian American female under the age of 18 years, DEFENDANTS TO THE NAMED:

DEFENDANTS

ABOVE

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Complaint in this action, of which a copy is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your Answer to the said Complaint on the subscribers at their office at 126 Main Street, Sumter, South Carolina, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service; and if you fail to answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid, the Plaintiff in this action will apply to the Court for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE OF FILING COMPLAINT TO THE NAMED:

DEFENDANTS

ABOVE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Complaint was filed in the above entitled action in the Office of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County on December 30, 2013, for the purpose of instituting an action against the Defendant for adoption of a Caucasian American female.

LEE, ERTER, WILSON, HOLLER & SMITH, L.L.C. Harry C. Wilson, Jr. 126 North Main Street Post Office Box 580 Sumter, South Carolina 29151 803-778-2471 Attorney for the Plaintiff

SUMMONS IN THE FAMILY COURT THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT DOCKET NO. 2013-DR-43-1545 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER James Harold Price, PLAINTIFF

SPOT IT! IN

This is part of the property conveyed to Livenia P. Cook, Elizabeth Perry, and John C. Perry by Deed of Distribution from the Estate of Agnes Perry dated May 12, 1994 and recorded May 17, 1994 at 3:51 p.m. in the Office of the RMC for Sumter County in Deed Volumbe 601 at Page 1333.

CLASSIFIEDS Call the Classifed Dept.

Going on

This 10 acre parcel is part of the

Summons & Notice

803-774-1234

vacation?

Don’t Miss A Thing!

Let your carrier save your paper for you while you are on vacation!

Call 803-774-1258 Customer Service Dept. Hours Mon-Fri 8am - 5pm

20 N. Magnolia Street

803-774-1258

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THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

SPORTS

State Tournament Saturday - Wednesday Riley Park

THE SUMTER ITEM

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SPORTS

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

No secret to success P-15’s must perform well on mound, in field to capture 1st state title since ’10

BY DENNIS BRUNSON dennis@theitem.com The Sumter P-15’s are where they expected to be, getting ready to play in the American Legion baseball state tournament this weekend at Riley Park. After all, Sumter has missed out on one state tournament since the current format came into being several years ago.

However, the goal for the P-15’s is winning a state title, something it hasn’t done since the 2010 season. For that goal to be met, Sumter head coach Curtis Johnson sees two things that have to happen for his 25-8 squad in the 8-team, double-elimination tournament.

“Our starters (pitchers) have to get us into the seventh inning, and we have to play good defense,” said Johnson, whose team faces ChapinNewberry on Saturday at 1 p.m. in its opening game. “In most of our losses this year, we haven’t played good defense. So I think if we pitch and play defense, we’ll find a way to score enough runs to win.”

The P-15’s are the No. 3 seed from the lower state, falling to that spot after losing a game in its first-round series against Lake City. Florence and Camden, the respective top two seeds from the lower state, went undefeated in their two playoffs series.

Johnson, who is in his third year as head coach, likes the way his team is performing coming into the tournament.

“I feel like we’ve had a pretty good year,” said Johnson, whose team won the League III championship.

“There are a couple of games we should have won that we didn’t, but I feel like we’ve gotten better as the season has progressed.”

While he’s not sure what his pitching rotation is going to be, Johnson is sure who is top three starters are. Taylor McFaddin, Phillip Watcher and Jacob Watcher will start the first three games should the P-15’s play that many.

McFaddin has stepped forward as the staff ace, posting a 7-1 record with a 1.11 earned run average. The right-hander has allowed just 28 hits in 57 innings pitched, tossing a no-hitter in one game and taking a nohitter into the ninth inning of another contest.

The Watchers, who are both going to The Citadel, have been strong as well. Phillip is 4-0 with a 1.76 ERA and one save, while Jacob is 3-0 with a 2.93 ERA.

ZOEY MILLER / THE SUMTER ITEM

Sumter third baseman River Soles and the rest of the P-15’s will have to play well on defense, head coach Curtis Johnson said, if they are to claim their first American Legion baseball state title since 2010. The tournament begins on Saturday at Riley Park.

“We feel pretty good about our pitching,” said Johnson, whose staff owns 2.87 ERA with opponents batting just .168 against it. “We’ve settled in with Chris Crawford (3-1, 2 saves, 2.67 ERA) as our closer.

Britton Beatson (3-0, 3.81 ERA) may have the best stuff on the team, and I have confidence in Javon (Martin), (Brandon) Spittle, (Hunter) Donley on the mound.”

Alluding to the play of the defense, Sumter has allowed 121 runs this season, but 38 of

them have been unearned.

“We’ve just got to make sure we play good defense,” Johnson said.

The P-15’s are batting .325 as a team, but haven’t displayed a lot of power. They only own six home runs — three of them coming from Tee Dubose — and seven triples. They do have 50 doubles among their 421 hits.

Six players are batting .316 or better. River Soles leads the way with a .400 average followed by McFaddin (.389),

Jacob Watcher (.383), Kemper Patton (.370), Martin (.322) and Dubose (.316).

The rest of the numbers are spread out: seven players have scored 23 or more runs with Patton and Jacob Watcher leading the way with 32; six have between 20 and 25 runs batted in with Dubose topping the list; and five have nine stolen bases or more with Jacob Watcher on top with 19.

Sumter also owns a .422 onbase percentage.

After toying with the lineup

most of the season, Johnson said he is happy with the way it has been set up the last several games.

“We’re happy with 1-3 (Phillip and Jacob Watcher and Soles) and with Kemper at cleanup,” Johnson said. “We may switch 5 and 6 between Taylor and Tee around some, but Crawford is good at 7, the catchers (Todd Larrimer and Ian McCaffrey) have batted eighth all year and Javon does a good job turning the order over (at 9).”

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THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014

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Wealth of experience

JOHN D. RUSSELL / MORNING NEWS

Florence’s Zack Newton (15) helps lead a dominant and experienced pitching staff that has Post 1 as the No.1 seed from the lower state entering Saturday’s American Legion baseball state tournament.

Florence boasts talented, veteran roster as Post 1 eyes 2nd crown in last 3 years

BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS justin@theitem.com Even coming off its first American Legion baseball state championship in nearly 60 years — not to mention its first Southeast Regional crown — the expectations weren’t too high for Florence Post 1 last season.

“We really had a whole new group,” Florence head coach Derick Urquhart said. “We only had three or four back from the previous year. We ended up losing 14 games, but we got hot at the right time.”

The “right time” was in the 2013 state tournament, leading to a runnerup finish to eventual champion IrmoChapin in a game won in the final atbat.

“They got a little taste of what it was like last year,” Urquhart said.

“Now we’ve got most of that same team coming back.”

With 12 returning players — and 14 overall playing at or signed with college programs — and an added year of experience, Post 1 picked up right where it left off. Florence won League II with a 12-0 mark before sweeping through Dalzell-Shaw and ManningSantee in the two state playoffs series to earn a 10th straight trip to the state tournament.

Florence, which is now 32-3 on the season and the top seed from the lower state, will face Spartanburg on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Riley Park in its opening game.

AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL STATE TOURNAMENT SATURDAY

TUESDAY

Game 1 — Inman vs. Play-In Winner, 9:30 a.m.

Game 2 — Chapin-Newberry vs. Sumter, 1 p.m.

Game 3 — Camden vs. Rock Hill, 4:30 p.m.

Game 4 — Florence vs. Spartanburg, 8 p.m.

Game 12 – Game 11 Loser vs. Game 9 Winner, 3 p.m.

Game 13 – Game 10 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner, 7 p.m.

SUNDAY

Game 14 – Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 12, 10:30 a.m.

Game 15 – If Necessary

Game 5 — Game 1 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser, 9:30 a.m.

Game 6 — Game 2 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser, 1 p.m.

Game 7 — Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner, 4:30 p.m.

Game 8 — Game 2 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner, 8 p.m.

MONDAY

Game 9 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Loser, 2 p.m.

Game 10 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser, 5 p.m.

Game 11 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, 8 p.m.

“We’ve had a good regular season and a good playoff run thus far,” Urquhart said. “Now we just have to stay focused. We played a very tough non-league schedule to get prepared for the state tournament so hopefully that experience will help as well.”

Post 1 has faced perennial North Carolina powers Whiteville and Wilmington this season and has also matched up against some of the other state playoff teams from the lower state in Sumter, Camden and Hartsville.

“We’ve played pretty well in most of the games this season,” Urquhart said. “The games we’ve lost like against Camden and Hartsville, our biggest problem was giving up a huge

WEDNESDAY

Note 1: Pairing for games 12 and 13 will not match previous opponents against each other unless necessary.

Note 2: If three teams remain after Game 13, the winner of Game 11 automatically draws the bye for Game 14.

Tickets: 15-game tournament passes $30 for both adults and students. Individual game tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students.

No session tickets will be sold. Tickets go on sale Saturday morning when gates open prior to the first game beginning at 9:30 a.m.

inning. We’ve been able to rally back when we’ve kept the game close, but we have to avoid giving up the big innings on the mound this weekend.”

That being said, pitching depth has been one of the team’s strong points.

Post 1 has a team earned run average of 2.15 and all but one pitcher has an ERA under 3.14. The staff goes 10 deep, Urquhart said, with eight of those logging significant innings.

The rotation has been comprised for most of the season of Keyshaun Samuel (4-1, 1.17 ERA, 30 2/3 innings pitched, 36 strikeouts, 13 walks), JK Love (7-0, 1.45 ERA, 49 2/3 IP, 47 K, 12 BB) and Zack Newton (5-0, 3.14 ERA, 43 IP, 39 K, 17 BB).

“Those were the guys we used in

league play that did a great job for us,” Urquhart said. “We don’t know what our rotation will be for this weekend, but those are the guys that have pitched big games for us so far.”

But Urquhart won’t hesitate to go to his bullpen either. Zach McKay has a 0.76 ERA and six saves in 17 appearances, the most on the team. Kam Dixon, the fourth starter, is next on the team with 13 appearances and a 1.59 ERA. Combine all that with an offense batting .345 and scoring a little over 10 runs a game and it’s easy to see why Post 1 has been successful.

Though the team speed is not what it was in 2012, Florence has gotten a lot of power production this year with eight different players recording multiple home runs for a total of 29.

Almost half have come from Post 1’s top three hitters. Garrett Bevill has four along with a team-leading .418 average and also has driven in 32. The 3-4 hitters in CJ Hopkins, a third-year starter, and Logan McRae have provided the bulk of the run production.

Hopkins has four homers and has driven in 33 while McRae leads the team in both categories with six dingers and 40 RBI. “We’ve gotten production from top to bottom,” Urquhart said. “You can switch our 1-2 batters with our 8-9 and there’s not much difference. We usually change the lineup depending on who’s pitching and who has the hot bat at the moment.”

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TOM DIDATO / CAMDEN CHRONICLE-INDEPENDENT

Grayson King, left, Austin Hayes, right, and the rest of Camden Post 17 have compiled one of the best seasons in the program’s history, earning a berth in the state tournament that begins on Saturday at Riley Park.

First time for everything With strong corps of players that have stayed together through lean years, Camden Post 17 squad earns historic berth in state tournament

BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS justin@theitem.com It was just two years ago that Camden Post 17 head coach Craig Smith started a predominantly all-freshman lineup.

“We went 4-16 that year,” Smith said. “But even then we thought that group of guys could become something special if they all stuck together.”

They did — and they’ve already recorded a season for the history books with the American Legion baseball state tournament still on the horizon.

Returning around 12 players from last year, Camden played its way to a No. 2 playoff seed out of League III.

Two series sweeps against Horry County and Georgetown punched Post 17’s first trip to the state tournament in as long as anyone can remember.

“It’s been a great season for our guys,” said Smith, whose team will be the No. 2 seed from the lower state and face Rock Hill on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Riley Park in its opening game. “We’re really a blue-collar type of team. We try to do the little things well and we try to come out and work hard every day.”

That type of approach has led Post 17 to a 22-7 overall record entering Saturday’s play.

Though he expected his squad to be much improved, even Smith was surprised how

quickly Camden got out of the gates.

“We started up in Waynesville, N.C., with a tri-state challenge, and we played really well from that first game on,” he said. “We’ve been able to continue that throughout the season. We’ve pitched well and played good defense, and I thought hitting might have been our weak point at the beginning of the season, but we’ve swung the bats well, too.

“That’s something we challenged our kids to do and they responded. The only times we’ve lost this season were times when we beat ourselves.”

Pitching has been a mainstay, though, with returning starters Grayson King, Grey

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Hoke and Zac Bowers. Bowers has signed with Erksine College, King pitches for Francis Marion University and Hoke will be at The Citadel next season.

Post 17 is not lacking in depth either. Jake Brazell serves as the closer with Tyler Bowers, Elliott Campbell, Mike Branham and Bradwin Salmond all in the mix as go-to arms should the need arise.

“We don’t have guys that throw 90 (miles per hour),” Smith said. “But we’ve got a lot of guys who throw mid-80s with command, and more importantly, throw strikes.

We’ve got the depth that we can go to a number of guys over a 5-day tournament if need be.”

Offensively, Russ Radcliff leads things off for Camden followed by Blake Serpas, Tyler Bowers and Gunner Smith. Gunner Smith has signed to play for FlorenceDarlington Technical College next season.

“We’ve got some guys who can hit for average and hit for power and run the bases a little bit,” Coach Smith said.

“Individually they might not pop out at you, but they play very good together and their skills complement each other’s.”

King has also provided a spark in the playoffs and University of South Carolina Sumter catcher Austin Hayes has provided a solid backstop and leadership for Post 17, Coach Smith said.

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Unusual chance to repeat

NEWBERRY OBSERVER

Pat Yoder, top, Justin Hawkins, bottom right, and the Chapin-Newberry squad look to continue the success Irmo-Chapin had last season by capturing another state championship.

After taking title last season as Irmo-Chapin, newly configured Chapin-Newberry looks to continue success

BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER michaelc@theitem.com Going into Game 5 of its secondround series of the American Legion baseball state playoffs against Greenville, Chapin-Newberry’s goal was to win and advance to this weekend’s state tournament at Riley Park.

Things didn’t turn out exactly that way, but C-N is competing in the state tournament as the No. 2 seed from the upper state. It will open the tournament on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against lower state No. 3 Sumter.

The Greenville Post 3 Generals beat Chapin-Newberry 6-1 in that fifth game, but Chapin-Newberry protested the game under a dual participation rule, saying Greenville used ineligible players.

According to the national and state rule books, players must play for one team once the state playoffs begin, which was July 7 in South Carolina.

“You’re not allowed to participate on more than one team after the beginning of the state tournament,” Chapin-Newberry athletic director Rob Livingston said. “With that in mind, we found some evidence that supported those claims and filed a protest in Game 5.”

Chapin-Newberry found out Monday afternoon that the protest was upheld and it was awarded the victory in Game 5, winning the series 3-2.

The focus now is trying to win the state tournament. If Chapin-Newberry were to win the title, it would be the second straight state crown for four of its players, who were part of the Irmo-

Chapin Post 193 title team from last year.

“It certainly affected us as far as seeding,” Chapin-Newberry head coach DJ Roberts said. “We just wanted to get to the state tournament, and it’s an honor to compete for the championship. We’re just glad we were able to get in and compete with the other teams for a chance to win it all.”

Roberts said his team is enjoying

playing ball together because it is a close group and, in playing for him, is playing for someone closer to them on a personal level.

“Being a younger guy, I’m only 22, and some of the kids are 18, 19,” Roberts said. “Some people would say that puts us at a disadvantage because I’m a little younger than most coaches, but I think it helps us because I relate to the kids; I know how the game is

played nowadays. I’ve been to college; I’ve played on this team under the previous coach, so I have a background when it comes to this area specifically.”

Chad Davis, Justin Hawkins, Gordon Ziesing and Zach Ziesing are the returning players. This year’s squad was able to pull from a different district this season and has players from Mid-Carolina and Newberry high schools in Newberry County, Clinton High in Laurens County and Dutch Fork and Chapin highs in Lexington County.

Roberts said the strengths of the team are its defense up the middle with speed in the outfield. Offensively, he said his team does a good job of manufacturing runs, whether it’s by hit-and-run or bunting players over.

However, he said his team has struggled at time hitting with runners in scoring position.

“The top couple of guys do a great job of getting on and are more singles and doubles guys,” Robert said.

“Through Nos. 4, 5 and 6, we have more power guys who drive in runs.

We’re more of a steal-and-take-whatwe’re-given (team) to make things happen and put pressure on the other team.”

Pat Yoder as well as the Ziesings are being considered as possible starters against Sumter. “(Yoder’s) a great pitcher who knows the strike zone in and out and he really keeps hitters off balance,” Roberts said. “(Gordon and Zach) both do a good job of throwing strikes and Zach has a good curveball.”

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Confident Spartanburg squad ready to face Post 1

BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER michaelc@theitem.com

TRACY KIMBALL / ROCK HILL HERALD

Rock Hill’s Trent Autry, left, has been a key offensive contributor for Post 34 this season. After a 1-3 start, Rock Hill went on a 12-game winning streak and beat Union in a decisive fifth game in the second round of the playoffs to earn a berth in Saturday’s state tournament.

Resilient finish Rock Hill rebounds from 1-3 start to post 12-game winning streak and 5-game series victory over Union in playoffs

BY DENNIS BRUNSON dennis@theitem.com Four games into its American Legion baseball season, Rock Hill Post 34 owned a 1-3 record. A spot in the state tournament had to seem to be a long way off at that point.

However, a 12-game winning streak and a tough series victory in the second round of the state playoffs has Rock Hill coming to Sumter this weekend for the 8-team, double-elimination tournament. Post 34, the No. 3 seed from the upper state, will take on No. 2 lower state seed Camden on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Riley Park. “We got off to a little bit of a slow start,� said Rock Hill head coach Mike Scott, whose team brings a 15-5 record into the tournament. “We finally pulled things together and started to play good baseball.

We were really playing well until we ran into Union.�

Of course, Post 34 played good enough to beat Union since it is in the state tournament, but it took five games to do so. It won the first game of the series before losing the next game, snapping the 12-game winning streak. The teams took turns winning their home games, meaning League V champion Rock Hill won out in the end. “The key to that series was who was in control around the fourth

TRACY KIMBALL / ROCK HILL HERALD

Rock Hill’s Garrett Rast waits for a pitch during a recent second-round playoff series game against Union. inning or so,� said Scott, who has Post 34 in the state tournament for the first time since 2010. “Not necessarily who scored first, but who was able to match it and then come back. Who was in charge at that point determined who won the game.�

Rock Hill draws most of its players from Rock Hill and Northwestern high schools, but also has players from Lewisville, Chester and

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South Pointe high schools. Trent Autry is a 16-year-old from Chester that has been out a standout for Post 34. “He’s hit 11 or 12 home runs for us this season,� Scott said Autry, who homered in each of Rock Hill’s games in its 3-game sweep of Easley in the first round. “He just does a lot of things to impress you.�

In an 8-3 Game 5 victory over Union, Autry was 2-for-4 with five runs batted in and pitched 5 2/3 innings of 3-hit relief with six strikeouts to get the victory.

Scott said he had not made a decision on who would start on the mound in Saturday’s opener. It will be either Will Chitwood or Stuart Hodge.

Hodge tossed a complete game in Rock Hill’s 3-2 victory in Game 3.

He scattered seven hits. Chitwood pitched the opener, going five innings and giving up four runs.

Scott doesn’t think his team is outstanding in any one area, but is very good in all aspects of the game -- hitting, pitching, defense and speed. Thus, that is why Post 34 will be at Riley Park. “We’re not a really strong team in any one area,� he said. “However, we’re above average in all of those areas. Of course, our defense really makes our pitching look good. We’re just a team that does everything well.�

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Spartanburg Post 28 has already beaten a league champion on its way to reaching the American Legion baseball state tournament in Sumter this weekend, and its next challenge will be no different.

After beating League VII champion Greenwood Post 20 3-2 in its second-round state playoffs series to advance to the state tournament, Spartanburg will face the No. 1 seed from the lower state in Florence Post 1 in its opening game at Riley Park. The teams will play the final game on Saturday at 8 p.m.

Beating Greenwood has given Spartanburg the confidence to face Florence, according to Spartanburg head coach Barry Keith. It’s just a matter of which Post 28 team shows up, the one that allowed six runs in its three victories over Greenwood or the one that gave up 25 runs in its two losses. “I’m going to be informing them we can play with anybody,� Keith said. “It’s just a matter whether the 20-win team shows up or is it going to be the 9-loss team that shows up.�

Keith said when his team hits the field spectators will see a loose, fun and confident group. A majority of the players are from Dorman and Spartanburg high schools with one player from Spartanburg Day and one from Broome. “One of the things we’re proud of, and it’s kind of a joke, but all of those schools had a losing record during their high school seasons, but for some reason when they put everybody together here we’ve had one heck of a summer,� the Post 28 coach said of his 20-9 team.

Offensively, Keith said Spartanburg can go seven players deep with batting averages of at least .300 with some speed mixed in. Zachary Pender, a University of South Carolina Sumter player, leads the team with a .467 average. Drew Prince (.452) and Ike Thalassinos (.404) each are batting over .400. “We don’t strike out a lot, we put the ball in play,� Keith said. “With everyone batting around that .400 mark, we always seem to put something on the board. “We like to run and have about four guys that their time between first and second (bases) is somewhere between 3.65 to 3.74 (seconds),� he added. “We can do hitand-run, but the run is really part of the game. You will not see them feel like they’re out of the game at any point.�

Collin Morris, a Dorman product who has pitched three straight complete games, will likely start against Florence. Morris is 9-0 with a 1.38 earned run average. “He’s not a dominant pitcher,� Keith said. “He does not have a 90-plus mile per hour or anything, but Collin does not walk anybody and has extreme control over his changeup, fastball, cutter and curveball.�

Other pitchers in the rotation include Ian Kimbrell (7-1 with a 2.03 ERA), Cameron Hall (2.45 ERA), Pender, Derrick MacMillan or Chase Harper. Pender is Post 28’s closer and has earned 12 saves.

He is 2-0 as a starter with a 1.64 ERA. This marks the first time Spartanburg has been to the state tournament since it won back-to-back titles in 2003-04. Post 28 is the only team from the Palmetto State to win an American Legion World Series title, which came back in 1936. It has eight state titles.

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Ready to take next step Inman returns to Riley Park with higher goals in mind

BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS justin@theitem.com It was 42 years between Inman Post 45’s first appearance in the American Legion baseball state tournament and its return trip last year.

Showing that the program is on the rise, however, is the fact that not only is Inman back for a return trip, but Post 45 enters as the top seed from the upper state.

Inman will kick off the 2014 state tournament on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Riley Park against the winner of the lower state playin series – either Hartsville Manning-Santee or Georgetown.

“We’ve had good teams the last two years,” head coach Steve Skinner said.

“Hopefully it’s something we can build on and have teams that make it (to the state tournament) for years to come.”

Post 45 was eliminated last year by eventual state runner-up Florence, but Inman returns six players from that squad, including four who were starters.

“Hopefully we know a little more about what it’s going to be like having been there last year,” Skinner said. “I think that experience helps.”

Inman brings a 21-6 record into the tournament.

Post 45 won the League VI crown in a 1-game playoff with Union before sweeping Northeast Columbia in the first round and topping Fort Mill 3-1 in the second round.

“Winning six of seven in the playoffs is obviously a pretty good stepping stone for us,” Skinner said. “Hopefully (being the top seed from the upper state) will be good for us, but we’ll just have to wait and see how we match up with everyone when we get down there.”

Part of Inman’s success has been the fact that the majority of its returning experience is on the mound. Bradley Gentry is in his fifth year with the program while Jonah Corn, Nick Stewart and Jordan Edney are returning arms as well.

“I think that added year of experience has been good for them,” Skinner said.

“All of them were able to pitch in the state tournament last year and I think they’ve learned from that and pitched well this year.”

Offensively, Inman relies mainly on simply putting the ball in play, Skinner said.

“We’ve got some kids that have a little power, but we don’t hit a lot of home runs,” he said. “We mostly get base hits and (manufacture) our runs that way.”

The lineup has seemingly produced a new hero each night, Skinner added, and from top to bottom has come through in clutch spots.

Leading the way have been Dallas Betsill and Caleb Bruce on several occasions, but Jacob Scruggs, Gavin Bishop, Chris Stewart and Hunter Lipscomb have all been key contributors as well.

JOHN BYRUM / SPARTANBURG HERALD JOURNAL

Jonah Corn leads a veteran Inman pitching staff that looks to build on last year’s state tournament outing. Post 45 enters Saturday’s opener as the top seed from the upper state.

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