Child scalded, man jailed 3-year-old allegedly sprayed with hot water by sitter’s boyfriend BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com
SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2016
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SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894 3 SECTIONS, 24 PAGES | VOL. 121, NO. 241
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Sumter County Sheriff's Office arrested a man on Friday for allegedly spraying a 3-year-old boy with scalding water, causing secondand third-degree burns, reportedly because the child made a bowel movement in his pants and inside the shower on Monday. Steve Johnson, of 4627 Blanche Road, Lot 13, is charged with unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person for spraying the child’s buttocks and legs with scalding water using a shower wand while in the
4600 block of Blanche Road. According to the sheriff's office, the child screamed throughout the entire incident. The child was first taken to Palmetto Health Tuomey before being transported to Augusta Burn Center for treatment. JOHNSON Ken Bell, public information officer for the sheriff's office, said Johnson is the boyfriend of the child's babysitter. He said Johnson's girlfriend agreed to live in the same house
with the child and his mother rent free in exchange for caring for the boy. They were all friends, Bell said. He said the incident occurred when Johnson was visiting the home. Johnson faces a fine at the discretion of the court and a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted, he said. Bell said Johnson is charged with unlawful neglect instead of child abuse because he is considered a caregiver for the child. The penalties for both charges are essentially the same, he said.
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Above, a model train runs in front of the Turbeville Children’s Home. The home was purchased by the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in October 2015 and reopened in March. Below, Mike Dillard, new director of the children’s home, stands in front of the main office on Friday.
DEATHS, A7 Roger L. Regalado Joseph V. Brown Maxie L. Coleman Stevie L. Hall Willie M. Prince
Turbeville facility run by Pentecostal Holiness Church serves children from South Carolina
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After being closed for two years, Turbeville Children's Home has reopened its doors under new ownership. The home has been in existence in Turbeville since 1949 and was owned for 65 years by the South Carolina Free Will Baptist State Association. In February 2014, the association voted to close the home because it was not being able to operate at full capacity with the flow of income and expenses, according to a statement made on the home's former website. In October 2015, the home was purchased by the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. The facility is a division of Falcon Children's Home and Family Services,
a private nonprofit institution that also operates a children's home in Falcon, North Carolina. The children's home officially reopened on March 1, and the demand for it was immediately felt, said Mike Dillard, the new director of the facility. "A week before we opened, we received a call from the South Caroli-
Shaw spouses deliver gifts to Sumter police BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Shaw Air Force Base spouses delivered 124 gift bags and three cases of water to Sumter Police Department to show their support for the law enforcement agency on Thursday. A representative of the group who did not wish to share her name said the spouses prepared the gift bags on Wednesday night. She said the gifts were prepared by many people and she did not want to take the spotlight away from the group. Although this may not be some of the spouses' hometown, it is their home right now, she said. The Shaw group wants to show its support of local first responders during a time when there are some unpleasant things are happening across the country, she said. The representative said the spouses also plan to deliver gifts to other first responder agencies in Sumter and at Shaw within the next few weeks. Attached to each gift bag was a letter from the Shaw group stating that the spouses appreciate
SEE SPOUSES, PAGE A7
na Department of Social Services inquiring if we could house eight children," Dillard said. The home has a maximum capacity to house 36 children, and 26 are residing there. The children, ranging in age from seven to 17, came through DSS and may have a
SEE HOME, PAGE A7
Bishopville municipal election set for Nov. 8 BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Patrolman Michael Roberson lets his K-9 “ Riley” look inside the goody bag donated by the wives of Shaw Air Force Base on Thursday morning. The wives donated treats for the dogs and a bag of candy and snacks for the officer.
In addition to voting for president and other candidates in the general election, Bishopville residents will choose six city council members when they go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 8. The Bishopville Election Commission met Thursday and voted 2-0 to hold a special municipal election in concurrence with the general election. The special election was made necessary by a South Carolina Supreme Court ruling affirming the commission’s decision to invalidate an election for city council held in May 2015. That decision was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, which caused a delay of more than a year before a special election could be held. A vacancy on the council was also created by the death of Councilman Michael Morrow on May 11. Committee members Delphine Peterson and Meoceania Wells met with Bishopville City Attorney Will Wheeler, City Administrator Gregg McCutchen and Lee County Voter Registration Office Executive Director Stan Barnhill, who provided assistance to the committee members in making a decision. A third member of the commission,
SEE ELECTION, PAGE A7