June 5, 2014

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City balances, grows its budget

BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com (803) 774-1272 After months of juggling funding requests and adjusting figures, Sumter has evenly balanced its books.

Sumter City Council approved first reading of a balanced budget Tuesday, potentially paving the way for $58.8 million worth of city operations next

fiscal year. Some of those operations have been added since the city’s last hearing on the budget.

“We worked two months to get it in balance,” City Manager Deron McCormick told council. “We worked on the revenue we expected to come in, and we were able to do so without consideration of any tax increase.”

Vote allows downtown massage parlor

SEE BALANCED, PAGE A4

SEE PARLOR, PAGE A4

Judge will consider for 2nd time money Tuomey sets aside

open downtown when members voted to loosen zoning rules for operating in Sumter’s central business district.

Massage parlors are conditionally allowed in other areas of the city, but when a business owner recently

BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com (803) 774-1272 Relaxing the rules may make downtown Sumter a more relaxing place.

Sumter City Council paved the way for a new massage parlor and spa to

Top graduates prepare to move on

Amount needed to keep fight going in question

BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com (803) 774-1201 In the seemingly neverending legal battle between Tuomey Healthcare System and the federal government, the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a lower court to once again reconsider the amount of money the local hospital must set aside in order to continue its legal fight.

Facing a $239 million judgment, Tuomey argued to the appellate court that it could not afford to set aside more than $30 million while it appeals the nine-digit ruling against it. Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, have called for Tuomey to set aside $70 million, and back in April, Senior U.S. District Judge Margaret B. Seymour ruled in favor of the higher amount.

With its ruling, released

late Tuesday, the appellate court has now sent the issue back to Seymour’s bench for reconsideration. As part of the order, the appellate court calls for the parties involved to inform them of the motion’s status in the next 30 days.

This does not affect the decision by a federal jury declaring Tuomey had violated federal laws by signing local doctors to illegal contracts but only calls for a reconsideration of how much it needs to set aside to continue its fight.

Without any ruling, federal rules dictate Tuomey would have to set aside nearly $300 million to continue its appeal, an amount both sides have said would be impossible for the local hospital.

In fact, last month, Tuomey officials announced they were considering filing for bankruptcy should the appellate court decide the local

SEE TUOMEY, PAGE A8

Hospital’s board has new faces

BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com (803) 774-1201 The embattled Tuomey Healthcare System board of trustees has named two new members, filling vacant roles for the local hospital.

Both local attorney Ken Young and Roy Flynn, owner of Sumter Cut Rate Drug Store, will begin serving on the board immediately.

In addition, Dr. Cindy Reese, who currently serves on the board in her role as the hospital’s chief of staff, will be appointed to the board when she leaves that position next month. Dr. Mitchell Levi, who will become the new chief of staff on July 1, will take Reese’s position on the board, while Reese will

take the place of Dr. Sam Riddle, who rotates off the board after serving the maximum nine years allowed.

Back in February, three members of the board — Kim Harvin, Dr. Andy McFaddin and Dr. Kay Raffield — resigned, dropping the number of trustees below the minimum requirement. Hospital by-laws require at least 11 but no more than 15 people serve as trustees on the hospital’s board.

With the new additions, there are currently 12 members on the board, opening up the possibility of additional appointments.

“The nominating committee is currently reviewing other possible new board members,”

SEE BOARD, PAGE A8

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RAYTEVIA EVANS / THE SUMTER ITEM

Crestwood High School’s class of 2013-14 salutatorian Alyson Clyburn stands at the podium during a recent practice for class night and the school’s Friday evening commencement ceremony.

Sumter’s valedictorians, salutatorians reflect on high school years

BY RAYTEVIA EVANS revans@theitem.com (803) 774-1214

H

igh school graduations are in full swing, and in Sumter School District, moving forward and looking ahead are common themes among the county’s 2014 valedictorians and salutatorians. But before they take on the world, college, the military or other endeavors, they reflect on their high school careers, longtime friendships, achievements

primary election must be received by The Sumter Item no later than 5 p.m. today, whether by email or hand delivered to the newspaper’s office at 20 N. Magnolia St. The email address for letters to the

and the bonds they have created with their teachers.

“It’s been a wild ride here at Crestwood. I’ll be sad to see us go,” said Krystanna Acevedo, Crestwood High School’s 2013-14 valedictorian. “Crestwood is more than just a school for us.

We’ve all become a family.”

Before they queued up for “Pomp and Circumstance” during commencement practice at Lakewood High School on Wednesday afternoon, Superintendent Frank Baker described the high school graduation ex-

editor is letters@theitem.com. All letters must contain the full name plus address and telephone number of the writer for verification purposes only. Letters that exceed 350 words will be cut

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perience as “one of the most important events of your life,” which is why the district does everything it can to prepare for commencement and make it special for the graduates.

The six top students in the county admit their final year was not free of a little pressure and just as much friendly competition from their fellow classmates.

Acevedo and Crestwood salutatorian Alyson Clyburn were informed of their

SEE GRADUATES, PAGE A8

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THE SUMTER ITEM

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No bond in Davis Station shooting

BY JIM HILLEY (803) 774-1211 jim@theitem.com MANNING — Marco Johnson, a Summerton resident charged with two counts of attempted murder after a May 28 shooting incident at Dameon’s Social Club in Davis Station, was denied bond by Clarendon County Magistrate Judge Shayne Stephens on Tuesday in Manning.

Two men were shot, and one of the men, reportedly an employee of the club, was reported as being in stable but critical condition immediately after the shooting. No updates have been released on his condition since then.

Johnson turned himself in to Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office the day after the shooting. Public records indicate Johnson has been charged previously with criminal violations including disorderly conduct in January, criminal domestic violence and breach of peace in 2013, possession of crack cocaine in 2011 and attempted burglary in 2008.

Stephens set a court date of Aug. 1 for the attempted murder charges.

Shooting victim recovering Suspected gunman remains at large

BY ROB COTTINGHAM rcottingham@theitem.com (803) 774-1225 The victim of a recent shooting is recovering from his wounds, according to local authorities.

Officials with Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said the 20-year-old victim of a May 20 shooting that occurred in the 1000 block of Manning Road is expected to make a full recovery after the initial prognosis gave little hope of a rebound.

On May 20, officers responded to a convenience store on Manning Road in reference to a shooting. When they arrived, the victim was found lying on the floor of the business, still conscious but bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound to the neck.

He was rushed to a Columbia-area hospital where he was initially listed as being in critical condition. Odds of his

recovery seemed rather bleak after his condition worsened, causing him to fall into a coma. The victim remained unconscious for a couple weeks, just recently emerging from his sleep.

Travis Santell Miller, 25, of 25 Harrison St., who is the suspected gunman, remains at large, wanted on an attempted murder charge in connection to the crime.

According to witnesses, Miller and the victim got into an altercation inside the store just before the shooting. Miller then reportedly pulled out a small black handgun and MILLER fired at the victim.

Once investigators determined Miller was the suspect, a warrant was immediately issued for his arrest. On May 22, just two days after the shooting, Miller reportedly contacted law enforcement by phone and agreed to turn himself in to authorities.

Miller never followed through and has not been heard from since.

Since the reported negotiation, investigators with Sumter County Sheriff’s Office have followed numerous leads in

locating Miller, including a recent tip that led officials to a home in Williamsburg County where Miller was supposedly hiding. The fugitive wasn’t found at the location.

As a result, Miller was placed on Sumter County’s Top 10 Most Wanted list, and Sheriff Anthony Dennis extended his outrage to include those who are helping Miller remain hidden from law enforcement. Dennis said investigators have already begun targeting Miller’s suspected accomplices and said the perpetrators will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Officials urge the public to be on the lookout for Miller, who is known to frequent Sumter and Williamsburg counties. He is described as being a black man with brown eyes, 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing approximately 180 pounds. Miller was last seen driving a gray or silver Mercury Grand Marquis. He is considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information about Miller and his whereabouts is asked to call either Crimestoppers at (888) 274-6372 or the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office at (803) 436-2000.

Blue Star Memorial

STATE BRIEF FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS

Legislature approves budget compromise COLUMBIA — The South Carolina Legislature’s compromise on its budget plan for 2014-15 would expand full-day 4-year-old kindergarten, maintain aid to local governments and provide state workers a 2 percent pay raise.

The House voted 85-28 Wednesday on a compromise worked out between the chairmen of the House and Senate’s budget-writing committees.

The Senate agreed 34-10, allowing the budget to go to Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk before the legislative session ends today.

The Senate wanted to expand the state program for atrisk 4-year-olds to 14 additional districts. The compromise expands access to seven instead.

The compromise provides $10 million for a consultant’s recommended cyber-security upgrades and $18 million for new school buses.

Legislators also get a pay raise. Unless they opt out, they’ll get an additional $1,000 monthly for local expenses.

JIM HILLEY / THE SUMTER ITEM

Mayor Joseph McElveen Jr. addresses attendees at the dedication of a Blue Star Memorial at Memorial Park on Wednesday. The memorial, presented by the Council of Garden Clubs of Sumter, honors those who have served in the armed forces.

Suspected shooter’s bond set at $145K

BY ROB COTTINGHAM rcottingham@theitem.com (803) 774-1225 An attempted murder suspect remains in custody after bond amounts for several charges were issued Wednesday.

William Conneil Abrams, 36, of 410 Robney Drive, has a financial mountain to climb after a judge set a total bond amount of $145,000 for several charges, including attempted murder, possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, manufacturing an illegal substance and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Individually, the bonds were set as follows: • Attempted murder — $100,000;

• Possession with the intent to distribute — $15,000; • Manufacturing an illegal substance — $15,000; and • Possession of a firearm by a convicted felony — $15,000.

The sizeable bond amount could increase as the bonds for two additional drug charges levied against Abrams have not been assessed.

According to reports, Abrams was pulled over Monday night by a Sumter police officer for not wearing a seatbelt. As ofABRAMS ficers processed his information, a background check on Abrams revealed there was a warrant out for his arrest in connection to a shooting incident.

Officers then searched Abrams and found $1,438 in cash in his front pants pocket. Abrams was then taken to jail, and his car was towed.

During an inventory of Abrams’ car, a 2002 Crown Victoria, officers found a purple liquor bottle bag containing 38 grams of suspected marijuana in two plastic bags, 20.4 grams of suspected crack cocaine wrapped in three bags and a black digital scale.

As the inventory continued, officers found a 12-gauge shotgun, a .410 double-barrel shotgun, a 17-round magazine and a bag containing 109 rounds of 9 mm bullets.

Abrams’ criminal record reportedly prohibits him from possessing firearms or ammunition. He remained in Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center as of late Wednesday.

HOW TO REACH US IS YOUR PAPER MISSING? ARE YOU GOING ON VACATION? 20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter, S.C. 29150 (803) 774-1200 Jack Osteen Editor and Publisher Jack@theitem.com (803) 774-1238 Braden Bunch Senior News Editor bbunch@theitem.com (803) 774-1201 Waverly Williams Sales Manager wwilliams@theitem.com (803) 774-1237

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THE SUMTER ITEM

Beautifying campus

PHOTO PROVIDED

Kingsbury Elementary School third-grader Lee Wilson, right, assists Airman First Class Charlton Stitcher in planting a shrub recently. The Principal’s Council received some extra assistance beautifying the school on May 28 when members of the 20th EMS Squadron from Shaw Air Force Base came out to help the group plant shrubs around the school’s pavilion. The Principal’s Council is comprised of a representative from each homeroom in grades three through five. The students serve as the “ear” of administration, keeping abreast of issues important to students, and the children are involved in service-learning projects throughout the year.

POLICE BLOTTER CHARGES Kamil Izykowski, 32, of 215 Miami Ave. W., Apt. 4, Venice, Florida, was arrested at 10:02 a.m. on Tuesday and charged with possession of marijuana, 28 grams or less. According to reports, an officer on patrol on Interstate 95 observed a tan 1999 Oldsmobile Cutlass traveling at a high rate of speed and initiated a traffic stop. While waiting for Izykowski to produce paperwork on the vehicle, the officer noticed the driver’s hands were shaking. As the officer began to question Izykowski, the driver reportedly gave several significantly delayed responses. When the officer asked about illegal drugs, Izykowski reportedly would not maintain eye contact and looked straight down when asked about large sums of money. A free-air sniff conducted by a K-9 unit indicated the presence of drugs. A probable cause search reportedly yielded two large bundles of cash divided into different bags and a small amount of suspected marijuana. Izykowski reportedly told officers it was about $4,000 in currency. Officers found an additional sum of cash in Izykowski’s pocket, and the total cash seized was $8,475. Izykowski was arrested and taken to Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center.

STOLEN PROPERTY A John Deere 60-inch zeroturn commercial lawn mower, two Stihl weed trimmers, two Stihl edgers, a Stihl backpack blower

and a 16-inch Stihl chainsaw were reported stolen from a home in the 4400 block of Patriot Parkway at 6 a.m. on Monday. The items are valued at $10,425.

Two 36-inch RCA flat-screen TVs were reported stolen from a home in the 1500 block of Trappers Run Drive in Wedgefield at 11:35 a.m. on Monday. The items are valued at $600.

A Stihl weed trimmer, a Stihl backpack blower, a Stihl edger and a Stihl hedge trimmer were reportedly stolen from a business in the 40 block of Miller Road between 4:30 p.m. Friday and 5:30 p.m. Monday.

The items are valued at $1,300.

A Hewlett-Packard laptop computer and an Xbox gaming system were reportedly stolen from a home in the 400 block of Love street between 8 and 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday. The items are valued at $800.

A 5-by-8-foot utility trailer valued at $900 was reported stolen from a home in the 4100 block of Jennifer Court at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.

An air-conditioning unit valued at $1,500 was reported stolen from a home in the 3400 block of Hill Road at 8:51 a.m. on Tuesday.

EMS CALLS Sumter County EMS responded to 55 calls on Tuesday, including 42 medical calls, three motor-vehicle wrecks, three fire standby calls and seven other traumas.

Sumter County EMS responded to 36 calls on Wednesday, including 25 medical calls, six motor-vehicle wrecks and five other traumas.

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BALANCED FROM PAGE A1 The budget will become final if it receives second approval at the scheduled June 17 council meeting. The new finance plan will take effect when the new fiscal year begins July 1.

While the numbers now match up, they’ve also grown since the last time they were aired in public. When city council held a public hearing on the budget two weeks ago, expenditures for 2014-15 were projected at $57,602,890, some $700,000 ahead of the

PARLOR FROM PAGE A1 requested a permit to open a spa that offers therapeutic massage downtown, it was found massages were not allowed under the city’s stricter rules for the downtown area.

Massage parlors face stricter scrutiny by the city Planning Department, partly to ensure a proposed parlor is a reputable business.

“I asked if we could add ‘licensed’ or ‘therapeutic’ massage to the ordinance, because massage parlors have kind of a bad reputation,” said Mayor Joe McElveen during the discussion at Tuesday’s council meeting.

But planners and Sumter’s downtown development office don’t think the as-yet unnamed business will pose any problems.

“They primarily offer facials, waxing and other beauty-type services,” said Planning Director George McGregor.

Planners decided the parlor would be a good fit for the

city’s expected revenue of $56,903,726.

But by this week’s reading, both expenditures and revenues had increased to $58,800,674. Since council’s last meeting, financial staff reported a slight increase in property tax revenue projected for next year and updated tax millage figures from the county.

“We continued to refine it up to the very end,” McCormick said.

A big part of the increased spending, according to McCormick, is a new fire engine. The combined pumper and ladder truck is expected to cost $670,000.

“This is something we wanted and

downtown area, with McGregor noting a masseuse must be licensed by the state and is required to undergo training. In fact, Central Carolina Technical College offers classes in massage in the same area at its Health Sciences Center building on South Main Street.

“This is a modern and desirable local business,” McGregor said.

In fact, discussion about the issue Tuesday focused more on whether massage parlors should be changed to a permitted use, both downtown and in the other commercial zoning areas where they are now conditional. A conditional use requires an extra review step from planners before it opens, while a permitted business simply files for a regular license. The Planning Department recommended the change that could allow more massage businesses to open around Sumter.

“There’s not a lot of land use involved, so it makes sense to treat it as general permitting,” McGregor said. “They’re not operating late hours or creating traf-

THE SUMTER ITEM

needed but that got cut out” in previous rounds of budget trimming, he said, but the truck made it back into the budget through a borrowing measure. Paradoxically, that borrowed money also boosts the city’s revenue figures for next year, while the loan will be paid back through future budgets.

“You can’t just write off a check for a fire truck unless you’re flush with cash,” McCormick said. “It’s like buying a car. You can get a loan and pay it back over five years, but the truck will be used for 10 years or better.”

Some money has also been moved around to cover gaps in the budgets.

fic issues.”

But city council decided to allow downtown spas only as a conditional use.

“Historically, we’ve been very protective of the downtown area, and because of that, we move slowly to add uses,” McElveen said. “Be-

Sumter’s utility department will transfer $1,340,599 from its water and sewer fund into the general fund as a “franchise fee” for use of city right-ofways. An additional $498,000 will be moved from city reserve funds into the regular budget, although McCormick said those funds could go untouched throughout the budget year.

“The last couple times we had to do that, we didn’t touch a penny,” McCormick said, either because revenue surpassed expectations or the city didn’t spend as much money as was budgeted. “We still managed to be pretty thrifty. We always try to live within our means.”

cause (downtown) tends to have lower rentals, you could have a lot of uses we don’t want.”

In other news, council passed final reading approval annexing an undeveloped 46acre site on Deschamps Road into the city; approved a

$479,000 contract with B&B Construction of Sumter to replace a Calhoun Street water line; and received a report from Police Chief Russell Roark on a justice assistance grant for computer equipment to help local police combat cybercrime.

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Fixer Upper Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars American (N) American (N) American (HD) American (HD) Pawn Stars Criminal Minds: The Fallen Home- Criminal Minds: The Wheels on the Criminal Minds: Magnificent Light Flashpoint: Forget Oblivion Perfect Flashpoint: We Take Care of Our Flashpoint: Lawless murders. (HD) Bus... Missing bus. (HD) Conference murder. (HD) memory. (HD) Own $2 million truck. (HD) men (HD) (6:00) The Good Sister (‘14, Thriller) A Nanny’s Revenge (‘13, Drama) aac Jodi Lyn O’Keefe. Nanny seeks to Girl Fight (‘11, Drama) aac Anne Heche. A 16-year-old is assaulted and a A Nanny’s ReSonya Walger. (HD) avenge parents’ deaths. (HD) video of the attack is posted online. (HD) venge (‘13) (HD) Hardball with Chris (N) (HD) All in with Chris Hayes (HD) The Rachel Maddow Show (N) Lawrence O’Donnell (HD) All in with Chris Hayes (HD) Maddow (HD) Thunderman Haunted (HD) Instant (HD) Dad Run Full Hse Full Hse Full Hse Full Hse Friends (:36) Friends (:12) Friends Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Impact Wrestling (N) (HD) The Marine (‘06, Thriller) aa John Cena. (HD) (5:30) Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (‘07, Adventure) aaa The Bourne Ultimatum (‘07, Thriller) aaac Matt Damon. An amnesiac assassin tries to Dungeons and Dragons: The Book Johnny Depp. Pirate alliance battles corporation. (HD) uncover the secrets of his past. (HD) of Vile and Darkness (HD) Seinfeld: The Family Guy Pe- Family Guy Inher- Family Guy: Holy The Big Bang The Big Bang The Big Bang The Big Bang Conan Rob Riggle; Jon “Bones” The Pete Holmes Keys (HD) ter’s wish. itance.

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Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Jones. (N) (HD) Show (N) (6:15) Gun Glory (‘57, Western) aa The Last Sunset (‘61, Western) aaa Rock Hudson. A philosophical The Tarnished Angels (‘58, Drama) aac Rock (:45) Bend of the River (‘52, WestStewart Granger. Going straight. outlaw plays cat-and-mouse with a pursuing sheriff.

Hudson. A reporter has an extramarital affair. ern) aac James Stewart.

Outrageous 911 (HD) Outrageous 911 (HD) OMG EMT! (HD) OMG EMT! (HD) OMG EMT! (HD) OMG EMT! Castle: Food to Die For A chef is Castle: Overkill Competition for Castle: A Deadly Game Castle and Castle: A Deadly Affair Beckett has Hawaii Five-0: Powa Maka Moana Cold Justice (HD) found frozen to death. (HD) Beckett’s attention. (HD) Beckett confront feelings. (HD) an unexpected suspect. (HD) Pirate hijacking. (HD) World’s Dumbest...: Hotshots Jokers Jokers Jokers Jokers Carbonaro (N) Carbonaro truTV Top: Big Time Blunders (:02) Jokers Brady (:36) Brady (:12) Brady (:48) Who’s Boss: Sorority Sister Who’s Boss Queens (HD) Queens (HD) Queens (HD) Queens (HD) Raymond (HD) NCIS: Los Angeles: Imposters Navy NCIS: Los Angeles: Familia Mystery NCIS: Los Angeles: Lange, H. NCIS: Los Angeles: Cyber Threat Modern Family Modern Family: Law & Order: SEAL imposter. (HD) of Hetty. (HD) Callen’s past. (HD) Software engineer. (HD) (HD) Fizbo (HD) SVU: Hate (HD) L.A. Hair: Chair Battle Royale L.A. Hair Angela and Naja.

L.A. Hair (N) L.A. Hair L.A. Hair L.A. Hair Funniest Home Videos (HD) How I Met How I Met How I Met How I Met Salem Witch hunter. (HD) Salem Witch hunter. (HD) Parks (HD)

Can CBS boost viewership of ‘Mom’ through repetition?

BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH Get ready for more “Mom” (8:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14). CBS recently took a summer season mid-course correction. The network had hoped that viewers would settle for new comedies “Bad Teacher” and “Friends With Better Lives.” But they didn’t, because, well, they were terrible.

Instead, CBS is going to broadcast repeats of “Mom” in their place on Monday and Thursday nights, hoping that repetition of this modest freshman hit will bring more viewers in its second season.

This has happened before.

Years ago, summer repeats of “NCIS” helped it grow from a minor hit to the most-watched series on network television.

But CBS won’t only air repeats and reality-distraction series this summer. Last summer’s limited-run hit “Under the Dome” returns on June 30.

CBS will also introduce the legal thriller “Reckless” on June 29 and sci-fi drama “Extant” on July 9.

Few figures in television fought more forcefully for a year-round television schedule than Fox’s top executive Kevin Reilly. He argued that the networks should abandon the tradition of buying new pilots and announcing shows in May to premiere in the fall. To Reilly, TV had long since become a year-round affair.

Kevin Reilly lost his job last week.

Some argue that he was a victim of sagging numbers for “American Idol.” Perhaps he was a victim of his own standards and expectations. For a network dedicated to yearround programming, Fox’s summer series seemed dead on arrival. “24: Live Another Day” reminded fans that this great series was most timely in 2004.

The new drama “Gang Related” (9 p.m., TV-14) has failed to find a big audience for its predictable dialogue and obvious, stereotyped characters. Worse, the heavily promoted “I Wanna Marry ‘Harry’” is not only contemptuously stupid; it’s a ratings disaster.

• Speaking of summer series, “The Sixties” (9 p.m., CNN) returns to 1960-63, the most terrifying years of the Cold War, a time when nuclear conflict frequently seemed not just possible, but probable. History buffs and news junkies should feast

on “The World on the Brink” and its abundance of vintage news clips.

CULT CHOICE Reporters (Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman) unravel a political cover-up with the help of an inside informant (Hal Holbrook) in the 1976 thriller “All the President’s Men” (8 p.m., Esquire).

TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS • The gang reflects on Sheldon on “The Big Bang Theory” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG).

• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14) and “NBA Countdown” (8:30 p.m.) anticipate game one of the NBA Finals (9 p.m., ABC) between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.

• Over a barrel and beyond hope on “Elementary” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).

SERIES NOTES Jane Lynch hosts “Hollywood

Game Night” (8 p.m., NBC, TV14) * Missing persons on “The Vampire Diaries” (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-14) * Walden collaborates on “Two and a Half Men” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) * On two episodes of “Undateable” (NBC, TV-14): Nicki comes clean (9 p.m.); Justin gives Danny advice (9:30 p.m.) * Masks and deception on “The Originals” (9 p.m., CW, r, TV-14) * Carol’s birthday surprise on “The Millers” (9:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) * More auditions on “Last Comic Standing” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

LATE NIGHT Tom Cruise is scheduled on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (11 p.m., Comedy Central) * Rob Riggle, Jon “Bones” Jones and Echosmith appear on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) * Colin Hanks, Kevin Christy, Whitney Cummings and Jo Koy are booked on “Chelsea Lately” (11 p.m., E!) * Chrissie Hynde visits “The Colbert Report” (11:30 p.m., Comedy Central) * Hugh Jackman, Joe List and Lana Del

NBCUNIVERSAL MEDIA LLC

Jane Lynch, right, hosts as Darren Criss competes in a game of charades on “Hollywood Game Night” airing at 8 p.m. today on NBC. Rey appear on “Late Show With David Letterman” (11:35 p.m., CBS) * Jimmy Fallon welcomes Mike Myers, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Damon Albarn on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) * Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Jenny Slate and OneRepublic appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (11:35 p.m., ABC) *

Jonah Hill, Laura Dern and Nick Turner visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) * Craig Ferguson hosts John Waters and Yunjin Kim on “The Late Late Show” (12:35 a.m., CBS).

Copyright 2014, United Feature Syndicate

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THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014

RELIGION

Take concerns about your spouse to God

T

his summer will usher in a bevy of weddings and, with it, a new generation of spouses who will embark on one of most challenging and rewarding life experiences: marriage.

I know the idea of martial bliss isn’t shared by all, most obviously those who have a depleted perception of marriage. I’m speaking specifically of those in the faith community who have married and then divorced.

Let me first say that I am no expert on marriage, but I have been married long enough to make one spiritual observation that I guarantee will improve your marriage or set it ahead of the curve if you are yet to be married: Never verbally bash your spouse.

Those without a spiritual foundation would agree it is universally good advice, but it is especially important for believers who profess a Scriptural foundation for their faith.

I’ve been in the crowd when many of my married friends complain about the actions of their wives or husbands, sometimes in the name of humor and other times out of a seemingly overwhelming sense of frustration. Ever the dutiful conspirators, some friends saddle up

their own high horses to decry the actions of the accused. They all exit the conversation feeling better, but they are no closer to fixing the broken relationship.

In reality, the accuser moves further away from reconciliation. You’ve brought others into a very intimate situation. It’s not a fair fight. As vindicated as you might feel in that moment, bathing in the sympathies of your peers, you have created Faith Matters a deeper rift into the marriage.

JAMIE H. “But I just need WILSON to vent to someone,” you say.

Marriage is hard, so says I Corinthians 7:28. Only commercial jewelers try to sell the idea of perpetual marital happiness. You have to fight for the health of your relationships.

I can’t find one shred of evidence in Scripture where the Almighty condones the modern idea of venting, where we are allowed to air our complaints about another person to gain personal peace. As if simply verbalizing something has the power to grant us solutions to our problems.

What’s worse is that most of us aren’t conversing with people who might give us constructive advice about how to work through the problem. Instead we look to those who have a similar disposition to blame everyone but ourselves.

There is a power to grant us peace from the problems that plague marital relationships, even those that motivate us to bash our spouses. Scripture isn’t silent on the subject of marriage.

Throw a stone in a Christian bookstore, and you will likely hit a book on the biblical principles of marriage.

One of the most encouraging passages, I think, for couples in crisis, is Ephesians 3:20, which states that the Almighty is able to surpass our expectations in any situation, including marriages on the brink of crumbling.

You may feel alone in your frustrations, but know that you are not. You can have peace and comfort even if your spouse doesn’t share your desire for a healthy relationship. Take your concerns before the throne of God and not to the office water cooler.

Email Jamie H. Wilson at faithmattersumter@gmail.com.

THE SUMTER ITEM

RELIGION BRIEFS FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS

Religion in schools bill passes N.C. House panel RALEIGH, N.C. — Legislation designed to make clear how North Carolina students can participate in religious activities in public schools has cleared a House panel, even as a lawmaker warned that a phrase could lead to lawsuits.

The House Education Committee recommended legislation Tuesday passed by the state Senate last year making clear that students have the right to pray, share religious viewpoints and distribute religious literature in schools, with reasonable restrictions.

The bill says school coaches involved in extracurricular activities can be present for voluntary student prayers and may adopt “a respectful posture” during it. The bill doesn’t define the phrase.

Ministry to remove billboard with 1935 Hitler quote AUBURN, Ala. — The founder of a children’s ministry in Alabama says a billboard featuring a quote from Adolf Hitler has been covered and will be removed.

The Ledger-Enquirer of Columbus, Georgia, reported that the billboard at the Village Mall in Auburn, Alabama, features five smiling children beneath a quote from Hitler in a 1935 speech on the Nazi youth movement: “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.”

RELIGION

THE SUMTER ITEM

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014

2 local churches donate more than 2,000 books

BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com (803) 774-1250 The South Carolina United Methodist Conference set a goal to collect 1 million new, age-appropriate books for preschool and elementary-school children, which breaks down to roughly 1,000 books a church.

As of Tuesday, the 2014 annual conference had collected more than 310,000 books and were still counting, according to the Rev. Mary Johnson of Sumter’s St. James United Methodist Church.

Of that number, at least 2,739 came from Sumter: 1,247 books came from St. James as of Sunday and about 1,492 books as of Tuesday from Trinity United Methodist Church.

“We are very, very happy,” said Mowena Ashworth, an administrative assistant with Trinity. “The books we collected fortunately will benefit schools here in Sumter. We spoke with the district superintendent. We really want to identify the schools with the most need. Some grade levels maybe have a larger need than others.

Teachers will be able to pass out books to the children when school starts in August.”

St. James will also serve as a

distribution center to schools and organizations in the Sumter community.

“The goal is to place a book into the hands of children who otherwise may not own a book,” Johnson said. “It is our prayer that this will be a new beginning of a partnership between the faith community and the community at large to change the life of the children within Sumter County and surrounding areas one book at a time.”

Both congregations promoted the book drive at their churches.

Trinity partnered with its day school to collect about 100 books and also allowed people to order through a book catalogue to secure better prices, Ashworth said. St. James partnered with some local businesses as well as a sorority to add to its collection and held a book fair at Sumter Mall, Johnson said.

Other United Methodist churches that participated in Sumter include Aldersgate, St. John, St. Mark and St. Mark’s.

If you would like to make a book donation or financial contribution, you can contact a participating church.

If you are interested in receiving books for your organization, you can use the book request form at millionbookeffort.org.

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A7

LOCAL RELIGION BRIEFS FROM STAFF REPORTS

Sumter native recently named Southern Methodist president The Rev. Dr. Paul D. Thigpen, a native of Sumter, was elected president of the Southern Methodist Church at the 20th Session of the church’s general conference. The son of Paul L. Thigpen and the late Rosa Lee Thigpen, also of Sumter, he has served as a Southern Methodist pastor for 30 years at three churches including one in Summerton. He is currently in his 25th year at Philadelphia Southern THIGPEN Methodist Church in Darlington. He is married to Faye Thigpen, and the couple have two adult sons.

Candlelight memorial service slated for tonight at Tuomey Tuomey Chaplaincy Services will hold a Candlelight Memorial Service from 6 to 7 p.m. today in Tuomey Conference Room One, 129 N. Washington St. This is an opportunity to remember and celebrate the lives of loved ones who have died in recent months. For more information, call (803) 774-8757.

Faith-based groups can receive free training for disasters The Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium will offer a free Department of Homeland Securitycertified course titled “Mobilizing Faith-Based Community Organizations in Preparing for Disaster” from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 26 at Lawton Park Pavilion, 716 Prestwood Drive, Hartsville.

The course introduces vital emergency management concepts to faith-based community organizations’ leaders and seeks to educate emergency managers and first responders about the critical role such groups can play in strengthening preparedness.

Registration is required, and the deadline is June 12.

You can register online at http://bit.ly/1nfj7Bj. For more information, visit ruraltraining.org, email info@ruraltraining.org or call (877) 855-7372.

CHURCH NEWS Agape Outreach Ministries, 328 W. Liberty St., announces: * Saturday, June 14 — Car wash at 8 a.m. beside Simpson Hardware on West Liberty Street.

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, 2571 Joseph Lemon-Dingle Road, Jordan community, Manning, announces: * Sunday — 31st annual youth day celebration during 10 a.m. service. Michael J. Davis will speak.

Calvary Baptist Church, 459 Calvary Church Road, Bishopville, announces: * Saturday — Mid-Carolina singing at 6 p.m. featuring the Believers and Cedar Creek Quartet.

Canaan Missionary Baptist Church, 774 Douglas Ave., announces: * Sunday — Youth day service at 10:30 a.m. Evangelist Patricia Sumter will speak. * Monday-Friday, June 9-13 — Vacation Bible School 6-8 nightly. * Sunday, June 15 — Father’s Day service at 10:30 a.m. Pastor Jerome Sumter will speak.

Church of Christ, 313 Mooneyham Road, announces: * Sunday — Appreciation service for Minister John Turner at 11 a.m. The Rev. Tommy L. China will speak.

Church of Christ at Kingsbury Road, 215 Kingsbury Road, announces: * Sunday-Saturday, June 14 — Central Carolina School of Preaching Lectureship as follows: 9:45 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday; 7 nightly Monday-Friday; and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday.

Church of God of Prophecy, 1670 S. Guignard Drive, announces: * Sunday — Sixth anniversary celebration of the Gospel Kings at 4 p.m. On the program: New Boyz; Cedric Bennett and Chosen; Heavenly Voices; and more.

Community Church of Praise, 562 S. Pike Road, announces: * Saturday — “Get real let’s talk session” at 4 p.m. * Sunday — Communion Sunday at 10:15 a.m. * Friday, June 13 — Glory night service at 7:30 p.m. Pastor Clarence Hunter will speak. * Sunday, June 15 — Youth Sunday at 10:15 a.m. Evangelist Lawson will speak.

Concord Baptist Church, 1885 Myrtle Beach Highway, announces: * Sunday-Friday, June 22-27 — Vacation Bible School 6-8:30 nightly for preschool through fifth grade. Supper provided.

Corinth Missionary Baptist Church, 25 Community St., announces: * Sunday, June 15 — Father’s Day / men’s day celebration at 10:30 a.m. * Sunday, June 22 — Homecom-

ing celebration at 5 p.m. The Rev. Dr. James Blassingame will speak. * Sunday, June 29 — Youth fifth Sunday service. Youth will conduct contemporary worship beginning with 9:30 a.m. church school.

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

Faith Baptist Church, 821 N. Main St., announces: * Sunday — Seventh anniversary of the church will be celebrated at 4 p.m. The Rev. Dr. Harry Clark will speak.

Fellowship Baptist Church, 705 W. Huggins St., Manning, announces: * Friday-Saturday, June 13-14 — Missionary Conference at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday. Pastor Lucretia Pugh will speak on Friday. Saturday’s speakers will be Pastor Rosa Fulton and Prophetess Cheryl Graham.

Green Hill Missionary Baptist Church, 1260 Green Hill Church Road, Alcolu, announces: * Monday-Friday, June 9-13 — Vacation Bible School 6-8 nightly.

High Hills AME Church, 6780 Meeting House Road, Dalzell, announces: * Friday-Sunday, June 13-15 — Men’s retreat as follows: 6:30 p.m. Friday, the forum and registration; 6 a.m. Saturday, Bible study and Christian education; and 10 a.m. Sunday, worship.

Various preachers, professionals and presenters will speak.

Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church, 803 S. Harvin St., announces: * Today-Friday — Annual spiritual growth worship at 7 nightly.

Tonight’s speaker is Pastor J.W. Hester. Pastor Isaac Holt will speak on Friday. Youth Revival will also be held at 7 nightly at the Marion H. Newton Family Life Center with Pastor Nate Brock, Minister Kizzy McDonald and Pastor Andrew Ross.

Joshua Baptist Church, 5200 Live Oak Road, Dalzell, announces: * Sunday — Youth day celebration during morning worship. * Monday-Friday, June 9-13 — Vacation Bible School 6-8 nightly. * Sunday, June 15 — Father’s Day / men’s day program during morning worship. * Sunday, June 29 — Youth service. Church school begins at 9 a.m. followed by 10 a.m. worship.

Knitting Hearts Ministry, meets at Bethesda Church of God, 2730 Broad St., announces: * Saturday, June 14 — Knitting

Hearts Café 10 a.m.-noon. Jenny Hagemeyer, of Promised Land Ministries, will speak. Knitting Hearts is a community-wide, multi-denominational women’s ministry. www.knittingheartsministry.org Land Flowing with Milk & Honey Ministry, 1335 Peach Orchard Road, announces: * Sunday — Pentecost service and baby dedication at 11 a.m. * Sunday, June 15 — Father’s Day service at 11 a.m. Evangelist Tonya D. Mack will speak. * Saturday, June 28 — Icebreaker for all youth ages 13-25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring guest speakers, open forum and discussion.

Mount Carmel Freewill Baptist Church, 209 Reardon St., Manning, announces: * Saturday — Joy Night services featuring area groups, choirs and praise dancers.

Mount Olive AME Church, 2738 Woodrow Road, announces: * Sunday — Dedication service at 10:30 a.m. for the church addition. The Right Rev. Richard Franklin Norris will speak.

Mount Pisgah AME Church, 217 W. Bartlette St., announces: * Tuesday-Friday, June 10-13 — Vacation Bible School 6-8 nightly.

Mount Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church, 7355 Camden Highway, Rembert, announces: * Sunday — Youth day celebration during morning worship. Dr. Maggie Glover will speak. Vacation Bible School opening will be held at 6:30 p.m. The Rev. George Windly Jr. will speak. * Monday-Friday, June 9-13 — Vacation Bible School 6:30-8:30 nightly. * Sunday, June 15 — Men’s day / Father’s Day celebration during morning service. * Sunday, June 22 — 151st anniversary of the church will be celebrated during morning service. * Sunday, June 29 — Fifth Sunday youth day celebration during morning service.

Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 325 Fulton St., announces: * Sunday — Children’s day / graduate recognition at 10:45 a.m. * Monday-Friday, June 9-13 — Vacation Bible School 8-11 a.m. * Sunday, June 15 — Father’s Day / brotherhood anniversary at 10:45 a.m.

Mulberry Missionary Baptist Church, 1400 Mulberry Church Road, announces: * Sunday — 145th church anniversary celebration at 10:45 a.m.

Pastor Nate Brock will speak. * Monday-Friday, June 16-20 — Vacation Bible School at 5:30 nightly. * Sunday, June 22 — Pastor’s Aide 35th anniversary celebra-

tion at 10:45 a.m. The Rev. Edmond Hamilton will speak.

New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, 3249 U.S. 15 S., announces: * Sunday — Graduation and youth day at 10 a.m. * Monday-Friday, June 9-13 — Vacation Bible School 6-8 nightly. * Monday-Friday, June 16-20 — Revival at 7 nightly. The Rev. Dr. Charles Jackson Sr. and the Rev. Charles Jackson Jr. will speak.

New Testament Lighthouse Church, 1114 Boulevard Road, announces: * Friday-Saturday — Yard sale, bake sale and hot dog sale from 7 a.m. until each day.

Orangehill AME Church, 3035 S. King Highway, Wedgefield, announces: * Saturday — Wedgefield community food pantry noon-2 p.m.

Distributing food for registered applicants. Call (803) 506-4323.

Orangehill Independent Methodist Church, 3005 S. King Highway, Wedgefield, announces: * Sunday — Children’s day service at 10 a.m. Minister Jay Prescott will speak. * Sunday, June 15 — Father’s Day service at 10 a.m. The Rev. Matthew Kelley Jr. will speak. * Sunday, June 22 — Celebration at 3 p.m. for the 130th anniversary of the church. Elder Thomas Junious will speak.

Paxville Baptist Church, 10278 Lewis Road, Manning, announces: * Sunday, June 22 — Gospel singing at 6:30 p.m. featuring Believers Quartet.

Pine Grove AME Church, 41 Pine Grove Road, Rembert, announces: * Sunday — Children’s day celebration during 11 a.m. service. * Monday-Thursday, June 9-12 — Vacation Bible School at 6:30 nightly. * Sunday, June 15 — Father’s Day celebration during morning service. * Sunday, June 22 — The BHN Singers will celebrate their anniversary at 3 p.m.

Pine Hill AME Church, 1505 U.S. 521 S., announces: * Sunday — Children’s day with awards and promotions at 10:45 a.m. * Sunday, June 15 — Father’s Day program at 10:45 a.m. * Monday-Friday, June 16-20 — Vacation Bible School 6-8 nightly for children and adults. Refreshments.

Pinewood Baptist Church, S.C. 261, Pinewood, announces: * Sunday-Friday, June 13 — Vacation Bible School for ages 3 through adult 6-9 p.m. Sunday and 6:30-9 nightly MondayThursday. Family night and commencement will be held at

6:30 p.m. Friday followed by supper. Call (803) 452-5373 or visit www.pinewoodbaptist.org.

Quinn Chapel AME Church, 2400 Queen Chapel Road, announces: * Sunday — 166th church anniversary and dedication celebration at 4 p.m. The Rev. Dr. Robert L. McCants will speak.

Shaw Heights Baptist Church, 2030 Peach Orchard Road, announces: * Sunday — 50th anniversary and homecoming as follows: 9-10:30 a.m., fellowship; 11 a.m., worship; noon, lunch; and 2 p.m. celebration service. RSVP to (803) 499-4997 or shbc@ftc-i. net.

St. James United Methodist Church, 720 Broad St., announces: * Monday-Friday, June 9-13 — Vacation Bible School 6-8 nightly.

St. John Baptist Church, 3944 Brewer Road, Manning, announces: * Wednesday-Friday, June 11-13 — Revival at 7:30 nightly. The Rev. Terry Johnson will speak.

St. Paul AME Church, 835 Plowden Mill Road, announces: * Sunday — Male chorus anniversary program at 4 p.m. * Wednesday-Friday, June 11-13 — Revival at 7 nightly. Dr. Charles Young will speak on Wednesday and Thursday. Minister Patrick Outler will serve as youth speaker on Friday. * Sunday, June 15 — Father’s Day celebration at 10 a.m. * Monday-Friday, June 16-20 — Vacation Bible School 6-8 nightly. * Sunday, June 22 — Friends and family day at 10 a.m. * Sunday, June 29 — Children’s day / awards and promotions day at 10 a.m.

Sumter Baptist Missionary and Educational Association, 508 W. Liberty St, announces: * Saturday-Sunday — 66th annual session of congress of Christian education will be held at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 325 W. Fulton St., as follows: 1:45-2:30 p.m. Saturday, school of methodology; and 4-4:45 p.m. Sunday, talent presentation and oratorical presentation. Deacon Hallie G. Wilson Jr., congress president, and Minister Earlene Howell-Smith, congress dean, will speak.

Taw Caw Missionary Baptist Church, 1130 Granby Lane, Summerton, announces: * Sunday — Children’s day / graduate recognition during 11 a.m. worship. * Monday-Friday, June 9-13 — Vacation Bible School 6-8 nightly. All ages are welcome.

Union Station AME Church, 945 S. Main St., announces: * Monday-Friday, June 9-13 — Vacation Bible School 5:30-8 nightly.

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LOCAL

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014

STUDENTS HONORED Crestwood High School Krystanna May Acevedo — Valedictorian Alyson Elizabeth Clyburn — Salutatorian Lakewood High School Taylor Page Fletcher — Valedictorian Angel Noel Christmas — Salutatorian Sumter High School Kayla Levy — Valedictorian Kirstin Wood — Salutatorian

GRADUATION SCHEDULE Lakewood High School graduation 3 p.m. Friday at the Sumter County Civic Center Crestwood High School graduation 7 p.m. Friday at the Sumter County Civic Center Sumter High School graduation 9 a.m. Saturday at the Sumter County Civic Center ∙ Tickets are required for each commencement ceremony.

GRADUATES FROM PAGE A1 achievements and the possibility that they were at the top of their class. Clyburn said it was simply a question of who would be No. 1.

“I felt a little pressure from family because it was just the question of who was No. 1 or No. 2. They would say, ‘Come on, Alyson. You can do this,’” Clyburn said. “So there was a little pressure.”

Lakewood High School valedictorian Taylor Fletcher and Angel Christmas were in honors classes and became a tight-knit bunch with a small group of classmates and teachers. And in an effort to push each other, the competition was always hot.

“It was really hard. In honors classes when we would get our grades back, everyone would ask you, ‘What did you get?’” Christmas said. “There was a lot of competition.”

Sumter High School valedictorian Kayla Levy and salutatorian Kirstin Wood said the competition was definitely there and pushed them to do well. Levy said some of the pressure can even come from within.

“I think some of the pressure comes from yourself mentally,” Levy said. “It wasn’t a big goal to take the top spots, but you want to do the best you can.”

Wood said she is extremely competi-

BOARD FROM PAGE A1 said Brenda Chase, spokeswoman for Tuomey.

Until then, however, the board will continue to operate with its current makeup.

“We are pleased that Roy, Mitchell and

TUOMEY FROM PAGE A1 hospital needed to set aside the larger amount.

Despite the lack of a monetary decision by the higher court, Tuomey officials responded optimistically to the ruling.

“Tuomey is very encouraged by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent ruling,” said interim President and CEO Michael Schwartz. “We are still hopeful for a resolution that will leave Tuomey serving the people of this community.”

Now approaching its tenth year, the battle between the local hospital and the federal government has taken various twists and turns, appearing both before the district court and appellate court on numerous occasions.

‘Learning is a lifelong commitment. Never stop learning, and be willing to continue to learn in the world and in life..’

KAYLA LEVY Sumter High School valedictorian tive and attributes that characteristic to skipping a grade after moving to the Sumter area with her family.

“I’m from Washington state. I’m a military brat, and my family moved here in the middle of eighth grade. I skipped a grade and honestly, that’s probably why I was so competitive,” Wood said. “The group I started with and the group I’m with now are totally different. My classmates before were competitive, but the class I’m with now is very competitive. I mean, it’s cutthroat. But it pushed me to study and do well.”

This week, these students will officially end their high school careers and take on even more challenges in an effort to reach their career goals. Some are graduating and parting ways with friends after bonding with them since

Ken have agreed to serve on the Tuomey board, and we look forward to their service,” said board Chairman John Brabham.

“They will bring a great deal of knowledge and expertise to our group. I must also thank Dr. Riddle for his service over the last nine years. He has been dedicated to Tuomey in a very difficult time, and we value his leadership and service.”

Last year, during a retrial of the case that started in 2005, a U.S. District Court jury determined that, because of the illegal contracts, Tuomey had ultimately submitted more than 21,000 false Medicare claims for four years, ending in 2009. After the verdict, Seymour awarded the nine-digit judgment in favor of the federal government.

For its part, while still appealing the verdict against it, the local hospital contin-

ues to say it remains open to a settlement agreement with the federal government. In addition to creating the possibility of a lower financial burden for the hospital to pursue its appeal, the recent ruling also creates more time for the two sides to negotiate.

“It has been and always will be our goal to settle this case,” Schwartz said.

“Hopefully, both sides can come to a reasonable agreement.”

THE SUMTER ITEM elementary and middle school.

Through honors programs, extracurricular activities and organizations and the International Baccalaureate program, the students have learned time management, leadership skills and how to always challenge themselves.

“It was an amazing experience, and it’s sad that we have to go,” Christmas said.

For their upcoming commencement ceremonies, the valedictorians and salutatorians will give a speech to say goodbye, to encourage and to empower their fellow 2014 graduates. Some of the common themes among these six young women include continuing on even after making mistakes, turning the page and starting a new chapter and moving forward.

Collectively, their future endeavors include nursing, psychology, computer science, international studies, business and accounting, medical school, the Peace Corps and Doctors without Borders. They’ll leave high school and take with them fond memories of close friends, singing and participating in band and being a part of a team through high school sports.

And although their future options are endless, Levy provided the best advice to graduates everywhere.

“Learning is a lifelong commitment,” she said. “Never stop learning, and be willing to continue to learn in the world and in life.”

Subscribe today, and stay in the loop

(803) 774-1200

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

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014 H.G. Osteen 1870-1955 Founder, The Item

H.D. Osteen 1904-1987 The Item

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A9

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

REMEMBERING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY:

a tribute to Ernie Pyle The son of tenant farming parents in west-central Indiana, Ernie Pyle became history’s greatest war correspondent. When Pyle was killed by a Japanese machine gun bullet on the tiny Pacific island of Ie Shima in 1945, his columns were being delivered to more than 14 million homes, according to his New York Times obituary.

During the war, Pyle wrote about the hardships and bravery of the common soldier, not grand strategy. His description of the G.I.’s life was more important to families on the home front than battlefront tactics of Gens. Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George Patton or Omar Bradley.

Before to the United States’ entry into World War II, Pyle traveled to England and wrote about the Nazi’s continual bombing of London. His columns helped move the mood of America from isolationism to sympathy for the stubborn refusal of Great Britain to succumb to the will of Adolf Hitler.

The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist’s legacy rests in his words and the impact they had on Americans before and during a war that threatened to take the world behind a curtain of fascism. His columns open a window to the hardships endured by the common U.S. soldier during World War II and serve today to honor what has been called “The Greatest Generation.”

In remembrance of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, The Sumter Item will run columns by Pyle today and Friday. This column and the ones running in Friday’s edition were written immediately after the invasion.

A pure miracle N

ORMANDY BEACHHEAD, June 12, 1944 — Due to a last-minute alteration in the arrangements, I didn’t arrive on the beachhead until the morning after D-day, after our first wave of assault troops had hit the shore.

By the time we got here the beaches had been taken and the fighting had moved a couple of miles inland. All that remained on the beach was some sniping and artillery fire, and the occasional startling blast of a mine geysering brown sand into the air. That plus a gigantic and pitiful litter of wreckage along miles of shoreline.

Submerged tanks and overturned boats and burned trucks and shell-shattered jeeps and sad little personal belongings were strewn all over these bitter sands. That plus the bodies of soldiers lying in rows covered with blankets, the toes of their shoes sticking up in a line as though on drill.

And other bodies, uncollected, still sprawling grotesquely in the sand or half hidden by the high grass beyond the beach.

That plus an intense, grim determination of work-weary men to get this chaotic beach organized and get all the vital supplies and the reinforcements moving more rapidly over it from the stacked-up ships standing in droves out to sea.

••• Now that it is over it seems to me a pure miracle that we ever took the beach at all. For some of our units it was easy, but in this special sector where I am now our troops faced such odds that our getting ashore was like my whipping Joe Louis down to a pulp.

In this column I want to tell you what the opening of the second front in this one sector entailed, so that you can know

and appreciate and forever be humbly grateful to those both dead and alive who did it for you.

Ashore, facing us, were more enemy troops than we had in our assault waves. The advantages were all theirs, the disadvantages all ours. The Germans were dug into positions that they had been working on for months, although these were not yet all complete. A one-hundred-foot bluff a couple of hundred yards back from the beach had great concrete gun emplacements built right into the hilltop. These opened to the sides instead of to the front, thus making it very hard for naval fire from the sea to reach them. They could shoot parallel with the beach and cover every foot of it for miles with artillery fire.

Then they had hidden machine-gun nests on the forward slopes, with crossfire taking in every inch of the beach. These nests were connected by networks of trenches, so that the German gunners could move about without exposing themselves.

Throughout the length of the beach, running zigzag a couple of hundred yards back from the shoreline, was an immense V-shaped ditch fifteen feet deep.

Nothing could cross it, not even men on foot, until fills had been made. And in other places at the far end of the beach, where the ground is flatter, they had great concrete walls.

These were blasted by our naval gunfire or by explosives set by hand after we got ashore.

Our only exits from the beach were several swales or valleys, each about one hundred yards wide. The Germans made the most of these funnellike traps, sowing them with buried mines. They contained, also, barbed-wire entanglements with mines attached, hidden ditches, and machine

plan for units to be inland, attacking gun positions from behind, within a matter of minutes after the first men hit the beach.

I have always been amazed at the speed called for in these plans. You’ll have schedules calling for engineers to land at H-hour plus two minutes, and service troops at H-hour plus thirty minutes, and even for press censors to land at H-hour plus seventy-five minutes. But in the attack on this special portion of the beach where I am — the worst we had, incidentally — the schedule didn’t hold.

Our men simply could not get past the beach. They were pinned down right on the water’s edge by an inhuman wall of fire from the bluff. Our first waves were on that beach for hours, instead of a few minutes, before they could begin working inland.

You can still see the foxholes they dug at the very edge of the water, in the sand and the small, jumbled rocks that form parts of the beach.

Medical corpsmen attended the wounded as best they could. Men were killed as they stepped out of landing craft.

An officer whom I knew got a bullet through the head just as the door of his landing craft was let down. Some men were drowned.

••• The first crack in the beach defenses was finally accomBeach landings are planned plished by terrific and wonderto a schedule that is set far ahead of time. They all have to ful naval gunfire, which knocked out the big emplacebe timed, in order for everyments. They tell epic stories of thing to mesh and for the foldestroyers that ran right up lowing waves of troops to be into shallow water and had it standing off the beach and out point-blank with the big ready to land at the right moguns in those concrete emment.

As the landings are planned, placements ashore.

When the heavy fire stopped, some elements of the assault our men were organized by their force are to break through officers and pushed on inland, quickly, push on inland, and attack the most obvious enemy circling machine-gun nests and strong points. It is usually the taking them from the rear.

guns firing from the slopes.

This is what was on the shore. But our men had to go through a maze nearly as deadly as this before they even got ashore. Underwater obstacles were terrific. The Germans had whole fields of evil devices under the water to catch our boats. Even now, several days after the landing, we have cleared only channels through them and cannot yet approach the whole length of the beach with our ships. Even now some ship or boat hits one of these mines every day and is knocked out of commission.

The Germans had masses of those great six-pronged spiders, made of railroad iron and standing shoulder-high, just beneath the surface of the water for our landing craft to run into. They also had huge logs buried in the sand, pointing upward and outward, their tops just below the water. Attached to these logs were mines.

In addition to these obstacles they had floating mines offshore, land mines buried in the sand of the beach, and more mines in checkerboard rows in the tall grass beyond the sand.

And the enemy had four men on shore for every three men we had approaching the shore.

And yet we got on.

As one officer said, the only way to take a beach is to face it and keep going. It is costly at first, but it’s the only way. If the men are pinned down on the beach, dug in and out of action, they might as well not be there at all. They hold up the waves behind them, and nothing is being gained.

Our men were pinned down for a while, but finally they stood up and went through, and so we took that beach and accomplished our landing. We did it with every advantage on the enemy’s side and every disadvantage on ours. In the light of a couple of days of retrospection, we sit and talk and call it a miracle that our men ever got on at all or were able to stay on.

Before long it will be permitted to name the units that did it. Then you will know to whom this glory should go.

They suffered casualties. And yet if you take the entire beachhead assault, including other units that had a much easier time, our total casualties in driving this wedge into the continent of Europe were remarkably low – only a fraction, in fact, of what our commanders had been prepared to accept.

And these units that were so battered and went through such hell are still, right at this moment, pushing on inland without rest, their spirits high, their egotism in victory almost reaching the smart-alecky stage.

Their tails are up. “We’ve done it again,” they say. They figure that the rest of the army isn’t needed at all. Which proves that, while their judgment in this regard is bad, they certainly have the spirit that wins battles and eventually wars.

Permission to distribute and republish Ernie Pyle’s columns was given by the Scripps Howard Foundation.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014

AROUND TOWN The Clarendon County Democratic Party will meet today at the Manning Restaurant, 476 N. Brooks St., Manning. The executive committee will meet at 6 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. with the meeting beginning at 7 p.m.

The Transatlantic Brides and Parents Association (a British heritage society) will meet at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 6, at the Spectrum Senior Center, Pinewood Road. All British ex-pats are invited. Call Josie at (803) 775-8052.

The Lincoln High School Class of 1964 class reunion will be held Friday-Sunday, June 6-8, as follows: Friday, registration / drop-in 5-7:30 p.m. at South Sumter Resource Center, 337 Manning Ave.; Saturday, 9-11 a.m. breakfast and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. activities at South Sumter Resource Center, and 6-10 p.m. banquet at Lincoln High School cafeteria, 26 Council St.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. worship service at St. Paul AME Church, 835 Plowden Mill Road, with luncheon to follow. For information, call Frances Woods at (803) 773-3804, Lillie Wilson at (803) 775-9088 or Bertha Willis at (803) 775-9660.

Lincoln High School Class of 1960 will meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 7, at the Alumni Building on Council Street. All class members are invited to attend. We are finalizing plans for the 2014 gathering. Call Lucile Davis at (803) 775-6253 or Louis Ragin at (803) 778-2715.

Mayewood High School Class of 1976 will meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 7, at Mayewood Middle School. All classmates are invited to attend.

“Gospel Fest by the Pond,” sponsored by the Mary McLeod Bethune Museum Development Association, will be held 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, at 1940 Mary McLeod Bethune Road and S.C. 154, Mayesville. On the program: Higher Calling; Sumter Violinares; New Generation; the Singing Jubilees; the Chosen Generation; and the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Gospel Choir. Event will also feature a silent auction of various items, raffles of quilts and various items and numerous vendors.

Bring your lawn chair. Call (803) 453-5014.

The Campbell Soup friends lunch group will meet at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 7, at Golden Corral.

The Sumter Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10, at Shiloh-Randolph Manor, 125 W. Bartlette St. Mary Ingram, ADA coordinator of Santee Wateree RTA, will speak. The spotlight will shine on Belle Mosley and the associate member is Cynthia Faulkner.

Transportation provided within the coverage area.

Contact Debra Canty, chapter president, at DebraCanC2@frontier.com or (803) 775-5792. For more pertinent information or for chapter updates, call the 24/7 recorded message line at (206) 376-5992.

The Alzheimer’s Association will offer “Conversations About Dementia: Tips for Family Conversations,” an education program, 10:30 a.m.-noon on Thursday, June 19, at the Sumter County Library, 111 N. Harvin St. Call (803) 7913430 to pre-register.

The Lincoln High School Preservation Alumni Association will sponsor a dinner fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, June 20, at the Lincoln High School gymnasium, 26 Council St. Cost is $7 per dinner and consists of turkey wing or baked chicken, seasoned rice, butterbeans, rolls and a drink. Dine in or take out.

Call James L. Green at (803) 968-4173.

The Sumter Combat Veterans Group will meet at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 20, at the South HOPE Center, 1125 S. Lafayette Drive. All area veterans are invited.

In observance of homeownership month, a housing fair will be held 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, at South Sumter Resource Center, 337 Manning Ave. Find out if you qualify for a home. There will be refreshments, door prizes and fun for children. Call (803) 436-2276.

The Sumter Branch NAACP will meet at 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 22, at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, 3259 U.S. 15 South.

FYI Hillcrest High School Class of 1984 is planning a class reunion for Aug. 8-10. If you are a member of this class or know someone who is, contact Dianna Adams (Miller) at (301) 471-7250, adams_dianna@yahoo.com or visit http://hhs1984wildcats.com.

The 101st Airborne Division Vietnam Veterans Organization will hold its 20th Annual Reunion Aug. 28-30, in Charleston. All who served with the

The last word ARIES (March 21-April 19): in astrology Clean up your EUGENIA LAST unfinished business before taking on work for someone else. Don’t take criticism personally.

Consider suggestions, but make decisions based on what works best for you. Take action and show how capable and valuable you are.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Embrace a challenge. Turn whatever you do into an interesting event, offering information as well as social interaction. Romance is on the rise and will enhance your personal life.

Express your plans and get the ball rolling.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t expect everyone to agree with you.

Do your best to make sure you have covered all possibilities before sharing your ideas. You’ll do better working on your own than in a group situation. Don’t stop until you reach your destination.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don’t let anyone take advantage of you.

A change in the way others view you will cause uncertainty. Be clear regarding what you have to offer and what you expect in return.

Maintaining equality will make a difference.

101st Division in Vietnam, their guests and supporters, are invited. Call (803) 5063120 or visit www.101namvet.com.

Are you a breast cancer survivor? Maggie L. Richardson is seeking other survivors to form a music group and give back to the community. If you are interested in joining, contact her at mlrminstry2012@gmail.com or (803) 236-9086.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Dig deep and get the details and facts you require to make a good decision.

Don’t be fooled by what others do.

Make up your own mind based on what works best for you. Take action rather than being a follower.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Uncertainty will kick in if you question your direction. Remember what you have done in the past and use your expertise to push forward. Lack of confidence must not hold you back. Success is within reach if you don’t hesitate.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Make home improvements. The change will do you good and help you sort through any emotional matters that surface. Honesty will be required, but don’t expect others to want to hear the truth.

Put the past behind you.

DAILY PLANNER

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEATHER

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2014

AccuWeather® five-day forecast for Sumter TODAY

TONIGHT

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

A few p.m. t-storms, some severe

Heavy t-storms early; cloudy

A thunderstorm in the afternoon

An afternoon shower or t-storm

Sunny to partly cloudy and humid

Some sun with a t-storm; humid

91°

71°

88° / 70°

88° / 68°

89° / 67°

90° / 71°

Chance of rain: 65%

Chance of rain: 65%

Chance of rain: 55%

Chance of rain: 60%

Chance of rain: 15%

Chance of rain: 50%

Winds: SW 8-16 mph

Winds: SW 6-12 mph

Winds: N 4-8 mph

Winds: ESE 6-12 mph

Winds: ESE 4-8 mph

Winds: S 4-8 mph

TODAY’S SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER

Gaffney 90/67 Spartanburg 90/67

Greenville 90/67

Columbia 93/70

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

IN THE MOUNTAINS

Sumter 91/71

Aiken 92/68

ON THE COAST

Charleston 91/72

Today: Partly sunny; a couple of strong thunderstorms. High 85 to 92.

Friday: A couple of showers and a thunderstorm. High 85 to 93.

LOCAL ALMANAC

LAKE LEVELS

SUMTER THROUGH 4 P.M. YESTERDAY

Today Hi/Lo/W 88/70/t 71/49/s 95/76/s 73/49/s 91/74/s 79/62/pc 88/72/pc 72/59/r 92/72/pc 76/59/r 106/78/s 70/54/pc 81/62/t

SUN AND MOON 7 a.m. yest.

358.09 74.53 75.36 97.36

24-hr chg -0.02 -0.03 +0.01 -0.01

Sunrise 6:11 a.m.

Moonrise 1:11 p.m.

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

trace trace 0.65" 15.57" 18.99" 18.27"

NATIONAL CITIES 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

91° 68° 86° 63° 99° in 1985 50° in 1988

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

Fri. Hi/Lo/W 88/69/t 77/54/s 95/75/s 76/53/s 92/74/s 78/62/pc 89/74/s 78/62/pc 93/74/pc 80/62/s 106/80/s 70/53/pc 81/62/pc

Myrtle Beach 87/73

Manning 91/71

Today: A few strong thunderstorms. Winds west-southwest 7-14 mph.

Friday: A shower or thunderstorm. Winds north-northeast 3-6 mph.

Temperature High Low Normal high Normal low Record high Record low

Florence 92/70

Bishopville 92/71

Sunset Moonset

8:30 p.m.

1:12 a.m.

First

Full

Last

New

June 5

June 12

June 19

June 27

TIDES

Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr stage yest. chg 12 7.83 +0.41 19 5.39 +2.32 14 4.74 +0.68 14 2.48 -0.99 80 77.34 -0.47 24 5.27 -0.94

AT MYRTLE BEACH

Today Fri.

High 2:41 a.m.

3:34 p.m.

3:30 a.m.

4:26 p.m.

Ht. 2.8 2.6 2.7 2.7

Low 9:45 a.m.

10:09 p.m.

10:32 a.m.

11:07 p.m.

Ht. 0.5 0.9 0.5 0.8

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

Today Hi/Lo/W 84/61/t 91/69/t 94/69/t 92/73/t 81/71/t 91/72/t 88/66/t 91/69/t 93/70/t 92/70/t 87/66/t 90/71/t 91/69/t

Fri. Hi/Lo/W 79/58/t 88/68/t 90/68/t 93/74/t 78/67/pc 92/73/t 87/65/t 86/68/t 89/70/t 90/68/pc 81/59/pc 87/67/pc 88/67/pc

Today City Hi/Lo/W Florence 92/70/t Gainesville 91/68/s Gastonia 89/68/t Goldsboro 89/69/t Goose Creek 90/72/t Greensboro 88/65/t Greenville 90/67/t Hickory 88/65/t Hilton Head 86/78/pc Jacksonville, FL 91/70/pc La Grange 90/69/t Macon 93/70/t Marietta 88/71/t

Fri. Hi/Lo/W 89/69/pc 92/70/t 87/67/t 86/64/pc 92/73/t 85/64/pc 85/67/t 85/63/pc 87/78/t 93/72/t 90/67/t 93/70/t 88/70/t

Today City Hi/Lo/W Marion 87/65/t Mt. Pleasant 89/72/t Myrtle Beach 87/73/t Orangeburg 91/71/t Port Royal 90/73/t Raleigh 88/66/t Rock Hill 89/66/t Rockingham 91/70/t Savannah 92/72/s Spartanburg 90/67/t Summerville 87/77/pc Wilmington 89/73/t Winston-Salem 87/64/t

Fri. Hi/Lo/W 85/62/t 91/73/t 86/71/t 88/69/t 91/74/t 86/63/pc 88/65/t 89/66/pc 93/73/t 86/66/t 88/76/t 86/68/pc 84/63/pc

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

Independent Studies show that homes lose 20% to 40% of their heating and cooling through leaky air ducts.

795-4257

LOTTERY NUMBERS PALMETTO CASH 5 WEDNESDAY

MEGAMILLIONS TUESDAY

4-8-28-36-37 PowerUp: 4

19-28-62-66-74 Megaball: 6 Megaplier: 3

PICK 3 WEDNESDAY

PICK 4 WEDNESDAY

9-3-5 and 4-5-0

7-1-0-9 and 6-7-2-8

POWERBALL numbers were not available at press time.

PICTURES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Work quietly on the jobs that need to be done in order to bypass complaints or interference.

Neighbors, friends or relatives can pose a problem if you make a bold statement or move. Put more effort into personal efforts, not trying to change others.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Protect your reputation. A change in location or the way you have been living may be an unexpected but pleasant surprise. Don’t let adversity suck you in when you should walk away.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take the initiative and get things done.

Apply for a new position or incorporate something you have done in the past into your future plans. There is money to be made if you don’t dawdle. Make positive changes to your current living situation.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Love and romance should highlight your day.

Your attitude will help you persuade others to see things your way. A personal change will enhance your appearance and attract attention from someone who has something to offer you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Listen carefully, but be sure to read between the lines. A false impression is likely to be given that will lead to a poor decision or partnership. Focus on home and personal improvements instead of trying to do things for others.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JR, French street artist and photographer, stands on his creation during the presentation to the press at the Pantheon in Paris on Tuesday.

SECTION

Nadal, Murray advance to semifinals B4

B

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014

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

LEGION BASEBALL

Sowell outduels Wrenn as Cheraw blanks Jets 3-0

BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER mchristopher@theitem.com DALZELL— Dalzell-Shaw Post 175’s Andrew Wrenn allowed just three runs on six hits over six innings, numbers that are usually good enough to win in American Legion baseball. However, he was outdueled by Cheraw’s Trey Sowell on Wednesday in a 3-0 loss at Thomas Sumter Acad-

emy’s General Field.

The two teams will meet at 7 p.m. on Friday in Cheraw in the rubber game of the 3-game series.

Sowell and Wrenn dueled for three scoreless innings until the fourth when the Braves took an early lead that held up. Sowell, a rising senior at North Central High School, pitched eight innings, scattering three hits while

walking two and striking out seven.

“He’s one of those guys you find at this level. He pitches, he doesn’t throw,” Post 23 head coach Steve Sellers CAMPBELL said of Sowell.

“He’s not up there trying to strike you out. He’s trying to

hit his spots, get some popups and groundouts; he did that today and kept them off balance. We made some good plays defensively and swung the bat better than the score showed.”

Wrenn struck out three, walked one and hit a batter in the loss as the Jets suffered their first shutout of the season. Christian Buford pitched three scoreless innings in re-

lief, allowing just one hit and one walk.

“My pitchers did a fantastic job and they did what they’ve got to do,” Jets head coach Steve Campbell said.

“You’ve got to pound the strike zone with strikes and make them put the ball in play and play defense behind them. It was a confidence

SEE JETS, PAGE B4

COLLEGE BASEBALL

Cougars not ready for NCAA run to end

Wait and see

BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press

On day of MLB draft, Montgomery’s future at USC still up in air

BY DENNIS BRUNSON dennisb@theitem.com If Jordan Montgomery had his druthers, he would be preparing to pitch the opening game in a super regional for the University of South Carolina baseball team this weekend.

The Gamecocks’ loss to Maryland in the Columbia Regional last weekend took that away as a possible distraction for the junior left-hander, who is expected to be selected somewhere in the Major League Baseball FirstYear Player draft, which begins today and runs through Saturday. However, Montgomery isn’t going to be tied down by the draft over the next three days.

“I’m going to find plenty of stuff to keep me busy,” Montgomery said on Wednesday.

Montgomery was reluctant to talk about his draft possibilities.

He didn’t want to talk about specific teams that have shown interest in him, only saying that several have made contact with him.

“There’s a chance I might be back at school next year,” he said.

Montgomery is ranked No. 120

by Baseball America in its list of the top 500 draft-eligible players.

If he were indeed the 120th players selected, that would have the former Sumter High School and

SEE MONTGOMERY, PAGE B2

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Former Sumter High and Sumter P-15’s standout left-hander Jordan Montgomery will likely be selected in MLB’s First-Year Player Draft which begins today, but a return to South Carolina is not out of the realm of possibilities either, he said.

COLUMBIA — After the first three games of the season, College of Charleston baseball head coach Monte Lee knew he had a club that could play with any team in the country.

These days, the surprising Cougars are proving that to a national audience.

College of Charleston became just the fourth No. 4 seed since 1999 to reach the bestof-3 super regionals in the NCAA tournament, the LEE equivalent of a 13-through-16 seed making basketball’s Sweet 16 in March.

The Cougars (44-17) toppled nationally seeded Florida to start the Gainesville Regional last week — yes, the Gators were at home — before clinching things with two victories over Long Beach State.

They’ll try and keep the run going at Texas Tech, starting Saturday. Win two of those and the College of Charleston if off to Omaha for the sport’s ultimate prize, the College World Series.

“It’s a bit of a shocker,” Cougars outfielder Brandon Murray said. “But we’re extra confident right now going into this weekend.”

Lee’s belief in his club grew after opening weekend when a team that went 31-26 and missed the postseason in 2013 took two of three from North Carolina, which played in the CWS last June.

Lee brought untested freshman Bailey Ober out of the bullpen in the opener and he responded with five shutout innings for a 7-4 win over the Tar Heels. Two days later,

SEE COUGARS, PAGE B5

PRO BASKETBALL

Heat, Spurs ready for encore Finals rematch begins tonight in San Antonio

BY BRIAN MAHONEY The Associated Press SAN ANTONIO — LeBron James and Dwyane Wade can point to statistics showing just how close the 2013 NBA Finals were.

Tim Duncan doesn’t need them.

He can’t forget the way his San Antonio Spurs lost, especially since every replay brings an-

other painful reminder.

The Spurs were on the verge of celebrating a fifth title in Game 6, and just two nights later were congratulating the Miami Heat on their second straight crown.

The Spurs wanted a rematch, and so did basketball fans. It begins Thursday in San Antonio.

“I think it’s great that these two franchises have this opportunity in back-to-back years to compete for a championship,’’ Wade said Wednesday. “Last year was an unbelievable series and ... it went down

to the very end. We won the series by a total of five points, you know?

That’s how close it was.

But it was a very even series. I think this year it could be another great series.’’

From Tony Parker’s circus shot that stole Game 1 for the Spurs, to Ray Allen’s 3-pointer that saved Game 6 for the Heat, to James’ jumper that put away Game 7, almost every contest provided a new highlight. It deserved an encore, just like when the Boston Celtics and

AP FILE PHOTO

Dwyane Wade, right, and the Miami Heat meet the San Antonio Spurs for the second SEE ENCORE, PAGE B3 straight year in the NBA Finals after an epic 7-game series last season.

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SPORTS

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014

MLB ROUNDUP

Iwakuma, Seattle silence Braves 2-0 ATLANTA — Hisashi Iwakuma combined with two relievers on a 6-hit shutout and the streaking Seattle Mariners beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 on Wednesday to complete a 2-game sweep.

Cole Gillespie and Kyle Seager hit run-scoring singles. Seattle has won five straight, matching its longest winning streak of the season.

Iwakuma (4-2) gave up only six hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in seven innings. The righthander was sharp, throwing 71 of his 96 pitches for strikes.

Mike Minor (2-4) allowed only one run in seven innings, but the Braves fell to 0-6 in interleague games.

Yoervis Medina pitched a perfect eighth before Fernando Rodney earned his 16th save with three straight outs in the ninth.

PADRES 3 PIRATES 2 SAN DIEGO — San Diego had only one hit — a bunt single by Everth Cabrera in the first inning — and still beat Pittsburgh 3-2 thanks to Francisco Liriano’s wildness.

The Padres played ultimate small-ball, scoring on a sacrifice fly, an error and a bases-loaded walk to avoid a 3-game sweep. Rene Rivera’s fly to Andrew Mc-

TV, RADIO TODAY

5 a.m. -- Professional Golf: European PGA Tour Lyoness Open First Round from Atzenbrugg, Austria (GOLF).

9 a.m. -- Professional Tennis: French Open Women’s Semifinal Matches from Paris (ESPN2).

9 a.m. -- Professional Golf: European PGA Tour Lyoness Open First Round from Atzenbrugg, Austria (GOLF).

11 a.m. -- Professional Tennis: French Open Women’s Semifinal Matches from Paris (WIS 10).

Noon -- LPGA Golf: Manulife Financial LPGA Classic First Round from Waterloo, Ontario (GOLF).

1 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: Oakland at New York Yankees or Toronto at Detroit (MLB NETWORK).

3 p.m. -- PGA Golf: St. Jude Classic First Round from Memphis, Tenn. (GOLF).

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

6:30 p.m. -- Professional Golf: Web.com Tour Cleveland Open First Round from Westlake, Ohio (GOLF).

7 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft (MLB NETWORK).

7:30 p.m. -- MLL Lacrosse: Chesapeake at Rochester (CBS SPORTS NETWORK).

8 p.m. -- Professional Boxing: Emmanuel Gonzalez vs. Tevin Farmer in a Junior Lightweight Bout and Alexis Santos vs. Daniel Martz for the NABF Junior Heavyweight Title and Jamie Kavanagh vs. Michael Clark in a Lightweight Bout from Boston (FOX SPORTS 1).

9 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: The Finals Game One — Miami at San Antonio (WOLO 25).

10 p.m. -- Minor League Baseball: Albuquerque at Tacoma (CBS SPORTS NETWORK).

5 a.m. -- Professional Golf: European PGA Tour Lyoness Open Second Round from Atzenbrugg, Austria (GOLF).

AMERICAN LEAGUE Toronto Baltimore New York Boston Tampa Bay CENTRAL DIVISION

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Seattle starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma works in the first inning of the Mariners’ 2-0 victory over Atlanta on Wednesday at Turner Field in Atlanta.

Cutcheon to end the eighth was the only ball fielded by a Pirates outfielder.

GIANTS 3 REDS 2

ing shot in the seventh inning and Oakland overcame a 4-run deficit to beat the skidding New York Yankees 7-4 for their fifth straight victory.

CINCINNATI — Michael Morse and Juan Perez homered with two outs in the sixth inning, rallying San Francisco to a 3-2 victory that ended Cincinnati’s longest winning streak of the season at four games.

Donaldson connected off Jose Ramirez, who was making his major league debut, and added a pair of infield singles. Cespedes also had three hits.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

DETROIT — Adam Lind doubled twice to drive in three runs and Melky Cabrera added a homer and three hits, lifting Toronto to an 8-2 victory over Detroit.

ATHLETICS 7 YANKEES 4

NEW YORK — Yoenis Cespedes homered twice, Josh Donaldson hit a tiebreak-

BLUE JAYS 8 TIGERS 2

From wire reports

MLB DRAFT

Astros have top pick for 3rd straight year

BY KRISTIE RIEKEN The Associated Press HOUSTON — The Houston Astros figure they added two players who can be future cornerstones of their franchise with the overall No. 1 pick in the last two Major League Baseball drafts.

Tonight, they’ll have a chance to add another impact player when they once again have the top selection.

But after three 100-plus loss seasons, they are not interested in having the pick of the draft next season.

“That is our aspiration,’’ general manager Jeff Luhnow said.

APPEL They used their first No. 1 pick on high school shortstop Carlos Correa and chose Stanford pitcher Mark Appel first last season.

Houston amateur scouting director Mike Elias said earlier this week that they don’t know who they’ll take with the selection, but that they had narrowed it down to six or seven players.

While it’s an exciting process for Luhnow and his staff, he certainly feels the pressure to get it right.

“You need to hit on 1-1,’’ Luhnow said.

“It’s critical because it’s a big investment.’’

A few years ago, the Astros had one of the worst farm systems in the majors.

The restocking began by trading away their veterans and continued with the draft. Now their minor league system is consistently ranked among the best in

baseball.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for our organization to continue to take steps in right direction,’’ Luhnow said of the draft.

“These players we’ve taken in the last couple of years of the draft have really bolstered our farm system. They’re a big reason why our farm system is one of the best in baseball right now.’’

Correa and Appel are Houston’s top two prospects and Correa is rated by Baseball America as the seventh prospect in all of baseball. Correa is hitting .328 with five homers and 49 RBI in Single-A Lancaster. Appel has had some setbacks and is currently in extended spring training CORREA in Florida. But Luhnow isn’t concerned about Appel’s progress and believes he’ll be back on track soon.

Luhnow wouldn’t tip his hand as to whether they’ll take a high school or college player, but his comments seemed to indicate that he likes getting players when they’re young.

While Houston certainly has benefited most from the top two overall picks, the farm system has also been improved by lower picks they’ve acquired in the draft.

Right-hander Lance McCullers, selected with the 41st pick in the 2012 draft, is rated as Houston’s fourth-best prospect. Their 10th-rated prospect, third baseman Rio Ruiz, was selected in the fourth round in 2012.

MONGTOMERY FROM PAGE B1 Sumter American Legion P-15’s standout going in the fourth round.

Montgomery said he hasn’t really put much thought into what would go into deciding whether he would return for his senior season or sign with the organization that drafts him.

TODAY’S GAMES

EAST DIVISION

RAYS 4

NATIONAL LEAGUE

SCOREBOARD

MLB STANDINGS

By The Associated Press

MARLINS 5

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Donovan Solano hit a 3-run homer off David Price to help Miami Mbeat Tampa Bay 5-3, extending the Rays’ longest losing streak in nearly five years to nine games.

Casey McGehee had an RBI single for the Marlins, who won the first two games of a 4-game homeand-home series in Miami.

THE SUMTER ITEM

“I’m going to wait and see how everything goes,” he said.

In his three years at Carolina, Montgomery has posted a 20-7 record with a 2.96 earned run average. As a freshman, Montgomery went 6-1 with a 3.62 ERA and followed that up with a 6-1

mark and a 1.48 ERA as a sophomore.

In the just completed season, Montgomery posted an 8-5 record with a 3.42 ERA. He made 16 starts, working 100 innings. He struck out 95 and walked 29 while allowing 93 hits.

“I think I had a pretty good season,” said Montgomery, who was the Friday night

Detroit Chicago Cleveland Kansas City Minnesota WEST DIVISION Oakland Los Angeles Seattle Texas Houston

NASCAR The Associated Press SPRINT CUP LEADERS

Through June 1 Points 1, Matt Kenseth, 463. 2, Jeff Gordon, 461. 3, Carl Edwards, 438. 4, Jimmie Johnson, 436. 5, Dale Earnhardt Jr., 429. 6, Joey Logano, 414. 7, Kyle Busch, 411. 8, Brad Keselowski, 404. 9, Denny Hamlin, 379. 10, Kyle Larson, 377. 11, Ryan Newman, 374. 12, Kevin Harvick, 373. 13, Brian Vickers, 366.

14, Paul Menard, 362. 15, Austin Dillon, 358. 16, Greg Biffle, 357. 17, Clint Bowyer, 350. 18, Kasey Kahne, 349. 19, Aric Almirola, 344. 20, A J Allmendinger, 337.

Money 1, Dale Earnhardt Jr., $3,271,269. 2, Brad Keselowski, $3,222,218. 3, Jimmie Johnson, $3,154,257. 4, Jamie McMurray, $3,043,064. 5, Jeff Gordon, $3,024,502. 6, Denny Hamlin, $2,837,366. 7, Joey Logano, $2,830,377. 8, Kevin Harvick, $2,823,528. 9, Matt Kenseth, $2,783,536.

10, Kyle Busch, $2,617,409. 11, Greg Biffle, $2,301,729. 12, Paul Menard, $2,227,882. 13, Austin Dillon, $2,172,938.

14, Clint Bowyer, $2,162,184. 15, Brian Vickers, $2,134,794. 16, Carl Edwards, $2,127,839. 17, Tony Stewart, $2,116,678.

18, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., $2,042,960. 19, Kyle Larson, $2,031,015. 20, Aric Almirola, $1,978,568.

Pct .593 .518 .509 .466 .390

GB – 4½ 5 7½ 12

W 31 30 29 28 27

L 23 30 30 30 29

Pct .574 .500 .492 .483 .482

GB – 4 4½ 5 5

(Best-of-7; x-if necessary) Miami vs. San Antonio Today: Miami at San Antonio, 9 p.m.

Sunday: Miami at San Antonio, 8 p.m.

Tuesday: San Antonio at Miami, 9 p.m.

June 12: San Antonio at Miami, 9 p.m. x-June 15: Miami at San Antonio, 8 p.m. x-June 17: San Antonio at Miami, 9 p.m. x-June 20: Miami at San Antonio, 9 p.m.

W 36 30 31 29 25

L 22 27 28 29 34

Pct .621 .526 .525 .500 .424

GB – 5½ 5½ 7 11½

NHL PLAYOFFS

By The Associated Press

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Seattle 2, Atlanta 0 Boston at Cleveland, 7:05 p.m.

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

Toronto at Detroit, 7:08 p.m.

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

Baltimore at Texas, 8:05 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Houston, 8:10 p.m.

Milwaukee at Minnesota, 8:10 p.m.

St. Louis at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES

Oakland (Pomeranz 5-2) at N.Y. Yankees (Tanaka 8-1), 1:05 p.m.

Toronto (Happ 4-2) at Detroit (Verlander 6-4), 1:08 p.m.

Miami (Ja.Turner 1-3) at Tampa Bay (Odorizzi 2-5), 4:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels (Skaggs 4-3) at Houston (Peacock 1-4), 7:10 p.m.

Baltimore (Mi.Gonzalez 3-4) at Texas (Lewis 4-4), 8:05 p.m.

Milwaukee (W.Peralta 4-5) at Minnesota (Correia 2-6), 8:10 p.m.

St. Louis (Wacha 4-3) at Kansas City (Ventura 2-5), 8:10 p.m.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Oakland at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

St. Louis at Toronto, 7:07 p.m.

Boston at Detroit, 7:08 p.m.

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

Cleveland at Texas, 8:05 p.m.

Houston at Minnesota, 8:10 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST DIVISION

San Francisco Los Angeles Colorado San Diego Arizona

Miami at Chicago Cubs, 4:05 p.m.

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.

St. Louis at Toronto, 7:07 p.m.

Philadelphia at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers at Colorado, 8:40 p.m.

Atlanta at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

Washington at San Diego, 10:10 p.m.

N.Y. Mets at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.

L 24 27 28 31 36

Cleveland 5, Boston 3 Oakland 5, N.Y. Yankees 2, 10 innings Toronto 5, Detroit 3 Seattle 7, Atlanta 5 Miami 1, Tampa Bay 0 Kansas City 8, St. Louis 7 Baltimore 8, Texas 3 Houston 7, L.A. Angels 2 Minnesota 6, Milwaukee 4 Chicago White Sox 4, L.A. Dodgers 1

Milwaukee St. Louis Pittsburgh Cincinnati Chicago WEST DIVISION

FRIDAY’S GAMES

W 35 29 29 27 23

TUESDAY’S GAMES

Atlanta Miami Washington New York Philadelphia CENTRAL DIVISION

San Francisco (Bumgarner 7-3) at Cincinnati (Leake 3-4), 12:35 p.m.

Philadelphia (K.Kendrick 1-5) at Washington (Fister 3-1), 4:05 p.m.

Miami (Ja.Turner 1-3) at Tampa Bay (Odorizzi 2-5), 4:10 p.m.

N.Y. Mets (deGrom 0-2) at Chicago Cubs (T.Wood 5-5), 7:05 p.m.

Milwaukee (W.Peralta 4-5) at Minnesota (Correia 2-6), 8:10 p.m.

St. Louis (Wacha 4-3) at Kansas City (Ventura 2-5), 8:10 p.m.

Arizona (Arroyo 4-4) at Colorado (Nicasio 5-3), 8:40 p.m.

W 31 30 28 28 24

L 27 28 28 30 32

Pct .534 .517 .500 .483 .429

GB – 1 2 3 6

W 35 30 28 27 21

L 24 29 30 29 34

Pct .593 .508 .483 .482 .382

GB – 5 6½ 6½ 12

W 37 31 28 26 24

L 21 29 29 33 36

Pct .638 .517 .491 .441 .400

GB – 7 8½ 11½ 14

TUESDAY’S GAMES

Washington 7, Philadelphia 0 Cincinnati 8, San Francisco 3 Seattle 7, Atlanta 5 Miami 1, Tampa Bay 0 Kansas City 8, St. Louis 7 Chicago Cubs 2, N.Y. Mets 1 Minnesota 6, Milwaukee 4 Arizona 4, Colorado 2 Chicago White Sox 4, L.A. Dodgers 1 Pittsburgh 4, San Diego 1

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Seattle 2, Atlanta 0 Pittsburgh at San Diego, 6:40 p.m.

Philadelphia at Washington, 7:05 p.m.

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

San Francisco at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.

N.Y. Mets at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

Milwaukee at Minnesota, 8:10 p.m.

St. Louis at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Arizona at Colorado, 8:40 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

starter for the Gamecocks the entire season. “I made 16 starts and in 14 of those I pitched well enough to keep the team close after six innings, allowing three runs or less.”

Montgomery again showed his ability to pitch on the big stage for USC, getting a 5-2 win over Campbell in the opening game of the regional.

NBA PLAYOFFS

By The Associated Press FINALS

STANLEY CUP FINALS

(Best-of-7; x-if necessary) N.Y. Rangers vs. Los Angeles Wednesday: NY Rangers at Los Angeles (late) Saturday: NY Rangers at Los Angeles, 7 p.m.

Monday: Los Angeles at NY Rangers, 8 p.m.

June 11: Los Angeles at NY Rangers, 8 p.m. x-June 13: NY Rangers at Los Angeles, 8 p.m. x-June 16: Los Angeles at NY Rangers, 8 p.m. x-June 18: NY Rangers at Los Angeles, 8 p.m.

TENNIS

By The Associated Press FRENCH OPEN RESULTS

Wednesday At Stade Roland Garros Paris Purse: $34.12 million (Grand Slam) Surface: Clay-Outdoor Singles Men Quarterfinals Rafael Nadal (1), Spain, def. David Ferrer (5), Spain, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1.

Andy Murray (7), Britain, def. Gael Monfils (23), France, 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-0.

Women Quarterfinals Andrea Petkovic (28), Germany, def. Sara Errani (10), Italy, 6-2, 6-2.

Simona Halep (4), Romania, def. Svetlana Kuznetsova (27), Russia, 6-2, 6-2.

Doubles Women Quarterfinals Lucie Hradecka, Czech Republic, and Michaella Krajicek, Netherlands, def. Marina Erakovic, New Zealand, and Arantxa Parra Santonja (16), Spain, 7-5, 6-3.

Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain, def. Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, and Katarina Srebotnik (4), Slovenia, 6-4, 6-4.

Mixed Semifinals Julia Goerges, Germany, and Nenad Zimonjic (8), Serbia, def. Timea Babos, Hungary, and Eric Butorac, United States, 6-2, 6-2.

Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Germany, and Jean-Julien Rojer, Netherlands, def. Yaroslava Shvedova, Kazakhstan, and Bruno Soares (3), Brazil, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 10-5.

WNBA STANDINGS

By The Associated Press

EASTERN CONFERENCE Chicago Washington Atlanta Indiana New York Connecticut

W 5 3 4 3 2 2

L 1 2 3 3 4 5

WESTERN CONFERENCE Minnesota Phoenix San Antonio Los Angeles Seattle Tulsa

W 7 4 3 2 2 0

L 0 1 4 3 6 5

Pct .833 .600 .571 .500 .333 .286

GB – 1½ 1½ 2 3 3½

Pct 1.000 .800 .429 .400 .250 .000

GB – 2 4 4 5½ 6

TUESDAY’S GAMES

Atlanta 93, Los Angeles 85 Phoenix 87, Seattle 72

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES No games scheduled

TODAY’S GAMES

Washington at Connecticut, 7 p.m.

San Antonio at New York, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Indiana at Washington, 7 p.m.

Phoenix at Tulsa, 8 p.m.

Los Angeles at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Seattle, 10 p.m.

He is 5-0 in NCAA tournament games.

He admitted that not advancing to a super regional was a disappointment.

“We just didn’t get the hits when we needed them and didn’t make the pitches when we needed them,” he said.

“We ran into a team in Maryland that was playing really well.”

THE SUMTER ITEM

SPORTS

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014

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SPORTS ITEMS

49ers QB Kaepernick gets 6-year extension SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Colin Kaepernick received a $126 million, 6-year contract extension Wednesday that keeps him with the San Francisco 49ers through the 2020 season.

The deal includes $61 million in guaranteed money, a person with knowledge of the contract said, speaking on condition of anonymity because terms weren’t disclosed.

PANTHERS SIGN 2 DRAFT PICKS

CHARLOTTE — The Carolina Panthers signed first-round draft pick Kelvin Benjamin and thirdround selection Trai Turner on Wednesday.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

All six of the team’s draft picks this year are now under contract.

Benjamin, the 28th overall pick, had 84 receptions for 1,506 yards and 19 touchdowns in two seasons with Florida State.

Turner, the 92nd pick, started 20 games and played in 25 during in two seasons at LSU.

ENCORE FROM PAGE B1 Los Angeles Lakers seemed to pick up right where they left off in the 1980s.

The NBA hasn’t had a finals rematch since 1998, when Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls beat Utah for the second straight season. San Antonio is considered a slight favorite this time, perhaps a little deeper, healthier and better than it was last year, and owning the homecourt advantage this time.

The Spurs don’t need to change much to change the result. They outscored the Heat 684-679 over seven games, and there were 47 ties and 42 lead changes, according to STATS. “If you look at the numbers, the lead changes, the ties and the points in that series, it’s almost even,’’ James said. “So we did our part, they did their part.

“Both teams put themselves in a position to win an NBA championship, and we just happened to make one or two more plays to win it.’’

Duncan, a 3-time NBA Finals MVP who had been 4 for 4 at this stage, wasn’t on the floor when the Spurs couldn’t come up with a rebound just before Allen’s shot. He then missed a shot and follow attempt from right in front of the basket in the final minute of Game 7 with San Antonio trailing by two. Not even getting back to the finals again with the league’s best record can make him forget.

“It lasts. I have a very good memory, especially for my misses and losses. You keep those, you learn from them and you hope to change them next time,’’ Duncan said.

“That stuck with me and obviously it’s always in the back of my mind, and every time I

see anything to do with that, it pops right back in.’’

James had similar regrets in his first finals with Miami in 2011, but it’s been all smiles since. The Heat are the first team to play in four straight finals since Boston from 1984-87, and can become the first three-time champion since the Lakers more than a decade ago.

But their focus is only on winning the next title, not reminiscing about the last couple.

“Last year is last year and we’re excited about it, but this trophy this year belongs to nobody,’’ James said. “It’s up for grabs.’’

Both teams have reason to think they will win it. Wade is much healthier than last year, when he needed extensive treatment before Game 7, and the Heat have been able to get him extra rest by losing just three games in the first three rounds.

The Spurs’ Manu Ginobili is also in much better shape this year and Patty Mills has emerged as an effective point guard off the bench, giving San Antonio options if Parker is slowed by the sore left ankle that knocked him out of Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.

It’s the sixth finals for the Spurs since 1999 and Miami’s fifth in nine years, but both face uncertain futures. Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and coach Gregg Popovich could be near the end of their run together. James, Wade and Bosh can all become free agents this summer.

That’s for July. For now, maybe the teams can duplicate last June.

“You hope it’s going to be a great series for both teams’ sake, for the fans that love our game,’’ James said. “You hope it can be one of the great finals appearances.’’

Just like last year.

STERLING AGREES TO SELL

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling agreed Wednesday to sign off on selling the team he’s owned for 33 years to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion, bringing the possibility of a resolution

to weeks of rumors, uncertainty and looming possibilities for legal action.

The agreement was an about face for Donald Sterling, who just last week filed a $1 billion suit against the NBA in federal court.

HARTSVILLE 11 MANNING 4

KELLEYTOWN — The Manning-Santee Post 68 American Legion baseball team fell to 0-4 in League III with an 11-4 loss to Hartsville on Tuesday at Jimmy White Park.

Linc Powell went 4-for-4 with a home run for Manning, which is 0-6 overall.

Manning plays host to Sumter today at 7:30 p.m. at the Manning High School baseball field.

ZIMMER DIES AT 83

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays say former major league manager, coach and player Don Zimmer has died. He was 83.

Zimmer died Wednesday.

He had been in a rehabilitation center in Florida since having heart surgery in mid-April.

Zimmer spent more than 60 years in baseball, including a few championship seasons with the New York Yankees alongside manager Joe Torre. He was a senior adviser for the Rays.

From staff, wire reports

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THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

PRO TENNIS

Nadal, Murray to meet in French Open semis

BY HOWARD FENDRICH The Associated Press PARIS — Briefly, and only briefly, Rafael Nadal was in a difficult spot in the French Open quarterfinals.

For the first time in this year’s tournament, the eighttime champion dropped a set.

And this had to be on Nadal’s mind: His opponent, David Ferrer, could present real problems. Not only is Ferrer ranked No. 5, and not only was he the runner-up at Roland Garros a year ago — to Nadal, of course — but he also beat Nadal on red clay the last time they played each other.

So how did Nadal handle this test? Perfectly. From late in the second set, he won 10 games in a row, and 13 of 14 the rest of the way, to come back and beat Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1, setting up a semifinal Friday against Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.

“At the beginning,’’ Nadal acknowledged, “David was playing with a higher intensity than me.’’

But once Nadal made a key adjustment — deciding to dispense with his surprisingly off-target backhand as much as possible and instead do whatever he could to use his topspin-heavy forehand — he took over.

After committing 28 unforced errors across the windy first two sets, Nadal had zero in the third, and only three in the last.

“When I was able to hit with

AP PHOTOS

Rafael Nadal, left, and Andy Murray will meet in the French Open semifinals after both won their quarterfinal matches on Wednesday at Roland Garros in Paris. Nadal defeated David Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 while Murray held on to beat Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-0. my forehand,’’ Nadal said, “I felt that I was in control.’’

The route Murray took during his 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-0 victory over No. 23 Gael Monfils of France was far more circuitous, finishing right on the cusp of dusk after 9:30 p.m. In front of a crowd loudly pulling for Monfils at Court Philippe Chatrier, Murray

AUTO RACING

Logano believes NASCAR safer than playing football

BY JENNA FRYER The Associated Press CHARLOTTE — After a stop to watch the Detroit Lions practice, Joey Logano felt confident he picked the right career.

As a race car driver, Logano accepts the dangers that come with his sport. He would take that over getting drilled repeatedly by a linebacker.

Logano, at 6-foot-1, 140 pounds, was admittedly intimidated as he watched the Lions practice because “I felt really, really small compared to them. There are LOGANO some really big dudes out there.’’

“I feel like my sport is a lot safer,’’ Logano said. “We may look crazy going 200 mph, but I would much rather hit the wall at 200 than have a 300pound linebacker coming at me.’’

The NFL has agreed to a $765 million settlement of a head injuries lawsuit with hundreds of players, though the deal was rejected by a federal judge in January. NASCAR, since the 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500, has made tremendous strides in safety advancements. In 2012, Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed two races during the championship portion of the season with a concussion, and NASCAR this year mandated preseason baseline testing for all participants.

The safety standards make Logano feel safe in his race car.

“Our hits may be pretty brutal, but at the same time we have done a lot to our race cars to make them safer,’’ Logano said during his Tuesday visit, which was part of a promotional tour for Michigan International Speedway.

“NASCAR has a constant program of always being able to move up and test cars and crash cars and try to figure out what we can do to make them safer and make the crush zones crush and if there are parts that need to be stiffer they make them stiff,’’ he said. “I don’t think there are as many areas in football to

owns a 14-5 edge in their headto-head matches.

“I need to recover very well,’’ Murray said, “and try to be especially calm for that one.’’

The other men’s semifinal will be No. 2 Novak Djokovic against No. 18 Ernests Gulbis.

Earlier, No. 4 Simona Halep of Romania and No. 28 Andrea Petkovic of Germany both moved into the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. Thursday’s other women’s semifinal will be 2012 champion Maria Sharapova against 18th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard of Canada.

Halep beat 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-2, and Petkovic defeated 2012 runner-up Sara Errani by that very same score.

A year ago, Halep arrived at Roland Garros ranked 57th.

But over the past 13 months, she’s won seven titles. Petkovic, meanwhile, is enjoying a resurgence.

She made it to the top 10 in 2011, when she was the only woman to reach three major quarterfinals (although she went 0-3). In late 2012, she hurt her right knee, and her ranking plummeted to 177th last year. But she’s worked her way back, and after eliminating Errani, the gregarious Petkovic kissed her racket — something she said she’d never done before.

“I don’t know what happened to me. I was just overwhelmed by emotion,’’ Petkovic said. “I had no boy to kiss, so I kissed my racket, right?’’

improve on. Obviously you have pads and helmets, but you are still going to get hit every time.’’

FROM HIGH TO LOW

Ryan Hunter-Reay was run ragged across the country during a media blitz following his Indianapolis 500 victory, and the American didn’t get a chance to relax until he got to the race track last weekend in Detroit.

But the euphoria from Indy came to a crashing halt in his first qualifying session when Hunter-Reay hit the wall and damaged the rear suspension.

It set the tone for a miserable weekend at Belle Isle, where Hunter-Reay logged finishes of 16th and 19th in the doubleheader event. Even worse, his point lead vanished.

Hunter-Reay left Indy up 400 points over Will Power, but Belle Isle dropped him to third in the standings, down 27.

“It was a long weekend,’’ he said. “I’ll try to erase this one from my memory and move on to Texas. Nothing we did worked.’’

Next is a Saturday night race at Texas Motor Speedway, the second oval on the IndyCar schedule. Hunter-Reay was second at Texas last year, his first podium in seven career starts.

FAREWELL TO THE MULLET

The long journey for Jordan Taylor’s infamous mullet will soon come to an end.

The TUDOR United SportsCar Championship driver has been working on the businessin-the-front, party-in-the-back hairstyle for well over a year, and Taylor’s mullet has sometimes overshadowed his ontrack accomplishments.

But Taylor is tired of his hair having its own fame, and so he’ll cut it later the month at the Six Hours of Watkins Glen. There’s a catch, though: Taylor is trimming the mullet in hopes of raising $10,000 for Camp Boggy Creek and Camp Anokijig, which serve chronically ill children.

The raffle winner will receive two paddock passes to Watkins Glen, as well as a ride around the road course in a two-seater Daytona Prototype, tours — and the opportunity to help cut Taylor’s mullet.

was terrific at the outset, mediocre in the middle, then closed on a high.

After a brief discussion with a tournament official over whether there was enough sun to play the fifth set — the Roland Garros courts have no artificial lights — Murray made the whole thing moot. He raced through

that set in 21 minutes, winning 24 of 31 points, as Monfils appeared to stop trying.

Said Murray: “It was so dark at the end. Thankfully for me, he played a poor fifth set once I got ahead.’’

Murray will be playing in the French Open semifinals for the second time; he lost to Nadal in 2011. In all, Nadal

JETS FROM PAGE B1 builder for the pitchers tonight, and the hitters will come back around. We’re not used to seeing that kind of pitching every night.”

The Jets, now 2-3 on the season, stranded a total of six runners, including four in scoring position. Three times a runner was left at third, including in the ninth inning.

Matt Holloman reached third on a 3-base error to lead off the final inning, but Braves closer Laden Walters struck out Edison Aldridge, Shane Bishop and Ron York consecutively to earn the save and preserve a Post 23 victory.

“Trey Sowell came in and got the job done,” Campbell said. “He’s got three good pitches – a changeup, fastball and a curveball that he has command of. He doesn’t hesitate to throw them anywhere in the count because he has so much confidence with it. He did a fantastic job keeping our hitters off stride, and we had a difficult time.”

Post 175 left runners at third in the fourth and seventh innings as well. In the fourth, Holloman reached on an error to lead off the inning. He moved to second on a fielder’s choice and stole third with two outs, but was left stranded.

In the seventh, Bishop walked with one out. He stole second, went to third on a groundout before being left stranded.

Offensively Michal Hoge had two hits, including a double, and York added a hit.

LEAGUE III STANDINGS Team Sumter Hartsville Camden Cheraw Dalzell Manning

League L Pct. GB 0 1.000 — 1 .750 — 1 .667 ½ 2 .500 1 3 .400 1½ 4 .000 3

W 4 3 4 2 2 0

Overall L Pct. 0 1.000 1 .750 2 .667 2 .500 3 .400 6 .000

MONDAY

Dalzell-Shaw 5, Cheraw 4 Hartsville 5, Manning-Santee 3

TUESDAY

Hartsville 11, Manning-Santee 4

WEDNESDAY

Cheraw 3, Dalzell-Shaw 0

TODAY

Dalzell-Shaw at Cheraw, 7 p.m.

Sumter at Manning-Santee, 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY

Manning-Santee at Hartsville, 7 p.m.

Three consecutive hits led to a 2-0 Braves lead in the top of the fourth. Tristen Campbell and James Davis had consecutive 1-out singles. They moved into scoring position on a passed ball and scored on Nolan Pierce’s 2-run double.

“I came in here knowing I had to throw strikes and mix up my pitches and had to keep them off balance,” said Wrenn.

“You’ve got to live low (in the strike zone). I came in and threw strikes in the beginning, but they kind of jumped on it. As the game went on I got tired and started leaving pitches up and that’s when they started scoring.”

Cheraw, which improved to 2-2 on the season, added a run in the fifth to extend its lead to 3-0. Rodney McCoy led off the inning with a double and scored on a Chase Freeman sacrifice fly.

Look no further than your local newspaper for

The right advertising opportunity!

Call (803) 774-1200 and get started today.

W 2 3 2 2 2 0

OBITUARIES | SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

ROCKY DICKSON EFFINGHAM — Rocky Dickson, 64, died on Friday, May 30, 2014, at McLeod Regional Medical Center, Florence.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday at Believer’s Holiness Convention Center, 4301 U.S. 52, North Coward.

The family will be receiving friends at the home, 2515 McElveen Lane, Effingham.

Samuels Funeral Home LLC of Manning is in charge of arrangements.

ESTHER MAE JAMES MANNING — Esther Mae James, 79, widow of Allen James Sr., entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, June 4, 2014, at her residence.

Born on Sept. 21, 1934, in Clarendon County, she was a daughter of the late Rufus and Cornetta McBride Brailsford.

The family is receiving friends at the home, 765 M.W. Rickenbaker Road, Davis Station community, Manning.

Services will be announced

by Dyson’s Home for Funerals of Summerton.

GEORGE H. BYRD Jr. George H. Byrd Jr., 55, of 839 Webb St., Sumter, died on Saturday, May 31, 2014, at his residence.

He was born on March 2, 1955, in Sumter County, a son of the late George Sr. and Rebecca McBride Byrd. He was employed by Parker Auto Parts for 20 years and by Bumper to Bumper for seven years, until his health failed.

He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Frierson Byrd of the home; four children, Julia Frierson, Jonathon Frierson of the home, Xavier Frierson of Park Rapids, Minnesota, and Eldon D. Frierson of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; one special granddaughter, Tianna Dyer; three brothers, James, Herbert and Earnest Byrd, all of Sumter; nine sisters-in-law; three brothers-inlaw; one special aunt, Estelle James; one special niece, Emony Sanders; three uncles;

and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Funeral service will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday at Reeseville AME Church, Alcolu, with the pastor, the Rev. Marie Harvin, officiating, assisted by the Rev. Melissa Harvin and Dr. Lewis Walker Jr. The body will be placed in the church from 2 p.m. until the hour of service.

Interment will follow in Bethel Cemetery.

Public viewing will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. today.

Sumter Funeral Service Inc. is in charge of arrangements.

GALA J. CORCORAN Gala J. Mixon Corcoran, 64, died on Wednesday, June 4, 2014, at her home.

Services will be announced

by Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and Crematorium of Sumter.

PEGGY MONTALBANO Peggy Montalbano, 83, wife of James “Jim” Montalbano, died on Tuesday, June 3,

HORSE RACING

California Chrome favored in last leg of Triple Crown

BY BETH HARRIS The Associated Press NEW YORK — California Chrome became the early 3-5 favorite on Wednesday to win the Belmont Stakes and become horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown champion and first in 36 years.

The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner will face 10 rivals old and new on Saturday at Belmont Park. Since Affirmed became the last Triple Crown winner in 1978, three Belmont fields with the same history on the line also drew 11 horses in 1981, 1988 and 2002.

“They better worry about me,’’ California Chrome trainer Art Sherman said.

California Chrome will break from the No. 2 post under Victor Espinoza, putting nine horses to his outside and giving Espinoza a good look at the early speed. Eleven Bel-

COUGARS FROM PAGE B1 sophomore lefty Eric Bauer worked six strong innings as the Cougars won again, 3-1.

The sixth-year coach saw a loose, gritty group who would not back down against teams stocked with top MLB prospects or packed home crowds.

“I told the team, ‘Guys, you know what? You’ve got a chance to be pretty good this year,’” Lee said.

“This is a team that competes and a team that has a chance to do some special things.”

That’s already happened this season. The Cougars won a marathon, 23-inning contest with William & Mary 3-2 on May 17, tied for the second longest contest in college baseball history.

College of Charleston followed that up by winning the Colonial Athletic Association tournament, getting past top seed William & Mary twice to earn the league’s automatic bid.

Lee and his players thought they’d accomplished enough to earn a higher seed, but were sent to Florida where most figured the Cougars would quickly be sent packing.

“We had a chip on our shoulder from that,” said Tyler Thornton, a freshman who’s been the team’s Sunday starter all season.

The College used its steady formula to prevail. It scored three runs in the first inning while three pitchers held Florida to nine hits and two runs after that.

It was much the same in the regional final against Long Beach State as the Cougars pulled in front 4-2 in the fourth and Thornton made that stand up in his completegame clincher.

“We don’t have a lot of high-talent, high draft guys,” Lee said.

“We’ve got a bunch of good quality players who make you beat us. We don’t beat ourselves.”

Lee’s taking steps to make sure they keep that up in the super regionals. Lee talked with his mentor, former South Carolina coach Ray Tanner, on Monday night to pick the brain of a former boss who had won CWS crowns in 2010 and 2011.

“I said, ‘What you got for me?’”

mont winners have come out of that spot in the starting gate, the last being Tabasco Cat in 1994.

“I like number two,’’ Espinoza said.

“Hopefully, it’s my lucky number.’’

Racing fans looking for an omen will see California Chrome listed No. 2 in the betting program, the same number as 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, who won the Belmont by a record 31 lengths while setting a track record that stands for the 1 1/2-mile race.

California Chrome went for his usual gallop earlier Wednesday, and Sherman was pleased.

“I feel better about this race than I have any other race, to be honest with you, just looking at the horse and saying, ‘Wow,’’’ he said. “I see how far he’s advanced. I know it’ll be tougher going a mile and a half, but this horse is a good horse. I think he’s the real McCoy.’’

NCAA SUPER REGIONALS The Associated Press Best-of-3; x-if necessary Host school is Game 1 home team; visiting school is Game 2 home team; coin flip determines Game 3 home team At Jim Patterson Stadium Louisville, Ky. Friday: Kennesaw State (40-22) at Louisville (48-15), 6:30 p.m.

Saturday: Kennesaw State vs. Louisville, 7 p.m. x-Sunday: Kennesaw State vs. Louisville, 6 p.m.

At Hawkins Field Nashville, Tenn.

Friday: Stanford (34-24) at Vanderbilt (4418), 1 p.m.

Saturday: Stanford vs. Vanderbilt, 3 p.m. x-Sunday: Stanford vs. Vanderbilt, 3 p.m.

At Allie P. Reynolds Stadium Stillwater, Okla.

Friday: UC Irvine (38-23) at Oklahoma State (48-16), 9:30 p.m.

Saturday: UC Irvine vs. Oklahoma State, 2 p.m. x-Sunday: UC Irvine vs. Oklahoma State, 2 p.m.

At UFCU Disch-Falk Field Austin, Texas Friday: Houston (48-16) at Texas (41-19), 4 p.m.

Saturday: Houston vs. Texas, 2 p.m. x-Sunday: Houston vs. Texas 2 p.m.

At Davenport Field Charlottesville, Va. Saturday: Maryland (39-21) at Virginia (4713), Noon Sunday: Maryland vs. Virginia, Noon x-Monday: Maryland vs. Virginia, 4 p.m.

At M.L. ‘Tigue’ Moore Field Lafayette, La. Saturday: Mississippi (44-18) at LouisianaLafayette (57-8), 8 p.m.

Sunday: Mississippi vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 9 p.m. x-Monday: Mississippi vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 7 p.m.

At Charlie and Marie Lupton Stadium Fort Worth, Texas Saturday: Pepperdine at TCU, 4 p.m.

Sunday: Pepperdine vs. TCU, 6 p.m. x-Monday: Pepperdine vs. TCU, 7 p.m.

At Rip Griffin Park Lubbock, Texas Saturday: College of Charleston (44-17) at Texas Tech (43-19), 1 p.m.

Sunday: College of Charleston vs. Texas Tech, 3 p.m. x-Monday: College of Charleston vs. Texas Tech, 1 p.m.

Lee said.

Tanner told him to keep his players as loose and pressure free as they’ve been all season long.

Lee’s had trouble keeping up with the messages of congratulations this week that have flooded in inbox this week, including ones from former Cougar and current Yankee outfielder Brett Gardner.

“I don’t know if I’ve slept more than 10 hours the last few days,” Lee said. “This is such a great opportunity for our school and program.”

And one that the Cougars don’t want to end yet.

The College World Series “creeps into your mind a little bit,” Cougars outfielder Murray said. “We’re not going to take anything for granted, but we feel we’re ready.”

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014 2014, at Palmetto Health Richland hospital in Columbia.

Born in Sumter, she was a daughter of the late James Barwick and Elizabeth Lorena Shorter Felder. Mrs. Montalbano was a member of Grace Baptist Church and a former member of the Cosmopolitan Club. She was the former bookkeeper for her husband’s business, Jim’s Gun Shop.

Surviving are her husband of 67 years of Sumter; one son, Jimmy (Faye) Montalbano of Greensboro, North Carolina; two daughters, Marsha Aull and Theresa Ray, both of Sumter; a sister, Mazie Prestwich of Darlington; four grandchildren, Becky Ray Wheeler, Summer Ray Cribb, Ginger Aull Baggette and Jason Aull; and eight great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday in the chapel of Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home with the Rev. Steve Shumake officiating. Burial will

AREA SCOREBOARD BASEBALL DIAMOND PRO CAMP

The Diamond Pro Instructional Baseball Camp will be held June 9-12 and June 16-19 at Patriot Park SportsPlex.

The camp will be under the direction of Frankie Ward, Joe Norris, Barry Hatfield and Robbie Mooneyham. The cost is $60 for one session and $100 if attending both sessions.

The camp is open to boys ages 7-14 and will run from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. each day.

Registration will be held on Sunday at Palmetto Park beginning at 4 p.m.

For more information, contact Ward at (803) 720-4081, Norris at (803) 9346670 or Hatfield at (803) 236-4768.

BASKETBALL DEVELOPMENT SCHOOL

The Hoop Basketball Individual Development Basketball School will be held July 14-17 at the Mayewood Middle School Gymnasium at 4300 East Brewington Road.

The camp will be under the direction of James Smith, Harry Fullwood and Ronnie Brown. The cost of the camp is $50 per camper and is open to boys and girls ages 10 through 16. The camp will run from 8 a.m. until noon each day.

For more information, contact Smith at (803) 968-6874 or (803) 4693188.

SUMTER HIGH SCHOOL CAMP

The Sumter High School 2014 Boys & Girls Basketball Camp will be held June 16-19 at the SHS gymnasium.

The camp will be open to children ages 8-15. The cost is $55 per camper with the camp running from noon until 4 p.m. each day.

Campers must be signed up by Friday.

For more information, call SHS boys basketball head coach JoJo English at (803) 481-4480 or email him at Stephen.english@sumterschools.net.

SUMTER CHRISTIAN CLINICS

Registration is being taken for the Sumter Christian School 2014 Basketball Clinics to be held over the summer.

There will be four 5-day sessions at a cost of $45 per camper. A camp for children in grades 1-3 will be held June 9-13, grades 3-6 June 23-27, grades 6-9 July 7-11 and graves 9-12 July 21-25. The camps will run each day from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The camp instructors will be the SCS coaching staff of Bobby Baker, Tom Cope and Jimmy Davis.

For more information, call Baker at (803) 469-9304 or (803) 464-3652.

MILES ENTERTAINMENT GAME

The First Miles Entertainment Basketball Game, featuring Phillip “Hot Sauce” Champion, will be held on Friday, June 13, at the Sumter High School gymnasium.

Champion is a former AND1 Streetball player.

There will be a pregame tuneup and autograph session beginning at 4 p.m. and lasting until 4:45. The game will start at 5.

For more information, go to the twitter account MILES_ENT.

CHEERLEADING SHS MINI CHEER CAMPS

The Sumter High School Mini Cheer Camps will be held June 17-19 and July 21-23.

The camp, which will be hosted by the SHS cheerleaders, is open to children in elementary school and middle school. The cost is $50 per camper per

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B5

be in Sumter Cemetery.

Pallbearers will be Kyle Baggette, Brandon Baggette, Jeff Wheeler, Jett Wheeler, Kevin Cribb, Erick Hodge and Tripp Kimbrell.

Honorary pallbearers will be William Montalbano and Bob Hillman.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home and other times at the home.

Memorials may be made to the Sumter SPCA, 1140 S. Guignard Drive, Sumter, SC 29150.

Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com.

Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 775-9386.

session, but the cost is $85 if the camper attends both sessions.

The camp will run from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. each day.

The last day to register is Tuesday.

For more information, contact Gloria Riggs at Gloria.riggs@sumterschools.net.

WRESTLING SHS CAMP

Sumter High School will be hosting a wrestling camp June 9-12.

The camp will run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

Registration forms can be picked up at the school’s main office.

For more information, contact Cody Slaughter at cody.slaughter@sumterschools.net.

ETC. SKILLS, DRILLS & LIFE

The LAY UP Skills, Drills & Life Sports/Mentoring Camp For At-Risk Youth will be held June 12-14 at the Lincoln High School gymnasium located at 26 Council Street.

The program will be held each day from 9 a.m. until 2:15 p.m. It is open to boys and girls ages 9-17 and is free.

Those who are scheduled to participate in the event are former Clemson All-American and College Football Hall of Famer Terry Kinard, former Wake Forest quarterback Keith West and former Wake Forest basketball standout Wilbert Singleton. Each was a standout performer at Sumter High School.

For more information, contact Leading America’s Youth Upward Program program coordinator Mark Shaw at (803) 236-2313 or at layup2011andup@yahoo.com.

AUTO RACING SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONS SEARCH

Sumter Speedway is trying 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.

FOOTBALL OFFICIATING CLASSES

The Santee Wateree Football Officials Association is holding classes for those interested in becoming officials.

Those who pass the course will be able to officiate middle school, junior varsity and varsity games.

Classes will be held each Monday beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Sumter County Parks & Recreation at 155 Haynsworth Street.

The state clinic and examination will be held on July 26.

For more information, contact Granderson James at (803) 968-2391 or at grandersj@aol.com or Richard Geddings at (803) 468-8858.

GOLF 4-PERSON SCRAMBLE

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.

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.

B6

CLASSIFIEDS

THE ITEM

CLASSIFIEDS

ANNOUNCEMENTS Lost & Found Found white dog on Bronco Rd. in Wedgefield.

Owner call 494-9675 to identify.

BUSINESS SERVICES Home Improvements H.L. Boone, Contractor additions, painting, roofing, gutters, sheetrock, blown ceilings, decks. 773-9904

803-774-1234 OR TO PLACE YOUR AD ONLINE GO TO WWW.THE ITEM.COM/PLACEMYAD Garage, Yard & Estate Sales

Help Wanted Full-Time

Manufactured Housing

KARVELAS ESTATE SALE 777 Mattison Ave Sumter, SC 29150 June 6th 11-4 June 7th 9-3 June 9th 12-4. Follow us this Weekend to the Estate of a Wonderful Estate in Sumter, SC. This 6 bedroom home is absolutely FULL! SIX Bedrooms all furnished with Nothing but the Highest Quality of furniture, Crystal, China and Collectibles. Hickory Chair, Hitchcock, Hummels, etc. www.estatesaleguys.com.

803-467-3655

Herbicide Spray Tech for industrial weed control. Overnight travel req. Comm. pesticide applicators licensed useful. 803-428-6652

4BR 32x80 DW w//land for sale.

Payments approx. $600/mo. Call 803-236-5953

Multifamily Fri & Sat 7:00AM. 1615 Hartwell Dr (off Jefferson Rd.) Golf, hunting, baby, furniture, toys, home decor,etc.

112 Vernon Dr. Sat 7AM. Recliner,

Lawn Service

lots of baby toys, little boy clothes (2-4T), shoes, lots of misc.

Four Seasons Lawn Care Serving Sumter for almost 20 yrs!

Free est. 494-9169/468-4008

New Testament Lighthouse Church 1114 Blvd. Rd. Yard, Baked goods & hot dog sale Fri /Sat. June 6th & 7th, 7am-Until.

Roofing All Types of Roofing & Repairs All work guaranteed. 30 yrs exp.

SC lic. Virgil Bickley 803-316-4734.

C&B Roofing Superior work afford. prices. Free est., Sr. disc.

Comm/Res 30 yr warr 290-6152

Estate Tag Sale Of the Late Virginia Andrews June 13 5:30pm-7pm June 14 8am-12pm 3 Beaufain St Furniture, Antiques, Glassware, Paintings, Kit.Items. ETC..

Go to auctionzip.com for details and photos.

Tree Service STATE TREE SERVICE Worker's Comp & General liability insurance. Top quality service, lowest prices. 803-494-5175 or 803-491-5154 www.statetree.net Ricky's Tree Service Tree removal, stump grinding, Lic & ins, free quote, 803-435-2223 or cell 803-460-8747.

1580 Reynolds Rd. Pinewood, Sat. 7 am - ?

Multi-family, lots of stuff! Collectibles, pots & pans, glassware, dishes, furniture, etc.

For Sale or Trade Martin's Used Appliance Washers, Dryers, Refrig., Stoves.

Guarantee 464-5439 or 469-7311

Furniture / Furnishings Furniture For Sale Sumter Cabinet Bedroom set, Couches, Bookcase, Table with 4 chairs, Desk//hutch, Kitchen cabinets & lamps. Call 775-9925

Garage, Yard & Estate Sales 4200 Frisco Branch Rd., Fri/Sat 7:00AM. No Early birds. Clothes, books, baby and more.

Multi-Family 4310 Muriel St Fri/Sat 8AM. Horse tack, furn, tools, pet Rabbit, men clothes, & much more.

Will buy furniture by piece or bulk, tools, trailers, lawn mowers, 4 wheelers, etc or almost anything of value Call 803-983-5364

Rooms for Rent ROOMS FOR RENT, $100- $125 /wkly. All utilities & cable included.

803-938-2709

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.

Unfurnished Apartments Senior Living Apartments for those 62+ (Rent based on income) Shiloh-Randolph Manor 125 W. Bartlette.

775-0575 Studio/1 Bedroom apartments available EHO

Unfurnished Homes

Mobile Home Rentals

AKC Rottweiler Puppies, 7 wks old. Tails docked, dewclaw removed, dewormed, 1st shots. $350 ea. Call 803-428-7279.

KAREN ZIMMERMAN ESTATE AUCTION Antique and traditional home furnishings and décor. Large auction!

ONLINE ONLY, June 5-12 Details and bidding at www.jrdixonauctions.com.

Rafe Dixon, SCAL 4059, (803) 774-6967

RENTALS

3BR/1.5BA Oakland Ave. 1,400 sq ft., lg. yard, Millwood Elem. $750 mo. + dep. 303-751-1460.

Dogs

Auctions

$$$ AVON $$$ FREE TRAINING! 803-422-5555

3Br home Burgess Ct. $495/mo & 2Br Apt Miller Rd. $395/mo.

774-8512 / 983-5691

PETS & ANIMALS

MERCHANDISE

Help Wanted Part-Time

(Scenic Lake) 3BR 2BA 16x80.

No pets Call 803-499-1500. From 9am- 5pm Red, White & Pink Perennial Texas Hibiscus plants for sale. $3 each. Two Storm doors for sale $35 Ea. Call 481-3754 Used Daycare Furniture for sale.

Call 803-494-8427 Expert Tech, New & used heat pumps & A/C. Will install/repair, warranty; Compressor & labor $600. Call 803-968-9549 or 843-992-2364 DAYLILIES: Over 400 varieties Fri. June 6th, Sat. June 7th, 8AM-12. 110 Curtiswood Dr. Antique English Brass /Iron Bed $350 & Pie Safe $625 Call 803-491-4200

EMPLOYMENT Help Wanted Full-Time Warehouse Position Must be reliable, some knowledge of hardware. Wally's Hardware 1291 Broad St. Ext.

WE'VE MOVED. Vestco, Palmetto & Southland Properties & Lafayette Gold and Silver. 480 E Liberty Street (inside Coca-Cola building), 773-8022 American MHP, 2 & 3/BRs, lot rentals, water/sewer/garbage pkup inc'd. Sec. 8 ok. 803-494-4300.

Oaklawn MHP: 2 BR M.H.'s, water/sewer/garbage pk-up incl'd.

RV parking avail. Call 494-8350

Resort Rentals Ocean Lakes 2BR/2BA C/H/A Sleeps 8, near ocean, Call 803-773-2438

Office Rentals Professional Office Space 1500 Sq ft, 6 Offices 2 Baths, Reception area, Kitchen $650 Mo + Sec dep. Call 803-968-0689 or 803-972-1090

REAL ESTATE

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.

THURSDAY, JUNE 05, 2014

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.

TRANSPORTATION

Mopeds / ATVs / Motorcycles 2003 FXD Dyna Super Glide Annv. Edit. 5K mIles Garage kept, windshield, saddlebags, shorty pull backs, fwd controls, Vance & Hines pipes, padded sissy $7000 Call 803 481-8740

Investment Opportunity (4) Mobile home in Windsor City. $1,780 per month income. All occupied. $25,000. Call for info. 469-6978

Autos For Sale

(2) 3 & 4BR/2BA (Dalzell). Easy Financing. 803-983-8084

2012 Impala LT, fully equipped.

Bumper to Bumper GM warranty. $13,900. Call 840-7633

Mobile Home Lots

For Sale By Owner, 10 Acres, 8 miles to Sumter. $55,000. Owner Financing 803-427-3888.

Land & Lots for Sale

INVITATION TO BID The County of Sumter is accepting separate sealed bids from qualified vendors for the purchase of "Equipment" for the Sheriff's Office Law Enforcement Network. Bid packages may be obtained from the County of Sumter, Office of the Purchasing Agent, 13 East Canal Street, Sumter, SC 29150 or by calling (803) 436-2331. The County of Sumter reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive any and all technicalities

for the new house or the new spouse in one convenient placeOUR CLASSIFIEDS! Sporting Goods • Electronics Appliances • Furniture • Cameras Jewelry • Dishes • Books PLUS A WHOLE LOT MORE!

Farms & Acreage

2540 Burt Gin Rd, .9 acres in Manchester with horse barn.. $150 mo. Agent Owned. Call 236-2425

Bid Notices

ne STOP SHOPPING You can find everything you need

2540 Burt Gin Rd, Wedgefield .9 acres with storage bldg $150 mo. Agent Owned. Call 236-2425

53.26 Acres (Clarendon Co) 4 ponds & Cabin with power, also established road. Ducks, turkeys, fish, deer. Call 803-481-2048 pin# 9129

LEGAL NOTICES

1999 Nissan Pick up. Auto, All power, bedliner, toolbox. Call 803-473-7644 96 Ford Ranger 2.3 Eng. 5Sp, 31 MPGH. $2,650 OBO Call 803-840-4125

Minutes Walmart/Shaw, 1 Ac, Water, Electric, Paved $6,000 cash. 888-774-5720

Antiques / Classic Cars

Dalzell 16.57 acre paved. $2425 dn. $580 mo. 120 mos. $2500 Ac. 888-774-5720.

1954 Chevrolet Belair 4dr, hard top, very good condition.

803-468-5215.

774-1234

Going on

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

Homes for Sale DEERFIELD 4BR 2BA, 2800 Sq Ft., Large Lot, 491-4200 or 843-334-8211

20 N. Magnolia Street

803-774-1258

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COMICS

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014

BIZARRO

SOUP TO NUTZ

ANDY CAPP

GARFIELD

BEETLE BAILEY

BORN LOSER

BLONDIE

ZITS

MOTHER GOOSE

DOG EAT DOUG

DILBERT

JEFF MACNELLY’S SHOE

Husband’s betrayal puts wife’s health at risk DEAR ABBY — I just found out my husband was arrested for being with a hooker. My in-laws (whom I love Dear Abby and adore) bailed him ABIGAIL out of jail.

VAN BUREN No one said a word about it to me. I don’t know how to confront all of them with the fact that I know about this “dirty little secret.”

Betrayed wife DEAR BETRAYED — First, visit your gynecologist and ask to be treated for every STD known to man. Then invite your in-laws to a “family dinner,” tell them the cat is out of

THE SUMTER ITEM

the bag and ask why this was kept from you. And while you’re at it, ask your motherin-law (whom you love and adore) how SHE would feel if your father-in-law had possibly exposed her to an STD and it had been kept from her. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

DEAR ABBY — I’ll bet this is an issue in many homes. When my son “Chet” graduated from high school, we gave him a very nice graduation party, which included his friends and family. He received many gifts.

I gave my son thank-you cards, stamps, and a detailed list of whom to send the cards to. So far, he has refused. Chet is normally thoughtful and considerate. I don’t know what to do. I’m embarrassed by his lack of gratitude. I have told

THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

him we have received thankyous from his friends and that the cards can be brief. Should I send the thank-you notes myself, or just let it go?

Embarrassed mom DEAR MOM — If the amount of mail I receive from readers complaining that their gifts are not acknowledged is an accurate barometer, your problem is very common. Without being confrontational, ask your son why he refuses to thank the people who gave him gifts. If the answer is he doesn’t know what to say and he’s embarrassed that he has procrastinated, offer to help him by making suggestions.

You’re right; the thank-yous don’t have to be lengthy. But DO NOT write them for him.

Chet is a big boy and the responsibility is his.

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 Email for the spam folder, probably 5 Comparable 9 Indy participant 14 __ socks 15 Fiddling emperor 16 Drop names, maybe?

17 Flightless flock 18 Swarm member 19 Nodding off at a meeting, say 20 Ballplayer’s home renovation advice about the bare hallway floor?

23 Caution to drivers 24 Flamenco cheer 25 “... but I could be wrong” 27 Tech’s home renovation advice about a dark basement?

32 Bygone TV control 33 Reef denizen 34 Small drink 35 Autumn bloom 38 Nursery rhyme fiddler 39 Pleasing to the palate

41 Luau bowlful 42 Wheels 43 Limit 44 Housekeeper’s home renovation advice about a cheap fourposter offer?

50 Joyous hymn 51 Lee follower 52 Cold War jet 54 Bartender’s home renovation advice about the tiny kitchen sink?

58 Capital on the 30th parallel 60 Mill site 61 Sticky stuff 62 Day one 63 Aquatic predator 64 Catches 65 Mild cheese 66 Bucks, perhaps 67 Hook’s right hand DOWN 1 Mother May I? movements 2 Fluffy clouds 3 Lie alongside 4 Monument Valley sight 5 Sharp-cornered 6 Boxer’s hotel 7 Caspian Sea land 8 Sticky writ-

ing?

9 Energized anew 10 In the vicinity 11 They may be political 12 Chicago-toD.C. dir.

13 Former Riverfront Stadium player 21 Chopper topper 22 Provoke 26 Flibbertigibbet 28 Ewe or doe 29 Pay attention in class 30 Drizzly 31 Many a character in TV’s “The Americans” 35 Quick on the uptake 36 Opposite of nuts?

37 Italian des-

sert 38 Raucous call 39 Popular exercise regimen 40 LAPD alert 42 Cold Stone Creamery purchase 43 It may be extra sharp 45 Came closer to 46 Territory divided in 1889 47 Spell 48 Infiniti’s infinity symbol, e.g.

49 Weaken 53 Formation fliers 55 Apple product 56 Zoomed 57 Fleece-lined boot brand 58 Gear tooth 59 Mayo to mayo

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THE ITEM

CLASSIFIEDS

THURSDAY, JUNE 05, 2014