IN SPORTS: Baron softball team looks for 4th straight title run B1 THE CLARENDON SUN
Pushing limits Rowing teams from across the Northeast work out at Camp Bob Cooper A6
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THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016
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4 arrested for marijuana trafficking FROM STAFF REPORTS Sumter County Sheriff’s Office arrested four men Wednesday during an undercover operation at a hotel on Broad Street Extension in Sumter after receiving information that a large amount of marijuana was located there. According to a news release from the agency, deputies seized approximately 24 pounds of marijuana, with a street value of about $108,700, along with approximately $27,600 in cash. The four men arrested are: • Rondell Harriet, 23, of 1340
Malone Drive; • Cedrick Mobley, 26, of 47 McCall Street, Hattiesburg, Mississippi; • Garry Watts, 51, of 209 North George Street, Petal, Mississippi; and • Clifton Price, 26, of 56 Blakenship Circle, Lamar, Mississippi. The sheriff’s office arrested Harriet on Jan. 29 and charged him with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. All four men are charged with possession of marijuana and trafficking marijuana and have been transported to Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center.
Delegation talks roads funding Chamber hosts Sumter leaders, legislators
HARRIET
WATTS PHOTO PROVIDED
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Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis stands beside the marijuana and money that was seized during a drug bust on Wednesday after the agency received a tip. The marijuana was valued at about $108,700, and the cash totalled approximately $27,600.
Comic Symposium brings out local geek-culture
BY JIM HILLEY Jim@theitem.com On a day that would see the Senate pass a bill to spend $400 million out of the general fund for road maintenance and give the governor the power to appoint members of the Department of Transportation Commission, roads were the dominant topic as Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Legislative Day on Wednesday at the Palmetto Club in Columbia. Many of Sumter’s business and civic leaders gathered to meet with members of the Sumter legislative delegation and hear from several state officials, including Department of Transportation Secretary Christy Hall, who took over the job in July 2015 and was confirmed by the Senate Jan. 28. Hall primarily talked about her approach to the October floods in addition to how she has presented spending options to the General Assembly HALL about funding roads, bridges and highways. She said during the flood, many parts of the state, including the Midlands and the Pee Dee, were completely crippled. On Oct. 5, she said, she instructed her department to get 75 percent of closed roads open by Thanksgiving. “I thought I had set the bar pretty high,” she said. By Thanksgiving, almost 90 percent had been re-opened. “I am blessed to have the workforce that I’ve got,” she said. DOT Chief Engineer for Operations Andrew Leaphart presented some statistics from the flood. 541 roads and bridges were closed including 70 in Sumter County, which was the second worst hit county, he said. For many of the bridges, he said, a fix would normally be a 90-day process, forcing the DOT to find a quicker way. Engineers asked if they could pour concrete as a fix and were given the go-ahead, he said. “We turned a 90-day job into a six-day job,” he said. Hall received a warm welcome at the event, and was praised for her work as DOT secretary by all who spoke. First to speak from the Sumter General Assembly delegation was Rep. Grady Brown, who has announced he will not seek reelection after 31 years in the House. He said he has always appreciated what Sumter County has done for him. “Sumter County gave me BROWN the margin of victory that I needed,” he recalled. “I have enjoyed every day and every minute,” he said. He praised the way the local delegation works together.
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Attendees at last weekend’s Comic Arts Symposium peruse some of the vendor tables in the hallway gallery at Patriot Hall in Sumter. The event drew a big crowd of cosplayers, geeks and artists.
Event at Patriot Hall drew big, enthusiastic crowd BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com
T
he super villains and superheroes of Sumter, along with comic book, video game and sciencefiction fans, let their capes and novelty T-shirts fly at the second Comic Arts Symposium at Patriot Hall on Saturday. Jeff Belvins, owner of Punk Monkey Comics in Columbia, said Saturday was his second visit to Sumter for the comic symposium. He said the crowd at this year’s event was a lot bigger than the last year’s event. He said a man bought six Pop figures, figurines of popular comic or television characters, to add to his collection of 450. “It’s cool to see the geek-culture here,” Belvins said. Mike Nelson and Stevie B., two of the hosts of “Nerds of the Apocalypse” podcast and friends of Belvins, both said being a geek or
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
SEE GEEK, PAGE A10
Emma Foisey, 3, smiles for caricature artist Curtis Dresser as he sketches her during the Sumter Comic Arts Symposium on Saturday at Patriot Hall.
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DEATHS, B6 Margie H. Poole Ann R. Frierson Gertrude B. Olden Joshua C. Rogers
Terry A. Choice Caletha H. McElveen Evelyn S. Weill Lillie Bell Frazier
WEATHER, A12
INSIDE
WARM WINTER DAY
2 SECTIONS, 20 PAGES VOL. 121, NO. 123
Unseasonably warm today, partly cloudy; tonight, partly cloudy and warm. HIGH 80, LOW 59
Classifieds B8 Comics B7 Opinion A11
Religion A4 Television A9