IN SPORTS: USC head football coach Spurrier to visit Sumter Gamecock Club B1 CLARENDON SUN
THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015
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Summerton native is named 2015 health director in North Carolina A8
Prosecutor grills former school head Testimony concludes in embezzlement case BY MATT BRUCE matthew@theitem.com
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Joei Jordan, of Sumter, a suspect in the fatal shooting of University of Michigan student Paul DeWolf, enters the courtroom ahead of his sentencing in Washtenaw County Trial Court in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Wednesday. Jordan apologized to the family of DeWolf before getting a no-parole, life sentence for murder.
Sumter man gets life in medical student’s death FROM STAFF REPORTS ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A 21-year-old Sumter man apologized to the family of a slain University of Michigan medical student before getting a no-parole sentence for murder. Joei Jordan appeared in Washtenaw County court on Wednesday, the last of three young men to be sentenced in the fatal shooting of Paul DeWolf in 2013. In a detailed description of the sentencing, The Ann Arbor News reported Wednesday that before hearing his sentence, Jordan turned to DeWolf’s parents, looked them in the eye and apologized. “I apologize from the bottom of my heart,” Jordan said. “I did not mean to harm Paul DeWolf.” He then turned to Judge Archie Brown and said, “Have mercy on me,” The Ann Arbor News reported. A jury in January convicted Jordan of first-degree felony murder, home invasion and conspiracy. Jordan’s life sentence
SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO
Jordan, a University of South Carolina Sumter student at the time, decorates a tree at the Sumter Feed the Hungry on Christmas Day event in 2012. He attended Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church. with no chance for parole was mandatory. The 25-year-old DeWolf
was attending medical school on an Air Force scholarship when he was
shot during a robbery at a medical fraternity. In details reported by news agencies there during the trial, Jordan; Dajeon Franklin, 22; and Shaquille Jones, 22, reportedly broke into a medical fraternity house. DeWolf awoke during the break-in and struggled with Franklin when a gun went off, killing DeWolf. Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church Youth Pastor Ricky Simmons, who has known Jordan since he was in middle school, emphasized that injuring someone is just “not in his character.” “He wouldn’t have gone if he knew there was a possibility of something like this going on,” Simmons said. “He’s not a violent man.” Jordan’s situation illustrates what can happen when you’re with the wrong people and don’t consider what can happen, he said. He said Jordan had been active in his church
Testimony in a multi-million-dollar embezzlement trial culminated Wednesday with former Lee County charter school head Benita DinkinsRobinson facing off against her main accuser and attorneys on both sides delivering their closing arguments. Dinkins-Robinson served nearly 10 years as executive director of Mary L. Dinkins Higher Learning Academy, a Bishopville charter school that served pre-K through high school students at the height of its operations. She took the stand for three hours Tuesday and spent an additional two hours there being questioned by her attorney Eleazer Carter as the trial reconvened Wednesday morning. Dinkins-Robinson stands accused of two federal felony counts stemming from allegations she diverted more than $2.2 million from a pair of federal agencies between 2007 and 2012, while she was the school’s main administrator. Federal prosecutors allege during that period she used various “shell companies” to embezzle U.S. Department of Agriculture dollars as well as Title I, Title II and IDEA money from the U.S. Department of Education — funds earmarked for food services and educational purposes at her school. She faces as many as 20 years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 if a jury finds her guilty. The 40-year-old Bishopville defendant testified that no federal funds meant for food services ever touched the Mary L. Dinkins accounts because those USDA dollars always came as reimbursements after the school had already provided the services. She described the process as “money in, money out,” citing the school’s accountant Bill Moser, who testified Tuesday. Her direct testimony set the stage for a tense, albeit compelling, 45-minute cross examination as Dinkins-Robinson went toe to toe with Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Holliday, who has served as the primary prosecutor on the trial. He re-characterized her description of the federal funding process as “garbage in, garbage out,” during one point in the questioning, apparently alluding to allegations that she was siphoning the federal dollars into shell companies for her own benefit. Holliday has contended that Dinkins-Robinson diverted funds from the school’s account into accounts for four such companies and used the money
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School district earns 5-year-term accreditation BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Sumter School District received accreditation for a new five-year term during the district’s external review exit conference on Wednesday. The school district earned the certification after undergoing a four-day interview, survey, observation and evaluative review process by AdvancED, the nonprofit accreditation organization.
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The district office conference room was packed with administrators and education leaders of the district while Edlow Barker, one member of the six-person AdvancED review team, explained the standards and observations that he and his team members made during their time visiting six of the district’s schools. The team, consisting of six former and current educators and administrators from
South Carolina, Florida and Virginia, visited Lemira Elementary School, Kingsbury Elementary School, Shaw Heights Elementary School, Ebenezer Middle School, Bates Middle School and Crestwood High School. The teams spent 20 minutes visiting different classrooms throughout the schools to observe teacher instructions and student learning environments. They visited old and new schools and said they no-
DEATHS, B5 Joyce Ann D. Bazmore Margaret R. Witt Alphonso Laws Ivy Wheeler Gilda Ashley
Jeanette R. Medows Naomi R. Aaron Levi W. Dawson Wayne Bell Ruby Brown
ticed that they were exceedingly clean and in excellent repair. Barker said he was also impressed with the amount of organization and kindness that he and his team members experienced when entering the schools. Barker said after speaking with Sumter School District Superintendent Frank Baker, he could not believe some of the things he heard, especially that the superintendent
provides his personal cellphone number to students and parents. Barker, a retired assistant superintendent from Virginia, said Baker shows great value, accessibility and commitment as superintendent. He said he even saw the same dedication in the schools and district administration building. One negative issue Barker mentioned was the lack of
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