Chimney sweep passes company to grandson
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Were you late to church today? If so, don’t be late for work tomorrow. Set your clock ahead one hour. SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894
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IN PANORAMA: Shakespeare comedy comes to Sumter
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Mosquito spraying set to begin Vector Control expects another ‘tough season’ BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com Sumter County Vector Control Director Allen Penland said spraying for mosquitoes will begin sometime this week.
Cadets honor Bataan marchers
“We are expecting another pretty tough season,” he said. Since the beginning of the year, some areas have received 13 inches of rain, he said, and the recent warm weather may make for ideal mosquito conditions. “It’s a bad combination,” Penland said. He warned that spraying will help keep mosquito populations down but won’t eliminate them. “Mosquito control is a misnomer,” he said. “It is more mosquito ‘abatement.’” He said vector control will be using
an integrated strategy to try to lessen the risk to the Sumter area’s quality of life. Penland said that the Department of Health and Environmental Control monitors for mosquitoes but does not do any spraying, though they did at one time. He urged area residents to take precautions to protect themselves from mosquitoes. “Dump out anything that can contain water,” Penland said. The types of mosquitoes most likely to spread viruses such as chikungunya dengue fever and Zika, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, breed espe-
cially well in containers, he said. Penland said there are some Aedes aegypti can be found in this area in low numbers, but the Aedes albopictus is much more common. He also advised residents to keep their bushes and shrubs trimmed and clean rain gutters. “Clogged rain gutters with water standing in them are perfect for mosquitoes,” he said. Making sure screens on windows are in good repair is also an important precaution, Penland said, so windows
SEE SPRAY, PAGE A9
Daffodil Art and Craft Show continues today
BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com Temperatures were nearing 80 degrees early Saturday afternoon as cadets from Sumter High School Air Force Junior ROTC participated in the annual Bataan Death March Remembrance outside the school. The cadets were commemorating American and Philippino prisoners of war who surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army on April 9, 1942, and were then forced to march from the site of the surrender to an internment camp more than 60 miles away. With no water or food, many died along the way. Those who faltered were bayoneted or shot on the roadside.
SEE MARCH, PAGE A7
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Bari Peraleo, left, talks with lamp vendor Hieshia Wright during the 6th annual Daffodil Art and Craft Show at the American Legion Hut on Artillery Drive on Saturday. The event will continue today and features a variety of vendors as well as a Relay For Life food area.
Sumter Rotary Club hosts Farm to Table event Thursday Local vendors feature foods, services to raise money for area charities BY RICK CARPENTER rick@theitem.com Local vendors are donating goods and services for the 3rd annual Farm to Table event to help Sumter Rotary Club raise money for local charities. You’ll be able to sample entree items from fried catfish to pigeon stew and side dishes from collard soup to red rice and sausage at more than 10 booth locations from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Sumter County Civic Center. Tickets are $30 in advance or $40 at the door and will allow you to feast on your choice on entrees, side dishes, desserts and beverages. Johnny’s Garden Juice Bar will also serve smoothie samples. Restaurants, specialty food stores and organic food markets will combine efforts to prepare the meals to
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help support the Rotary Club. The Farm to Table event raises about $15,000 a year for local charities. “This is a great way to support local agriculture and food growers while doing something for the community,” said Jeanie Crotts, special projects coordinator for Sumter Rotary Club. The club plans to use proceeds raised at the event to provide money for the CART Fund, United Ministries, 4-H and Operation Warm Heart fund. While many residents may know about the effect that United Ministries and 4-H have on the community, they may not be aware of the CART and Operation Warm Heart funds. Sumter Rotarians hold the CART Fund in high regard because its roots were planted and cultivated in Sum-
SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO
Sumter residents line up to try Dinosaur Soup at the Farm Store’s booth during the Sumter Rotary Club’s Farm to Table event last year. ter. CART, which stands for Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust, was launched in 1995 by Sumter Rotary Club members Roger Ackerman and Dr. Jack Bevan who wanted to prove
DEATHS, A9 Antionette Briggs Terry A. Choice Willie McFadden Samuel C. Plowden
Agnes C. Thomas Daniel K. Hill Sr. John W. Mack Roosevelt McMillon
that if Rotarians emptied their pockets of change into a bucket each week, they could collect a significant
SEE ROTARY, PAGE A9
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5 SECTIONS, 36 PAGES VOL. 121, NO. 126
Mostly cloudy today with a chance of thunderstorm; rather cloudy tonight and another storm possible. HIGH 75, LOW 60
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