March 27, 2016

Page 1

Meet Your Professionals magazine

SUNDAY, MARCH 27, 2016

| Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894

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S.C. House budget includes road money Funds also available for Pinewood site BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Matthew 28:6

South Carolina House of Representatives will not meet until April 12, but State Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, said the budget bill has had a second reading, and passed 111 to 1. The House budget bill includes $415 million dedicated to roads, he said, and the House will take up the Senate version of the roads bill when it returns. According to an email Smith SMITH sent out Friday, $316 million of the money for roads is appropriated to the State Highway Fund for paving, rehabilitation, resurfacing and reconstruction of the primary road system; $49 million is allocated to Department of Transportation to address road repair costs from the October 2015 flood damage; and $50 million in nonrecurring funds is distributed among county transportation committees to use for resurfacing, reconstructing and repairing roads and bridges in the state-owned, secondary-road system. When the House returns, Smith said it will debate the Senate’s version of the roads bill. “We could concur or amend it,” he said. Smith said funding roads with a one-time $415 million appropriation is “not sustainable” and predicted the debate about a permanent source for road funding would likely come after the close of this General Assembly session. He said there are several items in the House budget that will have an impact on the Sumter area. The budget allocates $5.2 million in nonrecurring funds for Pinewood Custodial Site capital improvements and repairs, he said. “The safety of the landfill is a priority,” Smith said. The budget includes $40 million in appropriations from the 2014-15 Contingency Reserve Fund for the “South Carolina Farm Aid Fund” created to assist farmers who suffered extensive damage in the October 2015 floods through H.4717, which has been passed by the House and sent to the Senate, Smith said in his email. The budget also includes $10.5 million for

SEE BUDGET, PAGE A9

Forbes lists Continental among top places to work FROM STAFF REPORTS For the second year in a row, Continental Tire the Americas was ranked one of America’s Best Employers 2016 in a survey by Forbes magazine. Continental has invested more than $1.5 billion in the United States since 2011 and just announced a $1.4 billion investment for a new commercial vehicle tire plant in Mississippi, a Forbes news release said. With more than 208,000 employees worldwide, the company employs approximately 17,000 people in the United States, according to the release. More than 650 people work at Continental’s passenger and light truck tire

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plant in Sumter, according to Sumter Economic Development. Forbes magazine’s list of America’s Best Employers is generated from a national survey among 30,000 employees from companies throughout the U.S. and rates employers who continuously raise the bar on employee initiatives and strive to achieve corporate culture excellence, the release said. Each survey participant was asked to rank both his own employer as well as other employers in the same industry sector. “We are extremely excited and proud to once again be named as one

SEE CONTINENTAL, PAGE A9

Washing away the pollen

KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

Saturday’s rain helped wash away some of the pollen, and more rain is forecast for today.

DEATHS, A9 Zurie S. Scarborough James J. Baird Maritza Morse Johnny L. Gaines Dorothy R. Simmons Fred T. Snider

Daisy Bell Samuel Charles Levy Alice M. Harrelson Debra K. Lowder Clift Thomas Jr.

WEATHER, A10

INSIDE

EXPECT A WET EASTER

5 SECTIONS, 36 PAGES VOL. 121, NO. 138

Showers likely today and heavy at times; cloudy and mild tonight with another shower possible. HIGH 71, LOW 61

Business D1 Classifieds D7 Club Digest C4 Comics E1 Health A5

Opinion A8 Outdoors D6 Panorama C1 Public Record D3 Television E3


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