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Sumter native in airport during attack Pastor recalls experience BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com The Rev. Pitts Evans, a Sumter native, was waiting on his flight at the Brussels Airport on March 22, when an announcement on the intercom told everyone to evacuate. Evans would not learn that terrorists had bombed a section of the airport until eight hours later. “I was in a terminal about 100 yards away from where the terrorist attack occurred; however, I did not see or hear anything,” he said. “At the time, we did not know what had transpired.” Evans grew up in Sum-
ter, and his father, John Marion Evans, was manager of John Evans Manufacturing Co., foundEVANS er of Evans Realty Co., and executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party. Evan’s sister, Ingrid Evans Simmons, resides in Sumter. Evans is senior pastor of Whole Word Fellowship in Oakton, Virginia, about a dozen miles from the center of Washington, D.C. Evans directs international mission outreach
SEE PASTOR, PAGE A7
Belgian police hunt terrorist suspect
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Kelley Foster, 7, takes advantage of spring break to hang out at Palmetto Park where she swings on the monkey bars.
BRUSSELS (AP) — As the number of victims in the Brussels suicide attacks rose to 35, Belgian police released a video of a mysterious man in a dark hat seen in the company of the bombers who attacked Brussels Airport, indicating that he is still at large. “Police are seeking to identify this man,” the Belgian Federal Police’s web-
site said Monday. The video’s release came as a Belgian magistrate also ruled that a man identified as Faycal C., who was arrested during the police raids that followed the March 22 attacks, could be released. Faycal C. was among those taken into custody
SEE ATTACKS, PAGE A7
‘We must leave this country a better place’ U.S. Congressman James “Jim” E. Clyburn, D-S.C., a Sumter native, speaks at the Clarendon County Branch NAACP Annual Freedom Fund Banquet held at Taw Caw Community Outreach Center in Summerton on Saturday. He also gave a donation of $1,000 to the Clarendon County Branch of the association.
Rep. Clyburn talks importance of history, future at NAACP meeting BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com SUMMERTON — U.S. Rep. James “Jim” E. Clyburn, D-S.C., the thirdranking Democrat in the House of Representatives and a Sumter native, spoke about his local roots while addressing several issues at the Clarendon County Branch NAACP Annual Freedom Fund Banquet held at Taw Caw Community Outreach Center on
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Saturday. In his speech, Clyburn encouraged people to work together for a better future while discussing the local civil rights history, his support for South Carolina State University and President Obama’s policies. “We will not always agree on what to do and how do it,” he said. “But we shouldn’t let our disagreements cause so much friction until it separates us. We must leave this country a better place for our children and grandchil-
KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY / THE SUMTER ITEM
dren, and we can’t let anyone get in the way of that.” Clyburn, an alumnus of South Carolina State University, addressed the school’s financial scandal.
DEATHS, B5 Fred T. Snider Susie M. Boyd Allen R. Welch Annie Bell Player John J. McPherson
Dorothy E. Jordan Threasa Ann Butler Betty J. Mitchum Robert Newton
He said there was “never any money missing from the school,” and that he and his wife, Emily Clyburn,
SEE CLYBURN, PAGE A7
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2 SECTIONS, 18 PAGES VOL. 121, NO. 139
Pleasant today with plenty of sunshine in the forecast; clear tonight.
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