Back to Nature in Sumter
CLEMSON EVENS IT UP Finale to 3-game series to be held today at Carolina Stadium in Columbia.
BLUE HEARTS A-FLITTER: The purposes and true beauty of birds’ color diversity
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B1 VOL. 118, NO. 114 WWW.THEITEM.COM
SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013 | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA
FOUNDED OCTOBER 15, 1894
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Crews rush to finish law center BY ROBERT J. BAKER bbaker@theitem.com Sumter County Clerk of Court Jamie Campbell doesn’t try to hide his excitement when talking about the county’s new Judicial Center. The $20 million facility is scheduled to open in May, which is “on time and on budget,” Campbell said.
“We’re now down to 60 days before we move in,” Campbell said Thursday, days after taking yet another tour through the three-story, 80,000-squarefoot building, which has been taking shape since September 2011. Campbell has been happy to give the tours to employees and other folks who will use the building. “I’m proud of what this
facility is going to be,” he said. “It’s a beautiful building, and Sumter County will be proud of it.” Crews from Sumterbased Thompson Turner Construction are working on the facility seven days a week so that Campbell’s office can take advantage of a three-week window starting in late April where there is no circuit court. “We have a small win-
dow there where we won’t have any court, either common pleas or general sessions,” Campbell said. “That falls at the end of April and beginning of May. That’s when we have to move in. And right now, we’re on schedule ROBERT J. BAKER / THE ITEM for that.” The new judicial center Construction crews have been working seven days a week to get the Sumter County Judicial Center will replace the current ready for its opening less than 60 days from now, SEE LAW CENTER, PAGE A7 according to Clerk of Court Jamie Campbell.
Heartfelt steps
Prison guard sues cellphone companies in 2010 attack BY GLENN SMITH gsmith@postandcourier.com
PHOTOS BY BRISTOW MARCHANT / THE ITEM
A large crowd of health-conscious walkers set out from the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce on East Calhoun Street on Saturday morning for the annual Heart Walk. The three-mile walk through downtown Sumter raises money for the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the American Heart Association.
A former state prison captain wants to hold cellphone providers liable for a 2010 attempt on his life that was said to have been ordered by a vengeful inmate using a smuggled phone. Robert Johnson and his wife, Mary, are suing 20 cellphone companies and cellular tower owners in connection with the March 5, 2010 attack, in which he was shot six times at his Sumter home. They allege that these companies had the ability to block inmate calls from Lee Correctional Institution in SEE LAWSUIT, PAGE A7
Hundreds storm Heart Walk to raise funds
Voter rights challenge stirs local figures
BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com Cold temperatures Saturday morning didn’t deter a big crowd from hoofing it through downtown Sumter for the annual Sumter County Heart Walk. The Heart Walk raises money for the American Heart Association to combat cardiovascular disease, something a brisk three-mile walk around Sumter’s historic district can do, as well. “Last year’s was great, but this year’s is better,” said Randolph Bynum, the superintendent of Sumter School District, who served as this year’s Heart Walk chairman. “We’ve gotten more involvement from government, the school district, businesses and just ordinary people.” The Heart Walk draws such a crowd, Bynum said, because of the prevalence of coronary problems in SEE WALK, PAGE A6
BY ROBERT J. BAKER bbaker@theitem.com
Randolph Bynum, the superintendent of Sumter School District, chaired this year’s Heart Walk effort. He welcomed walkers to the annual trek’s starting line on East Calhoun and Harvin streets Saturday morning.
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OUTSIDE SUN HERE & THERE
DEATHS James Epps Sr. Bernice Simon Shirley D. Bell John G. Coleman Fay Dinkins
A small Alabama county’s challenge of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 reverberated all the way to the tri-county area this week as the nation’s highest court heard arguments on a key provision of the law that local conservatives think unfairly targets certain BURNS areas based on their history of voting discrimination. Supreme Court justices from the right and left argued Wednesday with
John C. McNair Vivian L. Pringle Ruthie Mae Rose A9
Cool, with periods of bright sunshine through the day; clear and very cold tonight. HIGH: 51 LOW: 26 A10
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