March 8, 2013

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No bond for men involved in rap video A2

Crestwood baseball faces former head coach. B1 FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2013 | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA

VOL. 118, NO. 118 WWW.THEITEM.COM

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Sumter native named Professor of the Year BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com

BRADEN BUNCH / THE ITEM

Joshua Castleberry, instructor and manager of the environmental engineering technology program at Central Carolina Technical College, comments on being named the 2013 S.C. Governor’s Professor of the Year for two-year institutions while his wife, Cassie, second from left, looks on.

COLUMBIA — Thursday morning’s event in the Statehouse Rotunda provided an ornate backdrop for a down-to-earth educator to speak about down-to-earth issues. Joshua Castleberry, the instructor and manager of the environmental engineering technology program at Central Carolina

Technical College, was officially recognized as the 2013 S.C. Governor’s Professor of the Year for two-year institutions. With Gov. Nikki Haley and various higher education officials on hand, Thursday’s presentation marked the first time in the 25-year history of the program that the award was presented to a professor from Central Carolina. In addition, it also

Loved ones honor boy with shaving cream battle

SEE CASTLEBERRY, PAGE A8

Brooks will serve as general in Hawaii

BY TAMMY SELF Special to The Item

FROM STAFF REPORTS It started with them missing their lost friend and ended with lots of smiles. To honor Preston Blake Driggers, an 8-year-old boy who died July 17, 2012, the children of Northside Memorial Baptist Church held a shaving cream fight at Tracy’s Camp in Pinewood on March 2. “At the beginning of last summer, our youth pastor, Jim Johnson, mentioned having a shaving cream fight for the kids and youth at our church,” said his parents, Walter C. “Walt” and Virginia “Gingi” Strange Driggers. “As soon as Blake heard about it, he was so excited, (and) he could not wait to take part in it. However, God had a much bigger plan for him. “Our family was thrilled and honored to join the youth this past Saturday at Tracy’s Camp to take part in the (inaugural) Preston Blake Driggers Shaving Cream Battle. It was awesome to see all of his friends smiling and having so much fun. Some even wore their ‘Remember Blake’ T-shirts.” SEE BLAKE, PAGE A8

TAMMY SELF / SPECIAL TO THE ITEM

From left, Chanson Bullard, Kamdyn Waldron, Josie Self, Walt Driggers, Emily Jordan and Darren Dawkins finish up the inaugural Preston Blake Driggers Shaving Cream Battle to honor the memory of Blake. Many wore red, Blake’s favorite color.

Third Army/U.S. Army Central commanding general Lt. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks was confirmed by the U.S. Senate for appointment to the rank of general and assignment as the commanding general, U.S. Army Pacific, Fort Shafter, Hawaii. “I am honored to BROOKS return to the Pacific region where I served earlier in my career. However, Carol and I will miss the great friends we’ve met in the Midlands as well as in the Middle East and Central Asia,” said Brooks. Brooks is the first commander of Third Army/USARCENT to oversee its operations in Sumter at Shaw Air Force Base. He assumed command of Third Army/ USARCENT on June 3, 2011, at Fort McPherson, Ga. During his tenure with Third Army he is credited with: • Completing the Third Army/ USARCENT headquarters move from Fort McPherson to Shaw; • Building mutually beneficial SEE BROOKS, PAGE A10

Local blood bank stays busy with its donations BY JADE ANDERSON janderson@theitem.com Donating blood may not be complicated, but taking care of it once it is outside the body is. Tuomey Regional Medical Center’s Blood Bank uses about 5,500 units of blood products per year often with daily deliveries from The American Red Cross in Columbia. “As a rule, we have about 60 units on hand, but it varies day to day,” said Sandy Gerbode, the clinical laboratory supervisor for the blood bank. “If we have a special type

of patient need, they will get it for us.” While whole blood is used mainly for trauma patients and emergency surgeries, more often blood is separated into its component parts to treat particular conditions. “If a patient has chemotherapy to destroy the cancer cells, it can also destroy the good cells,” Gerbode said. “It destroys the red cells and the platelets (clotting agents). They may be very tired because the red cells carry oxygen or bleed spontaneously because the platelets were destroyed. We can give them a transfusion to restore

JADE ANDERSON / THE ITEM

SEE BLOOD, PAGE A10

DEATHS

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Keenya Black, a FlorenceDarlington Technical College student, prepares to draw a sample from a bag of packed red blood cells. Sandy Gerbode, the clinical laboratory supervisor for Tuomey Regional Medical Center blood bank, said they usually have two interns a year.

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Mostly sunny; clear and chilly later this evening HIGH: 60 LOW: 33 A10

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