Sumter remembers start of Vietnam war
SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2015
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Grease fire takes Sumter man’s life FROM STAFF REPORTS A Sumter man has died after what investigators believe was a kitchen grease fire, said Sumter Fire Department Public Information Officer Joey Duggan. Firefighters responded to a report of smoke coming from a home at 53 Neal St. just before 11 p.m. Friday night, he said, and were on scene within six minutes. Duggan said he was told by firefighters who responded to the fire the victim appeared to have been cooking. When the fire started, he apparently tried to get away from the fire but was overcome by smoke in a hallway, he said. David L. Hill, 59, was transported to Tuomey Regional Medical Center and later died, Duggan said. An early, unconfirmed report indicated the man had third-degree burns to his face, back and right arm. Sumter County Coroner Harvin Bullock said an autopsy would be performed Monday. Units from Headquarters, Manning Road and Stadium Road stations responded to the fire, Duggan reported. Estimated damage to the home and contents reportedly totaled $40,000.
NATIONAL POLICE WEEK EVENTS MON — MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT: Cpl. James Sinkler, (803) 436-2723 TUE — PRAYER BREAKFAST: Sgt. Perry Tiller, (803) 436-2048 FRI — CHUCK NESBITT MEMORIAL BLOOD DRIVE: Cpl. James Sinkler, (803) 436-2723 SAT — HOT PURSUIT 5K ROAD RACE: Lt. Angela Rabon, (803) 436-2700
Sumter celebrates National Police Week BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com In celebration of National Police Week, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and the Sumter Police Department will host several events to raise money for the Sumter CrimeStoppers in honor of local law enforcement officers who gave their lives in the line of duty. This year’s week of events will feature the unveiling of a memorial in remembrance of eight local fallen officers after the annual prayer breakfast which will be held at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at Church of the Holy Comforter, 213 N. Main St. During the breakfast, the Sumter community will come together to pray for law enforcement who risk their lives to serve and protect the public. Tickets are $12, and Rep. David Weeks will be the keynote speaker for the event. After the breakfast, attendees will walk to the Sumter County Judicial Center, 109 E. Canal St., to see the unveiling of the memorial. Braden Bunch, public information officer for the sheriff’s office, said the memorial is a part of the Charles Kubala Memorial Fund. Sgt. Kubala died in the line of duty in 1996. The public is also invited to participate in a memorial golf tournament at 8 a.m.
SEE POLICE, PAGE A11
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LIVING HISTORY
Museum exhibits early life in backcountry Working 19th-century homestead recreated at downtown complex BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com The ring of hammer on anvil and the retort of muskets sounded across the grounds of the Sumter County Museum Saturday. The aroma of roasting chicken over an open fire and the enticing smell of fresh-baked bread wafted in the breeze as the museum’s Carolina Backcountry Springtime event transported visitors to the time when life in South Carolina was anything but easy. Backcountry Manager Debra Watts took a moment out of helping Ursula Ling truss up a chicken to talk about the Backcountry events held three times a year at the museum. “We have been doing it since 2000,” she said. “This area represents a one family farm as it would have appeared between 1750 and about 1870. We are trying to show the public what life was like when Sumter was established.” The backcountry events are held each May, October and two weeks before Christmas, she said. The display behind the museum main building includes a variety of rustic building housing the blacksmith, farm implements, a railroad exhibit, weaving demonstration and more. Sumter High School history teacher John Shipman and Rich Corissinger labored in the blacksmith’s shop keeping a blaze going in the forge as Shipman worked on a tomahawk. “Basically, from the 1740s to the 1870s you had to make all of your own tools and supplies,” Corrissinger said, “from making nails to fixing the wagon.” Early settlers would start with a log cabin first, Shipman explained, then work on the outbuildings, including in many cases, a blacksmith shop. “It was all part of a self-suffi-
JIM HILLEY / THE SUMTER ITEM
Mel Welch demonstrates weaving on the loom at the Carolina Backcountry Springtime exhibition on Saturday, where actors recreated a working 19th-century homestead behind the Sumter County Museum on Washington Street. Check out more photographs from Carolina Backcountry on the web at theitem.com. cient homestead,” Corissinger said. A short stroll away, Joanne Keels and Bobby Barwick were taking in a demonstration of black powder weapons by Frank Holloway Jr. Keels said she was a school teacher for many years and has been to the Backcountry event often. “If children came out to see all of this, us teachers wouldn’t have to talk so much,” she quipped. Adding an interesting twist to
the displays was Mel Welch, who was demonstrating how to spin wool and weave on a loom. “I start with wool straight off a sheep,” she said. Keeping clothes on your back was a time-consuming process, she said. “You sit and spin for two-and-ahalf hours to make a whole spool of yarn,” she said. “The loom can
SEE BACKCOUNTRY, PAGE A11
Citizens United hosts GOP ‘Freedom Summit’ in Greenville BY BILL BARROW AND MITCH WEISS The Associated Press GREENVILLE — Republicans making their pitch to be the party’s 2016 presidential nominee aimed to out-do each other Saturday in arguing that President Obama is a failed leader. But hitting Obama with the usual critiques — from his 2010 health care overhaul to allegations of missteps on foreign pol-
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icy to the rise in the national debt during his time in office — also made it hard for the gaggle of White House aspirants to stand out during a WALKER forum in South Carolina hosted by the conservative group Citizens United. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker tried by touting his ability to beat whomever is nominated by the
DEATHS, A11 Roland J. Foisey Carroll Zimmerman Jackie Williams Lewis Blyther David L. Hill Edna T. Peace
Democratic Party, reminding activists that he won three statewide elections in four years in a state twice carried by Obama. “The last time a Republican carried the state for president was 1984,” he said. “That’s a tough state.” He even took the crowd back to his decision to run for county executive in heavily Democratic Milwaukee County. “Never ever had
SEE GOP, PAGE A9
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5 SECTIONS, 38 PAGES VOL. 120 NO. 175
Mostly cloudy and rainy today, breezy with an 80 percent chance of rain; clearing tonight. HIGH 80, LOW 65
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