IN SPORTS: TSA girls reflect on school’s 1st fast-pitch softball championship B1
Shooting suspect still at large; victim in coma
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FRIDAY, MAY 23, 2014
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Coroner: Driver in fatal wreck not drunk Toxicology report returns in 3-car, 2-death collision on North Lafayette BY ROB COTTINGHAM rcottingham@theitem.com (803) 774-1225 Investigators are still looking into what caused a wreck that claimed two lives on North Lafayette Drive last week, although autopsy results are starting to rule out some factors. Sumter County Coroner Harvin
Bullock said preliminary toxicology results indicate James Lee Rogers, 68, of 106 S. Magnolia St., who was the driver of the white 2005 Hyundai that collided with a Lincoln Navigator and a Cadillac CTS on that day, was below the legal blood-alcohol limit when the wreck occurred. “He had alcohol in his system and was approaching the legal limit, but
he had not surpassed that level at the time of the wreck,” Bullock said. “It’s an acceptable reading.” Those results come from ocular fluid collected and sent to a hospital in Newberry where officials can attain a quick test result. Blood samples are sent to South Carolina Law Enforcement Division as well, but those results can take several weeks, Bullock said.
The coroner also said medical conditions have been ruled out at this point. “There’s no indication that he might have experienced a heart attack or some other trauma prior to the incident,” Bullock said. “Nothing out of the ordinary that would have contributed to the collision has been found.”
SEE WRECK, PAGE A8
Yarn bombing strikes Sumter Local budgets covered Revised forecast means full funding for governments BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com (803) 774-1272 In recent weeks, local governments have been scrambling to keep their budgets in balance, faced with the prospect that funding from the state could be millions short of what’s expected. But Wednesday’s meeting of the S.C. Board of Economic Advisors updated the state’s revenue projections for the year, giving state legislators enough available funds to restore money removed from the Senate version of the budget. That means local governments will be funded at least at their 2014 level, and the state’s counties, cities and towns could actually see a little extra before the state budget is finalized. Economic forecasts presented to the BEA predict the General Assembly will have $55 million more to add to the state’s still-unfinished spending plan, including $35 million in “new” revenue for the current fiscal year and $20 million for next year. The unexpected windfall will fund the $16 million senators moved from local government to a supplemental budget, sometimes referred to as “maybe money.”
MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM
Kayte Marchese yarn bombs a bike rack on Liberty Street in downtown Sumter on Tuesday morning. She says it takes her two hours to crochet the designs, and it takes about 10 minutes to decorate objects found throughout the town with them.
Woman decorates town with crocheted creations BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com (803) 774-1250 owntown Sumter is brightening up with some new threads. Kayte Marchese has started decorating parking signs and bike racks in the city with colorful crochet covers. It’s called yarn bombing. “My husband makes fun of me, but it’s really about driving around, seeing a spot and thinking, ‘that would be beautiful covered in yarn,’” said the 27-yearold. “It doesn’t hurt the environment, and you can change it out.”
SEE BUDGETS, PAGE A8
hood’s homeowners association before decorating a tree in her yard and a stop sign down the street. “There have been a few people that are like, ‘does it hurt the birds?’” she said. “It’s not hurtful to the birds. It’s one solid piece. They don’t bother it. I have little strings all the time that I put out in the yard for them to put in their nests. They use them, but nothing bothers it (the yarn decoration). It’s survived the rain storm. In Toledo, it’s survived
Her husband, Vince Marchese, is a staff sergeant with the U.S. Air Force. The couple have two children, Vinnie, 3, and Chloee, 6. “Chloee has helped me put some up downtown,” Marchese said. “She tells people, ‘My mom made this.’” The inspiration came after a recent trip home to Toledo, Ohio. “I was creatively stuck,” Marchese said. “When I went back, the whole downtown was covered with yarn bombs. I found the creator of those online, and she told me how to do it.” In Ohio, permits were required. Marchese started with her neighbor-
SEE YARN BOMBING, PAGE A8
SUMTER IRIS FESTIVAL Schedule of events and 2-4 p.m. Sunday
ONGOING EVENTS 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. today and Saturday / 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday • Arts and crafts/Food Court/ Marketplace • Swan Lake boat rides/live entertainment • Art of Welding by Central Carolina Technical College • Art in the Gardens • Gateway to Gardening • Flower Show at Alice Boyle Garden Center, 2-5 p.m., today and Saturday,
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Festival Flower Show, Alice Boyle Garden Center
Today • 9-11 a.m., Visitors Center, Tuomey Health Initiatives • 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Children’s Area, Just Kidding Around • 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Children’s Art in the Park • 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Visitors Center, Education Day: Wild About Education and Safety • 2-5 p.m., today and Saturday, Iris
Saturday • 9 a.m., Shrine Day Parade • 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Safe Kids Adventureland • 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Swamp People’s Troy Landry, Visitors Center • 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Pearl Fryar, renowned topiary artist, Bland Gardens • 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Children’s Art in the Park
• 10:45 a.m., Main Stage, introduction of Iris Festival Kings and Queens • 11 a.m., Diaper Derby & Parade, Main Stage • 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Quick Start Tennis Clinic • 11 a.m.-5 p.m., East Coast Golf Cart Show, Visitors Center lawn • 11:30 a.m., Children’s Pet Show, Heath Pavilion • 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Head Turnerz Classic Car Show, Garden Street • 2-5 p.m., Flower Show at Alice Boyle Garden Center
DEATHS, B6 and B7 Tim O’Neill Thomas D. Keels Jr. Herbert Lee Slater Jerry Lee Grubb Lee Vern Bradley Hattie Wilder Dorothy Mae Gadson
James M. LaCoste Charlie Gathers Katie B. Osorio Ophelia E. Hinnant Shirley S. Georgia Sarah Blackwell Sharon Gulledge
Sunday • 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sumter Cruisers Show & Shine, Garden Street • noon-5 p.m., Just Kidding Around, Children’s Area • noon-5 p.m., Children’s Art in the Park
WEATHER, A10
INSIDE
AFTERNOON, NIGHT STORMS
3 SECTIONS, 24 PAGES VOL. 119, NO. 187
An afternoon thunderstorm likely, with more storms and patchy clouds early at night. HIGH 93, LOW 63
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