ENTERTAINMENT: Is Lifetime’s abduction drama trend captivating or creepy? B5
Lab will try to ID Pearl Harbor victims’ remains A6 SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015
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CHOIR EARNS PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL RECOGNITION
The Grammy goes to ... Lakewood
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
The Lakewood High School Carnegie Hall Ensemble sings the western European song “Laudete Dominium” during its performance at the school Tuesday night. Conducting is teacher and director Herbert Johnson. Lakewood received the 2015 GRAMMY Signature School Enterprise Award and a check for $5,500.
Governor of recording academy gives check, award to school choir BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com Lakewood High School Choir presented its final concert of the season Tuesday evening, taking the large au-
dience at LHS Fine Arts Center around the world with its music from South Africa, Germany, Hungary, Russia, India, Motown and other locales. The singers themselves, however, were over the moon after Lakewood was named a GRAMMY Signature School by the GRAMMY Foundation. Shannon Sanders, governor of the Nashville Chapter of the Recording Academy and a Grammy, Emmy and Dove-award-winning producer, pre-
sented the award and an oversized check for $5,500 to Lakewood choir director Herbert Johnson and Principal John Michalik. In his remarks, Sanders said he was “proud and excited for these young people and the opportunities they have that their families and community have made possible.” GRAMMY Signature Schools, he said, are selected by application from as many as 20,000 public schools across the country.
“You can’t believe the piles and piles of submissions we got,” he said. Applications must include a performance recording and an extensive written application. This year, Sanders said, “Thirteen high school music programs (including Lakewood) were selected as GRAMMY Signature Schools, and Lakewood is one of only eight GRAMMY Signature Schools Enterprise
SEE GRAMMY, PAGE A5
Man sentenced to life had 30-year rap sheet, rejected bargain BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com David Abraham Duren Jr., 56, who was sentenced to life in prison without the
DUREN
possibility of parole on Wednesday for stealing $900 worth of cigarettes, had five prior burglary charges, an arson charge and a rap sheet that stretched from 1983 to 2013.
Third Circuit Solicitor Ernest “Chip” Finney III said the solicitor’s office made the decision to implement the state’s three-strike law on the serious offenses option in this case. The law
states if a person is convicted twice for the same type of crime, the prosecution has the option of pursuing a life sentence on the third offense without the possibility of parole. Burglary in the
Sumter
Iris Festival schedule of events Today, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Arts & Crafts/Food Court/Marketplace Swan Lake boat rides/live entertainment Community displays: History of the Sumter Iris Festival, Sumter’s Military History “We Weld America” sponsored by Central Carolina Technical College Welding Program Art in the Gardens & Gateway to Gardening (until 5 p.m.) Today • 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Garden Street — Head Turnerz Classic Car Show • 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Children’s Area — Just Kidding Around • 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Bland Gardens – Children’s Art in the Park • 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Alice Boyle Garden Center — Mary Hinson Flower Show • 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Topiary artist Pearl
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Fryar, Bland Gardens • 10:45 a.m., Main stage — Introduction of Iris Kings, Queens • 11 a.m., Main stage — Diaper Derby & Parade • 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Visitors Center lawn — East Coast Golf Cart Show • 1-5 p.m., Visitors Center — N.Y. Yankees 1960 World Series MVP Bobby Richardson • 3, 5 and 7 p.m., Sumter County Civic Center — 75th Anniversary Celebration Laser Show Sunday, May 24 • 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Garden Street — Sumter Cruisers Show & Shine • Noon-5 p.m., Children’s Area, Just Kidding Around • Noon-5 p.m., Bland Gardens — Children’s Art in the Park • 1-4 p.m., Boyle Garden Center — Mary Hinson Flower Show
ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE Main Stage Today, May 23 • 1-4 p.m. — Lexi the Clown • 10:45-11 a.m. — King/Queens/ Dignitaries introduced • 11-11:30 a.m. — Diaper Derby & Parade presented by Dreamworks Dance Academy • 11:30-noon — Miss Libby’s School of Dance • Noon-12:30 p.m. — Common Call Quartet, Charleston • 12:30-1 p.m. — Lemira Percussion • 1:30-2 p.m. — Lemira Percussion • 2-2:30 p.m. — Brian Rapier and Fallen Statues • 2:30-3 p.m. — Sandy Banks, Hartsville • 3-3:30 p.m. — Allison Skipper, Aiken • 3:30-4 p.m. — Freed School of Performing Arts • 4-4:30 p.m. — Allison Skipper, Aiken
DEATHS, A5 and A7 Byrum W. Johnson Scott Thomas Charles R. Propst Rochell Johnson Deloris Dupree Julia Dukes
Frank Cooper III Mary Spann Walker Chase S. Prince Barbara Wheeler Mary L. Graybill Henry Bridges
• 4:30-5 p.m. — Last Generation Quartet • 5-6 p.m. — Maddie Hunt, Myrtle Beach Sunday, May 24 • 1-4 p.m. — Lexi the Clown • 2-2:30 p.m. — Cross Anchor Quartet • 2:30-3 p.m. — Puppets4Christ, Aldersgate Methodist Church • 3-3:30 p.m. — Sandy Banks, Hartsville • 3:30-4:30 p.m. — SHS Jazz Band Dock: Today • 2-4 p.m. — From The Morning Sunday, May 24 • 2-4 p.m. — John Berry & Kevin Jarvis Gazebo: Today • Noon-4 p.m. — Frank Fickling, guitar Sunday, May 24 • 1-4 p.m. — Frank Fickling See scenes from the festival on pages A2 and A3.
second degree is one of the crimes on that list. “It is not common for the solicitor’s office to file a notice seeking life without
SEE PRISON, PAGE A5
Trustee rep will testify on toxic dump Former managing principal will be able to attend hearing BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com A South Carolina Senate subcommittee taking testimony on the Pinewood Site toxic waste landfill in Sumter County will apparently be able to hear from Bill Stephens, former managing principal of Kestrel Horizons, which was the site’s trustee for more than a decade. Stephens had initially said he would not be available on the day of the hearing, scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday in Columbia, but in an email to The Sumter Item, he said
SEE TESTIMONY, PAGE A5
WEATHER, A8
INSIDE
PERFECT SATURDAY
2 SECTIONS, 16 PAGES VOL. 120, NO. 185
Pleasant with clouds and sun; mainly clear later this evening HIGH 84, LOW 58
Classifieds B7 Comics B6
Lotteries A8 Television B5