Fire Ants drop opener of JUCO World Series Thousands stranded at sea
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Tax break for retired military If bill passes Senate, veterans’ retirement income could become exempt COLLYN TAYLOR intern@theitem.com A bill making its way through the state legislature that would reduce taxes on retired military personnel has passed the House of Representatives and is in the Senate
Finance Committee. The bill, which was introduced in mid-January, was approved unanimously by the House on April 29. The same day, it was read to the Senate, where it was delegated to the Finance Committee for review.
The bill has not been reintroduced on the Senate floor since its initial reading. Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, who was one of 15 sponsors of the bill, said the Finance Committee’s main problem is the fiscal impact of the deductions. In a study done by the Darla
Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, retirees contribute $450 million in economic activity compared to $14.4 million the state generates from income tax revenue. While the members of the finance committee are still de-
liberating, Sen. Thomas McElveen, D-Sumter, says he doesn’t see any hiccups with the bill passing. He said he’s willing to talk to members of the Senate Finance Committee to do whatever he can to
SEE TAX BREAK, PAGE A11
Big turnout More than 75K expected to attend 75th Sumter Iris Festival BY COLLYN TAYLOR AND KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY intern@theitem.com, konstantin@theitem.com Nearly 75,000 attendees from all over the nation were expected to come out to the 75th Annual Iris Festival held at the Swan Lake Gardens Friday, Saturday and Sunday. “We have people from as far away as New York state and Alabama come out for the festivities,” said Shelley Kile, communications and tourism director for the City of Sumter. This year, the festival was named in the top 20 events of the year by the Southeast Tourism Society and in the top 100 events by the American Bus Association, Kile said. “It has always been a well-known festival throughout the southeast,” she said. To mark the 75th anniversary, a parade was held on Friday night this year, and it included a mobile laser, mounted on a city truck. The night parade previewed the laser show that was held on Saturday at the Sumter Civic Center. A medieval reenactment group from the Society for Creative Anachronism, dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe, was one of the vendors at the event Saturday. The re-enactors and history buffs were dressed in medieval clothing with the knights displaying their sword-fighting skills. Children had an opportunity to “whack a knight,” who was in PHOTOS BY KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM protective gear, with a rubber-material type A fan watches the laser light show at the Sumter County Civic Center on sword. Saturday. The 75th Anniversary Celebration Laser Show featured lasers set “It’s a very research-oriented group, and we to songs celebrating America and featured beams creating patterns and try to bring history alive with re-anactments
laser drawings on a screen. For more photos from Sumter Iris Festival, go SEE FESTIVAL, PAGE A13 to theitem.com and click photos on Tuesday.
Veterans recognize POWs, MIAs during cross-country ride BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com About 2,000 veterans, family members and supporters met at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. to recognize and celebrate service members during the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Viet-
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nam War on Friday, including a rider from Sumter. The 27th Run For The Wall started May 13 in Ontario, California, where about 900 riders, about 75 percent of whom were veterans, started their journey across the country. Board President Ken Hargrove said the ride provides an opportunity for
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military members to be recognized for their services and sacrifices. He said the national ride is also a way to bring awareness to the fact that there are about 85,000 service members who are missing in action or prisoners of war since World War II. Hargrove is a retired Marine who served two tours in Vietnam War be-
DEATHS, A13 Juanita A. Alsbrook Alice J. L. Locher Emma W. Graham Vernell B. Lewis Catherine H. Urban Mary L. Graybill Henry E. Bridges Jr.
tween 1968 and 1970. After meeting in Ontario, the riders split into three group and took three routes to the Washington, D.C. The riders traveled through Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
SEE RIDE, PAGE A11
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Still Waiting? Act Now Before Mortgage Rates Rise. Sumter: 469-0156 Manning: 433-4451 bankofclarendon.com ."//*/( t 4"/5&& t 46..&350/ t 8:#00 t 46.5&3
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