May 6, 2015 by The Sumter Item

IN SPORTS: Gators host Stall in 3A soccer playoffs

Carolina Backcountry Museum hosts annual demonstration of life in 19th-century Sumter C1

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City approves new zoning measures City council approves zoning for standalone vending machines BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Sumter City Council approved final reading of two ordinances that could

Accused Texas gunman in FBI sights since 2006

prove to be beneficial to business owners during its relatively brief meeting on Tuesday. Final reading was approved for amendments to the city’s zoning and development standards to allow ice vending machines to be placed as primary use on a parcel of land. Previously, the machines could only be constructed on a lot if a larger commercial structure such as a grocery store or restaurant were also

located on the property. The amendments will allow Ice House vending machine owner Darrell Allen to purchase lots of land and build the machines without the worry of landlords increasing rent or selling the land. In a previous meeting, George McGregor, planning department director, said the amendments apply to any standalone, coin-operating vending machines.

Business and home owners could spend less time waiting on signage and exterior paint approvals now that council has approved final reading of amendments to the zoning and development standards allowing Sumter Planning Department staff to make certain design approvals without review from the Historic Preservation Design Review Board.

SEE COUNCIL, PAGE A8

HIGHER EDUCATION

USC Sumter holds commencement University of South Carolina Sumter students listen to instructions as they prepare to receive their diplomas Monday evening. USC Sumter had 123 graduates during the 20142015 academic year.

BY EILEEN SULLIVAN, ERIC TUCKER AND RYAN VAN VELZER The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Since 2006, the FBI had been investigating Elton Simpson — one of the men suspected in the Texas shootings outside a contest featuring cartoons of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. Agents recorded the young man from Phoenix talking about fighting nonbelievers for Allah, about plans to travel to South Africa and link up with “brothers” in Somalia and about using school as a cover story for traveling overseas. Simpson was arrested in 2010, one day before authorities say he planned to leave for South Africa. But despite more than 1,500 hours of recorded conversations, the government prosecuted him on only one minor charge — lying to a federal agent. Years spent investigating Simpson for terrorism ties resulted in three years of probation and $600 in fines and court fees. Then, on Sunday, two men whom authorities identified as Simpson and Nadir Soofi opened fire in a Dallas suburb on an unarmed security officer stationed outside the contest. The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation by name. The deliberately provocative contest had been expected to draw outrage from the Muslim community. According to mainstream Islamic tradition, any physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad — even a respectful one — is considered blasphemous, and drawings similar to those featured at the Texas event have sparked violence around the world. Simpson and Soofi were

SEE FBI, PAGE A8

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USC Sumter, FMU announce partnership BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com The University of South Carolina Sumter and Francis Marion University have announced a partnership that will give USC Sumter students access to FMU’s nationally accredited nursing program. Pre-nursing students will be able to complete two years of prerequisite courses at USC Sumter and finish the bachelor of science in nursing program at FMU. According to a news release, USC Sumter Regional Campus Dean Michael Sonntag said, “This opportunity will allow students in our area to train close to home and move through

the nursing program quickly to start their careers.” He said the universities are thrilled to create this pathway for students interested in nursing. Ruth Wittmann-Price, chair of the school of nursing at FMU, said not only will the partnership benefit students but it may also help with the shortage of nurses in the state. The release states that FMU is expanding its nursing education and reported that the nursing department recently graduated its first nurse practitioners and nurse educators. FMU’s nursing program has one of the highest National Council Licensure Examination pass rates in the re-

DEATHS, B7 Katherine N. Carter Harry Lee McDonald James McCain Gladys Bassett Robert Eugene Sorenson Linda Kay Lee Hamm Bertha W. Blackwell

Marion Clavon Sr. Clarence E. Mathis Lillie Mae Mack Junior Hodge Essie Lee W. Montgomery Betty A. Bell Elene J. Price

gion, according to the news release. Nursing school graduates must take the NCLEX in order to receive a nursing license to begin practicing nursing. USC Sumter marketing and public relations director Misty Hatfield said the two universities have been discussing the program partnership since last fall. She said FMU is now a third option for USC Sumter pre-nursing students to transfer to earn a BSN degree including USC Upstate and USC Columbia. According to the release, USC Sumter students will be able to take advantage of the opportunity starting the fall 2015 semester.

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Federal program promises to be a boon to state’s ‘crescent of shame’ which the demographics have remained similar for 150 years. Maps he displayed show the area of poverty closely corresponds to where the slave population was located in 1860. “These areas have been forgotten in large part by the metro areas,” he said. “In the ’20s and ’30s, when the rural areas kind of ran things they got more attention; but now, all the power has shifted to the metro areas like Charleston and Columbia.” Brack said he helped form a weekly conference call group that discussed BRACK ways to improve communication and help focus attention on the area’s needs. “These are people at the top of their field, the head of United Way, Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers, Republicans, Democrats, non-profits, forprofits, government folks, all just talking about what can we do about poverty.” In doing research for the discussions, he said he became aware of a federal program called “Promise Zones.” “I never heard of it,” he quipped. Brack said the program was announced by the Obama administration in 2013, and would designate 20 commu-

BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com Charleston based syndicated columnist and publisher Andy Brack spoke to the Sumter Sunrise Rotary Club on Tuesday morning at Quality Inn about how a new Promise Zone in south central South Carolina’s Lowcountry may help lift the area out of poverty. Among the groups that spearheaded the application for a Promise Zone designation was the Center for a Better South, he said, a group in Charleston he and others formed to provide ideas to southern legislators that are working elsewhere. Across the south, Brack said, about three million people live in a crescent of predominantly rural areas that share a remarkable number of characteristics, including high poverty, unemployment, women-led single-parent households, diabetes, obesity and lack of education. Brack called it the “crescent of shame.” “It’s considered by demographers the old black belt,” Brack explained. “The term black belt comes from two things, one is the soil in those areas of Alabama is black, and it also a higher percentage of African Americans live in this area.” Brack said the crescent is an area in

nities for assistance in attracting jobs and raising the standards of living. He said the program has four main goals: grow jobs, increase economic activity, increase education and decrease crime. Surprisingly, the program will not provide those communities with money, he said. “Last week they announced eight (Promise Zones),” he said. “One of which is in South Carolina in the southern tip — Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties.” Promise Zone communities will receive two federal benefits, he said, extra points when applying for 30 federal grant programs across about a dozen agencies and the services of five grant writers to help with applying for the grants. “These are people who are trained to tap into these programs,” Brack said. “People in these areas don’t have that training.” It is up to the counties to take ownership of the program, he said, but he noted he has already noticed increased enthusiasm from area leaders. “It is an area of South Carolina that has had so little hope for dozens and dozens of years,” he said. “There’s some energy now. It has energized the people down there and they are working and

talking and helping each other like they haven’t done in years.” The designation will last for 10 years, he said, and local leaders will focus on bringing manufacturing jobs, affordable housing and “intelligence-based prosecuting.” “That means if you know there are bad guys in your community, figure out a way to get rid of them,” Brack said. Helping family farmers target their crops for local restaurants is another focus, he said. “We in South Carolina spend $2 billion a year on food,” he said. “If we could keep 2 percent of that in South Carolina, that is $200 million.” Another program under development, he said, will build new housing and rehab existing housing by training local workers. “It’s not somebody from outside coming in one time and fixing things and leaving. It is people at home learning the skills and training that they need to fix their own things and to grow jobs,” he said. Brack said though the Promise Zone is experimental, he thinks it will be a major benefit for the impoverished area. “It is going to change lives down there,” he said. “This is an area that has been ignored 150 years.”

Getting shined up for its debut

LOCAL & STATE BRIEFS FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast will be held Thursday Celebrate National Day of Prayer Thursday with the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast at 6:30 a.m. at Alice Drive Baptist Church, 1305 Loring Mill Road. Breakfast will be served at 6:30 a.m., and the service program will begin at 7:30 a.m. Tickets are $15 at the door and $10 in advance. Advance tickets may be purchased at the Olive Tree Christian Bookstore, 600 Bultman Drive or at the Swan Lake Visitors Center, 822 W. Liberty St. For more information, contact Chris Moore at (803) 7748665 or pastorchrismoore@ gmail.com.

Patrick Aycock, from Aycock-Richardson Monument Company, polishes the back side of the new Sumter County fallen officers monument at the Sumter County Court House on Tuesday. The monument will be unveiled Tuesday, May 12 as part of National Police Week. The memorial bears the names of eight officers killed in Sumter County and an inspirational quote.

DHEC plans hearings on S.C. Health Plan

KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

FLORENCE — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control will hold four public hearings next month on the proposed South Carolina Health Plan. The hearings are being held at 10 a.m. each day at DHEC’s regional offices with the first in Greenville June 9. Hearings will be held June 10 in Columbia, June 11 in Florence and June 12 in Charleston. State law requires DHEC each year to prepare a health plan that includes an inventory of existing health care facilities, beds, services and equipment. The plan also has projections of what will be needed in communities across the state in the future. The plan also helps determine which health services receive certificates of need from the state.

House, Senate don’t reach deal to fire S.C. State trustees COLUMBIA (AP) — The state House and Senate have nearly unanimously agreed that the trustees at South Carolina State University need to be fired. But after nearly three months of debate, they still can’t agree on whether two state officials that handle financial matters should get to appoint a couple of the interim trustees to oversee the

state’s only public historically black university. The disagreement continued Tuesday for nearly two hours as three House members and three senators debated a compromise on their different bills. The conference committee adjourned without making a final decision, but plans to meet again today. Each side agreed the governor should get an appoint-

ment and the House and Senate should decide how to appointment two members in each chamber. But that fivemember board is all the Senate wants. Sens. Brad Hutto, Darrell Jackson and Wes Hayes all rejected a compromise from House members that would add the treasurer and comptroller general as members. “We should agree to move

forward or agree to disagree. We’re here fiddling while Rome is burning,” said Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg. Cobb-Hunter and her fellow House members, Jim Merrill and Kenny Bingham, said allowing the comptroller general and treasurer to each appoint a temporary trustee would add important fiscal accountability to the board.

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Family: Teens still critical 6 weeks after resort poisoning BY MICHAEL RUBINKAM The Associated Press Two Delaware teenagers are still in critical condition more than six weeks after they were sickened by a banned pesticide that was sprayed at the Caribbean resort where they were staying, their family said Monday. Sean and Ryan Esmond and their parents fell ill after an applicator working for Terminix used methyl bromide at the resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The teens are hospitalized in Philadelphia. Their father and mother, Stephen Esmond and Theresa Devine, continue to undergo therapy, said the statement, which provided the first update on the family’s medical condition in a month. “The Esmond Family thanks the nation for its outpouring of support and concern for the family’s recovery from this unthinkable tragedy of pesticide poisoning during their family vacation,” the statement said. The Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Justice and authorities in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are investigating. The EPA said in April that its probe had found the toxic pesticide was used at the Sirenusa Condominium Resort in St. John several times in the past, and may have improperly been used in Puerto Rico. The agency banned the chemical for residential use in 1984. “The family is confident that those responsible will be brought to justice,” the Esmonds’ statement said. Stephen Esmond is head of a private middle school in Wilmington, Delaware, and Devine is a dentist in the Philadelphia suburbs. The family had traveled to the Virgin Islands for vaca-

tion with several other families from Wilmington’s private Tatnall School. Methyl bromide, an odorless and highly toxic gas, can severely damage the lungs and brain. The chemical was applied to a vacant unit directly beneath the Esmonds’ unit at the posh resort overlooking Cruz Bay, according to environmental regulators. The teenagers’ prognosis depends on how long they were exposed and how much they breathed in, said Dr. Reynold Panettieri, deputy director of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school. “The potential for meaningful recovery is still there,” Panettieri, who is not involved in the teens’ care, told The Associated Press recently. “As you get farther and farther out, the potential for meaningful survival and living independently is going to become less and less likely.” Terminix, the Memphis, Tennessee-based pest-control firm, previously said it is cooperating with investigators and conducting its own internal inquiry. A company spokesman did not immediately return an email seeking comment on what its internal probe has found. The Virgin Islands’ Department of Planning and Natural Resources has suspended the Terminix applicator’s license.

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2 decades after ‘Black Hawk Down,’ Kerry visits Somalia MOGADISHU, Somalia AP — Two decades after dead American soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu, John Kerry on Tuesday became the first secretary of state to set foot in Somalia, a symbolic visit to show support for the African nation’s fledgling government and the United States’ readiness to move past a dark chapter in its history. But as Kerry vowed to deepen America’s partnership with a new cadre of Somali leaders, the fact that he never left the airport underscored just how dangerous and unstable Somalia remains after a quartercentury of civil war. Before returning to Kenya, the top U.S. diplomat stayed a little more than three hours, meeting with Somalia’s president and prime minister and several regional chiefs and civil society groups. It was enough time, he said, to see the resiliency of a people determined to reclaim their future from the terrorists and militias that plunged Somalia into what had seemed an endless cycle of conflict. He promised American help along the path of recovery. “More than 20 years ago, the United States was forced to pull back from your country,” Kerry said, invoking the “Black Hawk Down” debacle when 18 servicemen died after Somali

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Secretary of State John Kerry boards a plane to depart Mogadishu, Somalia, on Tuesday after meeting with President Hassan Sheikh Mohammed and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke in a show of solidarity with the Somalian government trying to defeat al-Qaida-allied militants. Kerry is the first secretary of state to visit Somalia. militiamen shot down two U.S. helicopters and a subsequent rescue mission failed. “Now we are returning.” The trip was made under tight security. Somalia’s government only learned a day ago that Kerry would join the State Department’s top Africa official, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, on the trip. U.S. officials closely controlled access to the conference building where the discussions took place, an edifice encased by 6-foot high piles of sandbags and ringed by fencing wire. The actual meeting room was bleak and dark, illuminated by a single fluorescent light overhead. Down the street, African peace-

keeping troops sat at picnic tables as oily streaks of airplane fuel glimmered in the Indian Ocean. “The next time I come, we have to be able to just walk downtown,” Kerry told Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Downtown, Mohamud replied, “is very different now.” Top of the agenda was the fight against al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-allied group that has terrorized Somalia for the last eight years. African forces and U.S. drone strikes have crippled the organization’s leadership in recent years and left the extremists without much of the territory they once controlled or cash flows to reverse their losses.

May 8, 2015, Tickets $25.00 (Purchase prior to April 25th to receive a free T-shirt) At the Door: Entry: $30.00, T-shirt: $10.00 Entertainment provided by 4 Way Stop Beer & beverages will be available for purchase at Rotary Plaza Order your tickets today: • By Phone 773-5508 • On Line • By Mail www.sumtermicrobrewfestival.org 119 S. Sumter St. Over 30 “brews” & bar snacks, will be presented for tasting at downtown venues. Proceeds Benefiting Senior Programs in Sumter County

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

Mark Twain project finds new cache of his writing

Remote home of leprosy patients could one day welcome visitors

BY JANIE HAR The Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — A remote peninsula that has been the home of leprosy patients since the 19th century could be opened more fully to the public as the last remaining residents near the end of their lives. Now called Kalaupapa National Historical Park, the site is now only open to 100 adults per day. No children are allowed to visit. The park on the island of Molokai is accessible exclusively by plane or mule. Once the last patient dies, the National Park Service would like to open the park to more visitors, including children, according to a draft of the agency’s long-term management plan. The patients at the site — who chose to continue living at Kalaupapa after the mandatory exile of leprosy patients there was lifted by the state in 1969 — range in age from 73 to 92. “Visitor regulations would change, including allowing children to visit Kalaupapa with adult supervision, and removing the 100 person per day cap while continuing to limit the number of visitors per day through new mechanisms,” the park service said in a summary of its preferred alternative. In 2011, when the public process for developing the longrange plan began, the public was given a chance to comment. Most who weighed in supported a limit on daily visitors, saying they didn’t want it turned into a tourist trap. Some recommended giving Native Hawaiians less restricted access because most of the 8,000

SAN FRANCISCO — Scholars at the University of California, Berkeley have pieced together a collection of dispatches written by Mark Twain when the author was a young newsman in San Francisco. In the letters, the man who would write “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and its sequel, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” likened the city’s police chief to a dog chasing its tail and accused city government of rascality. Some of the letters carried his flair for embellishment and may not be entirely true. “This is a very special period in his life, when he’s out here in San Francisco,” said Bob Hirst, general editor of the Mark Twain Project on the Berkeley campus. “He’s utterly free; he’s not encumbered by a marriage or much of anything else, and he can speak his mind and does speak his mind. These things are wonderful to read, the ones that survived.” Twain was likely 29 years old when he started filing near-daily columns for the Territorial Enterprise newspaper in Virginia City, Nevada, in 1865. He wrote a 2,000-word story, or “letter,” six days a week for a salary of $100 a month, Hirst said. Many of the letters were in back issues lost to fires, but Twain scholars picked through archives of other Western U.S. newspapers for copies. They have found about 110 columns written in 1865 and 1866. In one letter, Twain gives detailed dialogue between two gold speculators trapped in a shaft, clinging to rope tied to an old horse named Cotton. “Johnny, I’ve not lived as I ought to have lived. D--n that infernal horse!” Twain reported one man saying to the other. “Johnny, if we are saved I mean to be a good man and a Christian.” It’s unclear how Twain acquired that level of detail. Hirst said the story is

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bob Hirst, general editor of the Mark Twain Project, holds a magnifying glass to show the first Mark Twain signature to appear anywhere in the Territorial Enterprise newspaper in Virginia City, Nevada, at The Bancroft Library at the University of California Berkeley on Monday. Scholars at the University of California, Berkeley have pieced together a collection of dispatches written by Mark Twain when the author was a young newspaperman in San Francisco. likely based on some facts. Twain was also struggling at the time with his career, uncertain if writing humorously was literature, Hirst said. In an 1865 letter to his brother, Twain wrote of contemplating suicide, partly due to debt. But Twain’s time in San Francisco may have helped change that. The following year, he moved to Hawaii.

AP FILE PHOTO

An aerial view of Kalaupapa Peninsula on Molokai, Hawaii, is seen. A handful of people with leprosy are still living full-time on the isolated peninsula, but the National Park Service is already making plans to overhaul buildings and allow more visitors to the area when the last of the patients dies. people who died at Kalaupapa were Hawaiian. Alika Cullen, general administrator at Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu, said he has visited Kalaupapa about 40 times. He has mixed feelings about plans to open up Kalaupapa to more people, he said. “The world should know of the trials these people endured and how they overcame physical and mental roadblocks,” Cullen said in an email. “On the other hand, I do not wish to see a change so soon after the last patient dies. ... The settlement has kept the peninsula pretty sparse for the welfare of the patients and that is what makes the place special.” A former leprosy patient who lives at the site said he

would like see more visitors now. “Come when we alive,” Clarence “Boogie” Kahilihiwa, 74, the second-youngest patient, said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Monday. “No come when we all dead.” He would especially like to see children there, Kahilihiwa said. “I’d like to see the children and if they like hear our story, I can tell them personally,” he said. Kahilihiwa has lived at Kalaupapa since 1959 and has seen the disease’s stigma subside over the years. Leprosy, known as Hansen’s Disease, was once feared as highly contagious and long-lasting infection caused by bacteria. But it’s now rare and easily treated.

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THE SUMTER ITEM

POLICE REFORM

Fixing troubled departments time-consuming, costly City leaders fear Department of Justice involvement in Baltimore BY BEN NUCKOLS AND MICHAEL BIESECKER The Associated Press BALTIMORE — Months before Freddie Gray died of the broken neck he suffered during what Baltimore’s top prosecutor called an illegal arrest, the city’s mayor and police commissioner said the department needed reform and asked the Justice Department for help reviewing officer misconduct. Now that Gray is buried, six officers are charged in his death and an uneasy calm has returned to the streets, critics are wondering whether city leaders are capable of implementing the change the city needs without the direct, intensive oversight that comes with a fullfledged civil rights investigation resulting in a federal consent decree. Democratic Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has already pushed back against this possibility, saying it would deprive Baltimore’s leaders from having a say in fighting crime in one of the nation’s most violent major cities, with more than 200 homicides a year. “Nobody wants the Department of Justice to come and take over our city,” she said last week. Attorney General Loretta Lynch was in Baltimore on Tuesday to meet with Gray’s family and faith leaders. Justice Department officials accompanying her included the head of the

civil rights division, Vanita Gupta. Baltimore’s leaders should welcome federal oversight because it’s doubtful any police department can fix itself from within, said Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California-Irvine School of Law. Consent decrees have been mostly effective since Congress responded to the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles by granting the Justice Department the power in 1994 to sue police departments for civil rights violations. Los Angeles went through it, and proved that it works, said Chemerinsky, who has studied reform efforts there. “I think that there is less likelihood of excessive force today, less racist policing today in Los Angeles, than prior to the consent decree,” he said. A consent decree is a form of negotiated settlement with the Justice Department that averts a civil-rights lawsuit. Police departments agree to implement a series of reforms under the watch of an independent monitor. The Justice Department has negotiated settlements with 21 other police departments since then; Seattle and New Orleans are under consent decrees; and Cleveland’s police department is negotiating one. Justice officials are also negotiating with the department in Ferguson, Missouri, where an officer’s shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown sparked a national debate about use of force by police against blacks. The federal civil rights investigation in Ferguson found patterns of racial bias and discriminatory law enforcement tactics.

Ferguson paying $1,335 an hour for consulting attorney FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — Ferguson is paying an attorney $1,335 an hour to help the St. Louis suburb negotiate and possibly litigate reforms pressed by the Justice Department since Michael Brown’s shooting death by a police officer there last summer, according to a newspaper report. The Ferguson City Council unanimously decided behind closed doors in March to hire Dan K. Webb of suburban Chicago at an hourly rate that is nearly double Missouri’s highest attorney billing rate last year, the St. Louis Post-

Dispatch reported. That tab doesn’t include the expenses and fees of any lawyers or paralegals in Webb’s firm who may work on the case. The highest billing rate in Missouri in 2014 was $700 an hour, according to Missouri Lawyers Weekly. Webb, 69, is a former federal prosecutor whose clients in private practice have included Philip Morris, Microsoft, the New York Stock Exchange and former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, a Republican who served prison time after being convicted of federal racketeering and fraud charges.

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Webb prosecuted former National Security Adviser John Poindexter during the Iran-Contra scandal, leading to Poindexter’s conviction of conspiring to mislead Congress, obstructing congressional inquiries and making false statements. That conviction was overturned on appeal. Webb will work with the Justice Department, which spent seven months probing Ferguson’s police department and municipal court after white Ferguson officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Brown, an unarmed, black 18-year-old, in August.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Police officers salute as the body of Brian Moore leaves Jamaica Hospital in New York on Monday. Moore, a 25-year-old police officer shot in the head over the weekend, has died from his injuries, a City Hall official said Monday.

NYPD officer Moore dies BY MICHAEL BALSAMO The Associated Press NEW YORK — Officer Brian Moore, the son, nephew and cousin of police officers, had already started carving out a promising career for himself at the New York Police Department, making more than 150 arrests and earning service medals in less than five years on the job. That trajectory came to an end on Monday, when the 25-year-old was pronounced dead at a Queens hospital, two days after being shot in the head by a man with an extensive criminal record, including serving five years in prison on an attempted murder conviction. Moore had been in a coma after undergoing brain surgery following the Saturday evening shooting. He died with his family, including his police officer relatives, at his bedside. Hundreds of uniformed officers stood at attention

outside the medical center and lined up down the block to salute the ambulance carrying his body out. Afterward, many could be seen crying and consoling one another. “He proved himself to be an exceptional young officer,” Police Commissioner William Bratton said, noting Moore’s arrest record and medals. Moore joined the department in 2010. Moore and his partner were in plainclothes and in an unmarked police car when they approached Demetrius Blackwell in a quiet Queens neighborhood after they saw him adjusting his waistband, a move that made them suspicious he had a handgun, authorities said. The officers pulled up next to Blackwell, 35, and exchanged words before the man suddenly turned, pulled out a weapon and fired at least twice at them, striking Moore in the head and face, according to court documents.

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Afghan poppy farmers optimistic about opium output BY MIRWAIS KHAN AND LYNNE Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;DONNELL The Associated Press ZHARI, Afghanistan â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the cash crop of the Taliban and the scourge of Afghanistan â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intractable opium cultivation. This year, many Afghan poppy farmers are expecting a windfall as they get ready to harvest opium from a new variety of poppy seeds said to boost yield of the resin that produces heroin. The plants grow bigger, faster, use less water than seeds theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve used before, and give up to double the amount of opium, they say. No one seems to know where the seeds originate from. The farmers of Kandahar and Helmand provinces, where most of Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poppies are grown, say they were hand-delivered for planting early this year by the same men who collect the opium after each harvest, and who also provide them with tools, fertilizer, farming advice â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and the much needed cash advance. To the villagers, the shadowy men are intermediaries for drug lords and regional traffickers working with or for the Taliban, underscoring the extensive web that fuels the opium trade and keeps the poppy farmers in a clasp of terror and dependency. The impoverished famers have little recourse but to accept the seeds and other farming materials on credit, to be paid back when they harvest the crop, continuing a never ending cycle of debt.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Afghan farmers harvest raw opium at a poppy field in Kandaharâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Zhari district, Afghanistan, last month. This year, many Afghan poppy farmers are expecting a windfall as they get ready to harvest opium from a new variety of poppy seeds said to boost yield of the resin that produces heroin. The plants grow bigger, faster, use less water than seeds theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve used before and give up to double the amount of opium, they say. Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poppy harvest, which accounts for most of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heroin, is worth an estimated $3 billion a year, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Production hit a record high in 2014, up 17 percent compared to the year before, as opium and the drugs trade continued to undermine security, rule of law and development, while funding both organized crime and the Taliban â&#x20AC;&#x201D; often one and the same. The trend is expected to continue in 2015, in part thanks to the new poppy seeds, according to officials tasked with overseeing the eradication of poppy crops. This upcoming harvest in

late spring is expected to surpass last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s country-wide record of 7,800 metric tons (8,600 U.S. tons) by as much as 7 percent and 22 percent in Kandahar and Helmand provinces respectively, local officials said. Experts say the Taliban, who have been waging war on the Kabul government for more than a decade, derive around 40 percent of their funding from opium, which in turn fuels their insurgency. Fierce fighting in recent months in poppy-growing regions shows the Talibanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s determination to protect their trafficking routes and the seasonal workers who come to earn money at harvest time

from government forces under orders to eradicate the crop. Gul Mohammad Shukran, chief of Kandaharâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anti-narcotics department, said the new seeds came with the drug traffickers, but he did not know exactly where from. They yield â&#x20AC;&#x153;better drug plants, which require less water and have a faster growth time.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a big threat to everyone,â&#x20AC;? he said, adding that Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s central authorities had failed to act on his warnings. Growing poppy for opium is illegal in Afghanistan and forbidden under Islam, the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s predominant religion. But Afghan farmers feel they

have no choice. For more than a decade, the government and its international partners have pleaded with them to grow something else â&#x20AC;&#x201D; wheat, fruit or even saffron. When that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work, the police were sent to destroy crops. And when that failed, the Americans and the British tried handing out free wheat seeds, an enterprise that found little fertile ground. This spring, the opium fields have again erupted in a sea of bright pink poppy flowers. The new poppy seeds allow farmers to almost double the output from each plant, said Helmandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s provincial police chief Nabi Jan Malakhail. At harvest, collectors cut the bulb of the plant, allowing the raw opium to ooze out. This resin dries and is collected the following day. Malakhail said the new seeds grow bulbs that are bigger than usual and can be scored twice within a few days, thus doubling the quantity of raw opium. The plants mature in three to four months, rather than the five months of the previous seed variety, allowing farmers to crop three times a year instead of just twice. In Kandaharâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Zhari district, farmer Abdul Baqi said he knows poppy growing is illegal and that, given a choice, he would â&#x20AC;&#x153;rather eat grass.â&#x20AC;? But, he added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I cannot feed my kids with nothing but the air.â&#x20AC;? Baqi said the Taliban and associated crime gangs make it easy for the farmers to produce opium, and difficult â&#x20AC;&#x201D; even deadly â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not to.

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LOCAL | WORLD

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

FBI FROM PAGE A1 wearing body armor, and one shot the security officer in the leg. Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said Monday that a single Garland police officer subdued the two gunmen but that after his initial shots, SWAT officers nearby also fired at the two men. Harn said police don’t know who fired the lethal shots. The security officer was treated for his injury at a hospital and released. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement Monday that law enforcement authorities are investigating the men’s motives and all circumstances surrounding the attack. “While all the facts are not in yet, last night’s attack serves as a reminder that free and protected speech, no matter how offensive to some, never justifies violence of any sort,” Johnson said. Simpson, described as quiet and devout, had been on the radar of law enforcement be-

COUNCIL FROM PAGE A1 Before the approval of the amendments, applications needed to be sent to the board at least 22 days before the next meeting, meaning property owners had to wait at least 22 days before any action could be taken. The amendments could speed up the design and development process for business and home owners in the downtown area and Hampton Park Historic District, McGregor

cause of his social media presence, but authorities did not have an indication that he was plotting an attack, said one federal official familiar with the investigation. In a statement released late Monday by Phoenix law firm Osborn Maledon, Simpson’s family said it is “struggling to understand” how the incident happened. “We are sure many people in this country are curious to know if we had any idea of Elton’s plans,” the statement says. “To that we say, without question, we did not.” The statement, which does not identify the relatives, also says the family is “heartbroken and in a state of deep shock” and sends prayers to everyone affected by this “act of senseless violence,” especially the security guard who was injured. Simpson had worshipped at the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix for about a decade, but he quit showing up during the past two or three months, the president of the mosque told The

Associated Press. A convert to Islam, Simpson first attracted the FBI’s attention in 2006 because of his ties to Hassan Abu Jihaad, a former U.S. Navy sailor who had been arrested in Phoenix and was ultimately convicted of terrorism-related charges, according to court records. Jihaad was accused of leaking details about his ship’s movements to operators of a website in London that openly espoused violent jihad against the U.S. In the fall of that year, the FBI asked one of its informants, Dabla Deng, a Sudanese immigrant, to befriend Simpson and ask for advice about Islam. Deng had been working as an FBI informant since 2005 and was instructed to tell Simpson he was a recent convert to the religion. During the next few years, Deng would tape his conversations with Simpson with a hidden recording device accumulating more than 1,500 hours of conversations, according to court records.

previously stated. Before the conclusion of the meeting, City Manager Deron McCormick announced that the city’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2016 has not changed since city council’s budget workshop on April 28. Proposed revenues still rest at $33,961,055 while proposed expenditures sit at $35,041,435 leaving a negative balance of $992,433. McCormick said the city will continue to work toward a balanced budget. Another budget work-

shop will be held May 12 during which the community will have the opportunity to comment on the budget during a public hearing. The time and location of the workshop have not yet been announced. In other news: • The Crosswell Community Improvement Committee will meet May 14 at 6:30 p.m. at St. John United Methodist Church, 136 Poinsett St., to discuss blighted housing in the Crosswell community and keeping the area clean.

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Freighter stages dramatic rescue of Libyan migrants BY TRISHA THOMAS, ANDREA ROSA AND FRANK JORDANS The Associated Press CATANIA, Sicily — Migrants frantically shimmied up ropes dangling from a towering cargo ship and others jumped into the water grasping at lifesavers. Five bodies were recovered in the latest Mediterranean rescue and more were feared drowned. A video shot from the rescue ship and obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press provides a glimpse of the desperation of the tens of thousands of people trying to reach Europe on dinghies launched by human traffickers from Libya. The footage was shot by a crew member of the cargo ship Zeran, which rescued two migrant boats during the weekend and docked at Catania’s port Tuesday with mostly West African migrants aboard. Migrants jumped or fell from their deflating dinghy to catch lifesavers tossed into the water by Zeran crew members. Others climbed over one another trying to grab hold of a rope lowered from the ship. Still others emptied jerry cans of gasoline to use as floats. “Easy! Easy!” implored a crew member from Zeran’s deck. The Zeran crew member who shot the footage said the five bodies were all recovered from inside the dinghy, suggesting that the migrants had either died during the crossing or in the frantic final rush to be rescued. He estimated at least another five to nine people fell

into the water and drowned. He asked that his name not be used because he’s not authorized to speak to the media. Save the Children, which interviewed the survivors upon their arrival, said they had reported “dozens” of people died in the rescue Sunday between Libya and Sicily. “There was the big ship there and they threw down ropes,” Astoy Fall Dia, a 24 year-old migrant from Senegal, told the AP after disembarking from the Zeran. “Someone grabbed onto the rope. All the other people started pushing to try to save themselves, but the people started falling in the water.” Dia said she survived because she stayed close to the dinghy and because she knew how to swim. “Half the people were in the water, half were above (in the boat) and I stayed near the dinghy,” she said. The weekend saw a dramatic increase in rescues as smugglers in Libya took advantage of calm seas and warm weather to send thousands of would-be refugees out into the Mediterranean in overloaded rubber boats and fishing vessels. The coast guard reported that nearly 7,000 people were rescued in the three days ending Sunday. The deaths come on top of the estimated 800 migrants who are believed to have drowned last month when their boat capsized off Libya with hundreds of passengers locked in the hold by smugglers. A few days earlier, a further 400 people were feared drowned in another capsizing.

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COMMENTARY

Black lives matter Before we examine the issue of police shootings of blacks, I would like to start the conversation with another question. Here it is: If a person chooses to stand on railroad tracks in the face of an oncoming Walter train, who is Williams responsible for his being run over? And if many people meet their maker this way, what would you recommend as the best way to reduce such deaths? Would you focus most of your efforts on train engineers, or would you counsel people not to stand on railroad tracks in the face of an oncoming train? In principle, the answer to these questions might help with the issue of police shootings in general and particularly those of blacks. First, the Ferguson, Missouri, case: Having robbed a liquor store, the person is walking in the middle of the street and blocking traffic. A police officer tells the person to get out of the street. What would you suggest the person do? Would you suggest that he ignore the police officer’s instructions, push the officer as he attempts to get out of his vehicle and afterward attempt to take the officer’s pistol? In the case of the New York City death of Eric Garner, what would you recommend? A person is illegally selling cigarettes. The police try to effect an arrest. What would you recommend that the person do? As the police try to take the person into custody, would you advise the person to swat away the arms of the arresting officer, to tell the officer “Don’t touch me!” and to continue resisting arrest? What about the shooting of Walter Scott by a North Charleston, South Carolina, police officer? If an officer makes a traffic stop, would you advise that the driver flee so as to avoid arrest? Let me be clear: I am justifying neither the behavior of police officers nor the deadly out-

comes of their confrontations with these three black men. Similarly, I would not justify the behavior of a train engineer or the outcome a person experiences standing on the train tracks in the face of an oncoming train. I would counsel a person not to stand on railroad tracks in the face of an oncoming train. Similarly, the advice that I would give to anyone of any race in dealing with police is: Follow the officer’s instructions. Do not resist arrest or attempt to flee. Do not assault the police officer or try to disarm him. Had this advice been taken, Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Walter Scott would be alive today. Criminal activity is a major problem in many black communities. That means many black citizens will have some kind of contact with police officers, either as victims of crime or as criminals. One of the true tragedies is that black politicians, preachers and civil rights advocates give massive support to criminals such as Brown, Garner and Scott. How much support do we see for the overwhelmingly law-abiding members of the black community preyed upon by criminals? The average American has no idea of the day-to-day threats and fears encountered by the law-abiding majority in black neighborhoods on account of thugs. In addition to giving threats and instilling fears, criminals have turned many black communities into economic wastelands where there is a lack of services that most Americans take for granted, such as supermarkets, other shops and even home delivery. Black residents must bear the expense of having to go out of their neighborhoods to shop or shop at high-cost mom and pop stores. The protest chant that black lives matter appears to mean that black lives matter only if they are taken at the hands of white police officers. Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. Copyright 2015, CREATORS. COM

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ENCOURAGE COUNTY COUNCIL TO FUND LIBRARY Following is a condensed version of a letter I mailed to County Council in support of the Sumter County Library. “As people come to our beautiful city and evaluate it as a place to live, one of the first things they consider is the public library. National rankings are appearing that rate cities “dumbest” to “smartest” based on the health of the public library as one of the criteria. We want Sumter to be as far up the “smartest” category as possible. The Sumter County Library System underwent a considerable and necessary expansion in 2006-07. After these renovations, the SCPL budget has been cut by a quarter of a million dollars. Let’s compare counties. In 2014, the Clarendon County Library received $15.97 per capita in county funds, while the Sumter County Library received $9.87. The difference is even larger than it looks. Clarendon County only has one library building and a bookmobile to run. We have a large Main Library, two branches and a bookmobile. Our other neighboring county, Richland, was allotted $59.74 per capita in county funds in 2014. Richland County ranked highest in the allotment out of 42 library systems. Sumter County ranked 34th. Clarendon County ranked 23rd. Though drastic economic changes must occur in Sumter County for the sake of fis-

cal stability in FY16 and beyond, SCPL is a vital part of the County’s safety net and should not be short-changed. SCPL provides access to broadband internet with its plethora of information. SCPL branches serve as community centers. SCPL hosts résumé writing workshops. SCPL hosts or presents programs for every demographic segment of the County from infants to retirees. The director of SCPL, knowing the tight budget you are working with, has only requested an increase of $63,000, which is a far cry from the $250,000 as mentioned above. Please thoughtfully consider his request so he won’t be forced to make difficult decisions such as laying off employees, cutting days the library is open and cutting resources.” Please contact your County Council representative and express your desire for their support of SCPL. Thank you. RANDA EDMUNDS, Sumter

VOTE DIFFERENTLY FOR DIFFERENT RESULTS With all of these cities so messed up (Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, etc.) and the people there so angry at their perceived lack of opportunity and distrust of government agencies, why in God’s name do they continue to elect the same batch of losers that got them there in the

first place? All democratically run cities and yet mayors, city councilmen and congressmen for those districts basically have lifetime political jobs in those positions. And these people are mad at republicans? Not a republican in sight in running these cities and districts, yet things never get better. Brainwashed by the same people that keep them exactly where they are....decade after decade. How is keeping the same people in charge of your lives working out for you? And you will elect them all over again in the coming election cycle. Look up the definition of insanity; the act of doing the same thing over and over again(voting for the same people) and expecting different results. THAT is insanity. Please consider this; there is one of two things happening...1) the people you keep in power for years give you just a taste, just enough, for you to continue to vote for them. And your situation never gets significantly better, just sustainable. You become dependent on that little bit and you are miserable in the process. Or, 2) these people you keep in power really suck at their jobs. It is one or the other. You do realize that if these “leaders” were in the private sector they would have been fired a very long time ago. Insanity? You bet. JOHN SELLAR Sumter

COMMENTARY

We’re missing an incredible economic opportunity The second open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act Marketplace recently ended and was marked with record participation from the citizens of South Carolina. The Palmetto State had the eighth largest increase in eligible residents signing up for health insurance among the states, and the nation’s Sen. Kevin 10th best percentage Johnson ranking for eligible residents signing up, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Thanks to the tireless work of navigators and assisters in community organizations, community health centers and hospitals, and insurance brokers, 210,000 South Carolinians, including 15,000 in the Pee Dee, signed up for to coverage, and their families can benefit from the preventative care and financial security of health insurance. South Carolinians receiving coverage, many for the first time, gives us reason to celebrate, but we cannot ignore an equally large number of citizens who have been left out of coverage. Nearly 200,000 of our neighbors are uninsured, living in poverty and now make up a new coverage gap created by our state’s rejection of Medicaid Expansion. The

Pee Dee is home for 19,000 of them. They make less than $11,770 a year so they do not qualify for financial assistance to purchase insurance on healthcare.gov, yet they do not qualify for our existing Medicaid program because they are not aged, blind and disabled, in very low income families or pregnant. Most of them (171,000) are working. They work in hourly or seasonal jobs and even serve us through the hospitality industry. There are 63,000 South Carolinians between the ages of 50-64 in this coverage gap. Many of them have worked their entire lives but now have no coverage bridge to secure them until they become eligible for Medicare at 65. There are also more than 26,700 veterans and their spouses in South Carolina’s new coverage gap. And while legal immigrants living in poverty in South Carolina can access financial assistance to purchase health insurance in the Marketplace, United States citizens living in poverty in South Carolina cannot. Families of four making $97,000 a year qualify for financial assistance to purchase Marketplace coverage, but parents in many families living in poverty are not eligible for this financial assistance or for Medicaid because South Carolina has not yet expanded it. We have spoken with countless constitu-

ents in the coverage gap. Not only are citizens missing out on coverage, but South Carolina is missing out on an incredible economic opportunity. Through 2016, the federal government will pay 100 percent of the costs for coverage expansion. After 2016, the federal government will pay a little less each year but never less than 90 percent of the cost. Researchers from the University of South Carolina Moore School of Business conducted an economic impact study for Medicaid Expansion and found that the more than $11 billion South Carolina would receive the first seven years would create 44,000 new jobs in the state, including more than 4,500 jobs here in the Pee Dee. It’s especially disturbing that while our state refuses to take advantage of federal funds set aside to cover our working poor, South Carolinians will continue to pay into the program to help people in other states. South Carolina’s rejection of Medicaid Expansion has already sent $2.2 billion of our dollars to other states — $4.7 million every day since January 2014. The McClatchy Washington Bureau estimates that non-expansion states will pay $152 billion to extend the program in other states while receiving nothing in return.

That’s a heavy price to pay for a political point, but the South Carolinians who will pay the heaviest price are our working poor who are being denied health coverage yet could qualify for help in another state. The other nonwinners are insured South Carolinians who pay the hidden tax of higher health care costs as this population turns to emergency rooms for care. With 29 states now expanding coverage and five other states considering it, South Carolina remains part of a shrinking minority of states rejecting our health care dollars. But there is good news. Many conservative states like South Carolina are coming up with alternative methods to keep their health care dollars and close the coverage gap. Four of our colleagues in the Senate from both sides of the aisle recently announced their intention to develop a bipartisan plan to reclaim our dollars and cover South Carolina’s working poor with private health insurance. South Carolina cannot afford to continue to miss out on this economic opportunity. Let’s work together to create a customized coverage solution for South Carolina’s working poor. Sen. Kevin Johnson represents District 36, which covers parts of Sumter, Clarendon, Darlington and Florence counties.

A10

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

AROUND TOWN are welcome to send a repThe Mayesville Industrial and resentative to help plan Educational Institute will the reunion celebrating the sponsor a parental interest Modern Civil Rights Movemeeting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, at Mayes- ment. Call Ferdinand Burns at (803) 968-4464. ville Elementary School. The purpose of this meetTaw Caw Community Outing is to Voice discuss theopinion proyour onreach the Mayesville Center will present an posed Summer Mayesville Summer Program Enrichment evening of fashion and fun at Enrichment Program. The 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 16, program will serve youth at 1126 Granby Lane, Sumages 6-17 from Mayesville merton. Tickets: $10 for and surrounding areas. adults; $5 ages 5-12. Call George Gibson at (803) The Morris College Alumni 983-5919 or Deborah L. Chapter of Lee County will Wheeler at (803) 983-7221. present its annual tots to The Shepherd’s Center will teens pageant at 4 p.m. on hold “Spring Bazaar: Make it, Sunday, May 17, at New Bake It, Sew It, Grow It” from Zion AME Church, Wisacky. 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday, May 7, at Trinity Meth- Phi Omega Omega of Manning will hold its Miss Ivy odist Church fellowship Pearl and Little Miss Ivy Pearl hall, Council Street. pageants at 5 p.m. on SunThe Clarendon County day, May 17, at Manning Democratic Party will meet Junior High School. The at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May event is free and open to 7, at Bassard’s Pond House, the public. However, non4162 Rev. JW Carter Road, perishable food items and Summerton. old or used books are The National Council of Negro being accepted for donation. Food items will be Women Mary McLeod Betgiven to United Ministries hune Section will meet at 5 of Clarendon County and p.m. on Friday, May 8, at donated books will help the Morris College chapel. supply books for a free All members are asked to book drive in Clarendon attend. County. The Paxville School Reunion will be held at noon on Sat- Sumter’s Marine Corps League Detachment 1202 will urday, May 9, at Paxville celebrate its 10th anniversary Baptist Church. Bring a at 6 p.m. on Monday, May dish to share. 18, at the VFW, Gion Street. The Sumter Chapter of the The detachment was charNational Federation of the tered on May 5, 2005, with Blind will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12, at Shiloh- 49 former Marines signing the charter. All members, Randolph Manor. Susie spouses, associate memBlanding will speak on fire bers, and spouses of those and safety. The spotlight will shine on Marcia Harton Marines who have passed and the associate member on are invited to attend. Call Bill Hartley at (803) is Diana Singleton. Trans469-8723 or Jackie Hughes portation provided within at (803) 775-4555. the mileage radius. If you VFW Post 11078 will meet at know a blind or visually 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, impaired person, contact the president, Debra Canty, at the post quarters, North Canty Street. The annual at DebraCanC2@frontier. poppy drive will be held com or at (803) 775-5792. May 22 and 23 at Walmart. The Sumter Stroke Support The Pinedale Neighborhood Group (Overcomers) will Association will meet at 4 meet at 6 p.m. on Thursp.m. on Thursday, May 21, day, May 14, in the library at the South HOPE Center, of Alice Drive Baptist 1125 S. Lafayette Drive. Call Church. Call Joyce or Wayne Hunter at (803) 464- Ferdinand Burns at (803) 968-4464. 7865. The Sumter Combat Veterans The Sumter County Veterans Association will hold its MeGroup will meet at 10 a.m. morial Day program at 11 on Friday, May 15, at the South HOPE Center, 1125 S. a.m. on Monday, May 25, at the General Mabry MemoLafayette Drive. All area rial Prk located on U.S. veterans are invited. 378/76 next to Shaw Air Lincoln High School Class of Force Base. The public is 1963 will meet at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 16, at Ameri- invited. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the can Legion Post 202, 310 end of the Vietnam ConPalmetto St. Lincoln classflict. es from 1960 through 1969

DAILY PLANNER

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEATHER

AccuWeather® ﬁve-day forecast for Sumter TODAY

TONIGHT

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Partly sunny and pleasant

Partly cloudy

Mainly cloudy with rain possible

A shower possible

Mostly cloudy, showers; humid

Variable clouds with showers

84°

59°

78° / 62°

79° / 64°

84° / 63°

84° / 65°

Chance of rain: 0%

Chance of rain: 35%

Chance of rain: 30%

Chance of rain: 65%

ENE 4-8 mph

E 3-6 mph

NE 6-12 mph

NE 7-14 mph

ENE 8-16 mph

ESE 8-16 mph

TODAY’S SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER

Gaﬀney 85/57 Spartanburg 85/57

Greenville 83/58

Columbia 85/59

Temperatures shown on map are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

IN THE MOUNTAINS

ON THE COAST

Charleston 81/62

Today: Clouds and sun; watch for rough surf and rip currents. High 77 to 81. Thursday: Rain; watch for rough surf and rip currents. High 73 to 77.

LOCAL ALMANAC

LAKE LEVELS

SUMTER THROUGH 4 P.M. YESTERDAY

Today Hi/Lo/W 82/58/s 75/59/sh 80/67/t 75/56/pc 84/70/pc 68/56/pc 82/68/pc 67/57/sh 85/67/pc 76/57/c 88/64/c 66/52/pc 83/63/t

SUN AND MOON 7 a.m. yest. 357.94 75.96 75.35 97.46

24-hr chg -0.01 -0.18 -0.02 -0.20

Sunrise 6:28 a.m. Moonrise 10:40 p.m.

RIVER STAGES

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 85/61/pc 83/63/pc 80/67/t 82/60/pc 86/71/pc 66/55/c 84/70/pc 76/60/s 87/65/pc 81/60/pc 85/61/s 66/53/pc 82/62/pc

Sunset Moonset

8:09 p.m. 8:27 a.m.

Last

New

First

Full

May 11

May 18

May 25

June 2

TIDES

Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr stage yest. chg 12 7.58 -0.32 19 4.27 +0.05 14 5.23 -0.26 14 3.27 -0.01 80 77.95 -0.55 24 6.63 -0.02

River Black River Congaree River Lynches River Saluda River Up. Santee River Wateree River

0.00" trace 0.49" 17.57" 12.58" 14.84"

NATIONAL CITIES City Atlanta Chicago Dallas Detroit Houston Los Angeles New Orleans New York Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC

Full pool 360 76.8 75.5 100

Lake Murray Marion Moultrie Wateree

81° 52° 79° 54° 94° in 2014 42° in 1957

Precipitation 24 hrs ending 4 p.m. yest. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date

Myrtle Beach 77/64

Aiken 84/57

AT MYRTLE BEACH

Today Thu.

High 11:13 a.m. 11:40 p.m. 11:54 a.m. ---

Ht. 2.8 3.3 2.8 ---

Low 6:05 a.m. 5:57 p.m. 6:48 a.m. 6:41 p.m.

Ht. 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1

REGIONAL CITIES City Asheville Athens Augusta Beaufort Cape Hatteras Charleston Charlotte Clemson Columbia Darlington Elizabeth City Elizabethtown Fayetteville

Today Hi/Lo/W 80/52/pc 84/54/s 83/56/s 80/63/pc 74/62/pc 81/62/pc 84/57/pc 85/58/s 85/59/pc 84/58/pc 80/59/t 84/59/pc 84/58/pc

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 79/56/pc 85/60/pc 81/59/sh 77/64/r 73/61/r 78/64/r 81/59/sh 85/63/c 80/63/sh 81/63/r 78/60/sh 80/64/r 82/63/r

Today City Hi/Lo/W Florence 84/59/pc Gainesville 82/61/pc Gastonia 83/56/pc Goldsboro 84/59/pc Goose Creek 81/63/pc Greensboro 84/58/pc Greenville 83/58/s Hickory 83/58/pc Hilton Head 77/65/pc Jacksonville, FL 78/62/c La Grange 85/55/s Macon 84/54/s Marietta 82/54/s

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 80/64/r 85/59/s 82/59/sh 81/63/c 77/65/r 82/60/c 82/62/c 81/60/c 77/66/r 82/61/s 88/58/s 84/58/s 85/59/pc

Today City Hi/Lo/W Marion 88/53/pc Mt. Pleasant 80/64/pc Myrtle Beach 77/64/pc Orangeburg 82/59/pc Port Royal 81/66/pc Raleigh 84/58/pc Rock Hill 83/55/pc Rockingham 84/54/pc Savannah 81/62/pc Spartanburg 85/57/s Summerville 82/63/pc Wilmington 80/61/pc Winston-Salem 83/58/pc

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 81/58/pc 77/66/r 77/65/r 77/63/r 76/67/r 83/61/c 81/59/sh 82/63/r 78/62/r 80/62/c 76/65/r 77/63/r 82/60/pc

Weather(W): s–sunny, pc–partly cloudy, c–cloudy, sh–showers, t–thunderstorms, r–rain, sf–snow ﬂurries, sn–snow, i–ice

PUBLIC AGENDA TOWN OF LYNCHBURG PLANNING COMMISSION Today, 4 p.m., town hall

Sumter 84/59 Manning 85/59

Today: Plenty of sun. Winds light and variable. Thursday: Mostly cloudy. Winds eastnortheast 3-6 mph.

Temperature High Low Normal high Normal low Record high Record low

Florence 84/59

Bishopville 85/56

WITH WI T EQU EQUAL Q AL PAYMENTS S

NO INTEREST TILL JANUARY 2020 803-795-4257

The last word ARIES (March 21-April 19): in astrology Finish what EUGENIA LAST you start. Once you have cleared your to-do list, you will be ready to reach new goals. An unexpected opportunity will surface. Embrace change and discuss personal plans with someone you love. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Take pride in the way you handle money and emotional matters. Build a solid base that will allow you to gain security and a higher standard of living. Only you can make your dreams come true. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Added responsibilities will try your patience. Understanding and compassion will be required when dealing with others. Don’t let your emotional deception creep into an important decision you need to make. Love is in the stars, but honesty must be honored. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Examine your skills, what you have to offer and how you can be more diverse in the way you present yourself. Update your resume or consider the best ways to turn what you enjoy doing most into a lucrative endeavor.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Do what needs to be done without complaint. Get involved in helping others or volunteering for a cause you care about. Your input will be well-received and lead to a new opportunity. Take care of family responsibilities and you’ll be rewarded. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Size up your situation and consider your options. If you aren’t happy with what’s going on in your personal or professional life, make a move. It’s up to you to be responsible for your happiness and success. Don’t rely on others. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t let personal matters get you down. Face any dilemma that comes your way honestly and without hesitation. Avoiding sensitive issues will result in turmoil you can do without. Face your problems head-on. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Make your home more comfortable, but stay within your means. Don’t be tempted by fancy luxuries you don’t need. A convenient and cozy place will lead to contentment and less stress. Do the work yourself if it will save money.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Get serious and make a move. Procrastination will not lead to results. A change of pace, environment and people will motivate you to show off your best qualities and aim to reach a higher standard of living. Romance is on the rise.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You will feel good about yourself if you do things for others. Love and romance are on the rise, and personal discussions can bring you closer to the people you care about most. A professional opportunity is apparent. Update and send out your resume.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Avoid disputes that can affect your position or your personal life. If you criticize others, prepare to face complaints. It’s in your best interest to view life and situations from a positive, not a negative, point of view.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Keep a close watch over what’s transpiring around you, but don’t bring attention to what you are doing. Staying in the background will help you further your own interests. Don’t let an emotional issue throw you off track.

See details a See at www.boykinacs.com

LOTTERY NUMBERS PALMETTO CASH 5 TUESDAY

POWERBALL SATURDAY

MEGAMILLIONS TUESDAY

3-8-14-22-37 PowerUp: 2

2-6-11-30-31 Powerball: 33; Powerplay: 3

numbers not available at press time

PICK 3 TUESDAY

PICK 4 TUESDAY

4-6-1 and 9-4-6

2-8-7-2 and 2-2-6-8

PICTURES FROM THE PUBLIC Frank Brown comments on his photo submission, “The Wilson Hall School Color Guard, comprised of fifth-grade students, lowers the flag after they were awarded a certificate of appreciation from the Colonel Matthew Singleton Sons of the American Revolution Chapter. This certificate recognized them for their patriotism in displaying the American flag.”

HAVE YOU TAKEN PICTURES OF INTERESTING, EXCITING, BEAUTIFUL OR HISTORICAL PLACES? Would you like to share those images with your fellow Sumter Item readers? E-mail your hi-resolution jpegs to sandrah@theitem.com, or mail to Sandra Holbert c/o The Sumter Item, P.O. Box 1677, Sumter, SC 29150. Include clearly printed or typed name of photographer and photo details. Include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope for return of your photo. Amateur photographers only please.

SECTION

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015 Call: (803) 774-1241 | E-mail: sports@theitem.com

PREP SOCCER

Overmatched at home Stall routs youthful Gators 7-1 in playoff loss at The Swamp BY EDDIE LITAKER Special to The Sumter Item

KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

R.B. Stall’s Abraham Mortero, left, and Lakewood’s CJ McEachin battle for a header during the Warriors’ 7-1 victory at J. Frank Baker Stadium on Tuesday in a 3A state playoff opener.

Barons prevail in extra innings over Hammond BY WORTHY EVANS Special to The Sumter Item

SEE BARONS, PAGE B3

SEE OVERMATCHED, PAGE B3

Missed chances cost Cavaliers in loss to HHP

PREP BASEBALL

COLUMBIA – The Wilson Hall baseball team couldn’t get more than one infield hit through seven innings of regulation against Hammond on Tuesday at Folsom Field. Even so, the Barons managed to tie the game at 3-3 with some timely walks and base running and send the game into extra innings. After John Ballard scored the go-ahead run when Hammond pitcher James Shepherd was called for a balk, McLendon Sears’ one-out, 2-run single broke the game open and led to a 7-3 victory in the opening game of the best-of-3 semifinal series in

Less than eight minutes into its 3A state playoffs opener against R.B. Stall on Tuesday, the Lakewood soccer team was on the board and seemed headed to a positive outcome. The rout seemed to be on at J. Frank Baker Stadium. While that turned out to be the case, it was the Warriors who would flip the script and turn the trick on the Gators, romping to a 7-1 victory as Connor Lambert’s early goal turned out to be Lakewood’s lone score. Stall scored twice around the midway point of the first half, with the first coming on a success- CARRAHER ful penalty kick from Ricardo Santiago in the 24th minute. About six minutes later, Jonathan Mejia scored on a rebound goal to give the Warriors their first lead. The score would stay the same until stoppage time, when Stall’s Abraham Mortero struck for two crucial goals that left the Gators suddenly staring at a 4-1 deficit at the break. “That was the turning point right there,” said Lakewood head coach Mike Carraher. “We gave up two easy goals, and that’s been one of the things about our inexperience this year, (not) finishing teams off like that. We just allow teams like this to just stay in (the game). It’s fixable, it’s just inexperience and mistakes.” The old adage that records can be thrown out heading into the playoffs held true in this contest. Lakewood entered at 14-9, second-place finishers in Region VI, while Stall was a battle-tested

BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS justin@theitem.com

JUSTIN DRIGGERS / THE SUMTER ITEM

Robert E. Lee Academy third baseman Tee Outlaw prepares to field a ground ball in REL’s 6-4 loss to Hilton Head Prep in 11 innings on Tuesday in Bishopville in the opening game of a SCISA 2A state semifinals series.

BISHOPVILLE – The Robert E. Lee Academy baseball team missed a golden opportunity to gain an early lead in its best-of-3 SCISA 2A state semifinal series against Hilton Head Prep. And missed. And missed. And missed. The Cavaliers had plenty of opportunities to put away the Dolphins, but despite a 2-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning to push the game into extras, REL could not push across the decisive run. As a result, HHP won the war of attrition by plating

two runs in the top of the 11th on a bases-loaded walk and a wild pitch to earn a 6-4 victory on Tuesday at the Cavaliers field. Robert E. Lee fell to 21-8 on the season while Hilton Head Prep improved to 18-7. Game 2 is scheduled for today at 5 p.m. in Hilton Head. “Missed opportunities,” REL head coach David Rankin said simply. “We didn’t get the big hit when we needed it most of the day, didn’t make the pitch when we needed to sometimes, but they’re a good baseball team.

SEE CAVALIERS, PAGE B3

Gamecocks victory away from advancing to lower state tourney BY DENNIS BRUNSON dennis@theitem.com The Sumter High School baseball team couldn’t be in a better place than it is right now: at home in the championship round of the District VIII tournament of the 4A state playoffs, one victory away from advancing to the lower state tournament. Not that the Gamecocks SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO Sumter High School’s Jordan Holladay rounds third base after hitting haven’t been in this position before; after all, they’re the a home run. The Gamecocks host Summerville today in the District defending state champion. VIII tournament of the 4A state playoffs and are a win away from adHowever, Sumter finds itself vancing to the lower state tournament.

in the drivers seat as a No. 3 seed in the tournament and two road victories. “It’s a great opportunity for us,” said Gamecock head coach Brooks Shumake, whose team will play host to Summerville today at 6 p.m. “We beat the No. 1 team in the state on Friday, and we get the chance to play them again. We’re just excited about playing them; we’re ready to play.” The Green Wave, 24-3 on the season and the No. 1 seed,

SEE GAMECOCKS, PAGE B3

LOCAL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE TODAY

SCHSL Baseball 4A Summerville at Sumter, 6 p.m. 1A Green Sea-Floyds at East Clarendon, 5:30 p.m. Softball 1A Carvers Bay at East Clarendon, 6 p.m. SCISA Baseball 3A Hammond at Wilson Hall, 7 p.m. Northwood at Laurence Manning, 7 p.m. 2A Robert E. Lee at Hilton Head Prep, 5 p.m.

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

SCOREBOARD

PREP PLAYOFF SCHEDULE SCHSL BASEBALL

4A District VIII Thursday Game 1 – Summerville 7, Stratford 5 Game 2 – Sumter 5, River Bluff 3 Friday Game 4 – Sumter 1, Summerville 0 Saturday Game 3 – Stratford 7, River Bluff 6 Monday Game 5 – Summerville 13, Stratford 2 Today Game 6 – Summerville at Sumter Game 7 – if necessary 3A District VIII Friday Game 1 – Berkeley 11, Lakewood 0 Game 2 – St. James 5, Swansea 2 Monday Game 3 – Lakewood at Swansea Game 4 – St. James at Berkeley Wednesday Game 5 – Swansea at Loser Game 4 Today Game 6 – Winner Game 5 at Winner Game 4 Game 7 – if necessary 1A District VII Thursday Game 1 – East Clarendon 10, Green Sea-Floyds 0 Game 2 – Cross 17, Allendale-Fairfax 5 Saturday Game 3 – Green Sea-Floyds beat Allendale-Fairfax Game 4 – East Clarendon 13, Cross 1 Monday Game 5 – Green Sea-Floyds at Cross Today Game 6 – Winner Game 5 at East Clarendon, 6 p.m. Game 7 – if necessary District VIII Thursday Game 1 – Latta beat Scott’s Branch Game 2 – Branchville 16, Military Magnet 1 Saturday Game 3 – Military Magnet beat Scott’s Branch Game 4 – Latta 7, Branchville 0 Monday Game 5 – Military Magnet at Branchville Today Game 6 – Winner Game 5 at Latta Game 7 – if necessary

SOFTBALL

3A District VIII Thursday Game 1 – Hanahan 10, Manning 0 Game 2 – North Myrtle Beach 8, Airport 2

Monday Game 3 – Manning at Airport Game 4 – North Myrtle Beach at Hanahan Today Game 5 – Winner Game 3 at Loser Game 4 Friday Game 6 – Winner Game 5 at Winner Game 4 Game 7 – if necessary 1A District V Thursday Game 1 – Bamberg-Ehrhardt 17, Burke 0 Game 2 – Lake View 16, Scott’s Branch 0 Saturday Game 3 – Scott’s Branch 18, Burke 0 Game 4 – Lake View 4, Bamberg-Ehrhardt 1 Monday Game 5 – Scott’s Branch at Bamberg-Ehrhardt Today Game 6 – Winner Game 5 at Lake View Game 7 – if necessary District VII Thursday Game 1 – East Clarendon 21, Carvers Bay 0 Game 2 – Military Magnet beat Allendale-Fairfax Saturday Game 3 – Carvers Bay beat Allendale-Fairfax Game 4 – East Clarendon 17, Military Magnet 0 Monday Game 5 – Carvers Bay at Military Magnet Today Game 6 – Winner Game 5 at East Clarendon, 6 p.m. Game 7 – if necessary

SCISA BASEBALL

3A Semifinal Series LMA-Northwood Tuesday Laurence Manning at Northwood, 6 p.m. Today Northwood at Laurence Manning, 7 p.m. Friday at Neutral Site (if needed) Wilson Hall-Hammond Tuesday Wilson Hall at Hammond, 6 p.m. Today Hammond at Wilson Hall, 7 p.m. Friday at Neutral Site (if needed) 2A Semifinal Series Hilton Head Prep-Robert E. Lee Tuesday Hilton Head Prep at Robert E. Lee, 5 p.m. Today Robert E. Lee at Hilton Head Prep, 4:30 p.m. Friday at Neutral Site (if needed)

Fire Ants trailing in title game

NORTHWOOD 3 LAURENCE MANNING 2

NORTH CHARLESTON – Laurence Manning Academy’s baseball team lost to Northwood Academy 3-2 in eight innings on Tuesday at the NA field in the first game of their best-of-3 semifinal series in the SCISA 3A state playoffs. Todd Larrimer drove in both of the runs for the Swampcats, who fell to 16-3 on the season, with a single in the third inning. The hit scored both J.T. Eppley and Josh Martin. Buddy Bleasedale had two of LMA’s seven hits. The teams will play the second game of the series today at 7 p.m. at Tucker Belangia Diamond in Manning. EC FACES GSF TODAY

East Clarendon will play host to Green Sea-Floyds

today at 5:30 p.m. in the championship round of the District VII tournament of the 1A state playoffs. EC needs just one win to advance to the lower state tournament. GSF has to beat the Wolverines twice to advance. VARSITY SOFTBALL EC FACES CARVERS BAY TODAY

East Clarendon will play host to Carvers Bay today at 6 p.m. in the championship round of the District VII tournament of the 1A state playoffs. EC needs just one win to advance to the lower state tournament. Carvers Bay has to beat the Lady Wolverines twice to advance. BAMBERG-EHRHARDT 18 SCOTT’S BRANCH 0

BAMBERG – Scott’s Branch High School saw its season come to an end with an 18-0 loss to Bamberg-Ehrhardt on Monday at the B-E field in an elimination game of the District V tournament of the 1A state playoffs. The Lady Eagles finish the year with a 5-11 record. WIZARDS G WALL OUT FOR GAME 2 VS HAWKS

ATLANTA — Washington Wizards star John Wall was surprisingly on the inactive list for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night because of a left hand injury. Wall injured the hand

when bracing himself as he fell along the baseline in the series opener on Sunday. He finished the game, scoring 18 points, dishing out 13 assists and playing almost 39 minutes as the Wizards upset the top-seeded Hawks 104-98. While he didn’t do any work at practice Monday, there was no indication the point guard wouldn’t play in Game 2. During his pregame availability, just 90 minutes tipoff, coach Randy Wittman said everyone was available and he had not considered sitting out Wall. MONDAY (3) LOUISVILLE 9 CLEMSON 5 CLEMSON – Nick Solak and Corey Ray hit back-toback homers to begin the eighth inning, giving Louisville the lead for good in its 9-5 win over Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Monday night. The Cardinals, who won the series 2-1, improved to 37-11 overall and 21-3 in the ACC. The Tigers dropped to 24-23 overall and 13-13 in ACC play. Brendan McKay blasted a two-run homer in the first inning, then Blake Tiberi’s solo homer in the top of the fifth inning scored the first of two Cardinal runs to build a 4-1 lead.

From staff, wire reports

MLB ROUNDUP

Miller, Braves spoil Billingsley’s return ATLANTA — Shelby Miller threw his third career shutout, Freddie Freeman and Kelly Johnson hit homers to spoil Chad Billingsley’s first start in more than two years, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-0 on Tuesday. Miller (4-1) allowed only three hits and one walk with eight strikeouts. He has not allowed more than two runs in any of his six starts. Billingsley (0-1) gave up six runs, five earned, in five innings. The right-hander fought back from two major surgeries on his pitching arm to make his first start since April 15, 2013, for the Dodgers against San Diego. INTERLEAGUE METS 3 ORIOLES 2 NEW YORK — Bartolo

San Diego at Arizona, 9:40 p.m. Miami at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.

NBA PLAYOFFS By The Associated Press

TV, RADIO TODAY

Noon – College Softball: Southeastern Conference Tournament First-Round Game from Baton Rouge, La. – Mississippi State vs. Missouri (SEC NETWORK). 2:30 p.m. – International Soccer: UEFA Champions League Semifinal First Leg Match – Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona (FOX SPORTS 1). 2:30 p.m. – College Softball: Southeastern Conference Tournament First-Round Game from Baton Rouge, La. – Mississippi vs. Georgia (SEC NETWORK). 5 p.m. – College Softball: Southeastern Conference Tournament FirstRound Game from Baton Rouge, La. – South Carolina vs. Texas A&M (SEC NETWORK). 6:05 p.m. – Talk Show: Sports Talk (WDXY-FM 105.9, WDXY-AM 1240). 7 p.m. – Major League Baseball: Baltimore at New York Mets (ESPN). 7 p.m. – Amateur Golf: U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship Semifinal and Final Matches from San Francisco (FOX SPORTS 1). 7 p.m. – Major League Baseball: Philadelphia at Atlanta (SPORTSOUTH). 7 p.m. – NBA Basketball: Eastern Conference Playoffs Semifinal Series Game Two – Chicago at Cleveland (TNT). 7 p.m. – NHL Hockey: Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Playoffs Semifinal Series Game Three – Montreal at Tampa Bay (USA). 7 p.m. – College Baseball: Wofford at South Carolina (WNKT-FM 107.5). 7 p.m. – NBA Basketball: Eastern Conference Playoffs Semifinal Series Game Two – Chicago at Cleveland (TNT). 7:30 p.m. – NHL Hockey: Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Playoffs Semifinal Series Game Four – New York Rangers at Washington (NBC SPORTS NETWORK). 7:30 p.m. – College Softball: Southeastern Conference Tournament First-Round Game from Baton Rouge, La. – Kentucky at Tennessee (SEC NETWORK). 8 p.m. – College Softball: Texas at Baylor (ESPN2). 9:30 p.m. – NBA Basketball: Western Conference Playoffs Semifinal Series Game Two – Los Angeles Clippers at Houston (TNT). 11 p.m. – NASCAR Racing: K&N Pro Series West from Tucson, Ariz. (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

MLB STANDINGS By The Associated Press

SPORTS ITEMS

BURLINGTON, N.C. – The University of South Carolina Sumter baseball team was losing to USC Lancaster 10-6 in the seventh inning of the championship game of the NJCAA Region X tournament on Tuesday at Burlington Athletic Park. The Fire Ants beat Pitt Community College 10-4 earlier on Tuesday to advance to the championship round. They have to beat Lancaster twice to win the tournament. Sumter and Lancaster will both advance to the Eastern District tournament in New York.

THE SUMTER ITEM

Colon became the first pitcher in at least 100 years to beat the same opponent with seven different teams, stopping Baltimore once again and leading the New York Mets past the Orioles 3-2 Tuesday. REDS 7 PIRATES 1

PITTSBURGH— Marlon Byrd homered and drove in four runs, Todd Frazier belted his National Leagueleading ninth home run and the Cincinnati Reds handled the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1 on Tuesday. DIAMONDBACKS-ROCKIES RAINED OUT, DH TODAY

DENVER — The Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies were postponed by rain for a second straight night. A regular doubleheader

was set for Wednesday — weather permitting, of course. Rain is in the forecast all week. AMERICAN LEAGUE RED SOX 2 RAYS 0 BOSTON— Mookie Betts homered to lead off the sixth inning — the first hit off Rays starter Drew Smyly — and added another in the eighth to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 2-0 victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday. YANKEES 6 BLUE JAYS 3

TORONTO — Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer, Michael Pineda matched his career high with eight shutout innings and the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Tuesday. From wire reports

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST DIVISION New York Tampa Bay Baltimore Toronto Boston CENTRAL DIVISION Detroit Kansas City Minnesota Cleveland Chicago WEST DIVISION Houston Los Angeles Seattle Oakland Texas

W 16 14 12 13 12

L 10 12 11 14 14

Pct .615 .538 .522 .481 .462

GB – 2 21/2 31/2 4

W 17 16 14 9 8

L 9 9 12 15 14

Pct .654 .640 .538 .375 .364

GB – 1/2 3 7 7

W 18 11 11 11 9

L 8 15 15 16 16

Pct .692 .423 .423 .407 .360

GB – 7 7 71/2 81/2

MONDAY’S GAMES

Toronto 3, N.Y. Yankees 1 Tampa Bay 5, Boston 1 Minnesota 8, Oakland 7 Texas 2, Houston 1 Seattle 3, L.A. Angels 2

TUESDAY’S GAMES

N.Y. Yankees at Toronto, 7:07 p.m. Baltimore at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m. Tampa Bay at Boston, 7:10 p.m. Cleveland at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m. Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 8:10 p.m. Oakland at Minnesota, 8:10 p.m. Texas at Houston, 8:10 p.m. Seattle at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES

N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 0-4) at Toronto (Buehrle 3-2), 7:07 p.m. Baltimore (U.Jimenez 2-1) at N.Y. Mets (deGrom 2-3), 7:10 p.m. Tampa Bay (Colome 1-0) at Boston (Masterson 2-0), 7:10 p.m. Cleveland (Carrasco 3-2) at Kansas City (D.Duffy 2-0), 8:10 p.m. Detroit (Simon 4-1) at Chicago White Sox (Sale 2-1), 8:10 p.m. Oakland (Kazmir 2-0) at Minnesota (Gibson 2-2), 8:10 p.m. Texas (Lewis 1-2) at Houston (Deduno 0-0), 8:10 p.m. Seattle (Elias 0-1) at L.A. Angels (C. Wilson 1-2), 10:05 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Oakland at Minnesota, 1:10 p.m. Cleveland at Kansas City, 2:10 p.m. Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 p.m. Baltimore at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m. Texas at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m. Houston at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

St. Louis Chicago Cincinnati Pittsburgh Milwaukee WEST DIVISION Los Angeles San Diego San Francisco Colorado Arizona

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Chicago 1, Cleveland 0 Monday, May 4: Chicago 99, Cleveland 92 Wednesday, May 6: Chicago at Cleveland, 7 p.m. Friday, May 8: Cleveland at Chicago, 8 p.m. Sunday, May 10: Cleveland at Chicago, 3:30 p.m. x-Tuesday, May 12: Chicago at Cleveland, TBD x-Thursday, May 14: Cleveland at Chicago, TBD x-Sunday, May 17: Chicago at Cleveland, TBD Washington 1, Atlanta 0 Sunday, May 3: Washington 104, Atlanta 98 Tuesday, May 5: Washington at Atlanta, 8 p.m. Saturday, May 9: Atlanta at Washington, 5 p.m. Monday, May 11: Atlanta at Washington, 7 p.m. x-Wednesday, May 13: Washington at Atlanta, TBD x-Friday, May 15: Atlanta at Washington, TBD x-Monday, May 18: Washington at Atlanta, 8 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

L.A. Clippers 1, Houston 0 Monday, May 4: L.A. Clippers 117, Houston 101 Wednesday, May 6: L.A. Clippers at Houston, 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 8: Houston at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m. Sunday, May 10: Houston at L.A. Clippers, 8:30 p.m. x-Tuesday, May 12: L.A. Clippers at Houston, TBD x-Thursday, May 14: Houston at L.A. Clippers, TBD x-Sunday, May 17: L.A. Clippers at Houston, TBD Golden State 1, Memphis 0 Sunday, May 3: Golden State 101, Memphis 86 Tuesday, May 5: Memphis at Golden State, 10:30 p.m. Saturday, May 9: Golden State at Memphis, 8 p.m. Monday, May 11: Golden State at Memphis, 9:30 p.m. x-Wednesday, May 13: Memphis at Golden State, TBD x-Friday, May 15: Golden State at Memphis, TBD x-Sunday, May 17: Memphis at Golden State, TBD BC-HKN--NHL Playoff Glance,0497

NHL PLAYOFFS By The Associated Press SECOND ROUND

(Best-of-7)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Washington 2, N.Y. Rangers 1 Thursday, April 30: Washington 2, N.Y. Rangers 1 Saturday, May 2: N.Y. Rangers 3, Washington 2 Monday, May 4: Washington 1, N.Y. Rangers 0 Wednesday, May 6: N.Y. Rangers at Washington, 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 8: Washington at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m. x-Sunday, May 10: N.Y. Rangers at Washington, TBD x-Wednesday, May 13: Washington at N.Y. Rangers, TBD Tampa Bay 2, Montreal 0 Friday, May 1: Tampa Bay 2, Montreal 1, 2OT Sunday, May 3: Tampa Bay 6, Montreal 2 Wednesday, May 6: Montreal at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m. Thursday, May 7: Montreal at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m. x-Saturday, May 9: Tampa Bay at Montreal, TBD x-Tuesday, May 12: Montreal at Tampa Bay, TBD x-Thursday, May 14: Tampa Bay at Montreal, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Chicago 2, Minnesota 0 Friday, May 1: Chicago 4, Minnesota 3 Sunday, May 3: Chicago 4, Minnesota 1 Tuesday, May 5: Chicago at Minnesota, 8 p.m. Thursday, May 7: Chicago at Minnesota, 9:30 p.m. x-Saturday, May 9: Minnesota at Chicago, TBD x-Monday, May 11: Chicago at Minnesota, TBD x-Wednesday, May 13: Minnesota at Chicago, TBD Anaheim 2, Calgary 0 Thursday, April 30: Anaheim 6, Calgary 1 Sunday, May 3: Anaheim 3, Calgary 0 Tuesday, May 5: Anaheim at Calgary, 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 8: Anaheim at Calgary, 9:30 p.m. x-Sunday, May 10: Calgary at Anaheim, TBD x-Tuesday, May 12: Anaheim at Calgary, TBD x-Thursday, May 14: Calgary at Anaheim, TBD

Transactions

EAST DIVISION New York Washington Atlanta Miami Philadelphia CENTRAL DIVISION

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(Best-of-7; x-if necessary)

W 16 13 12 12 10

L 10 14 14 14 17

Pct .615 .481 .462 .462 .370

GB – 31/2 4 4 61/2

W 19 13 12 12 8

L 6 11 13 13 18

Pct .760 .542 .480 .480 .308

GB – 51/2 7 7 111/2

W 16 14 13 11 10

L 9 13 13 13 14

Pct .640 .519 .500 .458 .417

GB – 3 31/2 41/2 51/2

MONDAY’S GAMES

Washington 6, Miami 4 Philadelphia 5, Atlanta 2 Milwaukee 4, L.A. Dodgers 3 St. Louis 10, Chicago Cubs 9 Arizona at Colorado, ppd., rain San Francisco 2, San Diego 0

TUESDAY’S GAMES

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m. Miami at Washington, 7:05 p.m. Baltimore at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m. Philadelphia at Atlanta, 7:10 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at Milwaukee, 8:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, 8:15 p.m. Arizona at Colorado, 8:40 p.m. San Diego at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES

Miami (Koehler 2-2) at Washington (Scherzer 1-3), 1:05 p.m. Arizona (Ray 0-0) at Colorado (Lyles 2-2), 3:10 p.m. San Diego (Kennedy 1-1) at San Francisco (Heston 2-2), 3:45 p.m. Cincinnati (Leake 1-1) at Pittsburgh (G.Cole 4-0), 7:05 p.m. Baltimore (U.Jimenez 2-1) at N.Y. Mets (deGrom 2-3), 7:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Williams 2-1) at Atlanta (Foltynewicz 1-0), 7:10 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Frias 2-0) at Milwaukee (W.Peralta 0-4), 8:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Lester 1-2) at St. Louis (Lynn 1-2), 8:15 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

L.A. Dodgers at Milwaukee, 1:40 p.m. Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, 1:45 p.m. Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.

The Associated Press

BASEBALL

American League OAKLAND A’S — Announced OF Cody Ross cleared waivers and was released. TEXAS RANGERS — Claimed LHP Mike Kickham off waivers from Seattle and optioned him to Round Rock (PCL). Transferred OF Ryan Rua from the 15- to the 60-day DL. TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Recalled INF/ OF Chris Colabello from Buffalo (IL). Optioned INF Jonathan Diaz. Designated LHP Jayson Aquino for assignment. National League MIAMI MARLINS — Released C Jarrod Saltalamacchia. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Recalled LHP Tyler Lyons from Memphis (PCL). Optioned RHP Sam Tuivailala to Memphis. WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Acquired OF Darin Mastroianni from Philadelphia for cash considerations. American Association AMARILLO THUNDERHEADS — Signed LHP Rigaberto Arrebato. FARGO-MOORHEAD REDHAWKS — Released C Travis Higgs. Signed RHP Paul Raglione. KANSAS CITY T-BONES — Traded C Jake Taylor to Joplin for cash. LAREDO LEMURS — Signed INF Chase Tucker and LHP Dayne Quist. SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS — Released C Joe Staley.

BASKETBALL

Women’s National Basketball Association NEW YORK LIBERTY — Named Isiah Thomas president.

FOOTBALL

National Football League ARIZONA CARDINALS — Announced the retirement of TE John Carlson. MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Signed CB Justin Coleman, WR DaVaris Daniels, C Tom Farniok, S Anthony Harris, QB Taylor Heinicke, WR Jordan Leslie, WR Gavin Lutman, FB Blake Renaud, G Jesse Somsel and G Bobby Vardaro. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Signed WRs Dres Anderson, Issac Blakeney, DiAndre Campbell, DeAndrew White and Darius Davis; OL Patrick Miller; DL Marcus Rush, QB Dylan Thompson and S Jermaine Whitehead. Canadian Football League WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS — Acquired DB Ryan Mouton from Calgary for OL Zebrie Sanders.

SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

GATORS FROM PAGE B1 9-12 after finishing third in the very competitive Region VIII. “They play in an extremely tough region,” Carraher said. “They’ve got the Hilton Heads and the Beauforts, and they beat up on each other. If you look at their record, it’s kind of misleading because a lot of the games they had came down to PKs (penalty kicks). They easily could have been over .500, and we knew that coming in, that this was a good team. Most of the teams in that region are extremely good, and if I had to compare our region to theirs, theirs is definitely a step up because they just have more quality teams in that region.” Mejia and Mortero added a goal apiece for the Warriors early in the second half, with the final Stall score coming from Derek Goux in the 28th minute. As the first half couldn’t end soon enough, the second half might have ended a split second too soon for Lakewood. While the Gators had two instances in the final four minutes where they almost registered an own goal, the final whistle sounded just as a

KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

Lakewood’s Christian McDonald, left, tries to dribble past Stall’s Derek Guox during the Gators’ 7-1 loss in their 3A state playoff game on Tuesday at J. Frank Baker Stadium. Lakewood shot was launched from about midfield and found its way into the net.

DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS District V TODAY

Baseball 4A District I Mauldin at T.L. Hanna District II Hillcrest at Northwestern District III Greenville at Rock Hill District IV Laurens at J.L. Mann District V White Knoll at Wando District VI Socastee at South Aiken District VII James Island at Carolina Forest District VIII Summerville at Sumter 1A District I Lamar at Fox Creek District II St. Joseph’s at Lewisville District III Dixie at McBee District IV Ridge Spring-Monetta at Christ Church

Lake View at Bamberg-Ehrhardt District VI Carvers Bay at Hannah-Pamplico District VII Green Sea-Floyds at East Clarendon District VIII Branchville at Latta Softball 1A District I Lamar at Dixie District II St. Joseph’s at McBee District III Whitmire at Lewisville District IV Southside Christian at WagenerSalley District V Bamberg-Ehrhardt at Lake View District VI Green Sea-Floyds at Hannah-Pamplico District VII Carvers Bay at East Clarendon District VIII Branchville at Latta

GAMECOCKS FROM PAGE B1 earned the trip to Sumter with a 13-2 victory over Stratford in an elimination game on Monday. In order to win the district, Summerville will have to beat the Gamecocks twice today. Sumter, 12-11 on the season, grabbed the advantage with a 1-0 victory over the Green Wave on Friday. Jordan Holladay hit a home run for the game’s only run and pitched 5 1/3 innings of scoreless ball. Britton Beatson relieved him, getting the final five outs for the save. Shumake said his team has tried to work hard throughout the season, trying to improve as it went along to be in the position in which it finds itself.

“We’ve played a bunch of good teams and we’ve played a lot of close games,” he said. “There are some of those games we didn’t win. We’ve just been working to get better, trying to sharpen our tools with the playoffs coming up.” Shumake said he isn’t sure who will start on the mound, but it will be either Chris Crawford or Holladay. Shumake expects to see Alex Hursey back on the mound for Summerville. The Gamecocks traveled to Lexington for its opening game, picking up a 5-3 victory over No. 2 seed River Bluff. The Gamecocks overcame a 3-1 deficit by scoring four runs in the top of the fifth.

“I told him he shot it maybe two seconds too late, but that’s okay,” Carraher said. “I

don’t know if it’s the heat, but you have games like this, and that’s where we have to learn

to overcome those obstacles. I felt really positive coming out, and we got the early lead, and things were kind of going our way. Then, it’s kind of like quicksand sometimes, you fall in and you panic a little bit, and that’s the thing we have to get over, that panic mode.” Carraher said he is encouraged about the state of the Lakewood program, citing a strong junior varsity feeder program while also acknowledging the contributions of seniors Ryan Johnson, Gregory McLeod, C.J. McEachin and Dominic Rose. “We’re leaving on a positive note because this is a program that I’ve been with for the last 20 years, and we just keep getting better,” Carraher said. “Yes, we’re taking small steps, but this is the second year in a row that we’ve hosted the state playoffs in our own backyard and we’ve been in the state playoffs 15 years in a row, so we’re making progress. We’re concentrating on the positive, and the good thing is we’ve got a lot of guys coming back next year. They’ll remember games like this, and they know where they want to be. It comes down to basic fundamentals passing, kicking, trapping. Those are the kind of things we’ll continue to work on, and we’ll continue to get better.”

‘Chase Belk was going on courage and polish and experience.’

BARONS FROM PAGE B1 the 3A state playoffs. The teams play again today at 7 p.m. at Baron Field, WH, the defending state champion, can advance to the championship series with a win. The lack of hitting concerned Wilson Hall head coach Tommy Jones, whose team improved to 21-7, but when no Hammond pitcher seemed to find the strike zone, it made sense for the Barons to hold off on swinging, he said. “If you can’t find the strike zone you just got to take pitches, so we weren’t aggressive,” he said. “That paid off, but it concerned me. You’ve got a tight game on the road, but in playoff games, somebody’s going to crack. We were able to hold our cool right there at the end.” Hammond head coach Ray Derrick was ejected after arguing the balk call. Wilson Hall pitcher Chase Belk and Hammond pitcher Bailey Lockwood were practically unhittable in the early innings. As it turns out, neither team needed many hits. Belk, throwing Wilson Hall, gave up four hits, but also had five walks. He gave up all three runs in the first, and recovered to strike out 11 in a complete-game effort. Lockwood, the Skyhawks starter, gave up five walks, but one-hit the Barons through 5-plus innings of

TOMMY JONES WIlson Hall head baseball coach on his starting pitcher work. The only other hit for the Barons came in the eighth. Wilson Hall took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, when Robert James reached on a 1-out bunt single. James took second and third as Lockwood faced Dawson Price. Price walked, and James came home on Sam Watford’s sacrifice fly. Lockwood hit Edward McMillan, but struck out Ballard to end the inning. Hammond got three runs on one hit in the bottom of the first, as Belk struggled with his control. Hamilton Rhinehart led off with a single and Thomas Middleton walked. Rhinehart scored when James Shepherd grounded out to short, leaving Middleton at third with one out as Belk faced Cantey Heath. Middleton came home on a wild pitch to make it 2-1. Belk walked Heath, and three more wild pitches enabled Heath to take home as Tyler Lanham batted. Belk then struck out Lanham and got Robert Byrd to pop out to retire the side. From that point on, Belk got his control back. He threw four straight scoreless

innings and struck out seven through the fifth inning. “Chase Belk was going on courage and polish and experience,” Jones said. “He didn’t have his best stuff, but he came a little unglued in the first two or three innings, but he’s our guy and we’ll win or lose with him.” Lockwood on the other hand, struggled until leaving in the sixth in favor of righthanded sidearmer Robert Byrd. Lockwood gave up another run in the fourth, which cut the Skyhawks lead to 3-2. He hit McMillan, then walked Ballard and Walker Patrick to load the bases for Jay Burns. Burns hit into a fielder’s choice in which Patrick was forced out at second, but McMillan crossed the plate. With one out, Burns was picked off going for second as Lockwood faced Brent Carraway. Lockwood struck out Carraway to end the inning. With Lockwood gone in the sixth inning, WH eventually loaded the bases with one out. Hammond reliever James Shepherd walked Carraway, which scored Charlton Commander, pinch-running for Edward McMillan.

CAVALIERS FROM PAGE B1 “I’m not too disappointed. I thought we played well, and we’ll go down there tomorrow and battle them again.” Rankin pointed to two big missed scoring chances. In the fourth inning, REL was up 2-0 and had the bases loaded with just one out. A 1-2-3 double play, however, ended the inning with no runs across. That proved to be a decisive turn of events as the Dolphins rallied in the top of the seventh. A bigger chance came in the bottom of the ninth when the Cavs had the bases loaded again with one out and were unable to lay down a squeeze bunt in two tries – the latter of which resulted in a runner being thrown out at home. In all, REL stranded 12 men on base and ended the night 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position. It was also a bitter ending for Cavs starter Nick Stokes. For six innings, Stokes allowed just three hits and no HHP runner had even reached second base. A caught stealing in the second inning ended the only real scoring chance the Dolphins had – and the only time they had a runner on before there

were two outs in an inning. The seventh was a different story though. The first four batters reached and Hilton Head had five hits in the inning. Rickey Ledee got things going with a 2-run single and Brooks Robinson and EJ Churchich had RBI singles as well as the Dolphins rallied for a 4-2 lead. “He’s our best and we stayed with him,” Rankin said of Stokes. “We thought we could get away with a 2-0 win, but he started to run out of gas a little and they came out swinging.” REL was able to tie it with a 2-out rally in its last at-bat. Weston Green walked and came around to score on a Harry Cook RBI single. Cook then scored on an HHP error – one of five on the night that resulted in three unearned runs. The Cavs also scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the first on a Dolphin throwing error and an RBI single by Travis Christmas. The Dolphins appeared to retake the lead in the eighth when a Ledee grounder got under Cavs shortstop Bryce Barrett’s glove and into the

JUSTIN DRIGGERS / THE SUMTER ITEM

Robert E. Lee’s Bryce Barrett makes contact with a pitch during the Cavaliers’ 6-4 loss to Hilton Head Prep in 11 innings on Tuesday at the REL in the first game of their SCISA 2A state playoffs semifinal series. outfield. However, the HHP runner on second was called out for interference, ending the inning. “The home plate umpire said (the runner) stopped in front of the (shortstop),” Dolphins head coach Dobbie

Green said. “It was a judgment call, he made the call and I respect that. “…It’s a little easier to swallow after the game is over. I’m proud of my guys for not giving up. We fought the whole game and so did

Robert E. Lee. You have to tip your cap to them. It’s not going to be easy tomorrow.” Churchich, Ledee, Gavin Hurlbut and starting pitcher Cem Caglyan each had two hits to lead HHP. Barrett had two hits to lead the Cavs.

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

THE SUMTER ITEM

LOCAL RACING

Duke wins two feature races to highlight speedway action BY CODY TRUETT Special to The Sumter Item After two weeks away from the track due to rain, Sumter Speedway’s 2015 season finally resumed on Saturday and the Sprint cars were supposed to highlight of the evening. And while those drivers did just that, Banjo Duke was at least a co-star as he won both the Crate Late Model and Stock 4 features. Johnny Petrozelle dominated the Sprint car feature, leading flag to flag on his way to Victory Lane. Petrozelle posted some blistering lap times, nearly breaking the 100 milesper-hour mark on different occasions throughout the event. Bobby Komisarski came home second with Jacob McLain third and Matt Hope fourth. Mike Leraas was fifth

with Greg Smyre sixth, David Thorman seventh and Sonny Stroud eighth. In the Crate Late Model feature, Matt Lawson posted a blistering 14.896 seconds qualifying lap to start on the pole. Lawson jumped into the lead as the feature began and never looked back, that is until the white flag was displayed. Lawson appeared to have car trouble in the exit of Turn 4 on the final lap, which was later revealed to be a steering issue. Duke took advantage, making the pass on Lawson in turns 1 and 2 to take the lead and the win. Lawson settled for a tough second-place finish with Kale Green third, Justin Mintz fourth, Drew Shealy fifth and Bill Stutler sixth. Duke picked up his second win in dominant fashion, leading flag to flag to win the

Stock 4 feature. Jason Hodge fought his way to a secondplace finish with Bubba Kolb third, Ashley McHenry fourth, Taylor Geddings fifth, Allen Ridgeway sixth and Russell Lambert seventh. The Extreme-4 division got the night started with a wild race. Landon Jeffreys battled Luke Wilson for the lead as the green flag flew. The two stayed side by side, fighting for the top spot before Jeffreys finally took control. Nick Oliva rolled his car multiple times off the track in turns 3 and 4 to bring out a caution flag. Oliva was fine, but his car was done for the night. As racing resumed, something went wrong with Wilson’s car as he fell back several positions. Chelsea L’Huillier took advantage and powered her way into second

as Jeffreys continued to show the way. Another caution would bunch the field up for a restart. Jeffreys again jumped into the lead with L’Huillier all over his back bumper. L’Huillier dove to the inside on Jeffreys in turns 3 and 4 and took the lead, but Jeffreys battled back, recapturing the top spot in turns 1 and 2, holding on for the win. L’Huillier was second, Travis Poole third, John Ledwell fourth, David Rourk Jr. fifth and Wilson sixth. Shannon Munn picked up another Super Street win, leading flag to flag. Robbie Disher fought his way up to a second-place finish with Greg Murphy third and Joey Ayers fourth. Steven Bartlette was fifth, Jim Wood sixth, Shealy seventh and Justin Timmons eighth. Walter Anderson made his

return to Sumter Speedway for the first time in nearly a decade a memorable one by winning the Stock V8 division. David Duke was second, Jerry Knight third and Willie Hill fourth. William Disher was named the victor in the Street Stock division after race winner Robbie Disher was disqualified after a post-race inspection. It was determined that his carburetor was not within specification of the rules. Grant Hill was second, Jason Potts third, Bartlette fourth and Adam Hill fifth. The season continues on Saturday with gates opening at 5 p.m. and racing starting at 7. Grandstand tickets are $10 for adults and pit passes are $20. Active duty military will be admitted to the grandstands free of charge with military identification.

NBA PLAYOFFS

Plan LeB: LeBron may be more aggressive BY TOM WITHERS The Associated Press INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — LeBron James leaned against a padded basket stanchion and spun a ball on his index finger. As it rotated, his brain seemed to be turning just as quickly. He’s plotting his next move against the Bulls. After losing Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series to Chicago, James and the Cleveland Cavaliers regrouped on Tuesday to watch film, work on outside shooting and devise a better defensive scheme to stop a pick-and-roll play the Bulls executed to near perfection during their 99-92 victory. James came within one assist of a triple-double, but he wasn’t happy with his performance, and with Cleveland missing starters Kevin Love and J.R. Smith, the four-time league MVP knows it’s going to be up to him and All-Star guard Kyrie Irving to even the series Wednesday night. “I’ve never went into a game saying, ‘OK I’m going to be ultra-aggressive,’” he said. “I’ve always had to feel out things, but last night it was a little bit too much feel out. I only had two shots at one point. I was just not as aggressive offensively as I was defensively. We’ll see. I think I may have to change my mindset a little bit with Kev being out.” Playing their first game in eight days, the Cavs fell behind by 16 in the first half and rallied but failed to make plays down the stretch in the loss. Cleveland won’t have Love for the remainder of the postseason and they’ll again be without Smith, serving the second game of his league-im-

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cleveland forward LeBron James (23) shoots against Chicago center Joakim Noah (13) during the Bulls’ 99-92 victory in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Monday in Cleveland. The Cavaliers and Bulls will play the second game of their series today.

posed suspension. James, who has beaten Chicago in three different postseason series and never lost, labeled Game 2 “a game that we must have.” “You can’t go down 0-2 on your home floor,” he said. Forced to adjust his lineup and rotations, Cavs coach David Blatt started veteran forward Mike Miller with disastrous results. Miller couldn’t guard Mike Dunleavy, who went 5-for-5 and scored 13 points in the first

BULLS 99, CAVALIERS 92 CHICAGO (99) Dunleavy 5-6 1-2 14, Gasol 10-16 1-1 21, Noah 0-4 0-2 0, Rose 11-26 0-0 25, Butler 7-16 4-6 20, Gibson 3-5 2-4 8, Hinrich 2-3 1-1 6, Brooks 2-4 0-0 5, Mirotic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 40-80 9-16 99. CLEVELAND (92) James 9-22 1-2 19, Miller 1-2 0-0 3, Mozgov 3-8 3-4 9, Irving 10-23 9-9 30, Shumpert 8-17 2-2 22, Thompson 1-2 2-2 4, Marion 0-0 0-0 0, Dellavedova 2-5 0-0 5, Jones 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-81 17-19 92.

Chicago 27 22 32 18—99 Cleveland 15 29 26 22—92 3-Point Goals_Chicago 10-18 (Dunleavy 3-4, Rose 3-6, Butler 2-6, Hinrich 1-1, Brooks 1-1), Cleveland 7-26 (Shumpert 4-10, Miller 1-2, Dellavedova 1-4, Irving 1-5, Jones 0-2, James 0-3). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_ Chicago 51 (Gasol 10), Cleveland 45 (James 15). Assists_Chicago 23 (Butler 6), Cleveland 17 (James 9). Total Fouls_Chicago 15, Cleveland 16. Technicals_Chicago defensive three second. A_20,562 (20,562).

quarter, helping the Bulls blast to a 14-point lead. Miller contributed three points and five rebounds, but he recorded

a plus-minus of minus-20 during 16 minutes. Blatt said he’s contemplating changes “to get an edge”

but did not divulge any plans. Cleveland’s biggest adjustment needs to come on defense as Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol exploited the Cavs with a “pick-and-pop” play. Gasol set high screens for Rose, who either drove to the basket or passed the ball to the veteran forward. Gasol went 10 of 16 from the field and scored 21. Blatt said there’s 12 ways to defend a pick-and-roll, but the Cavs didn’t find one that could stop Gasol, who was wide open on many of his shots.

PRO BASEBALL

Francoeur has 4 hits as Phillies beat Braves BY CHARLES ODUM The Associated Press ATLANTA — Jeff Francoeur was desperate for a breakout game after 19 straight at-bats without a hit. A return to Atlanta, where he played his first five major league seasons, was the perfect setting for a dramatic recovery. Francoeur had four hits and drove in two runs, Aaron Harang allowed one run over six innings and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Braves 5-2 on Monday night. Francoeur’s family, including his wife, daughter and grandmother, watched as he had a run-scoring double off Alex Wood (1-2) in Philadelphia’s three-run first inning. He drove in another run with a triple off Jim Johnson in the ninth. He also had two singles. “Anytime that happens it feels good but obviously in Atlanta, with my family and my daughter here, it was special,” Francoeur said. The slump was the second-longest of

Francoeur’s career. He boosted his batting average from .169 to .214 with his first four-hit game in three years. Harang also had a successful return to Atlanta after pitching for the Braves in 2014. “He told me after his outing he was a little pumped up,” Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said of Harang. “He’s not one to usually show that. ... He was up in the zone in the first inning.” Pitching five days before his 37th birthday, Harang (3-2) allowed five hits. In two starts against Atlanta this season, Harang has allowed one run and seven hits in 14 innings. He was 12-12 with a career-best 3.57 ERA with Atlanta last season. Carlos Ruiz had two hits, including a two-run single, and Darrin Ruf had three of the Phillies’ season-high 14 hits. Wood allowed three runs, nine hits and two walks in 4 1-3 innings. “His command wasn’t good,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “... I’m not overly concerned, but that’s not him.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Philadelphia right fielder Jeff Francoeur follows through on an RBI triple in the ninth inning of the Phillies’ 5-2 victory on Monday in Atlanta. Francoeur, the former Atlanta prospect, had four hits to beat his old team.

SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

USC commitment Freeman weighing options

unning back CJ Freeman of Greensboro, N.C., committed to the University of South Carolina in late March, but it won’t be until later this year before the Gamecocks know if they have him for certain. Freeman attended Virginia Tech’s spring game. The Hokies were second on his list when he committed to the Gamecocks and they, and others, are still on his mind. “I’m solid right now with my commitment, but I’m going to take a few unofficial visits to other schools that have offered,” Freeman said. “Virginia Tech was my No. 1 school before South Carolina. I definitely enjoyed the spring game. “They have a new person on their staff named Kevin Jones. He played there (as an RB) and in the (National Football) league. He was one of the main ones talking to me. He told me he wanted me and that I can be a true running back there. I may take another visit to Virginia Tech. I’m still solid with my commitment. The visit was good, and I may take another visit, but right now it didn’t make me reconsider.” USC is doing all it can do to make sure Freeman doesn’t slip away. He said he hears from them practically every day. “Me and (assistant) Coach (Everette) Sands have a real good relationship,” Freeman said. “I’m going to visit there this summer, maybe for the Showcase Camp.” Freeman is also looking at visiting Auburn, West Virginia, Washington State and Georgia Southern. He said he plans to take all five of his official visits and two will be to USC and VT. Freeman plans to graduate in December and enroll in college in January of 2016. Louisiana State offered USC wide receiver commit Kyle Davis of Lawrenceville, Ga., on Friday. He’s also picked up recent offers from Alabama, Michigan State, Tennessee and Auburn. Tight end Thaddeus Moss (6-feet-4-inches, 245 pounds) of Charlotte is the son of former NFL star Randy Moss. However, the younger Moss is not resting on the family laurels. His performance as a TE and defensive end has earned him more than 20 offers from coast to coast, including both schools known as USC (the other being Southern California). Moss was under the instructions of his father this spring to focus on his academics and his football skills so the only campus visit he made was to North Carolina for a junior day. He has not yet visited USC in Columbia, but he plans to as soon as he can. Gamecock recruiter Shawn Elliott has been keeping in touch with Moss, checking in via social media on a weekly basis. Moss said he’s not all that familiar with the Gamecocks at this point though he’s well aware of the head coach. “I know how much of a good coach Coach (Steve) Spurrier is, of course,” he said. “That’s what stands out right now. That’s the only thing I’ve thought about (in regard to the Gamecocks).” He has visited USC once, and that was two years ago to watch his sister, who was playing basketball for Florida at the time, play against the USC women. Moss is still doing his due diligence on the offering programs and thus has no favorites at this point. His offers include USC, Georgia, South-

ern Cal, Nebraska, California, UCLA, Louisville, Oregon, WVU, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Boston College and Wake Forest. Don’t look for a decision from Moss anytime soon. “I plan on taking everything slowly,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll commit anywhere, unless a school stands out to me. I may make a top five or a top 10. I don’t plan on committing until I sign the letter of intent.” Moss said at one time he considered graduating from high school early, but he no longer plans on doing that. Defensive back Chris Smith (5-10, 178) of South Pointe High School in Rock Hill picked up his biggest offer to date last week when USC co-defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward contacted his head coach and informed him he wanted him for the Gamecocks. Smith also has offers from Old Dominion, Mercer, Furman, Coastal Carolina, Campbell, Miami (Ohio), Charlotte, Air Force and Gardner-Webb. Those are all good offers, but Smith realizes the USC offer takes his recruiting to another level. “When they offered me I was like so excited,” Smith said. “I jumped up and said, ‘For real?’ So, they jumped into the lead.” Despite his excitement over the offer, Smith isn’t ready to jump to a commitment. “I’m still looking around, but maybe later in the season I’ll commit,” he said. “I may wait for the season to play out, but it might be earlier. I just don’t know.” USC, of course, has had quite a run of success with players from the Rock Hill community, and Smith is very familiar with some of the names like Jadeveon Clowney, Stephon Gilmore and DeVonte Holloman. Beyond that though, he’s tried to familiarize himself with the program and the university. “I heard they have a great education program for one,” Smith said. “And for two, the defense, if you put the work in, you can come in as a freshman and start.” Smith has visited Mercer, Louisville and Charlotte, and he plans to visit USC once he talks with Ward “to see what the atmosphere is like.” Last season Smith had 71 tackles with five interceptions. As a WR he had 10 catches and accounted for 600 all-purpose yards. USC offered offensive lineman Pete Leota of Asheville, N.C., and checked on DE Jaquan Bailey of Jacksonville, Fla. DE Ron Johnson Camden, N.J., who is looking hard at USC, was offered by Arizona State, Tennessee and Missouri. Defensive lineman Tyler Wallace of Milton, Fla., plans to visit USC. USC offered linebacker Kash Daniel of Paintsville, Ky., last week. He also has offers from Kentucky and Louisville. USC offered ‘17 DL Kedonis Haslem of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the son of NBA player Udonis Haslem. The Gamecocks are the first to offer. CLEMSON

DB Kareem Felder of Baltimore announced a commitment to Ohio State over Clemson on Sunday. He visited both last month. Felder said he liked both staffs, but had a special bond with the Buckeyes’ head coach. “I’m definitely closer to Urban Meyer more than any other head coach,” Felder said.

Felder originally committed to VT before backing off that earlier in the spring. OL Bryce Phil Kornblut Mathews (6-6, RECRUITING 280) of BrentCORNER wood, Tenn., is the son of former NFL OL Jason Mathews, who played for the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts after a college career that started at Brigham Young and finished at Texas A&M. Bryce is an offensive tackle of high repute who has offers from Clemson, Ohio State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Mississippi, A&M, Louisville, Northwestern and Virginia. He made his first trip to Clemson late last month. “It was a great trip,” Mathews said. “I’d been wanting to get over there for a long time, but never had the chance. I spent time with (Clemson OL) Coach (Robbie) Caldwell and he showed us around. And I met with (head) Coach (Dabo) Swinney for about an hour in his office. It was great to talk to him and see what he was all about. He’s down to earth and friendly. They have top notch facilities and I’ve seen the blue prints and it’s incredibly cool to see that development taking place.” Mathews also has visited Ole Miss, Tennessee, Ohio State, Vandy, Alabama and A&M. He has no future visits planned right now because of his basketball schedule for this summer. “I want to try to visit as many schools as possible during the summer and I want to get back to Clemson again,” Mathews said. “I’ll narrow down my list this summer and focus on certain schools. Clemson would be on that list as of right now.” Mathews is being recruited as an OT and hopes to have a decision before his senior season. He said Clemson, Ole Miss and Tennessee have been recruiting him the hardest. OL Clark Yarbrough of Woodberry Forest, Va., will announce his decision on May 21 following the conclusion of the final spring practice at his school. Yarbrough plans to tell his teammates and coaches his college decision at that time. He is down to Clemson, Stanford, UVa, UF and Duke. College recruiters are making their way to Woodberry Forest for one of their final chances to meet with Yarbrough before the decision and Clemson (assistant) Brandon Streeter was in last week. “He tells me constantly he likes the Clemson staff the best,” Yarbrough’s head coach, Clint Alexander, said. “There’s a pretty charismatic line coach (Caldwell) there, and he likes Coach Streeter too.” Yarbrough is coming off a visit to Stanford last month and the Cardinal also is in a strong position. “I know he was impressed with Stanford,” Alexander said. “The issue with them was if he can gain that weight, and he showed them he can.” UVa, Penn State and Miami also visited with Yarbrough last week with the Hurricanes making an offer. While there, Streeter also checked out sophomore quarterback Lindell Stone. DB Robbie Robinson of Hampton, Va., will announce his commitment on July 25. Clemson is in the running for

him. Some of his other offers are UVa, WVU, Arizona State, Duke, Ohio State, Michigan State, Stanford, VT and Wisconsin. He visited Clemson for a junior day earlier this year. Clemson offered ‘17 DB Chris Ingram from Mooresville, N.C., last week. CLEMSON AND USC

LB Kenneth Ruff (6-1, 236) of Fort Lauderdale has accumulated a lengthy offer list at this point in the recruiting season. He can count USC, Clemson, UNC, UK and Georgia Tech among offers from Power Five conference schools, and he has several others from the next tier of Football Bowl Subdivision programs. North Carolina State and Maryland have been by to see him, but USC has made the strongest impression on him thus far. “I talk regularly with (assistant) Coach (Kirk) Botkin,” Ruff said. “He likes my style of play. He knows my strength and weaknesses and is looking forward to coaching me in the future. He loves me and he wants me. He sees me as a mike linebacker.” Though he has a verbal offer from Clemson, Ruff hasn’t heard from the Tigers since last summer so he doesn’t consider them an option at this point. He’s also hearing regularly from Oregon State, Rutgers, Alabama and Bowling Green. Ruff did not take any visits in the spring, but this summer he plans to see USC, Mississippi State and Alabama. Everyone is chasing the Gamecocks right now. “I love their scheme,” Ruff said. “It’s similar to what we run and it wouldn’t be a big transition.” Ruff also plays some DE and he had nine QB sacks last season. OL John Simpson of Fort Dorchester High in North Charleston made an unofficial visit to Clemson on Sunday. He has the Tigers and USC at the top of his list. OTHERS

Georgia Southern offered Bamberg-Ehrhardt High DB Keshawn Orr and OL Drew Watson. Greer High DB Troy Pride was offered by Maryland last week. He remains committed to VT. DL Jabari Ellis of Lake Marion High in Santee added an offer from Western Carolina to earlier ones from Miami, South Carolina State and Georgia Southern. His teammate, DE Emmanuel Walker, also was offered by WCU. He has major offers from Georgia, PSU, UNC and WF. BASKETBALL

Malik Ellison of Burlington, N.J., signed with St. John’s on Friday. The 6-6 Ellison also considered USC, Rutgers and Minnesota. Looking for a big body in the middle, USC head coach Frank Martin has turned his attention to center Eric Cobb (6-10, 280) of Jacksonville. Cobb attends school in Baltimore and took an official visit to USC last week. Cobb, who once was committed to Kansas State, visited Seton Hall unofficially the week before. He’s also been considering Virginia Commonwealth, Old Dominion, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Memphis, Washington and Boston College. “They (USC) really like him because he’s like a true post player,” said Cobb’s head coach, Nick Myles. “He has good hands and good feet. He’s got to get in better shape to

play at that level, but once that happens he will be a force in the SEC (Southeastern Conference). “He’s a great passer and he can turn and make a post move off of both shoulders. (A) lot of kids can’t do that. He has to get more athletic, but that will come with getting in better shape. He’s a little heavy for what he needs to be.” Last season, Cobb averaged 13 points and nine rebounds a game with most of his points coming right around the basket. He’s a true low block, back-to-the-basket player who doesn’t venture far out of the paint. Myles said Cobb will visit VCU at some point and is also looking at possible visits to Memphis and UMass. Right now though he’s very interested in what USC has to offer him. “In his case it makes sense,” Myles said. “He’s been up here for a year, but he’s from Jacksonville so it’s only three hours from home so his family can come and see him. He definitely thinks South Carolina is in the right direction for being a(n) (NCAA) tournament team every year and that’s important to him too, being in a program that has a legitimate chance of being a tournament team his four years there.” Aric Holman, a 6-9 player from Owensboro, Ky., did not visit USC last week as he had said he would. Holman’s head coach said Holman has talked with USC, but at present has no plans to visit. He could visit Texas at some point and he’s also considering going to Hargrave Prep in Virginia. Dikembe Dixon has cut his list to Alabama, Mississippi State and Arkansas. He also had a USC offer. Robert Morris transfer guard Marcquise Reed visited Southern Cal over the weekend and plans to visit Clemson this weekend. He also has visited Tulsa and UMass. Clemson offered ‘16 recruit 6-5 Kevin Huerter of Clifton Park, N.Y., while ‘16 recruit 6-4 Eli Wright of Owensboro, Ky., had an in-home visit with Clemson last week. He is planning visits to VT and Miami. Recruiters were in touch again late last week with the mother of 6-5 G Tevin Mack of Dreher High in Columbia. Paula Mack said she spoke with assistant coaches from Clemson (Steve Smith), UGA and Texas. She also was contacted by a recruiter from WVU. Ms. Mack talked earlier in the week with head coaches Brad Brownell of Clemson, Shaka Smart of Texas, Mark Fox of Georgia and Bill Self of Kansas. The Clemson women’s basketball program signed 5-9 Aliyah Collier of Augusta, Ga. She averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds last season. The USC women announced last week that 6-2 Sarah Imovbioh will transfer from UVa to play her final season. Imovbioh was the top rebounder in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season, pulling down 10.8 boards to rank 19th in the nation. She posted 13 double-doubles in 31 games in ‘14-15. In just three seasons, she amassed 1,028 points and 793 rebounds, which puts her among UVa’s top 10 in career rebounds. USC offered ‘17 small forward Kodye Pugh of Baltimore and ‘17 5-11 point guard Quade Green from Philadelphia.

USC BASKETBALL

Suspended Gamecock basketball players leave program BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press COLUMBIA — Suspended forwards Demetrius Henry and Shamiek Sheppard won’t be returning to South Carolina’s basketball team next year. Gamecocks coach Frank Martin said on Tuesday that the 6-foot-9 Henry, 6-6 Sheppard and little used guard

HENRY

SHEPPARD

Reggie Theus Jr. would all transfer from South Carolina. Henry and Sheppard were suspended on Feb. 17 for the rest of the regular season by

Martin for actions detrimental to the team. The decision was announced hours before the Gamecocks won at Georgia. Martin said he’d revisit their status before the Southeastern Conference tournament, yet neither played again. Henry announced last month on Twitter he was leaving. Sheppard’s future with the team was unclear until

Martin’s announcement. Martin said the players all asked for their release from their scholarships. “We wish them the best moving forward and appreciate all that they and their families contributed to our program,” Martin said in a statement. Martin said in response to a message from The Associated Press that he did not want to

comment further about the transfers. Henry, from Miami, Florida, announced last month on Twitter he was leaving. Sheppard’s future with the team was unclear until Martin’s announcement. Henry started 48 games in two seasons, including 19 of 21 this year, averaging six points and three rebounds before the suspension.

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

THE SUMTER ITEM

PRO BOXING COMMENTARY

Pacquiao injury another hit for boxing L AS VEGAS — The people who paid $99.95 to watch at home had no clue. Neither did those spending $40,000 or more for a ringside seat Saturday night in Las Vegas. And, surely, the bettor who wagered $500,000 at the MGM Grand sports book on Manny Pacquiao to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. wasn’t in the loop. They all thought they were getting the DAHLBERG Fight of the Century. Two fighters who, if not in their prime, were at least in peak condition for the fight of their lives. What they got instead was a one-armed Pacquiao chasing Mayweather around the ring for 12 rounds. The Filipino who normally is a punching machine landed only 18 right jabs and didn’t even throw as many punches as the defensive-minded Mayweather. His shoulder had been injured in training. Injured so badly that Pacquiao will undergo surgery this week for a rotator cuff tear. Yet the fight went on. No one outside the Pacquiao camp knew until two hours before the fight, when his handlers unsuccessfully sought permission from Nevada boxing officials for a shot of Toradol, an anti-inflammatory used to treat acute pain.

AREA SCOREBOARD GOLF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER CLASSIC

The St. Francis Xavier High School 20th Annual Golf Classic will be held on Friday at Sunset Country Club. The format will be a 4-person Captain’s Choice. The entry fee is $70 per person. For more information, call Chan Floyd at (803) 774-8555, Rick Lavergne at (803) 4813048 or the St. Francis office at (803) 773-0210. FRIEND OF YOUTH TOURNAMENT

The Friend Of Youth Golf Tournament sponsored by the Evening Optimist Club of Sumter will be held on Saturday at Crystal Lakes Golf Course. The format will be 4-man Captain’s Choice at a cost of $40 per player. The minimum team handicap is 50 with only one player allowed to have a handicap of eight or less. Seniors and women are encouraged to sign up for the tournament. There are sponsorship opportunities available at the costs of $100, $200 and $300. The money that is raised will go Optimist Club charities. For more information, call Les Perkins at (803) 468-1619.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, hits Manny Pacquiao during their welterweight title fight in Las Vegas. Pacquiao was denied a shot for some shoulder pain before Saturday’s fight and is now under investigation for possibly covering up the injury before the big fight. Fighters are tough guys. They often enter the ring not 100 percent because in boxing it’s an unwritten rule that the fight must go on. But this was different. This was the richest fight ever, a boxing match so big that the fighters were getting paydays that rivaled the gross domestic product of some developing countries. This was a fight so hugely anticipated that it demanded the best of both fighters. “I wanted to be more aggressive but it was hard for

me to fight (with one hand),” Pacquiao said. It’s hard to blame Pacquiao, even if he lied a day before the fight when he checked the “no” box on a commission form asking him if he had a shoulder injury. He had the weight of an entire country on his shoulders, and he badly wanted to fight. The people around him, though, are another matter. They knew their fighter was damaged goods, but sent him into the ring anyway. The stakes were too high.

The money was too big. The richest fight ever had to go on. “Athletes always fight hurt,” promoter Bob Arum said the night of the fight. “We felt the work that was done on the shoulder during training would give him the opportunity to use the right hand. He deals with the injury and thinks he conquered it and it was reinjured again. Happens in football and every sport.” Turns out there was a reason trainer Freddie Roach closed sparring sessions a

month before the fight. Nothing to see but a one-armed fighter getting ready to fight the best fighter of his generation. The problem for Pacquiao’s camp wasn’t in keeping Mayweather in the dark about the injury. That’s fair game in boxing, where there’s little advantage in letting an opponent know about any weakness. But no one told Nevada boxing officials, not even when specifically asked on the form filled out by Pacquiao just before the weigh-in. They were blindsided when, just before the fight, Pacquiao’s handlers asked if it was OK for their fighter to get a shot to deaden the pain in his shoulder. By then it was too late. Allowing the shot without knowing exactly what the injury was would have put Mayweather at a disadvantage, at the very least. “They had plenty of time to disclose it,” said Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission. The lack of disclosure will probably mean a fine, and possibly a suspension for Pacquiao. He can afford both, with a payday that figures to exceed $100 million and a lengthy recovery time from shoulder surgery. Still, Nevada boxing regulators need to do something. They thought they had done everything possible to ensure a fair fight, but ended up being snookered instead.

9-HOLE CAPTAIN’S CHOICE

PRO GOLF

The Links at Lakewood golf course is hosting a 9-hole Captain’s Choice event every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $25 per player and includes a steak dinner, a cart and prizes. To sign up, call the pro shop at (803) 481-5700 up to 5 p.m. the day of the event.

Sleepless nights for Woods over Vonn split, father’s death

BASKETBALL TEAM PERSEVERANCE REGISTRATION

Team Perseverance Basketball is now registering boys and girls ages 8-18 for its offseason travel program. For more information, contact coach Junko Allen at (803) 795-5513, or by email at coachj_perseverance@yahoo. com. SUMTER CHRISTIAN CLINICS

Sumter Christian School will host four separate basketball clinics over two months beginning on June 8 at the school’s gymnasium. The clinics, which will run from 10 a.m. to noon each day, will be run by SCS coaches Bobby Baker and Tom Cope at a cost of $45 per student. The clinic for grades 1-3 will be held from June 8-12 with grades 3-6 on June 22-26, grades 6-9 on July 6-10 and grades 9-12 on July 27-31. For more information, contact the school at (803) 7731902.

BY DOUG FERGUSON The Associated Press PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Tiger Woods felt rusty and tired Tuesday at The Players Championship — rust because he has played one tournament in three months, fatigue because of his WOODS personal life. He said only part of that was breaking up with Lindsey Vonn. Woods and the Olympic ski champion jointly announced on Sunday they were splitting up after more than two years because of their hectic schedules as athletes. “Obviously, it does affect me,” Woods said after a nine-hole practice round at TPC Sawgrass. “It’s tough. There’s no doubt. I’m not going to lie about that. And on top of that, this time of the year is really, really hard on me.” Sunday was the anniversary of his father’s death. Tuesday was nine years to

the day that a memorial service for Earl Woods was held at the Tiger Woods Learning Center. “I haven’t slept,” he said. “These three days, May 3rd and through the 5th, today, is just brutal on me. And then with obviously what happened on Sunday, it just adds to it.” His time on the golf course hasn’t been terribly easy, though Woods believes he is making progress. Woods turned in a remarkable performance at the Masters — not so much by previous standards but by recent play. His chipping was shockingly bad when he shot 82 in the Phoenix Open to miss the cut by 12 shots, and at Torrey Pines when he withdrew after 11 holes on a cool day because of tightness in his back. Woods stepped away until he could fix his game. At Augusta National, it was as if that was never an issue. He never had a chance to win — not many did the way Jordan Spieth played — and tied for 17th.

Woods did not qualify for the Match Play Championship last week because he has dropped out of the top 100 in the world for the first time since he first came on tour in 1996. And he didn’t sound entirely optimistic about carrying any momentum from the Masters onto a course that has been feast or famine for him through the years. “I’d like to say yes,” he said. “I’ve had some pretty good practice sessions. My short game still feels really good. We made a couple little swing tweaks since then to keep improving, to keep working on it, to keep getting it better, so that part is still a little bit fresh. I’m going to start playing a little bit more now.” Woods won The Players the last time he played in 2013. He missed last year while recovering from back surgery. It was his second victory at TPC Sawgrass. He was a runner-up to Hal Sutton in 2000. But he also has withdrawn twice and has finished out of the top 20 on six other occasions.

OBITUARIES KATHERINE N. CARTER Katherine “Katie” Nicole Carter, age 16, beloved daughter of William “Bill” Jennings Carter Jr. and Gail Andrews Carter, died on Sunday, May 3, 2015, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center. Katie was a sophomore at Sumter High CARTER School, where she was enrolled in the IB program, a varsity cheerleader, Key Club member, National Honors Society member, student government representative, and a reporter and writer for the Cock’s Quill. She loved spending time with family and friends, writing, traveling and caring for her animals. She had planned to go to Italy following graduation. She aspired to be a writer and photogra-

pher for National Geographic. Katie was a member of Alice Drive Baptist Church, where she was active with the student ministries and missions of the church. In addition to her parents of Sumter, she is survived by her sister, Mary Ashly Garrison and her husband, David; a niece, Skyler Garrison; and a nephew, Tristan Garrison, all of Sumter; and a host of other family members. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. William Jennings Carter and Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Andrews; a niece, Dakota Garrison; and her aunt and mentor, Melinda Andrews Miller. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday at Alice Drive Baptist Church. The family will receive friends following the service and other times at the home.

Memorials may be made to Alice Drive Baptist Church Student Ministries, 1305 Loring Mill Road, Sumter, SC 29150 and the Sumter SPCA, 1140 S. Guignard Drive, Sumter, SC 29150. You may sign the family’s guest book at www.bullockfuneralhome.com. The family has chosen Bullock Funeral Home for the arrangements.

HARRY LEE MCDONALD PORT ORANGE, Florida — Harry Lee McDonald, 60, died on Thursday, April 30, 2015. Public viewing will be held from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. today.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday at Hayes F. & LaNelle J. Samuels Sr. Memorial MCDONALD Chapel, 114 N. Church St., Manning, with the Rev. Bobby McDonald officiating. Burial will follow in Briggs Chapel Missionary Baptist Church cemetery. The family is receiving friends at the home of his brother and sister-in-law, Charlie and Mary McDonald, 1140 K.W. Hodge Road, Manning. These services have been entrusted to Samuels Funeral Home LLC of Manning.

JAMES MCCAIN James “Fat” McCain, widower of Elizabeth Green McCain, departed this life on Saturday, May 2, 2015, at his

residence. He was born on May 22, 1937, in Wedgefield, a son of the late Asbury and Sarah Lawson McCain. He was the brother of Frances Mitchell of New York City, Queen (James) Washington of Wedgefield, Inez (Leon) Jones of Mocksville, North Carolina, and J.W. (Kerline) Jackson of Sumter. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday at Job’s Mortuary Parlor, 312 S. Main St., Sumter The family will be receiving friends at the home, 7320 Pasture Road, Wedgefield. Job’s Mortuary Inc., 312 S. Main St., Sumter, is in charge of arrangements. Online memorials may be sent to the family at jobsmortuary@sc.rr.com or visit us on the web at www.jobsmortuary.net.

OBITUARIES

THE SUMTER ITEM

GLADYS BASSETT Gladys Bassett, 88, died on Saturday, April 25, 2015, at McElveen Manor. Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, she was a daughter of the late Christian and Leota Thorpe Neuswanger. Surviving are five sons, James, Stephen, Gregory, Chris and Bruce Bassett. Memorial services will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday in the Chapel of Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home. The family will receive friends following the memorial service. Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals. com. Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 775-9386.

ROBERT EUGENE SORENSON Memorial service for Robert “Bob” Eugene Sorenson, 68, will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday at Dunbar Funeral Home, Dutch Fork Chapel. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Mr. Sorenson died on Monday, May 4, 2015. Born in Sumter, he was a son of Martha Jane Stephens Sorenson and the late Norman Adolfe Sorenson. A graduate of Edmunds High School, he attended Clemson University. He worked for The Sumter Daily Item and Papa John’s Pizza. He was of the Methodist faith. His hobbies included golf and bowling. He loved Clemson football and his dog, “Ratt.” He had a lifelong passion for good food. Surviving are his daughter, April Bolivar (Patrick) of Lexington; son, Eric Sorenson (Kyndall) of Columbia; grandchildren, Adrian Michael Sorenson and Chloe Lynne Bolivar; brother, Tommy Sorenson (Palmela) of Sumter; his mother of Sumter; ex-wife, Marilyn Grover of Gilbert; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition to his father, he was predeceased by a brother, Richard Sorenson. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to SPCA Humane Society, 121 Humane Lane, Columbia, SC 29209 or Concerned Citizens for Animals, 3627 Fork Shoals Road, Simpsonville, SC 29680. Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com.

LINDA KAY LEE HAMM Linda Kay Lee Hamm, 67, wife of Ronald Luther Hamm, died on Monday, May 4, 2015, at her home. Born in Carrizozo, New Mexico, she was a daughter of the late Marcus T. and Dorothy I. Pherigo Lee. Mrs. Hamm was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church. She retired from both Sumter County and Greene County, Tennessee, Register of Deeds offices. Surviving are her husband of Sumter; two sons, Benjamin T. Hamm of Johnson City, Tennessee, and Andrew J. Hamm (Brandy) of Sumter; a daughter, Leanne M. Sheppard (Wynn) of Sumter; a brother, Joe Lee of Black Duck, Minnesota; two sisters, Margie Rue of Sumter and Constance Becker of Alamogordo, New Mexico; and four grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday at Immanuel Lutheran Church with the Rev. Gary Blobaum officiating. Burial will be in Sumter Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. today

at Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to Immanuel Lutheran Church, 140 Poinsett Drive, Sumter, SC 29150. Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals. com. Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 775-9386.

in the Chapel of Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home with Dr. Eugene Mosier officiating. Burial will be in Evergreen Memorial Park cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home and other times at the home, 1724 Broome St. Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals. com. Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 775-9386.

BERTHA W. BLACKWELL Bertha W. Blackwell went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, May 2, 2015, in Dallas, Georgia. She was born on Aug. 24, 1927, in Mayesville, to the union of Maggie Williams (Buckner and Gainey Williams Sr.) Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday at Second Presbyterian Church, USA, with the pastor, the Rev. Dr. Ella F. Busby, officiating. Visitation will be from noon until the hour of service. Professional services have been entrusted to the management and staff of Sumter Funeral Service Inc., 623 Manning Ave., Sumter, SC 29150. Online memorials may be sent to the family via sumterfuneralsvs@sc.rr.com.

MARION CLAVON SR. LYNCHBURG — Marion Clavon Sr., a son of the late Jake and Icy Mae Clavon, died on May 1, 2015. Marion attended Mt. Pleasant High School and retired from Korn Industries. He also worked at Carolina Table Co. He was a lifelong member of Mt. Pleasant AME Church, where he served faithfully in many capacities, which included the men and senior choirs, steward board and finance committee. He is survived by his wife, Rosa Clavon; daughter, Jacqueline Clavon; sons, Marion Anthony (Shaneka) Clavon and Steven Smalls; five grandchildren; siblings, Pastor Dorothy Fleming, Eloise Fleming, Wilahamenia (the Rev. Robie) Gabriel, Mazelle Hall, Edna (Ashley) Toney, Cynthia (Willie) Green, Roosevelt and Russell (Gwendolyn) Clavon; five aunts, Gladys Clavon, Dorothy (Leroy) Hudson, Susan (John) Hudson, Josephine Yearwood and Daisy Bell Williams; an uncle, Sylvester McGee; sisters-inlaw, Queenie Hunter and Barbara Carolina; other dear relatives and friends. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday at Mt. Pleasant AME Church with the Rev. Earnest Brown, pastor. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Jefferson Funeral Home Service Inc. is in charge of arrangements.

CLARENCE E. MATHIS Clarence Eugene Mathis, 75, husband of Betty Welch Mathis, died on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, at his home. Born in Sumter, he was a son of the late Frank Eugene and Odessa Hall Mathis. Mr. Mathis was of the Baptist faith. He retired from the Coca Cola Bottling Co. with 40 years of service. He was an avid fisherman. Surviving are his wife; a daughter, Pamela Gregory (Greg); a sister, Jewel Mathis Burton (Lee); a brother, Edwin L. “Bo” Mathis (Ruth); two grandchildren, Gregory J. Gregory Jr. and Lacy Nicole Gregory, all of Sumter; and numerous nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015 cious) Magazine and Thelma Hodge; two grandchildren, Deshawn and Corinne Hodge; a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Visitation will be held from 2:30 to 7 p.m. today at the funeral home. Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, U.S. 15 South, with Pastor Willie Wright assisting, Bishop Nathan Amos and Evangelist Dr. Elizabeth Richburg. Burial will follow in Bradford Cemetery. The family is receiving relatives and friends at the home, 460 Timmerman St., Sumter. Online memorials can be sent to comfhltj@sc.rr.com. Community Funeral Home of Sumter is in charge of these arrangements.

ESSIE LEE W. MONTGOMERY LILLIE MAE MACK Lillie Mae Mack entered eternal rest on Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in New York. Born on Jan. 12, 1944, in Sumter, she was a daughter of Lillie Mae Wilson Mack and the late James “Jim” Mack. She received her education in the public schools of Sumter County. In her youth, she attended Beulah AME Church in Sumter. She moved to Manhattan, New York, where she worked for the Mental Health Department and was a member of Canaan Baptist Church. She renewed her membership at Beulah in Sumter and was a member of Missionary Society, Ladies Club and Lay Organization. Survivors include her son, Bernard Mack of Manhattan; mother, Lillie Mae Wilson Mack; one brother, Jimmy (Gloria) Mack of Sumter; four sisters, Josephine Mack, Carolyn (James) Cameron, Ethel Cabbagestalk and Rebecca Mack, all of Sumter; caregiver and cousin, Millie Ann (Hazel) McCoy of Sumter; a host of other relatives and friends. Visitation will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. today at the funeral home. Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday at Beulah AME Church with Pastor Dwayne Bruce. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family is receiving relatives and friends at the home of her sister, Josephine Mack, 3 Chelsey Court, Sumter. Online memorials can be sent to comfhltj@sc.rr.com. Community Funeral Home of Sumter is in charge of these arrangements.

JUNIOR HODGE Junior Hodge entered eternal rest on April 30, 2015, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center. Born on June 30, 1951, he was a son of the late Otis and Thelma Bracey Hodge. Junior was a member of New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, where he served as an usher. He attended Sumter County public schools. Survivors are his wife, Ella Riley Hodge of the home; two daughters, Lutisha L. Hodge and Cassandra Hodge, both of Sumter; one son, Johnny Wilson of Sumter; two brothers, James (Ruttie) Hodge and Bishop Marvin (Crystal) Hodge; five sisters, Evangelist Pearl (John) Williams, Betty (Phillip) Wilkins, Gloria Jean Glisson, Viola (Lu-

Essie Lee Wilson Montgomery, 78, peacefully departed this life on Saturday, May 2, 2015, at Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia. Born in Sumter County, she was a daughter of the late Johnny and Hattie Wilson. Essie accepted Christ as her personal savior at an early age and became a member of Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church. She later joined Galilee Missionary Baptist Church and served on the gospel and senior choirs, missionary society, pastor’s aid and as kitchen staff president. She was a 1955 graduate of Eastern High School and a member of Chapter No. 355 Order of the Eastern Star, state of South Carolina. She was united in holy matrimony to the late Sammie Lee Montgomery Sr. and from this union three children were born, Sammie Lee Montgomery Jr. of Silver Spring, Maryland, and Johnny (Rebecca) Montgomery and Reinnod Montgomery, both of Sumter. Survivors include one sister, Pauline Cain of Washington, D.C.; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; a godchild, Vonda Hudson Morris of Florida; and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, a spouse, a sister and two brothers. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday at Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, 126 E. Sumter St., Mayesville, with the Rev. Dr. Tiawana Mayo, eulogist, assisted by the Rev. Charles Joe and the Rev. Sidney Hampton. Interment will follow in Mayesville Cemetery. The Rev. Eugene Myers is the pastor of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church. The family will receive relatives and friends from 2 to 6 p.m. today in the Robert Scriven Jr. Memorial Chapel. The family is also receiving friends at the residence of her son and daughter-in-law, Johnny and Rebecca Montgomery, 27 Rushmore Court. Ephriam D. Stephens Funeral Home, 230 S. Lafayette Drive, Sumter, is in charge of arrangements, (803) 775-8911. “Where Dignity is the Watch Word.”

BETTY A. BELL Betty Atkinson Bell, 80, widow of William B. Bell Jr., died on Monday, May 4, 2015, at NHC Healthcare in Sumter. Born in Lee County, she was a daughter of the late

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Clarence Eugene and Ethel Jane Atkinson. Mrs. Bell was a member of Sumter First Church of God and the Order of the Eastern Star. She worked for many years at Williams Furniture and later retired from Southeastern Chemical Co. When citizens band radios were popular, she and her husband were members of a CB radio club, where they were known as “Secretary” and “Georgia Boy.” Survivors include a brother, Marvin E. Atkinson (Lanelle) of Sumter; a nephew, Marty Atkinson (Jamie) of Sumter; two great-nieces, Reese and Naomi Atkinson; a great-nephew, Connor Atkinson; and a very special friend, Joella Rigby . Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday in the Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Bennie Barwick and the Rev. Ron Bower officiating. Burial will be in Evergreen Memorial Park cemetery. Cousins will serve as pallbearers. The family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m. on Thursday at Elmore-CannonStephens Funeral Home and other times at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Atkinson. Memorials may be made to Caris Hospice, 105 W. Wesmark Blvd., Suite 4, Sumter, SC 29150. Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and Crematorium of Sumter is in charge of the arrangements.

ELENE J. PRICE Elene Jones Price, widow of retired Staff Sgt. Daniel L. Price Jr., went to be with her husband on Monday, May 4, 2015, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center. Born in Gastonia, North Carolina, she was a daughter of the late Frank T. and Lena Badger Jones. Mrs. Price retired from Campbell’s Soup Co. Survivors include three daughters, Cathy E. Price and Deborah P. Cotterman (Michael Sr.), both of Sumter, and Darlene P. Harmon (Doug) of Salem, Virginia; one son, Danny F. Price of Wyoming, Delaware; four grandsons, Michael Steven Cotterman Jr., Robert Daniel Cotterman (Noel), David Andrew Price and Matthew Daniel Price; one granddaughter, Tammy Jean Myers (Brian); and one brother, William T. Jones (Naomi) of Dallas, North Carolina. She was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years; one brother, Jerry F. Jones; and two sisters, Macy Jones and Christine Jones. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday at Sumter Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Danny F. Price, Michael S. Cotterman Sr., Michael S. Cotterman Jr., Robert D. Cotterman, David A. Price and Matthew D. Price. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home. Mrs. Price is dearly loved and will be greatly missed. Memorials may be made to the S.C. Heart Center, 2001 Laurel St., Columbia, SC 29204. Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and Crematorium of Sumter is in charge of the arrangements.

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803-774-1234 OR TO PLACE YOUR AD ONLINE GO TO WWW.THE ITEM.COM/PLACEMYAD Lawn / Garden / Nursery

ANNOUNCEMENTS Announcements Ladies Archery Night Beginning May 14th. Every Thursday night @ 6:30pm. Come join the fun! Beginners and Advanced. Equipment provided, instructed by certified instructor. Sumter Co. Fair Grounds BLDG#10, For more info contact Beth 803-983-2625.

BUSINESS SERVICES

CENTIPEDE SOD 80sqft - $20 250 sqft - $50 500 sqft- $95 Call 499-4023 or 499-4717

For Sale or Trade Car Dolly ,Lrg duel axle trailer, 4 13'in tires brand new, and a single axle trailer. Call 983- 0256. Expert Tech, New & used heat pumps & A/C. Will install/repair, warranty; Compressor & labor $600. Call 803-968-9549 or 843-992-2364 Half price! 4 Cemetery plots in Sumter Cemetery. Call Betty at 803-491-4403 leave message.

Business Services Valerie's Cleaning Service, Commercial & Residential. Call 803-795-7234 for more info.

Home Improvements H.L. Boone, Contractor: Remodel paint roofs gutters drywall blown ceilings ect. 773-9904 Professional Remodelers Home maintenance, ceramic tile, roofing, siding & windows doors, etc. Lic. & Ins. (Cell) 803-459-4773 Southeast Builders LLC, Licensed & insured. Commercial/residential. Remodeling, Additions, decks, floors, painting, lot clearing, water, fire & smoke damage. 803-840-9554

Lawn Service Lifestyles Lawn Service! Disc. for home sellers, residential & commercial. Erik 968-8655

Legal Service Attorney Timothy L. Griffith 803-607-9087, 360 W. Wesmark. Criminal, Family, Accident, Injury

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EMPLOYMENT Help Wanted Full-Time Looking for experience masons and helpers. 803-464-4479.

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Looking for something that is more than just a job? Do you like to surround yourself with beautiful things and happy people? Are you a highly motivated and goal oriented person? Are you a Team Player with a competitive spirit? Do you love to make money? If your answer is YES to all of the above questions and you are computer literate, please send resume' to P-409 c/o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151. This position is with a local, well established company who is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of the BBB and the Sumter Chamber of Commerce. A growing and expanding organization is seeking an Information Technology (IT) Specialist with knowledge and skills to work independently or as a member of a team, in the administration, development, delivery and support of IT systems and services. Competitive full-time salary position, 401k, medical and dental benefits. Please reply by May 11th.Box 413 c//o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151 F/T Class-A CDL driver needed to haul poultry. Night Shift. Must have 2 years verifiable exp & good MVR. Call Danny 803-236-0682.

Septic tank pumping & services. Call Ray Tobias & Company (803) 340-1155.

Tree Service A Notch Above Tree Care Full quality service low rates, lic./ins., free est BBB accredited 983-9721

STATE TREE SERVICE Worker's Comp & General liability insurance. Top quality service, lowest prices. 803-494-5175 or 803-491-5154 www.statetree.net Ricky's Tree Service Tree removal, stump grinding, Lic & ins, free quote, 803-435-2223 or cell 803-460-8747.

MERCHANDISE Strawberries Richburg Farms HWY 261, Manning, SC 8am-6:30pm M-Sat (803)473-4844

Garage, Yard & Estate Sales LARGE GARAGE SALE Every Weekend Tables $2 FLEA MARKET BY SHAW AFB

Open every weekend. 905-4242 or 494-5500 Bonanza Flea Market Free Outdoor Vendor space in April & May. Come have your yard sale with us. 1048 Bonanza Crossing Road in Manning. Also have indoor spaces avail. 803-460-0014

WEDNESDAY, MAY 06, 2015

Looking for a carpenter experienced in floors, windows, and other rental property maintenance. MUST have valid Drivers License. Submit resume to: M-414 c//o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151. Law office seeks employee for Secretarial position requiring efficient typing, dictaphone, computer and office skills. Send resume to Box 338 c//o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151 F/T Experienced cake decorator needed with retail experience. Pls apply in person at the Piggly Wiggly on Pinewood Rd. Accounting Position available at local company. Must be proficient in Quick Books for Contractors & Microsoft Office Suite. Benefits package available incl. health insurance, life insurance, dental insurance, paid holidays & paid vacation. Please send resume to Fort Roofing, PO Box 1407, Sumter, SC 29151 SUNSET COUNTRY CLUB now hiring servers, bartenders, , dishwasher, cart attendants and certified life guards. Apply in person at 1005 Golfcrest Rd. No phone calls.

Help Wanted Part-Time P/T cleaner needed immediately in Wedgefield. Daytime position, cleaning a small office, Monday - Friday. Must have own transportation, pass background & drug screen. $12 hour. Contact Bob at rnlundygvpm@gmail.com PT floral designer. Must have floral shop exp. Excepting applications at The Daisy Shop 343 Pinewood Rd. No phone calls please.

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Trucking Opportunities Truck Driver needed for hauling chips. Must have CDL & min. 3 years exp. Call 803-804-4742 / 804-9299.

Medical Help Wanted Opening for MT/MLT Multiple positions available for Medical Technologist and/or Medical Lab Technician in a large physician's office laboratory in Sumter, SC. Full and part-time openings available for generalist MT / MLT. Performs routine and special diagnostic procedures requiring technical skill, judgment, and independent decision-making following established standards, policies, and procedures. Performs duties under minimal supervision. Flexible shifts available. Pay DOE. Respond to:325 Broad Street, Ste 100, Sumter, SC 29150 or fax 803-403-9977. A growing and expanding organization is seeking licensed therapists (LISW or LPC) to provide behavioral and mental health services for people in their community. Competitive full-time salary position, 401k, medical and dental benefits. Please reply by May 11th. to Box 411 c//o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151.

For rent-Newly Renovated 3BR 1BA C/H/A, carport, $650 Mo. 4 br, 1 ba, $700 mo. Call 646-315-3274.

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Summons & Notice SUMMONS IN THE FAMILY COURT FOR THE THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT DOCKET NO.: 2015-DR-43-264 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CLARENDON Shirley Ragin Hearrell, Plaintiff, vs. Christopher Lee Hearrell, Sr., Defendant

2245 Dartmouth Dr. 2BR/2BA, 2 car garage, appl, nice neighborhood, behind Wal-Mart, $850/mo + sec. Call 803-934-0434 before 5, After 5 803-600-1284

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TO: THE DEFENDANT:

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YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Complaint in this action, of which a copy is herewith served uponyou, and to serve a copy of your Answer to said Complaint in the subscribed, 35 South Sumter Street, Post Office Box 370, Sumter, South Carolina 29151, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof; exclusive of the date of such service; and if you fail to answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

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PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Summons in the above-entitled action of which the foregoing is a copy together with the Complaint herein, was filed in the Office of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County, March 10, 2015. A final hearing is scheduled for June 19, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. Weeks Law Office, LLC J. David Weeks, Esquire 35 South Sumter Street Post Office Box 370 Sumter, South Carolina 29151 (803) 775-5856 Attorney for Plaintiff

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015 Call Ivy Moore at: (803) 774-1221 | E-mail: ivy@theitem.com

It’s spring in Carolina Backcountry Museum event demonstrates Sumter life in 1800 BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com

n Saturday in the Carolina Backcountry Homestead at the Sumter County Museum, the late 18th century will come to life from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to celebrate spring. Museum staff and volunteers will be dressed in period costume, and they’ll be doing just what Sumter’s early settlers did at this time of the year. That means they’ll be sprucing up the grounds, including the herb garden, opening up the buildings to the fresh air and sunshine and inviting the whole of Sumter to join them in outdoor activities. The annual Carolina Backcountry Springtime is one of the museum’s education programs that also happens to be a lot of fun. Young people and adults will have the opportunity not just to observe the activities of the past, but to participate in many of them, such as enjoying hot bread baked in the homestead’s brick oven and fresh churned butter made by museum volunteer Suanne Richendrfer, learning to load an authentic early musket or pistol with gunpowder (no ammunition), observing blacksmiths at work and more. Backcountry Manager Deborah Watts will be on hand to demonstrate how and what

folks cooked hundreds of years ago, and she’ll be offering tastes. “She’ll be making her chicken on a string,” cooked over an open fire, said museum director Annie Rivers, who’ll be on hand to talk with visitors to the Backcountry. Watts always has homemade biscuits cooked in a Dutch oven over hot coals, and Rivers said, “She’ll have some kind of stew and some other things.” Some of the freshly made butter will no doubt be available for melting on Watts’ famous biscuits. All the buildings in the Backcountry will be open, including the authentic Settler’s House that once stood near Pinewood; its construction was completed by 1836, maybe as early as 1812. Made from hand-hewn timbers and sawn boards, the house has a rain porch, which was a common feature of local houses of the time. Other buildings include the blacksmith’s forge, where visitors can observe the resident blacksmiths at work; the loom house, where Mel Welch will demonstrate spinning and weaving with other volunteer docents; the commissary, where seeds, cloth and other supplies were stored; a log cabin, also authentic, furnished as it would have been in 1800; a smokehouse, where meats were preserved and

Laura Kirby, 11, fires a pistol from the early 19th century with the assistance of Frank Holloway. Dressed in authentic period clothing, Holloway will have his weaponry collection and genuine artifacts from the period available for inspection, and he’ll demonstrate their use.

ITEM FILE PHOTOS

ABOVE: Adults and young people enjoy playing games like those used by homesteaders in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Here, they’re playing a game called The Graces, tossing and catching a small hoop. BELOW: . Suanne Richendrfer prepares to slice fresh, hot bread from the brick oven in the Sumter County Museum’s Backcountry at a past event. She’ll be churning butter to spread on the bread, as well. stored; and a privy, or outhouse. The schoolroom is furnished with hornbooks, slates and quills like those used during the period, and Rivers said, “Children will be able to write on the chalkboards.” Visitors will get to try their hands at several other activities, including the games – stilts, rolling hoops and graces, which involves tossing a small hoop with two sticks, and ball and cup. Several will be available for purchase. Volunteers will also be available in the WilliamsBrice House and in the Heritage Education Building to answer questions for those taking self-guided tours. Be sure to check out the current and permanent exhibits while you’re there, too. Now in the Heritage Education Building is an exhibit on Potter’s Raid, which included the Battle of Dingle’s Mill, one of the last battles of the Civil War that took place in Sumter County. In the museum’s main exhibit building, the WilliamsBrice House, is an exhibit on “H.C. Bland: The Man Behind Swan Lake,” very timely, as

the Sumter Iris Festival is coming up over Memorial Day weekend. Also there is “Finding Africa at Her Own Door: Emma Wilson and the Mayesville Institute,” a fascinating look at an amazing woman whose dedication to the education of Mayesville’s children early in the 20th century is unparalleled. There are many other exhibits in the Williams-Brice House, as well. Admission to the Carolina Backcountry Springtime

event and all museum exhibits is free on Saturday, and the public is invited.

CAROLINA BACKCOUNTRY SPRINGTIME WHERE: Sumter County Museum Gardens, 122 N. Washington St. WHEN: 1o a.m. - 4 p.m.p.m. Saturday ADMISSION: FREE

Son remembers ‘best tap dancer in the movies’ BY NICK THOMAS Tinseltown Talks Imagine growing up with not one, but two renowned actors as parents. Peter Ford’s father was Glenn Ford (1919-2006), a popular box office draw in the 1940s and ‘50s with memorable performances in classics such as “Gilda” and “The Blackboard Jungle.” Married four times, Ford’s first marriage was to Eleanor Powell (1912–82). Their union lasted 16 years and produced one child, Peter. “She was a shy little girl and at 7 took dancing lessons,” said Peter from Los Angeles. “Her mother recognized her talent and she began dancing at 12 in Atlantic City. At fifteen, they moved to New York City and she became friends with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and the two often performed together at local private parties.” After some New York stage roles, Powell moved to Hollywood and was signed by Louis B. Mayer at MGM where she starred in “Broadway Melody of 1940”

PHOTO PROVIDED

The late actress-dancer Eleanor Powell is pictured with her husband, actor Glenn Ford, and their son, Peter Ford. with Fred Astaire and “Born to Dance” with Jimmy Stewart. Though she only appeared in a dozen movies, “Ellie” was regarded by many as the best female tap dancer to ever appear on screen. Peter remains in awe of his mother’s talents on the dance floor. “My mother was the greatest dancer in film!” he stated proudly. “This assessment is not only held by me and many other students of the field of dance, but Fred Astaire as well. Fred

told me this in person.” Peter’s parents met just before the Second World War. “Mom and actor Pat O’Brien met on a U.S. Bond tour together,” said Peter. “Pat had worked with my dad and thought they would make a nice couple and had a party after the tour specifically to introduce them.” In Peter’s 2011 insightful biography of his father, “Glenn Ford: A Life” (see www.peterford.com), he describes

his father’s first impression upon seeing his future wife in person: “I had only seen her in black-and-white movies, and in person I was struck by her coloring, her chestnut hair, worn in soft waves to her shoulders, this glowing complexion, and beautiful cornflower blue eyes. And when she smiled, I was captivated.” That rare glimpse of his parent’s first meeting was possible from Ford’s own writings. “My father kept a diary

every day of his life since 1933, and I have every one of them,” said Peter. “If you picked any day since then, I could tell you what he had for breakfast, where he went, what he did, what he thought, who he talked to, etc.” Powell stopped working in film shortly before Peter was born in 1945, her final role being a brief cameo in “Duchess of Idaho” five years later. “She had no regrets when she left dancing,” said Peter. “She had a new role as wife and mother and threw herself into these new duties with the same zeal that she approached her dancing.” Once Peter reached his teen years, his mother returned to performing mostly out of necessity. She had received the family home after divorcing Ford, along with a modest alimony settlement, but the house was huge and expensive to run. “She had a major comeback after her divorce from my father in 1959 that took her to Las Vegas and venues throughout the United States and Europe,” he

said. “She really only did it because she needed the money, then retired again after about three years.” In addition to being a devoted mother, Eleanor Powell was dedicated to humanitarian causes that included supported charities, such as children’s hospitals. She also promoted racial equality, a social issue that concerned her since her youth when working with Bill Robinson. “She and Bill were required to enter mansions from the back – the service entrance,” writes Peter in his book. “My mother was offered the opportunity to be treated differently from Bill Robinson, but she declined …. where Bill went, so did she.” “I was blessed with having the best mom a young man could possibly have,” says Peter. “She was kind, honest, sweet, caring of all humanity – the best.” Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for more than 550 magazines and newspapers.

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

THE SUMTER ITEM

Simple vinaigrette delivers maximum flavor BY SARA MOULTON The Associated Press

ost people reach for prepared salad dressings because on busy

weeknights they just can’t handle the thought of whipping up yet something else. Because after cooking a main course and some sides and tossing together a salad, who has the time and energy to make a dressing?

I get it. It’s convenient. But homemade dressings are so much better, they really are worth the trouble. Homemade dressings not only are fresher and taste better, they also are better for you. The good news is that making dressing doesn’t have to be a daily chore. In just five minutes you can prep one big batch of dressing for the entire week. So let’s walk through the basics of vinaigrettes. The standard recipe for a vinegarbased dressing calls for a 3-to-1 ratio of oil to vinegar (or other acid). But really that’s just a starting point. Years ago when I was teaching a class in basic techniques, I tested the validity THE ASSOCIATED PRESS of that ratio by asking my students to Shown are ingredients to make vinaigrette dressing. make dressings of their own. All of them used olive oil, but each one picked a different acid. BASIC VINAIGRETTE That was an eye-opener! Three tablespoons of oil swamped rice vinegar, cent of total calories); 10 g fat (1.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 0 Start to finish: 5 minutes but barely balanced the acidity of g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 0 g protein; 260 mg sodium. Makes 1 cup sherry vinegar. Bottom line: The acid 1/4 cup acid (see choices below) content in vinegars can vary widely, so ACID SUGGESTIONS 2 teaspoons kosher salt you’ll want to adjust for that. (listed from most to least acidic): 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard What about the oil? Mostly, I opt for Sherry vinegar 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper good quality extra-virgin olive oil. You Red wine vinegar 3/4 cup oil want to break out the good stuff beBalsamic vinegar In a 1-cup measuring cup or screw-top jar, combine the acid, cause you’re really going to taste it in a White wine and Champagne vinegars salt, mustard and pepper. Whisk (or cover and shake if using a jar) dressing. But if you don’t like the taste Cider vinegar until the salt is dissolved. Add the oil in a steam while whisking (or of olive oil, you can use an oil with a Rice vinegar add the oil all at once and shake if using a jar). Store in the refrigmore neutral flavor, such as grapeseed erator. Let the vinaigrette come to room temperature before using. Raspberry vinegar (though it’s pricey). Safflower and sunFresh lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit juice Nutrition information per tablespoon: 90 calories; 90 calories from fat (100 perflower are less expensive and also are perfectly acceptable. Nut oils are another way to go, inin chicken broth, pureed fresh tomato dressing stay together longer by addand mix them until the salt is discluding walnut and hazelnut, as well or roasted red pepper, or pureed (very solved. Then, if you’re using a measuring an emulsifier, such as mustard or as two of my favorites: pistachio and ripe) pear, all of which contribute flaing cup, add the oil slowly in a stream, an egg. I prefer mustard, not only bepumpkinseed. They pair up very well vor and body. Sugar, too, can replace cause of its power to emulsify, but bewith fruit vinegars, such as raspberry. whisking until it’s incorporated. If oil, which is why relatively sweet balcause I really like its taste. What are the best ways to mix a vin- you’re mixing it in a jar, add all of the samic vinegar requires relatively less Tasty add-ins? Your choice: minced oil and shake. If you’re using a blendaigrette? The easiest include measurshallots (which contribute a pleasantly oil for balance in a vinaigrette. But I ing and mixing it in a glass measuring er, add the oil and pulse until well ‘m not a fan of sugar in dressings. We sweet crunch), a minced clove of garcombined. cup, shaking it in a jar (an almost already eat way too much. lic, chopped fresh herbs, a bit of soy A vinaigrette is a temporary emulempty mustard jar is a good choice), or By the way, there’s no reason to conbriefly whizzing it up in a blender. And sion, meaning that when you whisk or sauce or miso, crumbled cheese, grated fine vinaigrettes to the salad bar. They fresh citrus zest or capers. I say briefly about the blender because shake it, the oil and vinegar will comcan perk up grilled vegetables, chicken Want to cut down the vinaigrette’s bine long enough to coat your salad. too much whizzing may make olive oil Eventually, though, these components calorie count? Cut down the amount of or steak, and they partner up beautitaste bitter. fully with fish. oil. Depending on my mood, I’ll swap will separate again. You can make the Start with the acid, salt and pepper,

Make cocktail bitters at home in under 30 minutes BY J.M. HIRSCH AP Food Editor Feeling bitter? Get in line. These days anyone who takes their drinking seriously is getting intimate with bitters. Fueled largely by the hard liquor and artisanal cocktail booms, bitters — those astringent, potent flavor enhancers added by the drop to cocktails — have become a big business. Ten years ago you’d have been challenged to find much beyond those ubiquitous Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters. Today, bitters are made with everything from celery and rhubarb to Mexican chocolate and Colonial-era spice blends. Yet even with this delicious abundance, it’s OK to want more. The good news is that custom bitters are easy to crank out in your own kitchen. But first, a bitter primer. Bitters often are described as the salt of the cocktail world. A drop added to a drink — and sometimes food — doesn’t just add flavor, it heightens, highlights and ties together all the other ingredients, as well. Most bitters are made by distilling herbs, seeds, roots and other ingredients. The result is a thin liquid with a — Surprise! — bitter or bittersweet taste and a robust aroma. Many bitters — including Angostura — originated as medicines. We’ve mostly abandoned that idea, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some therapeutic value in a good cocktail... While the Internet abounds with recipes and methods for making your own bitters, I’ve found most of them unneces-

basil or mint. Whole produce, such as kumquats, should be scored with a knife. Next, pick something sweet. Usually, some sort of fruit is helpful here, such as lemon or lime slices, cherries, apples, berries or mango. Anything large (such as an apple) should be chopped. Now, grab something spicy. Cinnamon, star anise, black peppercorns, cumin and nutmeg are all delicious. If you like a little heat, consider adding a hot pepper. The important thing is that you select flavors and ingredients that you like and that you think will work together. It also helps if you have a cocktail or spirit in mind when making your bitters. I’m a fan of the classic old fashioned made with bourbon. I don’t add much sugar to my drink, but I do like sweetly-fruity bitters, so I often go with flavors such as cranberry-orange-cinnamon. Sometimes I add a vanilla bean. Finally, you need vodka. You will be using all of these ingredients to infuse the vodka, which ultimately will become the bitters. Don’t go top shelf for the vodka; just grab a jug of the cheap stuff. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A glass quart jar holds cocktail bitters made in a one-step process. sarily fussy and tedious. So I started experimenting with basic techniques and recipes and soon discovered how simple it really is to make your own. I’ve since perfected two techniques, one that works in about 30 minutes, another that takes a few days. It really just depends on how much time you’ve got.

INGREDIENTS As the name suggests, at least one of your ingredients should have a bitter (or astringent) flavor. Citrus peel is ideal for this. I generally use just the thin zest layer of the peel from oranges or limes, though I once used whole kumquats. You also could use rhubarb, cranberries, fresh

SLOW METHOD Place your infusion ingredients — the bitter, sweet and spicy ingredients you’ve chosen — in a glass quart jar with a tight-fitting lid. How much? Depends. For citrus, use the full zest of 3 to 4 pieces of fruit. For cranberries, rhubarb or herbs, use about 2 cups. The good news is that it’s really hard to use too much, so when in doubt, add more. Remember, the finished

product will only be used a few drops at a time. Once your ingredients are in the jar, lightly mash them with a wooden spoon, then add enough vodka to fill it. Screw on the lid, shake, then walk away. Whenever you think of it during the next three or four days, give it a shake. After the infusion has sat for that time, strain it, squeezing the solids to get as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids. Place the infused vodka in a small saucepan and simmer until reduced by half. Let it cool, then bottle it and refrigerate. Done. Use a few drops in your next cocktail. The bitters will keep in the refrigerator for a month.

FAST METHOD Ready for fun with science? This is where we get to use the boiling point of alcohol — a low 176 F — to our advantage. First, heat a large pot of water to 176 F. Use a candy thermometer hooked to the side of the pot to monitor this. Now dump all of the ingredients outlined in the slow method above into a heat-safe plastic bag (the bags used by vacuum sealers are a good choice), pressing out as much air as possible. Submerge the bag in the warm water. In a few minutes (depending on the temperature of your ingredients), you’ll see the vodka in the bag bubbling gently. Let it do that for about 10 minutes. Remove the bag from the water and let it cool for another 15 or so minutes. Strain and reduce as described in the slow method. Done. Almost instant cocktail bitters. The bitters will keep in the refrigerator for a month.

FOOD

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

Don’t limit yourself to basil pesto BY MELISSA D’ARABIAN The Associated Press

resh herbs are one of nature’s best lowcal flavor sources.

And as the weather warms up, we’ll transition from buying herbs in cute little clamshells costing a couple bucks each to scooping

chopped. Add the oil, broth, Parmesan and salt, then blend to desired consistency. Use immediately, or transfer to a small bowl, cover tightly and chill. Alternatively, spoon into ice cube trays (fill cubes only halfway) and freeze. Pop out frozen pesto cubes and keep in a zip-close plastic bag in the freezer. Nutrition information per serving: 110 calories; 90 calories from fat (82 percent of total calories); 11 g fat (1.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 3 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 3 g protein; 90 mg sodium.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Fresh Dill Pesto takes only 10 minutes to make.

large bunches of softleaved herbs into our carts for pennies on the dollar. Or perhaps you have an herb garden and you’ll find yourself inundated with a cilantro or parsley plant that takes over a small section of your backyard. What to do with all these herbs? One approach to preserving herbs is to freeze them as cubes. To do this, you simply blend up clean, fresh herbs with just enough oil or water to make a thick paste. You then fill ice cube trays (silicone muffin cups also work) about halfway with the herb paste and freeze. Once frozen, the herb cubes can be bagged and stored in the freezer until needed. Note that water-based herb cubes freeze more firmly than oil-based, but herbs discolor more in water. Either way, these cubes are easily added to soups, stews, sautes and chili. For the best effect, add them toward the end of cooking so the fresh flavor of the preserved herbs really comes through. Another favorite strategy for making the most of my herbs is pesto. But don’t assume you’re limited to the classic basil version. Using my simple formula, you can use just about any herb or green (or combination) to make a tasty pesto perfect for pasta, seafood, dipping bread, spooning over a hot soup, or any other favorite way to use pesto. It also freezes well as cubes. Once you jump on the pesto ice cube train, you will be amazed at the many uses: Add to scrambled eggs; use as a sandwich spread; whisk with Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and water to make vinaigrette; spoon over meat hot off the grill; toss with roasted veggies; mix with an equal amount of Dijon and spoon over chicken breasts before roasting; mix with Greek yogurt for veggie dip. You get the idea. The formula is simple: 4 cups of fresh green herbs plus 1/3 cup of nuts or seeds plus 1/2 cup olive oil or broth (or a combination) plus 1/4 cup hard Italian cheese. Blend until chunky or creamy. Done.

FRESH DILL PESTO Start to finish: 10 minutes Servings: 8 2 cups fresh parsley leaves 2 cups fresh dill fronds 1/3 cup almonds 1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped 1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese Hefty pinch of salt In a blender or food processor, combine the parsley, dill, almonds and garlic. Pulse until finely

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

BIZARRO

SOUP TO NUTZ

ANDY CAPP

GARFIELD

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BORN LOSER

BLONDIE

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JEFF MACNELLY’S SHOE

‘Emotional’ needs to take break from relationship DEAR ABBY — My boyfriend of 10 years, “Scott,” and I separated last year. I was pregnant and Dear Abby hormonal at the time, ABIGAIL and told him VAN BUREN we would never get back together. We went a month without contact, then reconnected. While Scott was in the process of working things out with me, he had a girlfriend. He made it seem like not a big deal, but apparently it was more serious. He told her she was the love of his life and he didn’t want to

THE SUMTER ITEM

lose her, etc. When our daughter was born five months later, he told me he was done with the other woman. They talked for a month after our baby arrived and then he cut her off. I recently found some old messages between them, and my heart shattered all over again. Scott says it was all a joke and he never meant any of it. The text messages imply otherwise. I don’t know if I should take another break to clear my head, or wait until my heartache passes. Please help. Emotional in the South DEAR EMOTIONAL — If you were convinced that Scott has been completely honest, I doubt you would have

THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

searched his message history. As to his relationship with the other woman being a “joke,” I doubt she was laughing when — after hearing she was the love of his life and he didn’t want to lose her — he announced it was over. You appear to like drama. You brought this on when you told Scott the two of you would “never” reconcile. I do think you should take a break until you are less emotional, because the choices you have made so far haven’t been entirely rational. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www. DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

JUMBLE

SUDOKU

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

HOW TO PLAY: Each row, column and set of 3-by-3 boxes must contain the numbers 1 through 9 without repetition.

ACROSS 1 Common lunch hr. end 6 Lowers, as lights 10 Drift gently 14 Half an Evergreen State city 15 Fancy entrance 16 Clickable image 17 Bit of dental work 18 Indian noble 19 On deck 20 Toy with a heating element 23 Like “las” in Sp. 24 Out of the reach of 27 Country where Quechua is an official language 30 Erstwhile TV ministry 33 White Label Scotch maker 35 Fairy tale villain 38 Camera setting 39 Carol contraction 40 “Not my decision” 42 Hoppy brew, briefly 43 Satellitelaunching rocket stage 45 1961 Rick Nelson hit 47 Nightly news

fodder, with “the” 49 “__ only a game” 50 Marshy areas 51 Public figure? 53 Bungler 55 Neither ahead nor behind ... and what 20-, 35and 45-Across are literally doing 61 Clown of renown 64 Met or Nat 65 Jazz singer O’Day 66 Crumbled ice cream topping 67 2013-’14 Magic Johnson Award winner Nowitzki 68 Eastern faith 69 Sticky goo 70 Urges 71 Writer Zora __ Hurston DOWN 1 Baby’s booboo 2 Family nickname 3 Plumbing joints 4 Lighthearted 5 “I’ll think it over” 6 Nyctophobe’s fear 7 “Dies __”: hymn 8 Low-paying position, in

slang 9 Cut off 10 Gathers choice parts from 11 Celebrated pilot 12 Cunning critter 13 Demolition aid 21 Stimulate 22 Good-looker 25 Hardy’s “The Return of the __” 26 Pop over 27 “She loves me not” piece 28 Greg of “B.J. and the Bear” 29 Take on successfully, as a challenge 31 BŽret bearer 32 Pope after John X 34 Bridge measures

36 Deep-space energy source 37 Duma vote 41 Director Welles 44 Tablet relative 46 Side with the ball 48 Hot, for now 52 New England collegian 54 Born-__ 56 “Show Boat” composer 57 Really gets to 58 TV handyman Bob 59 List-shortening abbr. 60 Reputation 61 Marshy area 62 Tulsa sch. named for an evangelist 63 “__ in the Art of Writing”: Ray Bradbury collection

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Oh, the humanity ‘The Middle’ endures on ABC BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH Is “The Middle” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) the most subversive comedy on network television? If challenging the prevailing depiction of families on the small screen is any measure, then the answer could be yes. In contrast to the effortless prosperity shown on most TV series, “The Middle” makes the most of the decidedly modest income that Frankie (Patricia Heaton) and Mike (Neil Flynn) bring home. Perhaps not since “Roseanne” have set decorators had so much fun with a budget and a thrift store look. The comedy “2 Broke Girls” also puts the emphasis on budgeted living, but that sitcom oozes with the vulgar humor made popular by “Two and a Half Men.” “The Middle” is most daring in depicting human beings, and even teenagers, not entirely consumed with or defined by hyper-sexuality. The comedy goes out of its way to dress and make up its characters in ways that are the polar opposite of “hot.” In a recent episode, the strenuously plain Sue (Eden Sher) is asked to the prom by a shirtless greeter at the nearby Abercrombie store at the mall. He’d fit in as just another himbo on Bravo, but on “The Middle,” he’s actually a shy guy who goes to the local Catholic high school. You have to say something about a comedy that allows a stud to emerge as a human being. Sue and her brothers may be clueless goofballs, but “The Middle” avoids themes of deliberate, savage cruelty that so permeate TV teen fare, where many young people are portrayed as either zombies or vampires. The media’s most persistent product placement is media itself. “Modern Family,” the most iconic network comedy of the smartphone era, highlights its characters’ tech-savvy. They “live” on their iPads. In contrast, Mike and Frankie still have a big-tube TV and consider it a treat to rent a DVD from a kiosk at a market that looks like it’s from the set of “Dobie Gillis.” Shows like “The Goldbergs” and “Fresh Off the Boat” have to go back decades in time to make viewers appreciate

multitasks on “Arrow” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14) * Murray makes a friend on “The Goldbergs” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) * A predator becomes a target on the season finale of “Criminal Minds” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) * A familiar tattoo on “Supernatural” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14) * Raven-Symone guest-stars as Dre’s sister on “black-ish” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) * A cyberpharmacist serves up a fatal dose on “CSI: Cyber” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14) * Rattled by grief, the squad reports to a cafe bombing on “Chicago P.D.” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

LATE NIGHT

MICHAEL ANSELL / ABC

Tired of getting lousy Mother’s Day gifts every year, Frankie informs Mike that she would like to go out for a proper afternoon tea on the “Mother’s Day Reservations” episode of “The Middle” airing at 8 p.m. today on ABC. what they have or used to have in the way of consumer gadgetry. “The Middle” transpires in a reality that’s rare for TV but common to many people, a world about five years behind the curve and far outside the media-saturated bubble, a place where trying to be a flawed but decent human being is a bit of a struggle, but well worth the effort. • The “NOVA” (9 p.m., PBS, check local listings) presentation “Nazi Attack on America” features renowned explorer and Titanic discoverer Bob Ballard and his team examining the wreckage of U-166. This Nazi U-boat was sunk 72 years ago during Hitler’s Operation Drumbeat, a campaign that sank nearly 400 Allied freighters and claimed the lives of 5,000 seamen.

TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS • The top three compete on “American Idol” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG). Martina McBride performs. • A woman repudiates the testimony that convicted her father of incest and rape on “Law & Order: SVU” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14). • Looking out for No. 1 on “Modern Family” (9 p.m.,

ABC, TV-PG). • Deacon’s condition becomes public on “Nashville” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG). • Teams re-create iconic moments from movies on the second season premiere of “Fake Off” (10 p.m., Tru TV, TV-PG).

CULT CHOICE An introvert (Joaquin Phoe-

nix) in high-waisted pants becomes captivated by the voice (Scarlett Johansson) of his computer in the 2013 fantasy “Her” (7:50 p.m., Cinemax).

SERIES NOTES Trying to take hold on “Survivor” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) * Burglary leads to murder on “The Mysteries of Laura” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14) * Oliver

Ernest Moniz is scheduled on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (11 p.m., Comedy Central) * Helen Hunt and T.J. Miller appear on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) * Martin Short and Norah Jones appear on “Late Show With David Letterman” (11:35 p.m., CBS) * Jimmy Fallon welcomes Kerry Washington, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Noel Gallagher on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) * Anna Wintour, Willie Nelson and Twin Shadow visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) * Dana Carvey and Elizabeth Olsen appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS). Copyright 2015, United Feature Syndicate

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

THE SUMTER ITEM

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Piquant Sweet Potato Quiche

This versatile veggie has the kick you crave BY FAMILY FEATURES

f you’re looking for a little variety to spice up your life, cooking with a versatile veggie such as the sweet

potato may give your menu the satisfying kick you crave, along with a healthy dose of the nutrients your body needs. Unlike many vegetables with a peak season that comes and goes, sweet potatoes can be found at your local grocery store year round with a consistent quality and freshness. Because they are available fresh, canned or frozen, sweet potatoes offer the ultimate flexibility for healthy and delicious menu options at any meal. With virtually no fat and low in sodium, sweet potatoes, or yams, fit perfectly into a low-carb lifestyle, with major nutritional bonuses to boot. In addition to being a source of vitamin B-6, iron, potassium and fiber, the sweet potato provides twice the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A and more than one-third of the requirements for vitamin C. Sweet potatoes also rank significantly lower than white potatoes in the glycemic index, which explains why many carbcounting diets encourage substituting sweet potatoes for white potatoes.

PIQUANT SWEET POTATO QUICHE Winner in the “Frozen” Category // Courtesy of Karen McGowan of Houston Servings: 6 1 bag (15-ounces) frozen sweet potato fries, thawed 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups shredded Havarti or Monterey Jack cheese 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese 2 cups chopped cooked ham 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives 4 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup half-and-half 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray 10-inch pie dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pulse sweet potato in food processor until shredded. Transfer sweet potato to sieve and press with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Press potato into bottom and up sides of prepared pie dish. Brush with melted butter and cover with aluminum foil. Bake until edges of crust are golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack. Reduce oven to 350°F. Add Havarti cheese, jalapeno, Swiss cheese, ham and chives to crust in one layer. In medium bowl, combine eggs, half-and-half, salt, paprika, pepper and cayenne. Pour evenly over cheese mixture and cover with aluminum foil. Bake until knife inserted into center comes out clean, 30-40 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

CREAMY SMOKED SWEET POTATO SOUP Winner in the “Fresh” Category // Courtesy of Samantha Foglesong, New Orleans, Louisana Servings: 6-8 4 extra-large sweet potatoes (about 5 pounds) 4 cups seafood stock 2 cups heavy whipping cream 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 pound fresh jumbo lump crabmeat, picked free of shells 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives Prepare smoker to 200°F. Smoke sweet potatoes 2 1/2-3 hours. Let cool, and peel. In large Dutch oven, combine sweet potatoes, stock and cream. Blend on high speed with an immersion blender until smooth. Heat over medium heat, and add 1/2 teaspoon salt, then cinnamon and nutmeg. Strain mixture through finemesh sieve into large bowl; discard solids. In medium bowl, combine crab, lemon juice, red pepper, remaining salt, butter and chives. Divide soup among bowls and top with crab mixture.

SWEET POTATO S’MORES Winner in the “Canned” Category // Courtesy of Michele Carl of Masonville, Colorado. Servings: 6 1 cup pecans 1 cup almonds 3/4 cup honey, divided 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract 12 dried pitted dates 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 2 cans (15 ounces each) sweet potato puree 1/2 cup apple cider 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 cup minced crystallized ginger 2 cups miniature marshmallows Dark chocolate shavings for garnish Preheat oven to 170°F. In food processor, pulse pecans and almonds until chopped. Add 1/4 cup honey, vanilla, dates, salt, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and butter, and process until finely chopped. Spread in thin layer on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until crispy, about 3 hours. Let cool, and cut into 3-inch squares. Reduce oven to 250°F. Spray a 13-by-9inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In food processor, combine sweet potato, apple cider, remaining honey, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and remaining cinnamon; process until smooth. Stir in crystallized ginger. Transfer to prepared baking dish, and cook 1 hour. Stir well, and cook 30 minutes more. Let cool to room temperature. Increase oven to 300°F. Spray rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1/2-inch layer of sweet potato butter on each cracker. Top with marshmallows, and place on prepared baking sheet; bake 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings and serve. Source: Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission