May 9, 2014

Clowney taken No. 1 overall

Hoping for a high pick Former Sumter High, Clemson standout looks for early draft selection B1

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FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014

Head of defunct school indicted

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700 Shaw airmen face budget wrath Hall: Force reduction would cut jobs entirely

Feds: Woman embezzled $2.2M from government

BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com (803) 774-1272

BY RAYTEVIA EVANS revans@theitem.com (803) 774-1214 Benita Dinkins-Robinson, former executive director for Mary L. Dinkins Higher Learning Academy, has been indicted on two counts of theft of government property, accused of embezzling more than $2.2 million from government agencies.

The 39-year-old Bishopville resident, according to the United States Attorney, District of South Carolina office, allegedly embezzled funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for various school food and nutrition programs from 2007 to 2012, and has also

SEE EMBEZZLEMENT, PAGE A6

21-year-old arrested in Bishopville murder

BY ROB COTTINGHAM rcottingham@theitem.com (803) 774-1225 A 21-year-old man is now in custody after being charged on Wednesday in connection to a Bishopville murder.

Marquis Jarell Boyd, of 21 Ponderosa Lane, Bishopville, was arrested about 6 p.m.

Wednesday and charged with murder by investigators with Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

BOYD Boyd is thought to have played a role in the death of Jessie Slater III, who was found on a walking path in the 400 block of Manville-Wisacky Road shortly after emergency personnel were dispatched to the area at about 10:40 p.m. Monday.

According to Maj. J.D. Dellinger of the sheriff’s office, Boyd became a primary suspect early on in the investigation.

“We discovered that Boyd and (Slater) had been in an altercation with each other on

Efforts to cut the size of the military could lead to the elimination of more than 700 airmens’ positions at Shaw Air Force Base.

Those “separation” efforts were one of several cost-cutting measures highlighted by Col. Clay Hall, commander of the 20th Fighter Wing, reviewing the state of Shaw during the annual commander’s breakfast Thursday.

Sequestration cuts have dominated discussion of the federal budget in recent years, but the financial straits at the Pentagon go back further than that, Hall told those assembled for the breakfast hosted by the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce.

“There’s too much of a focus on sequestration,” Hall said.

“We’ve been digging this hole since 2003.”

As part of the federal government’s belt-tightening, the Air Force must eliminate 25,000 service members from its ranks by Jan. 15, 2015, which will leave the service with a smaller force strength of 310,900 airmen.

“By the end of the year, we’ll have the smallest Air Force ever,” Hall said.

BRISTOW MARCHANT / THE SUMTER ITEM Rather than cut the size of Col. Clay Hall, commander of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, speaks Thursday to the the force indiscriminately, the annual Commander’s Breakfast hosted by the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce. Hall adDepartment of Defense has

dressed the Air Force’s continued financial challenges, including how reductions of force could effect more than 700 airmen’s positions at the base.

City officials push ways to reduce blight

BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com (803) 774-1272 In more than a decade of overseeing the Sumter Pride program, Bob Fleury has seen some once pleasant homes deteriorate into buildings that are not only unsightly, but also pose a danger to the neighborhood around them.

“They’re deplorable,” he said. “Most of them have not been occupied in years. They have termite damage, dry rot, and especially today, all the wiring and metal has been pulled out. Even if you wanted to repair them, there’s nothing to repair.”

Sumter Pride, the city-backed program to demolish derelict properties as a beautification effort, has torn down 355 homes since it started targeting abandoned homes in 2002.

Now city officials are backing a proposed state law that would give local authorities more power to remove blight from their community.

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MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

A beaten mailbox is all that remains of a home that once stood at 512 S. Harvin St. on Thursday morning. The house was demolished as part of Sumter Pride, a program in which the city accepts a nominal fee to demolish derelict homes as part SEE PRIDE, PAGE A6 of its community development program.

SEE BOYD, PAGE A6

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DEATHS, B6 Adrienne Billups John A. Haynesworth Anitra Gipson Willie P. Ragin Lessie B. Harvin John J. Maroon Lorenzo Felder

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13-year-old’s need and more met

BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com (803) 774-1250 Victoria Simmons came to Sumter about a year ago to help her sick sister.

Now she was the one who needed help, and it came from an unexpected source.

Tuesday, Patrolman Gaetano Acerra with the Sumter Police Department brought her 13-year-old son, Cam’Ron, a mattress, four pillows, VICTORIA SIMMONS a bed set, a Wii, a TV, a Mother of desk and a chair.

13-year-old Cam’Ron “When they pulled up with the truck, I thought he was getting a bed,” Simmons said. “That’s all I thought. I wasn’t expecting all of it at all. I’m very grateful. I believe in God. I’m glad God put it on his heart to step up for us.”

Though he’s an officer, Acerra didn’t do it as part of job.

“I have a soft side to me,” he said. “I saw a child needed something. I saw a way to brighten his day. He was very sad and down.”

Simmons, a part-time home health aid, had argued with Cam’Ron about how much time he spent on his 18-yearold brother’s game system, and Cam’Ron had left the house saying he was running away. Instead, he went down the street to a store and called the police.

Acerra responded.

“He was upset and crying a little,” the patrolman said. “He said, ‘I don’t want to be here anymore. Can I go somewhere else?’”

So Acerra asked the teenager to take him back to the house and assessed the situation. While the home contained some furniture in the living room from friends and family, Cam’Ron’s room was bare.

“I wanted to make it where he wanted to stay where he has a roof over his head and a mom that loves him,” Acerra said.

Simmons had tried some local assistance agencies, but they were tapped out after helping house fire victims, she said. Acerra ran into similar problems for the next three weeks to a month.

As he told his brother and some friends about meeting the middle schooler, though, several donated

‘I always prayed for a positive male figure.’

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Patrolman Gaetano Acerra with the Sumter Police Department plays a Wii game with Cam’Ron Simmons in his room. The officer helped provide a mattress, four pillows, a bed set, a Wii, a TV, a desk and a chair for the teen. money to the cause. As the word spread, others donated items such as the gaming system.

“They got the ball rolling,” Acerra said.

He plans to keep it rolling with a bed frame this week and hopefully a gift card for Cam’Ron to pick some stuff out he wants.

“I want to get him a couple of other things,” Acerra said. “A dresser. A fan.

And I want to see him again. Hang out.

I want to be like another big brother.

He has a mom and older brother. He needs a friend. I want to be his friend.”

With his older brother about to graduate high school, that is something Simmons really appreciates.

“I always prayed for a positive male figure,” she said.

Acerra gave Cam’Ron his number and told him to call whenever he wants.

“This is just the beginning,” he told the 13-year-old. “This is a good start to a friendship.”

Bishopville City Council considers bus stop shelters

BY TYLER SIMPSON tyler@theitem.com (803) 774-1295 Editor’s Note: This story from Thursday’s edition is being republished to correct a series of errors in the original report.

Bishopville City Council approved first reading of a proposed amendment to the city’s zoning ordinances at its meeting Tuesday to allow officials to place public shelters at bus stops throughout the city.

Chairman Ronnie Williams of the Bishopville Planning Commission told city council that the city’s ordinance needed to be amended before officials could place three-sided covered benches at approved locations

within the city limits. When the commission recently reviewed the zoning ordinances, Williams said, it noticed that such shelters weren’t listed anywhere.

“We’ve run into something like this a couple times,” Williams said. “I remember when satellite dishes came out, no one in the city had heard of them, and certainly no one had one....

We have to change from time to time the zoning ordinance.”

Williams proposed that council permit the shelters as a conditional use, meaning certain restrictions would apply for the bus stop shelters. One condition is that the agency placing the shelters must be publicly owned and operated, which Williams said was crucial in order to acquire ac-

countability in maintaining the structures.

Councilman Craig Nesbitt raised the concern toward whether size limitations will be placed on the shelters, to which Williams responded by saying that the commission is still discussing size parameters.

Safety is another prime concern in deciding locations for the shelters. If the amendments are approved, any request on where to place a shelter will go the zoning administrator, who will determine if the shelter is permitted in a specific zoned area. Bishopville Police Chief Calvin Collins will then have to approve the location.

“Who better than our police chief to determine whether or not (the shelters) will be put in a safe location?”

Williams asked.

By getting permission from Bishopville Police Department, Williams said it will allow the planning commission to put on record who permitted the shelter be set at the proposed location.

Collins said, in his judgment, any approved area would have to have an adequate amount of lighting, be located in an area where traffic isn’t too heavy, and would have to abide by zoning ordinances involving public and private property.

“As the chief of police, I have a role of selecting some safe areas, and I am in the process of doing that throughout the city right now,” Collins said.

“What I need to know is how many they want to put in the city.”

HOW TO REACH US IS YOUR PAPER MISSING? ARE YOU GOING ON VACATION? 20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter, S.C. 29150 (803) 774-1200 Jack Osteen Editor and Publisher Jack@theitem.com (803) 774-1238 Braden Bunch Senior News Editor bbunch@theitem.com (803) 774-1201 Waverly Williams Sales Manager wwilliams@theitem.com (803) 774-1237

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LOCAL

THE SUMTER ITEM

FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014

USC Sumter graduation The USC Sumter commencement ceremony took place Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Nettles Auditorium at USC Sumter. There were 55 graduates present at the ceremony.

Johnny Boston was awarded an associate of arts degree.

Edward Lawson Cate, above, received an associate of science degree.

Student Government Association president and mace bearer Jared Buniel, right, is seen during the ceremony.

USC Upstate student Lacie Victoria Preast is seen during commencement exercises.

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THE SUMTER ITEM

POLICE BLOTTER CHARGES Cecil G. Scott, 24, of 2275 Swallow Drive, was charged with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature and unlawful possession of a pistol at 3:37 a.m. Monday after dispatch received a call in reference to a civil disturbance involving someone with a gun. According to the report, police arrived at Scott’s residence where several people gathered in the front yard and told deputies “he’s got a gun.”

Scott was standing at the front door, and officers placed him into handcuffs. The victim said that she and Scott were arguing when he became irate and grabbed her by the neck. The victim hit Scott in the face in an attempt to get away, but Scott allegedly hit her in the nose and kneed her in the face. When she threatened to call law enforcement, reports indicate Scott pulled out a pistol and said, “I’ll give you a reason to call the law.” A records check revealed that the gun was stolen out of Florence County and that Scott was prohibited from possessing a handgun. Scott was arrested and transported and Sumter Lee Regional Detention Center.

AP FILE PHOTO

Bryan Preston of Hannaford Supermarkets, left, talks with job seekers during a job fair at Columbia-Greene Community College in Hudson, New York, on April 22. The Labor Department reports the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits fell 26,000 last week to 319,000.

Number of people seeking unemployment aid drops

BY CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER AP Economics Writer

U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.

The four-week average of applications is down from an WASHINGTON — The average of 343,000 for all of number of Americans seeklast year, O’Sullivan noted. ing unemployment benefits That is “consistent with the fell 26,000 last week to pick-up in employment 319,000, the latest sign that growth” that’s taken place the job market is slowly imthis year, he added. Monthly proving.

The drop follows two weeks job gains have averaged 214,000 from January through of increases that reflected April, up from 194,000 in 2013. mostly temporary layoffs Applications are a proxy around the Easter holiday.

The holiday can cause an up- for layoffs, and so the decline suggests that companies are tick in layoffs of bus drivers, cutting fewer jobs. That trend cafeteria workers and other school workers during spring is typically followed by more break. Those earlier increas- hiring, though the relationes caused the four-week aver- ship is not always exact.

About 2.69 million people age of applications, a less volatile number, to rise 4,500 to a are receiving benefits, 76,000 fewer than in the previous seasonally adjusted 324,750.

With the impact of the holi- week. That figure has fallen nearly 11 percent in the past day fading, applications are year. An additional 1.3 milreturning to pre-recession lion people lost benefits when levels. The average fell in an emergency program that early April to 312,000, the had provided up to 47 extra fewest since October 2007. weeks of aid expired at the The recession officially end of 2013. began in December 2007.

Employers have stepped up “Through the volatility, the hiring in recent months. The data remain encouraging,” economy gained 288,000 jobs said Jim O’Sullivan, chief

in April, the most in 2½ years, the government said last week.

In addition, the unemployment rate plunged to 6.3 percent from 6.7 percent. But that drop occurred because fewer people looked for work. The government doesn’t count people as unemployed unless they are actively searching.

The improved hiring should help boost economic growth for the rest of this year.

The economy barely expanded in the first three months of the year, growing at an annual rate of just 0.1 percent. That was largely because a brutal winter kept consumers away from shopping malls, shut down factories and discouraged home and car sales.

But many signs suggest that the economy has rebounded since then as the weather has warmed. Most analysts estimate that the economy is growing at a healthy annual pace of about 3.5 percent in the current April-June quarter.

BURGLARY A Michael Kors gold watch with diamonds, a wedding band, an earring and a ring were reported stolen at 6:21 p.m. Monday from a residence in the 3100 block of Bush Lane, Dalzell. The items are valued at $1,725.

A nine-foot tall oak wardrobe valued at $1,900 was reported stolen at 10:10 a.m. Tuesday from a residence in the 1700 Clover Street.

A fan motor valued at $500 was reported stolen at 4:28 p.m. Tuesday from a vacant residence in the 200 block of Alexander Place.

A 70-inch Black LG plasma TV, a black PlayStation 3 gaming system, a black Xbox 360, a black Galaxy tablet, a silver HP laptop computer, a white computer router and a black Motorola cellphone charger were reported stolen at 4:54 p.m. Tuesday from a residence on the 4100 block of Horatio Hagood Road, Rembert.

The items are valued at $2,920.

A 32-inch dark-green riding lawn mower valued at $1,100 was reported stolen at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday from a residence on the 2300 of Whipporwill Drive.

VANDALISM An unknown suspect scratched all exterior panels of a vehicle before 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 3300 block of Kim Street, Dalzell. The damage is estimated at $1,000.

An unknown suspect keyed a silver 2010 Dodge Charger before 2:47 p.m. Tuesday in the 4200 block of Wrangler Trail. The damage is estimated at $1,200.

STATE | NATION

THE SUMTER ITEM

FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014

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Fear of economic blow as births drop around world NEW YORK (AP) — Nancy Strumwasser, a high school teacher from Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, always thought she’d have two children. But the layoffs that swept over the U.S. economy about the time her son was born six years ago helped change her mind. Though she and her husband, a market researcher, managed to keep their jobs, she fears they won’t be so fortunate next time.

“After we had a kid in 2009, I thought, ‘This is not happening again,’” says Strumwasser, 41, adding, “I never really felt comfortable about jobs, how solid they can be.”

The 2008 financial crisis did more than wipe out billions in wealth and millions of jobs. It also sent birth rates tumbling around the world as couples found themselves too short of money or too fearful about their finances to have children. Six years later, birth rates haven’t bounced back.

For those who fear an overcrowded planet, this is good news. For the economy, not so good.

We tend to think economic growth comes from working harder and smarter. But economists attribute up to a third of it to more people joining the workforce each year than leaving it. The result is more producing, earning and spending.

Now this secret fuel of the economy, rarely missing and little noticed, is running out.

“For the first time since World War II, we’re no longer getting a

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nurses check on newborns at the Hello Kitty-designed maternity ward at the Hau Sheng hospital in the southern Taiwan city of Chunghua in January 2009. tailwind,” says Russ Koesterich, chief investment strategist at BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager. “You’re going to create fewer jobs. ... All else equal,

wage growth will be slower.”

Births are falling in China, Japan, the United States, Germany, Italy and nearly all other European countries.

Studies have shown that births drop

when unemployment rises, such as during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Birth rates have fallen the most in some regions that were hardest hit by the financial crisis.

Authorities: New protocol will help guard S.C. kids COLUMBIA — New guidelines and training opportunities for a variety of responders across the state will help protect South Carolina’s children who have been living in places associated with drugs, state and federal officials said Thursday.

At a news conference, U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles gathered with representatives from agencies including the Department of Health and Environmental Control and the State Law Enforcement Division to announce the state’s agreement on a set of protocols governing how best to safeguard children discovered in places where drugs are used, dealt or manufactured.

The measures, Nettles said, are intended to help keep the children safe from potential abuses and ensure they aren’t merely passed on to the closest relative or neighbor. They give guidance for what should happen

when children are discovered at a drug-related crime scene and tell officials what they should do in terms of providing medical care, notifying social services officials, collecting evidence and doing follow-up visits.

“My No. 1 job is to make South Carolina a safer place,” Nettles said. “They are as much a victim as any victim we have in this state.”

Candice Lively of the University of South Carolina Children’s Law Center helped coordinate the effort,

which was piloted in the Orangeburg area and is now being implemented statewide. Lively said that her department will coordinate free trainings for agencies across the state that want to learn how better to respond in such situations.

The agreement makes South Carolina the 26th state in the country to be part of a national alliance implementing similar measures. No additional funding is being provided to conduct the trainings, Lively said,

with the associated agencies volunteering their efforts.

“We want to make sure the children are protected

and followed,” Lively said.

“No money came to us. Everyone volunteered their time.”

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EMBEZZLEMENT

SHAW

FROM PAGE A1

FROM PAGE A1

been accused of embezzling money in Title I, Title II, IDEA and other funding from the U.S. Department of Education from 2010 to 2013.

The charges are in direct violation of Title 18, U.S. code, section 641, which states, “Whoever embezzles, steals, purloins, or knowingly converts to his use or the use of another, or without authority, sells, conveys or disposes of any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.”

If convicted for one or both violations, Dinkins-Robinson will have to forfeit any cash proceeds, real property and vehicles obtained as the result of the violations to the United States.

According to the indictment, DinkinsRobinson will have to forfeit $2,206,234 in cash proceeds, one real property located in Camden and three vehicles if she is convicted of the violations.

In addition, Dinkins-Robinson who now faces a possible maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000 in the case investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

After reviewing the evidence, a federal grand jury in Columbia returned the two-count indictment against Dinkins-Robinson.

In recent years, Dinkins-Robinson and MLD had a several issues regarding the school’s charter. In 2012, the South Carolina Public Charter School District decided to relinquish its partnership with the Lee County school, which threatened the school’s operation at the time. Now closed, MLD operated out of a number of properties, including the Word International Ministries on North Guignard Drive in Sumter.

Laura Bayne, public relations representative for the South Carolina Public Charter School District, said they are aware of the charges and that both Dinkins-Robinson and her lawyer were present during a public board meeting held at the organization’s district office Thursday afternoon; however Bayne stressed that the South Carolina Public Charter School District is no longer associated with Dinkins-Robinson.

“We’re aware of it and we have had little interaction with them over the months,” Baynes explained. “But we’re no longer affiliated with them.”

The case has been assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston D. Holliday Jr. for prosecution.

established a “quality force review board” to examine certain personnel and positions for elimination. The 20th Fighter Wing has 787 airmen eligible for such “non-voluntary” separation. Of those, 160 have opted for a voluntary retirement or separation, but Hall told the breakfast crowd other cuts will have to be found in the base’s personnel.

“There is a level of anxiety on base,” Hall said, “because through all this, we’re continuing to deploy.”

Shaw’s civilian employees have also seen positions eliminated because of more than a million dollars in lost funding for on-base facilities. An activities center and a pool have been shuttered, librarians have been laid off, and food services at the Carolina Skies Club, where the breakfast was held, have been privatized. On-base maintenance has been reduced to emergency work orders and mission-essential facilities.

Those airmen who are left have seen their flying hours reduced, raising concerns about the Air Force’s combat readiness.

“They fly half the time I did when I was their age,” Hall said of today’s pilots.

“I never flew less than 200 sorties a year. They’re lucky to fly 108. ... In any

PRIDE FROM PAGE A1 A bill in the S.C. Senate, called the Dilapidated Buildings Act, would empower municipal courts to designate a “receiver” to oversee the demolition of a property in violation of local ordinances.

“That act potentially has a significant ability to help cities,” said Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen, who serves this year as president of the Municipal Association, one of the bill’s main backers.

The bill would give municipalities more power to deal with landowners who refuse to take proper care of a building and instead hand responsibility over to a court-appointed receiver. The bill, which covers commercial or multi-family properties, could complement Sumter Pride, which demolishes residential property.

The program allows homeowners who can’t afford the cost of demolishing an old house to get the city to remove the home for a nominal $400 fee, or no charge at all if the applicant meets certain low-income qualifications.

The city partly receives funding from its community development block grant.

“When it started, they already had 200 (eligible) homes identified,” said Fleury, the city’s special projects manager. “We did 45 that first year.”

Sumter Pride has done a steady stream of work since then, with three homes currently under demolition and

BRISTOW MARCHANT / THE SUMTER ITEM

Col. Clay Hall, right, sits with Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen during the annual Commander’s Breakfast at Shaw Air Force Base on Thursday. sport, if you don’t practice, are you going to be any good?”

After previous cuts to the defense budget, the Air Force had hoped to be back to full funding and manpower by 2018. With sequestration cuts that kicked in last year, that goal was put off to 2022.

But even with the chal-

BOYD FROM PAGE A1 (May 2),” he said. “It is thought they were arguing about money.”

Boyd admitted to some involvement in the incident, according to Dellinger, but has not confessed to actually committing the crime.

Boyd’s residence is also close to the crime scene, he added.

Slater had suffered a single gunshot wound to his thigh and bled to death from the injury, according to Dellinger. He said there was a delay in responding

another half-dozen awaiting funding. Last year, the Municipal Association recognized the program as one of the most successful of its kind in the state.

“Four hundred dollars is a deal,” McElveen said. “It’s a deal for the area too, because an abandoned house can attract vermin and criminal activity and lower the value of other property around it.”

But despite the support of the Municipal Association, the Dilapidated Buildings Act seems unlikely to pass this year because of concerns about its impact on property rights. Sen. Tom Corbin, RGreenville, placed an objection on the bill at the end of April, which will likely stop it from coming up for a vote before the end of the legislative session.

Supporters hoped the bill clarified that receivership could only be used by the city once other legal avenues had been exhausted.

“It protects the property owner because they have to receive nine or 10 notices first that they can intervene,” said Scott Slatton, legislative advocate for the Municipal Association. “That was a big concern, but the bill presumes this will be a last resort in extraordinary circumstances.”

Officials in Sumter hope to see the bill eventually come to fruition, arguing it would contribute to improving neighborhoods.

“Communities are being confronted by blightedness, slums and areas that need to be torn down,” said Sumter

THE SUMTER ITEM

lenges it faces in other areas, Hall stressed the Air Force’s commitment to Shaw. Plans are in motion to renovate several buildings on base, workers are expanding the Patrol Road along the perimeter, and a new medical clinic is under construction.

The base’s relationship with the surrounding

to the murder scene on Monday because the 911 caller couldn’t give them an address.

“We had to use GPS and Advanced 911 technology to trace where the call came from,” Dellinger said. “When (officers) arrived, Slater appeared to be deceased. It was later confirmed by EMS and officially announced by (Lee County Coroner) Larry Logan.”

Dellinger said Boyd was taken to Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center without incident Wednesday night under a “hold ticket.”

City Councilwoman Ione Dwyer. “To hold something like this up speaks very little of the person holding it up. I don’t know where he lives, but he should see where some other people live.”

Dwyer said Sumter Pride

community, and its ongoing support of the Air Force, is a big contributor to its stability.

“The value of your support cannot be overestimated,” Hall said. “Everyone here is very friendly, hospitable and patriotic.

When you go off base, it’s just a nice community to live in.”

Boyd was officially charged Thursday morning and is awaiting bond hearing.

“We still have procedures to follow before his bond hearing,” Dellinger said. “We have to notify the victim’s family of the arrest.”

Dellinger said Slater had several family members that live near the incident location, as well as other family in the Lynchburg area. He said the investigation is still in its early stages.

“It’s still ongoing,” he said.

“There may be more arrests coming on this one.”

has done a great deal to beautify some areas in the community, and removed homes that can attract trouble, like the abandoned home in which a homeless man froze to death last winter.

“I had one constituent in

my area, an elderly lady, whose property was all grown up. It was so bad, I didn’t know there was a house back there,” Dwyer said. “Actions speak louder than words, and right now this law is the action we need to take.”

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THE SUMTER ITEM N.G. Osteen 1843-1936 The Watchman and Southron

FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014 H.G. Osteen 1870-1955 Founder, The Item

H.D. Osteen 1904-1987 The Item

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Margaret W. Osteen 1908-1996 The Item Hubert D. Osteen Jr. Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Graham Osteen Co-President Kyle Osteen Co-President Jack Osteen Editor and Publisher Larry Miller CEO Braden Bunch Senior News Editor

20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter, South Carolina 29150 • Founded October 15, 1894

COMMENTARY

Benghazi: How to do hearings right

W

ASHINGTON — The Democrats are portraying the not-yet-even constituted House Select Committee on Benghazi as nothing but a partisan exercise. They are even considering boycotting the hearings to delegitimize them.

Fine. Although this would give the Obama-protective media a further reason to ignore Benghazi, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is whether the committee produces new, important facts. If it does, it will be impossible to ignore.

We’ve already seen what a single piece of new evidence can do in reviving interest in a story that many (including me) thought the administration had successfully stonewalled. The “PREP CALL with Susan (Rice)” email from Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, was withheld eight months until revealed by court order. It advises the U.N. ambassador to focus on an anti-Islam Internet video, thus contradicting the perennial White House claim that Rice’s blame-the-video five-show fable came just from intelligence community talking points and not from a White House in full campaign mode.

Charles The select committee will be Krauthammer headed by Rep. Trey Gowdy, a skilled 16-year prosecutor. He needs to keep the hearings clean and strictly factoriented. Questions only, no speechifying. Every sentence by every GOP committee member must end with a question mark. Should any committee Republican instead make a statement ending in a period, the chairman should immediately, by button, deliver an electric shock through the violator’s seat.

The areas of inquiry are obvious. They are three: before, during and after.

Before: Where and to what extent was there dereliction of duty as memos, urgent pleas and mounting evidence of danger were ignored and the U.S. ambassador allowed to enter a deathtrap?

During: What happened during the eight hours of the Benghazi attack, at the end of which the last two Americans (of four) were killed by mortar fire?

Where was the commander in chief and where was the responsible Cabinet secretary, Hillary Clinton? What did they do?

The White House acts as if these are, alternatively, either state secrets or of no importance.

For President Obama, we have three data points.

At 5 p.m., he is briefed on the attack by the secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

At about 8 p.m., Obama spends an hour on the phone with Benjamin Netanyahu to tamp down a breaking, politically injurious story that Obama had snubbed the Israeli prime minister. The White House then issues a readout saying the two leaders had agreed there had been no snub.

So the White House is engaged in campaign damage control quite literally in the middle of the Benghazi events — at a time when Ambassador Chris Stevens is still missing and the final firefight that killed two other Americans is still three hours away. We’ve just learned that Obama was not in the Situation Room that night. Then where, doing what?

We know, finally, that at 10 p.m. Obama called Clinton to get an update. What did they discuss, decide, order?

As former prosecutor Andrew McCarthy has pointed out, a half-hour later, State issued a statement deploring the video, setting the premise for the video excuse. Were Obama and Clinton working on a cover story — even before Glen Doherty had joined Tyrone Woods on the roof of the CIA annex where they were to die minutes later?

Yes, that’s speculation. Well, then, give us facts.

After all, the White House provided a cascade of hagiographic facts about Obama’s involvement in the Osama bin Laden raid. Yet regarding Benghazi — the most serious operational challenge of his presidency — he is nowhere to be seen.

After: We now know the White House was pushing the “video made them do it” cover-up, lest the blame be placed on administration policy. Who was involved in that decision, obviously designed to protect a president campaigning that al-Qaeda was “on the run”?

These hearings are a big political risk for Republicans. Going into the 2014 election, they stand to benefit from the major issues — Obamacare, the economy, chronic unemployment — from which Benghazi hearings can only distract. Worse, if botched like previous hearings on the matter, these hearings could backfire against the GOP, as did the 1998 Clinton impeachment proceedings. On purely partisan considerations, the hearings are not worth the political risk.

But the country deserves the truth. They’ll get it if the GOP can keep the proceedings clean, factual and dispassionate. No speeches. No grandstanding.

Gowdy has got to be a tough disciplinarian — especially toward his own side of the aisle.

Charles Krauthammer’s email address is letters@ charleskrauthammer.com. © 2014, The Washington Post Writers Group

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Little girl shows that positive attitudes makes a difference Humbling experience for me today: During my trip to the parts store this morning, the weather was cool and the sky was blue with the perfect amount of beautiful clouds. So I roll down the windows and turn up the some feel-good music. On my way back, as I’m literally taking all of greatness of the day, I come to the traffic light at Miller Road and Alice Drive.

There to my right I “see” a woman walking along the fence of the school. Beside her is a little girl, maybe 7 or 8 years old.

In her little hand there is a walking stick. Back and forth she waves the stick in front of her along the ground. At that moment I am heart-stuck. Everything I have just taken in on my way to and from the store, all the beautiful signs of spring, failed in comparison to the smile on that little girl’s face. As I shed tears because knowing that little girl didn’t see any of the beauty I am privileged with having the opportunity to witness, I turned off my music and just drove the long way back. As I did I could hear the birds in the trees along the roads, and I passed the best smelling bunch of honeysuckle.

It then dawned on me. Sight or not, the smile on her little face told me that with the right attitude, everything can be beautiful. I hope to see that little girl again so I can stop and tell her just how beautiful she is and how she brightened my day without even trying.

TODD REYNOLDS Sumter

Kudos for calling it like it is on Baten I have a problem with the letter that Mr. Eugene Baten wrote on May 7 and would like to express my opinions on some of the things he wrote about. First off, I was on vacation in the Caribbean when the Nevada thing was going on, so I really don’t know the particulars of what happened, nor will I express an opinion one way or the other.

The Sterling situation: I believe it was handled swiftly and properly. People like him have no business being in professional sports.

Now, the South Carolina voter law situation. What is wrong with it, Mr. Baten ? I see no problem in requiring people to identify themselves when it comes time to vote. You have to show identification in just about every aspect in life, so showing

an ID to vote should be no different. South Carolina may have never had voter fraud cases, and showing an ID is a marvelous way to make sure it stays that way.

Kudos to you, Mr. Editor, for calling it like you (and most others) see it. It seems like every town has their own version of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

Mr. Burns and Mr. Baten happen to be the Sumter version. If you listen to what they preach, anyone who is critical of Obama is automatically labeled a “racist.” Or, in simpler terms, if you are a Republican, you are a racist. That way of thinking is getting really, really old, and it’s now time to move forward.

Now, I wonder how long it will take for me to be accused of being a racist. After all, all I did was execute my right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution.

DENNIS E. VICKERS Wedgefield

Baten needs to start acting like an elected official I truly wish that County Councilman Eugene Baten would stop being an Al Sharpton wannabe and start acting like a local elected official. Instead of pointing out every crazy old racist in the country, he should do his job.

He has been a council member for 10 years, and I have never read anything from him on local issues, except calling The Sumter Item racist. What has he done to enrich our local schools?

Has he stood up in support of the homeless of our community? What about Sumter County’s veterans? Where is his stand on crime here in Sumter? These are just a sample of local issues he should be talking about.

He is correct in stating that “freedom of speech is one of our most valuable rights under the U.S. Constitution.” I wish that he would use his freedom to take a truthful look at the problems faced by our community, instead of what people think about the president and his administration.

Councilman Baten, your bio reads like a great man — you should act like one. Please don’t end up with a legacy of being one of those crazy old racists.

MICHAEL W. BARRY Sumter

People should have right to protect themselves After reading John Ford’s letter from May 5, I felt com-

pelled to respond. He said, “Good intentions don’t guarantee good results, and the more crowded the space, and the more chaotic the situation, the more difficult it becomes to respond effectively.” I could not agree more.

But that does not change the fact that criminals do not care about such things. Criminals with bad intentions almost always guarantee bad outcomes, and the less-defended the target of their aggression, the more likely they will succeed. Until the law holds accountable those who commit crime, citizens deserve the right to protect themselves.

Even with those highly trained police officers accidents do happen, and innocent bystanders do get killed. But the validity of the argument that allowing citizens to be armed will cause an increase in accidental shootings, because of crowded areas, does not prove true. There are currently more CWP holders in the United States than at any other period in the history of the nation. Yet the nightly news is not airing stories of wild gunslingers firing into crowds trying to shoot a criminal.

The fact is, the opposite is true. It is the criminal element of society that is shooting up our schools, churches, day care centers, hospitals and restaurants. When is the last time you saw a news story about an armed citizen stopping a crime on the nightly news? It is not news worthy, yet it occurs countless times each day. The news will make much ado about a citizen who has a legally owned gun and shoots someone illegally, or who has a CWP and commits a crime with a firearm.

Why? The answer is because it is an anomaly. It makes national headlines even if it is a local incident only involving two people.

When is the last time you saw a story about a criminal attacking a person and him or her before the police arrived? Well, just watch the news today, and I am sure you can find a few. But even if two to three people get killed by the same criminal firing blindly into a crowd, it may not make the national news.

Why? Because that is what criminals do, and we have come to expect it.

I say again, until the law holds accountable those who commit crime, citizens deserve the right to protect themselves.

JOHN GAYDOS Wedgefield

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? Send your letter to letters@theitem.com, drop it off at The Sumter Item office, 20 N. Magnolia St., or mail it to The Sumter Item, P.O. Box 1677, Sumter, SC 29151, along with the writer’s full name, address and telephone number (for verification purposes only). Letters that exceed 350 words will be cut accordingly in the print edition, but available in their entirety at www.theitem.com/opinion/letters_to_editor.

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DAILY PLANNER

FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014

AROUND TOWN The Shepherd’s Center will offer free public information sessions 11-11:50 a.m. each Thursday through May 29 at 24 Council St. Scheduled topics / speakers are as follows: May 15, Cpl. Eddie Hobbes of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office will discuss self-defense awareness; May 22, Cpl. Hobbes will discuss home security; and May 29, Carol Boyd will discuss gardening with herbs.

Free computer classes will be offered from 4 to 6 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday, May 13-June 5, at S.C. Works, 31 E. Calhoun St. Attendees will learn computer skills, basic emailing, Internet searching and keyboarding skills. Registration is required and space is limited. Call (803) 774-1300 for more information.

The Downtown Sumter Microbrew Festival will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. today at Rotary Centennial Plaza.

Visit www.sumtermicrobrewfestival.org for further information.

The Mary McLeod Bethune Section of the Council of Negro Women will meet at 5 p.m. today at Morris College.

Mayewood High School Class of 1976 will hold a meeting and ticket drawing at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 10, at Mayewood Middle School.

All class members are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Melvin Richardson at (803) 983-5559; Josephine Parrott Wells at (803 229-5695; or Icybell Dickey Lowery at (803) 983-4157 or icycatz50@yahoo.com.

The Sumter County League of Women Voters will hold its annual membership meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 12, at 21 N. Main St. (next to the Opera House).

George McGregor will speak. Dinner cost is $15.

Call (803) 469-4252 for reservations.

The Sumter Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13, at Shiloh-Randolph Manor, 125 W. Bartlette St. Suzie Kearney, management development officer, will speak. Transportation provided within the coverage area. Contact Debra Canty, chapter president, at DebraCanC2@frontier.com or (803) 775-5792 to reserve your gala tables.

Call the 24/7 recorded message line at (206) 376-5992 for further information.

The Sumter County Cultural Commission will present “An evening with Clifton Ross: Poet, Writer and Filmmaker” from 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, at Patriot Hall, Booth Reception Room, 135 Haynsworth St. Event is free and open to the public Light refreshments will be

provided. There will be a poetry reading and presentation of his book “Until the Rulers Obey: Voices from Latin American Social Movements.”

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Get work and personal

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Size up whatever situation you face and call it as you see it. Don’t let anyone bamboozle you into agreeing with something that doesn’t sit right with you. Embrace change and look ahead with optimism. Live, love and laugh.

The last word in astrology EUGENIA LAST

responsibilities out of the way. Your speed and accuracy will make an impression and leave you in a good mood to enjoy a little fun and relaxation with friends and family.

Self-improvement is advised.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Venture out and socialize with people you can learn from. Gather information in preparation to complete a task or project. Put time aside to show love and appreciation for someone you care about. A kind gesture will bring happiness.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Offering your services or lending a friend or colleague a helping hand will lead to greater opportunities. A change in the way you approach someone or something will be successful. A personal improvement will boost your confidence. Romance is highlighted.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): A new hobby or project will bring you in contact with someone who shares your interests. Don’t let it disrupt your plans if someone has a change of heart or bales out of an agreement or engagement at the last minute.

The Pinedale Neighborhood Association will meet at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, at the South HOPE Center, 1125 S. Lafayette Drive. Tshirts for the association will be disbursed. Call Ferdinand Burns at (803) 9684464.

The Sumter Combat Veterans Group will meet at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 16, at the South HOPE Center, 1125 S. Lafayette Drive.

The Lincoln High School Preservation Alumni Association will sponsor a dinner fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, May 16, at the Lincoln High School gym, 26 Council St. Cost is $7 per dinner and includes turkey wing or fried pork chops, rice with gravy, green beans, rolls and a drink.

Dine in or take out. Call James L. Green at (803) 9684173.

Lincoln High School Class of 1963 will meet at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, at American Legion Post 202, 310 Palmetto St. Plans will be made for the 2015 class reunion, which will be celebrated as the 1960s class reunion of the civil rights era. Call Ferdinand Burns at (803) 968-4464.

The Lincoln High School Preservation Alumni Association will meet at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 18, at Lincoln High School, Council Street. Call James L. Green at (803) 9684173.

The Clarendon County Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha will sponsor a Little Miss Ivy Pearl and Miss Ivy Pearl pageant at 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 18, at Manning Junior High School. Attendees are asked to bring at least one non-perishable food item.

Call Jacqueline SheriodScott at (803) 465-0828 for information.

The Sumter Branch NAACP will sponsor a candidates forum for S.C. House of Representatives District 50 and Sumter County Council District 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, at North HOPE Center, 904 N. Main St. The Sumter Branch NAACP will meet at 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 25, at Mt. Glory Baptist Church, 841 N. Main St. The Sumter County Veterans Association will hold its annual Memorial Day program at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 26, at Mabry Memorial Park, located on U.S. 378 / U.S. 76 just east of Shaw Air Force Base. Retired Maj. Gen. William “Dutch” Holland will speak.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Explore new places and meet interesting people. The ideas you come up with from the experience you encounter will help you make monumental alterations to the way you live. Participate and you will make a difference.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Put your heart into home and family. Having fun with the ones you love and planning special activities that are playful, challenging and engaging should be your intent. Love is on the rise and nighttime romance looks promising.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Watch your step. You may be eager to get things done or to go places, but caution is suggested. Minor mishaps, disagreements and problems with partners can be expected if you are too demanding or intent on getting your way.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Put your ducks in a row and get your priorities straight. Make a to-do list and get moving. You’ll want to get as much out of the way as possible to enjoy spending time with someone special. Romance will lead to happiness.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take care of your needs. Get back to basics and schedule a pampering session. Get together with old friends and reminisce. Sharing thoughts, ideas and plans will lead to good decisions and a push to get exciting new projects underway.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Be ready, stay steady and focus on what needs to be done. Don’t let emotional issues creep into your life, deterring you from getting things done and enjoying the people you love to spend time with.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You will face good fortune with regard to investments, your home and domestic concerns. Get everything in order to help stabilize your life.

Expand your interests and socialize with the people you enjoy being with the most.

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEATHER

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2014

AccuWeather® five-day forecast for Sumter TODAY

TONIGHT

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Very warm with partial sunshine

Increasing clouds

Mostly cloudy

Partly sunny

Very warm with clouds and sun

Partly sunny and warm

90°

64°

83° / 61°

88° / 63°

89° / 63°

88° / 63°

Chance of rain: 10%

Chance of rain: 25%

Chance of rain: 25%

Chance of rain: 25%

Chance of rain: 25%

Chance of rain: 15%

Winds: SSW 7-14 mph

Winds: S 6-12 mph

Winds: SW 7-14 mph

Winds: SW 4-8 mph

Winds: S 4-8 mph

Winds: S 6-12 mph

TODAY’S SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER

Gaffney 88/63 Spartanburg 88/62

Greenville 86/62

Columbia 90/63

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

IN THE MOUNTAINS

Sumter 90/64

Aiken 90/61

ON THE COAST

Charleston 90/67

Today: Sunshine mixing with some clouds.

High 80 to 87.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy. Humid; pleasant in northern parts. High 79 to 84.

LOCAL ALMANAC

LAKE LEVELS

SUMTER THROUGH 4 P.M. YESTERDAY

Today Hi/Lo/W 83/61/pc 75/51/t 92/71/c 74/55/t 86/72/t 72/58/pc 82/68/t 64/59/c 90/69/pc 76/62/pc 90/71/s 64/51/s 86/66/pc

SUN AND MOON 7 a.m. yest.

357.89 75.15 74.97 97.27

24-hr chg -0.01 -0.08 +0.08 +0.19

Sunrise 6:25 a.m.

Moonrise 3:22 p.m.

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

0.00" 0.01" 0.78" 12.58" 15.40" 15.13"

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

93° 63° 80° 55° 95° in 1959 37° in 1989

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

Sat. Hi/Lo/W 78/64/t 73/56/pc 91/71/s 72/52/c 89/72/pc 72/57/pc 85/69/t 73/59/t 89/69/pc 79/60/t 94/74/s 64/52/pc 86/62/t

Myrtle Beach 83/68

Manning 90/63

Today: Partly sunny. Winds southwest 7-14 mph.

Saturday: A couple of thunderstorms.

Winds southwest 6-12 mph.

Temperature High Low Normal high Normal low Record high Record low

Florence 91/64

Bishopville 91/64

Sunset Moonset

8:12 p.m.

3:12 a.m.

Full

Last

New

First

May 14

May 21

May 28

June 5

TIDES

Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr stage yest. chg 12 7.39 -0.40 19 3.98 +0.10 14 4.13 -0.31 14 3.77 -0.01 80 77.04 -0.05 24 6.50 none

AT MYRTLE BEACH

Today Sat.

High 5:15 a.m.

6:04 p.m.

6:07 a.m.

6:53 p.m.

Ht. 2.7 2.8 2.7 3.0

Low 12:14 p.m.

--12:49 a.m.

1:02 p.m.

Ht. 0.5 --0.7 0.3

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

Today Hi/Lo/W 82/56/pc 86/62/pc 90/62/pc 87/68/s 80/68/pc 90/67/s 89/62/pc 87/63/pc 90/63/pc 91/64/pc 89/66/pc 91/66/pc 92/64/pc

Sat. Hi/Lo/W 73/52/t 80/60/t 84/58/c 84/65/c 76/67/c 84/64/c 81/57/t 78/61/t 84/61/c 83/61/c 85/62/c 85/63/c 85/62/c

Today City Hi/Lo/W Florence 91/64/pc Gainesville 90/68/pc Gastonia 90/64/pc Goldsboro 92/66/pc Goose Creek 89/67/s Greensboro 90/64/pc Greenville 86/62/pc Hickory 84/62/pc Hilton Head 79/70/s Jacksonville, FL 89/67/pc La Grange 84/59/pc Macon 88/63/pc Marietta 83/64/pc

Sat. Hi/Lo/W 85/61/c 86/64/pc 80/60/t 86/62/c 84/64/c 78/59/t 78/60/t 77/58/t 78/67/c 82/63/pc 78/60/t 81/61/t 79/62/t

Today City Hi/Lo/W Marion 84/62/pc Mt. Pleasant 86/67/s Myrtle Beach 83/68/s Orangeburg 89/62/pc Port Royal 84/68/s Raleigh 92/65/pc Rock Hill 90/62/pc Rockingham 93/66/pc Savannah 89/67/pc Spartanburg 88/62/pc Summerville 81/69/s Wilmington 91/68/s Winston-Salem 89/64/pc

Sat. Hi/Lo/W 77/57/t 83/64/c 80/65/c 82/60/c 82/65/c 83/60/c 81/58/t 84/60/c 83/63/c 79/60/t 80/66/c 85/64/c 79/60/t

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

LOTTERY NUMBERS PALMETTO CASH 5 THURSDAY

MEGAMILLIONS TUESDAY

POWERBALL WEDNESDAY

2-5-13-15-21 PowerUp: 2

18-20-27-48-51 Megaball: 5 Megaplier: 3

17-29-31-48-49 Powerball: 34 Powerplay: 2

PICK 4 THURSDAY

PICK 3 THURSDAY

2-6-6-4 and 1-4-1-7

7-0-4 and 7-7-4

SPCA PET OF THE WEEK Tori, a 4-year-old spayed female Chihuahua mix, is available for adoption at the Sumter SPCA. She is housebroken, protective, affectionate and active. Tori is great with other dogs and older children. She would make a great little buddy. The Sumter SPCA is located at 1140 S. Guignard Drive, (803) 773-9292, and is open 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day except Wednesday and Sunday.

Visit the website at www.sumterscspca. com.

The SPCA is always in need of the following: Newspapers; stuffed animals (any size); heavy duty trash bags (30 gallon or larger); dishwashing liquid; laundry detergent; bleach; paper towels; sheets and comforters; baby blankets (for cat cages and puppies); litter; canned dog and cat food; dry dog, cat and puppy food; treats; leashes and collars; disinfectant spray; all-purpose cleaner; air freshener; no scratch scrubbers; two-sided sponges for dishes; litter freshener; monetary donations are also gratefully accepted.

SECTION

SCISA state softball tourney schedules B4

B

FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014

Call: (803) 774-1241 | E-mail: sports@theitem.com

Q&A

SHS’ McDowell reflects on journey at Clemson

BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS jdriggers@theitem.com Former Sumter High School and Clemson University standout running back Roderick McDowell awaits his future as the National Football League draft began on Thursday at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

The 5-foot-10-inch, 200-pound McDowell rushed for 1,699 yards on 318 carries and 12 touchdowns in his collegiate career. He also caught 34 passes for 231 and two scores.

But it wasn’t until 2013 as a fifthyear senior that McDowell broke into the starting lineup and emerged as the go-to back in the Tigers offense. In 13 games, McDowell ran for 1,025 yards on 189 attempts with five TDs to go along with 29 catches for 199 yards and MCDOWELL two scores.

The Sumter Item caught up with the former Gamecock and Tiger via a telephone interview to reflect on McDow-

ell’s career at Clemson: TSI: What moment stands out the most or what was your best moment at Clemson?

McDowell: When I found (Jesus) Christ. Everybody thinks it’s always football and all that, but once I accepted Christ back into my life, things got clearer. I focused more, I bought into the program, I got my degree (and) classes went well.

at Clemson?

McDowell: When I wanted to transfer (to another school sometime during the 2011-12 season). I was confused. I wanted to come home and I was questioning God and asking, ‘Why me?’ I came into Clemson highly ranked and just didn’t know what was going on during that time. But as soon as I got Christ everything was good.

TSI: Did you ever doubt your decision

TSI: What was your worst moment

SEE MCDOWELL, PAGE B4

USCS SOFTBALL

NFL DRAFT

USCS ready for Eastern District tourney after 1st Region X title

Texans-sized pick

BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS jdriggers@theitem.com Into every baseball tournament champion’s life, a little luck must fall.

Combine that luck with great pitching, timely hitting and more than a few season-defining performances, and you wind up with the University of South Carolina SumMEDLIN ter’s first Region X tournament title in program history.

Defying the odds once again, the fifth-seeded Fire Ants fought their way to the championship round in Kinston, N.C., earlier this week for the fourth time in the program’s young history.

This time, however, USCS managed to take both games from previously unbeaten Louisburg College to secure the tournament title and earn the honor of hosting the NJCAA Eastern District Tournament on May 16-18 at Riley Park.

“Our kids went in with a great approach,” Fire Ants head coach Tim Medlin said.

“They knew that they hadn’t played their best during the regular season and they had a little chip on their shoulder.

They had something to prove. “…But the biggest thing for us this past week was the way we pitched and they fact that we took advantage of every mistake the other teams made.”

Pitching was front and center during USCS’ run. The Fire Ants allowed five runs to USC Lancaster in the opening game and seven against Louisburg in a winner’s bracket matchup on Day 3, but allowed just four runs combined in the other four games – including two shutouts.

“We really had solid pitching performances across the

SEE USCS, PAGE B4

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, right, holds up a jersey with NFL commissioner Roger Goddell after being selected as the top overall pick by the Houston Texans in the 2014 NFL Draft on Thursday in New York.

South Carolina DE selected 1st overall in ‘14 draft

BY BARRY WILNER The Associated Press

MORE PICKS

NEW YORK — No surprise: Clowney is the Texans’ man.

After two extra weeks of intrigue, Houston opened the NFL draft Thursday night by taking South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. Rarely does a team not reveal the top overall choice until it is announced, and there was wide speculation the Texans had soured on Clowney, whose work ethic has been questioned.

Obviously, the Texans were convinced that a player considered a budding NFL star even when he was a freshman was the right guy for them.

Find more players drafted from the first round on Page B3.

“I just been proving a lot of people wrong throughout my life,” Clowney said. “Growing up, I grew up hard. I always said I’m going to do something great. Hopefully, I’m going to be a Hall of Famer one day.”

After Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the pick, fans who filled Radio City Music Hall to capacity applauded Clowney as he held up his index finger, his eyes moist, a relieved look on his face. Just like the 30 pros-

pects on hand, the fans were extra eager to see who would wind up where after the draft was pushed back from late April because the theater was unavailable.

Clowney, 21, brings size, speed and power to a lineup that already has 2012 NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt. His diligence had been questioned after he slipped from 13 sacks to just three in 2013. Critics said he was protecting himself from injury in his junior year before declaring early for the draft.

Clowney is the first defensive player taken first overall since Houston selected another end, Mario Williams, in

SEE DRAFT, PAGE B3

PREP SOFTBALL

Barons, 4 local teams vie for SCISA softball titles

BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER mchristopher@theitem.com It all started with a simple goal – finish better than last year.

Two seasons ago, the Wilson Hall softball team was disappointed with the way it ended its season in the SCISA 3A state tournament. Last year, the Lady Barons made a promise to each other to leave SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO behind no regrets. The end reWilson Hall’s Bailey Conner and the defending SCISA 3A state softball sult was the first fast-pitch champion Lady Barons along with four other local schools will vie for softball state championship in school history. their respective titles beginning today in West Columbia at Pine and WH head coach Teresa AlOak Grove softball complexes.

exander said nothing’s changed since that time and the philosophy remains the same. The 26-6 defending champions are the favorites going into today’s SCISA softball state tournament, but they aren’t approaching it as a title defense.

“I feel like it’s the same old story every year,” Alexander said. “It’s not about being the favorite to win; it’s about being the team that’s hot at the end of the season. I think in our last couple of games we’ve put together some really good offense and we’ve had

some really outstanding days on defense, but we’ve also shown some things that we really want to try to polish right before we go into (today).”

Junior pitcher Holly Scott said she doesn’t believe the pressure is on the team to win again. The team’s focus and motto has been “In it together,” which has helped take the focus off the bigger picture and put responsibility on the players themselves.

“Everybody does expect us to win it all, but really our

SEE SOFTBALL, PAGE B4

B2

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SPORTS

FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014

SCOREBOARD TV, RADIO TODAY

8 a.m. -- Formula One Racing: Gran Premio de Espana Practice from Barcelona, Spain (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

Noon -- NASCAR Racing: Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 400 Practice from Kansas City, Kan. (FOX SPORTS 1).

1 p.m. – College Softball: Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Semifinal Game from College Park, Md. (FOX SPORTSOUTH).

1 p.m. – PGA Golf: The Players Championship Second Round from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (GOLF).

1:30 p.m. -- NASCAR Racing: K&N Pro Series West from Stockton, Calif.

(FOX SPORTS 1).

1:30 p.m. -- International Hockey: IIHF World Championship PreliminaryRound Match from Minsk, Belarus -United States vs. Belarus (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

2:30 p.m. -- NASCAR Racing: Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 400 Practice from Kansas City, Kan. (FOX SPORTS 1).

3 p.m. – College Softball: Southeastern Conference Tournament Semifinal Game from Columbia (ESPNU).

3:30 p.m. – College Softball: Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Semifinal Game from College Park, Md. (FOX SPORTSOUTH).

4:30 p.m. -- NASCAR Racing: Camping World Truck Series SFP 250 Pole Qualifying from Kansas City, Kan. (FOX SPORTS 1).

5:30 p.m. – College Softball: Southeastern Conference Tournament Semifinal Game from Columbia (ESPNU).

6:05 p.m. – Talk Show: Sports Talk (WDXY-FM 105.9, WDXY-AM 1240).

6:30 p.m. -- NASCAR Racing: Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 400 Pole Qualifying from Kansas City, Kan. (FOX SPORTS 1).

7 p.m. -- College Softball: St. Mary’s (Calif.) at Brigham Young Doubleheader Game One (BYUTV).

7 p.m. – NFL Football: National Football League Draft Second and Third Rounds from New York (ESPN).

7 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: St. Louis at Pittsburgh or Colorado at Cincinnati (MLB NETWORK).

7 p.m. – NHL Hockey: Eastern Conference Playoffs Semifinal Series Game Five – New York Rangers at Pittsburgh (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

7 p.m. -- College Baseball: Missouri at South Carolina (SPORTSOUTH, WNKTFM 92.9).

7:30 p.m. -- NLL Lacrosse: New York at Rochester (CBS SPORTS NETWORK).

7:30 p.m. -- College Baseball: Clemson at Notre Dame (ESPNU).

7:30 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: Chicago Cubs at Atlanta (FOX SPORTSOUTH, WPUB-FM 102.7).

8 p.m. – NBA Basketball: Eastern Conference Playoffs Semifinal Series Game Three – Indiana at Washington (ESPN).

8 p.m. – NFL Football: National Football League Draft Second and Third Rounds from New York (ESPN2).

8:30 p.m. -- NASCAR Racing: Camping World Truck Series SFP 250 from Kansas City, Kan. (FOX SPORTS 1, WEGXFM 92.9).

9:30 p.m. -- College Softball: St. Mary’s (Calif.) at Brigham Young Doubleheader Game One (BYUTV).

9:30 p.m. – NHL Hockey: Western Conference Playoffs Semifinal Series Game Four – Chicago at Minnesota (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

10:30 p.m. – NBA Basketball: Western Conference Playoffs Semifinal Series Game Three – Oklahoma City at Los Angeles Clippers (ESPN).

11 p.m. -- Professional Boxing: Saul Alvarez vs. Alfredo Angulo in a Light Middleweight Bout from Las Vegas (SHOWTIME).

MLB STANDINGS

By The Associated Press AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST DIVISION W Baltimore 17 New York 18 Boston 17 Toronto 17 Tampa Bay 15 CENTRAL DIVISION W Detroit 20 Chicago 18 Kansas City 16 Minnesota 15 Cleveland 15 WEST DIVISION W Oakland 20 Seattle 17 Texas 17 Los Angeles 16 Houston 10

L 14 15 17 17 19

Pct .548 .545 .500 .500 .441

GB – – 11/2 11/2 31/2

L 9 17 17 17 19

Pct .690 .514 .485 .469 .441

GB – 5 6 61/2 71/2

L 15 16 17 17 24

Pct .571 .515 .500 .485 .294

GB – 2 21/2 3 91/2

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Seattle 6, Oakland 4, 10 innings, 1st game Kansas City 8, San Diego 0 Cleveland 4, Minnesota 3 Oakland 2, Seattle 0, 2nd game Toronto 10, Philadelphia 0 Detroit 3, Houston 2 Baltimore 4, Tampa Bay 3 Boston 4, Cincinnati 3 Colorado 9, Texas 2 Chicago White Sox 8, Chicago Cubs 3 N.Y. Yankees 9, L.A. Angels 2

TODAY’S GAMES

Houston (Feldman 2-1) at Baltimore (W.Chen 3-2), 7:05 p.m.

L.A. Angels (Richards 3-0) at Toronto (McGowan 2-1), 7:07 p.m.

Minnesota (P.Hughes 3-1) at Detroit (Verlander 4-1), 7:08 p.m.

Cleveland (Kluber 2-3) at Tampa Bay (Odorizzi 1-3), 7:10 p.m.

Boston (Buchholz 2-2) at Texas (Darvish 2-1), 8:05 p.m.

Arizona (McCarthy 1-5) at Chicago White Sox (Rienzo 2-0), 8:10 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees (Tanaka 4-0) at Milwaukee (Gallardo 2-1), 8:10 p.m.

Washington (Fister 0-0) at Oakland (Milone 0-3), 10:05 p.m.

Kansas City (Vargas 2-1) at Seattle (Maurer 1-0), 10:10 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST DIVISION Miami Washington Atlanta New York Philadelphia CENTRAL DIVISION Milwaukee St. Louis Cincinnati Pittsburgh Chicago WEST DIVISION San Francisco Colorado Los Angeles San Diego Arizona

W 19 19 18 16 15

L 15 15 15 17 17

Pct .559 .559 .545 .485 .469

GB – – 1/2 21/2 3

W 22 18 15 14 11

L 13 17 18 20 21

Pct .629 .514 .455 .412 .344

GB – 4 6 71/2 91/2

W 21 22 19 15 13

L 13 14 16 20 24

Pct .618 .611 .543 .429 .351

GB – – 21/2 61/2 91/2

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Pittsburgh 4, San Francisco 3 Miami 1, N.Y. Mets 0 Washington 3, L.A. Dodgers 2 Arizona 3, Milwaukee 2 Kansas City 8, San Diego 0 Toronto 10, Philadelphia 0 Boston 4, Cincinnati 3 St. Louis 7, Atlanta 1 Colorado 9, Texas 2 Chicago White Sox 8, Chicago Cubs 3

TODAY’S GAMES

St. Louis (Wacha 2-3) at Pittsburgh (Liriano 0-3), 7:05 p.m.

Colorado (Chacin 0-1) at Cincinnati (Cueto 3-2), 7:10 p.m.

Philadelphia (R.Hernandez 2-1) at N.Y. Mets (Mejia 3-0), 7:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs (Hammel 4-1) at Atlanta (Teheran 2-2), 7:35 p.m.

Arizona (McCarthy 1-5) at Chicago White Sox (Rienzo 2-0), 8:10 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees (Tanaka 4-0) at Milwaukee (Gallardo 2-1), 8:10 p.m.

Washington (Fister 0-0) at Oakland (Milone 0-3), 10:05 p.m.

Miami (Fernandez 4-1) at San Diego (T.Ross 3-3), 10:10 p.m.

San Francisco (Bumgarner 3-3) at L.A. Dodgers (Maholm 1-2), 10:10 p.m.

NBA PLAYOFFS

By The Associated Press

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

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Miami 1, Brooklyn 0 Tuesday, May 6: Miami 107, Brooklyn 86 Thursday, May 8: Brooklyn at Miami, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 10: Miami at Brooklyn, 8 p.m.

Monday, May 12: Miami at Brooklyn, 8 p.m.

Washington 1, Indiana 1 Monday, May 5: Washington 102, Indiana 96 Wednesday, May 7: Indiana 86, Washington 82 Friday, May 9: Indiana at Washington, 8 p.m.

Sunday, May 11: Indiana at Washington, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, May 13: Washington at Indiana, 7 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

San Antonio 1, Portland 0 Tuesday, May 6: San Antonio 116, Portland 92 Thursday, May 8: Portland at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 10: San Antonio at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

Monday, May 12: at San Antonio at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

L.A. Clippers 1, Oklahoma City 1 Monday, May 5: L.A. Clippers 122, Oklahoma City 105 Wednesday, May 7: Oklahoma City 112, L.A. Clippers 101 Friday, May 9: Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 11: Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers, 3:30 p.m.

Tuesday, May 13: L.A. Clippers at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m.

NHL PLAYOFFS

By The Associated Press

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

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Montreal 2, Boston 1 Thursday, May 1: Montreal 4, Boston 3, 2O Saturday, May 3: Boston 5, Montreal 3 Tuesday, May 6: Montreal 4, Boston 2 Thursday, May 8: Boston at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 10: Montreal at Boston, 7 p.m.

Pittsburgh 3, N.Y. Rangers 1 Friday, May 2: N.Y. Rangers 3, Pittsburgh 2, OT Sunday, May 4: Pittsburgh 3, N.Y. Rangers 0 Monday, May 5: Pittsburgh 2, N.Y. Rangers 0 Wednesday, May 7: Pittsburgh 4, N.Y. Rangers 2 Friday, May 9: N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Chicago 2, Minnesota 1 Friday, May 2: Chicago 5, Minnesota 2 Sunday, May 4: Chicago 4, Minnesota 1 Tuesday, May 6: Minnesota 4, Chicago 0 Friday, May 9: Chicago at Minnesota, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 11: Minnesota at Chicago, TBA Los Angeles 2, Anaheim 0 Saturday, May 3: Los Angeles 3, Anaheim 2, OT Monday, May 5: Los Angeles 3, Anaheim 1 Thursday, May 8: Anaheim at Los Angeles, 10 p.m.

Saturday, May 10: Anaheim at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.

GOLF The Associated Press

The Players Championship Par Scores Thursday At TPC Sawgrass, Players Stadium Course Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Purse: $10 million Yardage: 7,215; Par 72 (36-36) First Round Martin Kaymer 29-34—63 -9 Russell Henley 35-30—65 -7 Sang-Moon Bae 33-33—66 -6 Lee Westwood 33-34—67 -5 Brian Stuard 34-33—67 -5 Gonzalo Fdez-Castano 34-33—67 -5 Gary Woodland 33-34—67 -5 Jordan Spieth 32-35—67 -5 Scott Stallings 35-32—67 -5 Justin Rose 34-33—67 -5 Sergio Garcia 35-32—67 -5 Scott Brown 31-37—68 -4 Ernie Els 34-34—68 -4 Dustin Johnson 34-34—68 -4 Pat Perez 34-34—68 -4 Justin Leonard 34-34—68 -4 Bill Haas 36-32—68 -4 Joost Luiten 34-34—68 -4 Brendon de Jonge 34-35—69 -3 Geoff Ogilvy 39-30—69 -3 Kevin Streelman 36-33—69 -3 Jason Dufner 35-34—69 -3 Zach Johnson 36-33—69 -3 Graeme McDowell 33-36—69 -3 Brendan Steele 35-34—69 -3 Graham DeLaet 35-34—69 -3 John Huh 33-36—69 -3 Bubba Watson 34-35—69 -3 Martin Flores 36-34—70 -2 James Hahn 36-34—70 -2 Brian Gay 35-35—70 -2 Marc Leishman 35-35—70 -2 Matt Jones 35-35—70 -2 Ryan Moore 35-35—70 -2 Kevin Na 34-36—70 -2 Rory McIlroy 37-33—70 -2 Stewart Cink 35-35—70 -2 Camilo Villegas 34-36—70 -2 Jason Kokrak 35-35—70 -2 Stephen Gallacher 37-33—70 -2 Hideki Matsuyama 39-31—70 -2 Jeff Overton 36-34—70 -2 Angel Cabrera 36-34—70 -2 John Senden 36-34—70 -2 Jim Furyk 36-34—70 -2 Freddie Jacobson 37-33—70 -2 David Hearn 35-35—70 -2 Ryan Palmer 36-35—71 -1 Michael Thompson 37-34—71 -1 Stuart Appleby 35-36—71 -1 Rory Sabbatini 36-35—71 -1 Chris Kirk 32-39—71 -1 Bo Van Pelt 35-36—71 -1 David Lingmerth 35-36—71 -1 Morgan Hoffmann 34-37—71 -1 Josh Teater 34-37—71 -1 Richard H. Lee 36-35—71 -1 Tim Clark 38-33—71 -1 Jonas Blixt 36-35—71 -1 Henrik Stenson 35-36—71 -1 Rickie Fowler 36-35—71 -1 Steve Stricker 35-36—71 -1 Nick Watney 35-36—71 -1 Matt Kuchar 33-38—71 -1 Charles Howell III 33-38—71 -1 George McNeill 37-34—71 -1 Scott Langley 34-37—71 -1 Jeff Maggert 36-36—72 E William McGirt 36-36—72 E Ken Duke 34-38—72 E Jonathan Byrd 35-37—72 E Billy Horschel 40-32—72 E Charl Schwartzel 37-35—72 E Retief Goosen 37-35—72 E Roberto Castro 37-35—72 E Brian Davis 36-36—72 E Keegan Bradley 35-37—72 E Steven Bowditch 35-37—72 E Kevin Stadler 37-35—72 E John Merrick 35-37—72 E Kevin Chappell 36-36—72 E Francesco Molinari 36-36—72 E Erik Compton 35-37—72 E Russell Knox 36-36—72 E Aaron Baddeley 35-38—73 +1

THE SUMTER ITEM

AREA ROUNDUP

SHS baseball on road for 4A lower state tourney opener The Sumter High School baseball team’s opening game in the 4A lower state tournament against Lexington on Saturday will be played at Lexington beginning at 2 p.m.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at the home of the District VI tournament champion, which is Sumter, according to the brackets posted on the South Carolina High School League website. However, SHS athletic coordinator Reggie Kennedy said he was informed by the SCHSL on Thursday that a mistake was made on the bracket and the game should have been scheduled to be played at the Region V champion, which is Lexington.

EC SOFTBALL OPENS TODAY

The East Clarendon High School softball team will play host to Johnsonville today at 6 p.m. in its opening game in the 1A lower

state tournament.

The other game in the 4-team, double-elimination tournament will have Lake View playing at Latta.

EC is the defending state champion.

BOYS VARSITY SOCCER LAKEWOOD 5 LAKE CITY 2 Johnathan Turcios had two goals to help lead the Lakewood varsity boys soccer team to a 5-2 victory over Lake City on Wednesday at J. Frank Baker Stadium.

Christian McDonald had a goal and an assist while Gianni Jackson and Greg McLeod each added a goal.

Ben Busques and JirBre Brown each had an assist.

Mike Paterna made eight saves in goal for the Gators, who improved to 14-2 overall.

BOYS JUNIOR VARSITY SOCCER LAKE CITY 3 LAKEWOOD 2 Lake City defeated Lake-

wood 3-2 on Wednesday at J. Frank Baker Stadium, earning a 4-3 edge in penalty kicks in the shootout.

Jack Turcios had a goal while Nick Thurman and a goal and an assist for the Gators. Thurman, Nathan Costas and Paden Miller scored in the shootout.

LHS ends the season at 2-4-1.

GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER HARTSVILLE 3 LAKEWOOD 0 HARTSVILLE -- Lakewood fell 3-0 to Hartsville on Thursday as the Lady Gators drooped to 8-5 overall and 5-3 in Region VI-3A in regular-season finale.

Jonaleah Moroz had nine saves in goal for LHS. The Lady Gators will host Airport High School on Monday at J. Frank Baker Stadium in the first round of the playoff – the first time Lakewood has hosted a playoff game.

NBA ROUNDUP

Miami tops Nets 94-82 for 2-0 lead MIAMI — LeBron James scored 22 points, Chris Bosh added 18 and the Miami Heat took a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series by beating the Brooklyn Nets 94-82 on Thursday night.

Dwyane Wade had 14 and Ray Allen scored 13 for the Heat, who tied a franchise record with their eighth straight playoff victory.

Mirza Teletovic set a Nets playoff record with six 3-pointers, on his way to a 20-point night off the bench. Shaun Livingston scored 15, Paul Pierce had 13 and Joe Johnson added 13 more for the Nets.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Brooklyn.

WEDNESDAY

on Wednesday night to tie their Western Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.

ATTORNEY: STERLING WANTS TO KEEP CLIPPERS

LOS ANGELES — The estranged wife of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling will fight to retain her 50 percent ownership stake in the team, her lawyer said Thursday, adding an unwanted twist to the NBA’s plan to force new ownership on the franchise.

O’Donnell said Mrs. Sterling has no interest in managing the Clippers and wants a new investor group to come in with a professional management team.

THUNDER 112

CLIPPERS’ CRAWFORD WINS NBA SIXTH MAN

CLIPPERS 101 OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant stood before his adoring home crowd, proudly holding his MVP trophy above his head during a pregame ceremony.

He spent the next few hours showing how he earned it.

Durant had 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-101

LOS ANGELES — Jamal Crawford of the Los Angeles Clippers won the NBA Sixth Man Award on Thursday, becoming the oldest recipient and the first to do so with different teams.

The 34-year-old guard also was honored as the league’s best player off the bench while with the Atlanta Hawks in 2009-10.

From wire reports

SPORTS ITEMS

Kaymer ties course record, leads Players PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Martin Kaymer stopped thinking, started swinging and played his way into the record book Thursday in The Players Championship.

Kaymer missed only two fairways. He putted for birdie on all but one hole. And the former PGA champion finished with four straight birdies to become only the fourth player to shoot 9-under 63 on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass, giving him a two-shot lead over Russell Henley.

There were 28 rounds in the KAYMER 60s, which made the score by Adam Scott look even worse.

With another chance — his best one yet — to get to No. 1 in the world for the first time, Scott finished with a pair of double bogeys from shots in the water and signed for a 77.

It was his highest opening round at The Players since his first trip in 2002.

YANKEES TO RETIRE JOE TORRE’S NO 6

NEW YORK — The Yankees will retire

former manager Joe Torre’s No. 6, leaving Derek Jeter’s No. 2 as the last single digit in New York’s pinstripes.

Torre, Rich Gossage, Tino Martinez and Paul O’Neill also will be honored with plaques in Monument Park, the team said Thursday.

Torre managed the Yankees to World Series titles in 1996 and from 1998-00 and six AL pennants during 12 seasons as manager that ended in 2007. Currently Major League Baseball’s executive vice president for baseball operations, he is being inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame this summer.

BILLS TO WEAR PATCHES HONORING WILSON

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills will wear patches bearing the initials “RCW” on their jerseys this season in honor of late owner Ralph Wilson.

The patch will be featured on the jersey presented to the player Buffalo selects in the first round of the NFL draft Thursday.

From wire reports

MLB ROUNDUP

Blue Jays hit 5 homers in 12-6 win over Phillies TORONTO — Edwin Encarnacion hit two of Toronto’s five home runs and the Blue Jays won their eighth consecutive game over Philadelphia, beating the Phillies 12-6 on Thursday night.

Juan Francisco, Adam Lind and Colby Rasmus also went deep to help Toronto extend its winning streak to a season-best five games. Encarnacion hit a leadoff shot in the second inning against A.J. Burnett and added a tworun drive off Luis Garcia in the seventh for his 12th career multihomer game.

Francisco followed Encarnacion’s second home run

with a shot to center field, his second in two days, as the Blue Jays went back-to-back for the first time this season.

AMERICAN LEAGUE INDIANS 9 TWINS 4 CLEVELAND — Asdrubal Cabrera had four hits and three RBIs, Michael Brantley also homered and the Cleveland Indians beat the injury-riddled Minnesota Twins 9-4 Thursday for their first three-game winning streak this season.

Cabrera, who entered hitting .215, had a solo homer in the second innings and

RBI doubles in the seventh and eighth. He also singled in the fifth.

ASTROS 6 TIGERS 2

DETROIT — Dallas Keuchel outpitched college roommate Drew Smyly, and the Houston Astros edged Detroit 6-2 on Thursday to snap the Tigers’ eight-game winning streak.

Houston also ended its own five-game losing skid.

Keuchel (3-2) allowed two runs and six hits in 7 2-3 innings.

From wire reports

2014 NFL DRAFT

THE SUMTER ITEM

FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014

DRAFT FROM PAGE B1 2006. Williams now is with Buffalo.

Houston also made the top pick in its first season, 2002, taking quarterback David Carr. He never lived up to that billing; the Texans hope Clowney has more of an impact.

Tackle Greg Robinson, whose blocking helped highpowered Auburn make the national championship game last season, went second to St. Louis. The Rams owned the pick as the final payment for a 2012 trade with Washington that allowed the Redskins to draft quarterback Robert Griffin III. St. Louis is concerned about the health of starting left tackle Jake Long, who is coming off knee surgery.

The first quarterback to go went to Jacksonville in the third slot, but it wasn’t Johnny Football. Blake Bortles of Central Florida, whose stock shot up last season and in subsequent workouts, was taken by the Jaguars ahead of Texas A&M sensation Johnny Manziel, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner.

At 6-5, 232, Bortles drew comparisons to Ben Roethlisberger because of his combination of size and mobility.

Jacksonville missed the last time it took a QB in the first round, Blaine Gabbert in 2011. The Jaguars gave up on the inconsistent Gabbert, who struggled to read defenses and was benched for journeyman Chad Henne. Gabbert is now a backup in San Francisco.

“He’s a down-to-earth guy, a self-made guy, a blue-collar guy and he wants to be the best he can be,” said Jaguars

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins, right, poses with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Buffalo Bills as the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft on Thursday in New York. general manager Dave Caldwell, who added a word of caution: “He just needs a little bit of time.”

Seeing a chance to grab playmaking receiver Sammy Watkins of Clemson, Buffalo swapped spots with Cleveland, also sending a first- and

fourth-round selection next year to move up from ninth to fourth.

Texas A&M tackle Jake Matthews, the son of Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, went to Atlanta with the sixth overall pick. The Falcons leaked so

2014 NFL DRAFT SELECTIONS

By The Associated Press At New York Thursday First Round 1.

Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina (Houston) 2.

Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn (St. Louis) 3.

Blake Bortles, QB, UCF (Jacksonville) 4.

Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson (Buffalo via trade w/Cleveland) 5.

Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo (Oakland) 6.

Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M (Atlanta) 7.

Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M (Tampa Bay) 8.

Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma St. (Cleveland via trades w/Minnesota, Buffalo) 9.

Anthony Barr, OLB,

UCLA (Minnesota via trade w/Cleveland) 10.

Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina (Detroit) 11.

Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan (Tennessee) 12. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU (N.Y. Giants) 13.

Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh (St. Louis) 14. Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech (Chicago) 15.

Ryan Shazier, OLB,

Call (803) 774-1200 and subscribe today.

Ohio St. (Pittsburgh) 16.

Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame (Dallas) 17.

C.J. Mosley, ILB, Alabama (Baltimore) 18. Calvin Pryor, FS, Louisville (N.Y. Jets) 19.

Ja’Wuan James, OT, Tennessee (Miami) 20.

Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon St. (New Orleans via trade w/Arizona) 21.

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, FS, Alabama (Green Bay) 22.

Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M, (Cleveland via trade w/Philadelphia) 23.

Dee Ford, DE, Auburn (Kansas City) 24. Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan St. (Cincinnati) 25. Jason Verrett, CB, TCU (San Diego)

Your community news source

badly on the offensive line in 2013 as they plummeted from NFC South champion to 4-12 that Matt Ryan was sacked 44 times.

Another Aggies star was chosen next, receiver Mike Evans to Tampa Bay. The 6-4, 231-pound Evans is durable,

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B3

versatile — and quite emotional. He also couldn’t hold back the tears when Goodell called his name.

Meanwhile, Manziel is still waiting.

The crowd thought he might go eighth when Cleveland traded up one spot to get Minnesota’s pick. So when the Browns took cornerback Justin Gilbert of Oklahoma State, there was a loud groan from the fans. Gilbert smiled wryly as he shook Goodell’s hand.

Minnesota grabbed UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr, Detroit selected North Carolina’s Eric Ebron, by far the best tight end in this crop, and Tennessee filled a need on the offensive line with Michigan tackle Taylor Lewan.

Finally, a local team was on the clock and the audience approved lustily when the Giants chose LSU receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The Cleveland Browns selected Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel with the 22nd overall pick of the NFL draft on Thursday night, moving up to nab college football’s most exciting player who waited most of the first round to be selected.

The Browns made two earlier trades and passed on Manziel. With a chance to land him again, the Browns traded with Philadelphia and jumped from No. 26 to No. 22 to nab Johnny Football, who walked on Radio Music City Hall’s stage doing his signature “money” gesture.

Manziel will certainly sell tickets in Cleveland, but the Browns need him to win and there are questions about the 5-foot-11 QB’s durability.

Manziel is expected to compete with Brian Hoyer, who is coming off knee surgery.

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LOCAL SPORTS

FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014

SOFTBALL FROM PAGE B1 goal is the same thing as last year – just to make it to Saturday,” Scott said. “That’s our goal; there should be no pressure on us if we have that goal so that’s kind of how we’re looking at it. We’re going to do the best we can and give 100 percent.”

WH is just one of one of five local teams vying for a state title run as the SCISA tournaments open today at Pine Grove and Oak Grove softball complexes in West Columbia. All 2A games will be played at Oak Grove today before moving to Pine Grove on Saturday. The entire 1A and 3A tourneys will be played at Pine Grove.

In the 3A tournament, the Barons will open play in the upper bracket and face Augusta Christian at 5 p.m. today.

Laurence Manning Academy will be the higher seed in the lower bracket when it takes on First Baptist at 5 p.m. today.

“We’re capable of playing that way,” LMA head coach Maria Rowland said of her team’s chances of advancing to the state championship series. “We’re a long way from that, but anything is possible in this tournament and it’s game for anybody.

“This time of the year we better be ready to bring it because every other team is going to bring it.”

LMA is 19-8. Rowland feels her team, which includes two seniors, four juniors, four sophomores and five freshmen, needs to start strong in order to have a shot at competing for a state title.

“We’ve got to show up ready to play

USCS FROM PAGE B1 board,” Medlin said. “When you don’t walk anybody and you don’t kick the ball around, you always have a better chance to win. We did that the entire weekend. We played as well as we have all year. “(On Tuesday), we played about as well as we possibly could have for 18 innings.”

Tuesday marked two of the more impressive and unexpected performances from the mound all year for USC Sumter and was the likely late turning point in the run to the championship.

Facing SMC – the team that had swept them in a 4-game series earlier in the year – the Fire Ants turned to closer Harper Grier to keep their season alive.

“I agonized over the decision, because I bypassed some pretty good starters,” Medlin said. “But I liked the matchup, and he made me look like a genius in the biggest game of the year.”

SCISA SOFTBALL STATE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULES 3A Upper Bracket Today Game 1 – Wilson Hall vs. Augusta Christian, 5 p.m. (Field 2) Game 2 – Hammond vs. Florence Christian, 5 p.m. (Field 3) Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs.

Game 2 Loser, 8 p.m. (Field 3) Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs.

Game 2 Winner, 8 p.m. (Field 1) Saturday Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs.

Lower Game 4 Loser, 11 a.m.

(Field 5) Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs.

Game 5 Winner, 2 p.m. (Field 5) Game 7 – If Necessary (Field 5) Lower Bracket Today Game 1 – Laurence Manning vs. First Baptist, 5 p.m. (Field 4) Game 2 – Cardinal Newman vs. Orangeburg Prep, 5 p.m.

(Field 1) Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs.

Game 2 Loser, 8 p.m. (Field 2) Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs.

Game 2 Winner, 8 p.m. (Field 5) Saturday Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs.

Upper Game 4 Loser, 11 a.m.

(Field 5) Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs.

Game 5 Winner, 2 p.m. (Field 1) Game 7 – If Necessary (Field 1) 2A Upper Bracket Today Game 1 – Pee Dee vs. Marlboro, 4 p.m. (Field 3) Game 2 – Richard Winn vs.

TSI: How seriously were you thinking about transferring after not getting much playing time your first few years?

McDowell: I was very serious. I was to a point where (assistant) Coach (Chad) Morris and I got mad and I was like, ‘I don’t know; this may be it for me.’ But I decided to wait it out and see how things went. I went back and told them I wasn’t a quitter and I wasn’t going anywhere.

It was close, but I told myself that if I would quit in football – which is just a game – then I would quit in life too.

I didn’t want to be that person so I stuck it out.

TSI: What were the assurances, if any, from the Clemson coaching staff that you’d eventually see increased playing time?

McDowell: One thing about Clemson is if you know how to work hard, you know how to buy into the program on and off the field, you know your playbook and you come

Trinity-Byrnes, 4 p.m. (Field 4) Game 3 – Game 1 Winner vs.

Thomas Sumter, 6:15 p.m.

(Field 3) Game 4 – Game 2 Winner vs.

Williamsburg, 6:15 p.m. (Field 4) Game 5 – Game 1 Loser vs.

Game 2 Loser, 8 p.m. (Field 1) Saturday Game 6 – Game 3 Loser vs.

Game 4 Loser, 9 a.m. (Field 2) Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs.

Game 4 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 2) Game 8 – Game 5 Winner vs.

Game 6 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 1) Game 9 – Game 8 Winner vs.

Lower Game 7 Loser, 1:15 p.m. (Field 3) Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs.

Game 9 Winner, 3:30 p.m.

(Field 3) Game 11 – If Necessary (Field 3) Lower Bracket Today Game 1 – Spartanburg Christian vs. Robert E. Lee, 4 p.m.

(Field 1) Game 2 – Thomas Heyward vs. Calhoun, 4 p.m. (Field 2) Game 3 – Game 1 Winner vs.

Carolina, 6:15 p.m. (Field 1) Game 4 – Game 2 Winner vs.

Holly Hill, 6:15 p.m. (Field 2) Game 5 – Game 1 Loser vs.

Game 2 Loser, 8 p.m. (Field 3) Saturday Game 6 – Game 3 Loser vs.

Game 4 Loser, 9 a.m. (Field 4) Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs.

Game 4 Winner, 9:30 a.m.

(Field 1) Game 8 – Game 5 Winner vs.

Game 6 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 4) Game 9 – Game 8 Winner vs.

Upper Game 7 Loser, 1:15 p.m. (Field 4)

Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs.

Game 9 Winner, 3:30 p.m.

(Field 4) Game 11 – If Necessary (Field 4) 1A Upper Bracket Today Game 1 – Laurens Academy vs. Jefferson Davis, 3 p.m.

(Field 2) Game 2 – Clarendon Hall vs.

St. John’s Christian, 3 p.m.

(Field 3) Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs.

Game 2 Loser, 5 p.m. (Field 5) Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs.

Game 2 Winner, 6:45 p.m.

(Field 2) Saturday Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs.

Lower Game 4 Loser, 9 a.m.

(Field 5) Game 6 – Game 5 Winner vs.

Game 4 Winner, 12:30 p.m.

(Field 1) Game 7 – If Necessary (Field 1) Lower Bracket Today Game 1 – Colleton Prep vs.

W.W. King, 3 p.m. (Field 4) Game 2 – Wardlaw vs. Andrew Jackson Academy, 3 p.m. (Field 5) Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs.

Game 2 Loser, 6:45 p.m. (Field 3) Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs.

Game 2 Winner, 6:45 p.m.

(Field 4) Saturday Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs.

Upper Game 4 Loser, 9 a.m.

(Field 3) Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs.

Game 5 Winner, 12:30 p.m.

(Field 2) Game 7 – If Necessary (Field 2)

SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO

Wilson Hall junior pitcher Holly Scott throws a pitch against Laurence Manning Academy during a recent game. Five local teams including WH and LMA will begin their journeys toward their respective SCISA softball titles.

ball,” she said. “There is no warm-up game and there is no game where you’re going to win by the 10-run rule.

We better show up ready to play.”

Thomas Sumter Academy is a top seed in the 12-team 2A tournament and will battle for a state championship along with Robert E. Lee Acade-

my. TSA, 24-3, will open the tournament in the upper bracket hosting the winner of a game between Pee Dee Academy and Marlboro Academy at 6:15 p.m. REL is in the lower bracket and goes against Spartanburg Christian 4 p.m. today.

“Six years ago we put a plan in place

and hit all of our marks on our plan, and now we’re right where we expect to be,” Lady Generals head coach Lou DeMonte said. “This year was a year that we thought we could make a run for the state (title). We knew we could upset a team last year, but we knew Marlboro had the best team.”

DeMonte said despite having a young team, it is very poised and is peaking at the right time.

“Our defense is strong, our pitching’s strong – whether we win or not will be determined by our bats,” he said.

Clarendon Hall will open the 8-team 1A tournament at 3 p.m. today against St. John’s Christian. The Lady Saints are 11-3.

Grier went 7 2/3 innings and allowed just two earned runs on five hits with three walks and a strikeout.

Dillon Hodge pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief and the USCS offense belted out 11 runs on 12 hits – led by Trevor Bradley’s three hits and five runs batted in – to set up a championship rematch with Louisburg.

Still, needing to force a deciding game on Wednesday against the Hurricanes, Medlin next turned to former Sumter High School and Sumter P-15’s standout Andrew Reardon, despite the fact that he hadn’t made a start all year.

“Andrew was dominant; he was magical,” Medlin said of the left-hander’s eight innings of shutout work.

“He’s stepped up big. He’s still got more work ahead of him, but I have to give the young man credit because he’s come a long way and he delivered a big game on a big stage.”

Another Sumterite, Will Smith, started the deciding game on Wednes-

day. Smith combined with Fernando Pinillos, Victor Gonzalez and Hodge to put an exclamation point of the USCS pitching staff’s season by limiting Louisburg to two runs in nine innings for the title.

The often-maligned offense also came through when it was needed most. Reardon’s 1-out single in the top of the ninth inning against USC Lancaster provided the spark for a late-inning rally and eventual victory.

Bradley had perhaps the most consistent tournament and would have been a likely candidate for most valuable player if such an award was given, Medlin said.

“Anthony Paulsen, Ryan Perkins, Will Thompson – all those guys came through like they have all year,” Medlin said. “Ryan probably had more big hits than anybody, and we got contributions up and down the lineup. John Mark Hughes had huge hits out of the No. 9 hole against Lancaster and Spartanburg.”

The Fire Ants also received a bit of good fortune on Day 1 as well. Their come-from-behind win against UCSL loomed even larger after top-seeded SMC was upset by eighth-seeded Guilford Tech in the Pioneers’ opener.

“That was big,” Medlin said. “Spartanburg is a very good team and we would have been matched up against them if they had won. But dropping that first game forced them to have to work their way back and they had to burn a lot more pitchers.”

Regardless, as the regular-season champion, SMC and the Fire Ants could meet up again at Riley. The Pioneers will face the Region XX tournament victors while USCS will take on the Region XV tournament winners.

Both tournaments have yet to be completed.

“It’s going to be a lot of good baseball at Riley,” Medlin said. “There was a lot of quality collegiate and pro talent in Kinston and there will be at this tournament, too.”

MCDOWELL, FROM PAGE B1 to go to Clemson when you weren’t playing?

McDowell: No, I never really doubted it. The reason I came here was partly because one time (former Sumter High and San Francisco 49ers standout) Freddie Solomon came down and saw me and asked who I had offers from. I told him Clemson, and he said hands down, close that deal.

He said looking at their program, you know they’ve got a good running back (corps).

I said to myself that if I wanted to be the best, I needed to surround myself with the best. At the time, they had C.J. Spiller, Andre Ellington and Jaime Harper, so I feel like I made the right decision.

Not just on the football side, but on the academic side too.

THE SUMTER ITEM

in every day with the mindset that you’re going to prove that you belong there and deserve to be there, they have no reason but to play you.

When I did that, when I was doing what I needed to on and off the field, I got in there and started making plays. My practices and film speak for themselves.

TSI: What was it like having guys like Mike Bellamy and D.J. Howard jump ahead of you before you got a chance to

prove yourself?

McDowell: At the end of day, you honestly want competition. You don’t want to get complacent. I felt like I had best competition every year.

They kept pushing me. I knew every day that if I made one mistake, I had somebody right there behind me. They kept me pushing in the weight room, in the classroom and on the practice field. Every time I stepped on the field I told myself that it could be the last time because someone was coming for my position. I didn’t want that.

(Running backs) Coach

(Tony) Elliott told us he was giving us the keys to the car, and if you didn’t want to drive it, somebody else would. I kept that in the back of my mind. I didn’t want to let anybody take that from me.

TSI: Even though you had your moments as a junior, what did your first start and first 100-yard game against Georgia mean to you?

McDowell: That was my stamp to tell people that I was here, that hard work does pay off. People that tell you even if you work hard you can’t succeed – that’s a lie.

Going into that game I felt good. The preparation and the walk-through for that game felt like nothing. It was so smooth. I told myself I was about to shock the world.

Coming off the bus and coming down the hill, with the fans in my ears and everybody jumping, I was just so excited. The gun went off and we went down the hill. I was already into the vibe of the game. I was in the zone. I wanted them to give me the ball. I felt like I could do anything that day. The game just came to me so quickly. It was a wonderful feeling.

RECRUITING

THE SUMTER ITEM

FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014

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B5

Lemieux switches commitment from USC to Oregon

T

he opportunity to play only four hours from home for a nationally ranked program versus moving across the country was too much for offensive lineman Shane Lemieux to look past, and on Saturday the Yakima, Wash., tackle moved from an unofficial commitment to South Carolina to an official commitment to Oregon. “It was just better for my family,” said Lemieux, who had given the Gamecocks his unofficial pledge in March after making an unofficial visit. “Traveling away from my mom for college would be hard. Oregon also made it clear that I would compete for a starting spot my freshman year.”

Lemieux’s father lives in Lancaster and he had always said his commitment to USC would not become official until he brought his mother out for a visit this summer.

That visit won’t happen now.

Lemieux said he called USC recruiter Shawn Elliott on Saturday to give him the news, but wasn’t able to reach him though he did send him a text.

“I really respect him and the whole program,” Lemieux said. “I just didn’t want to move away from my mom.

South Carolina and Oregon are both great schools. It’s just the chance to play early and for a national championship next to my hometown.”

Quarterback Lorenzo Nunez of Kennesaw, Ga., is pointing toward a decision in a couple of weeks during his spring practice and is considering USC, North Carolin State, Ohio State, Tennessee and Miami as he works on making the final call. Nunez visited NCSU late last month in what was his final visit before the decision.

He talks weekly with USC recruiter GA Mangus. Mangus visited the school recently and Nunez is expecting him at his spring practice this week.

Nunez sees a few positives for him with the Gamecocks.

“The offense fits me right and I like the campus and the atmosphere,” said Nunez, adding that he doesn’t have a leader at this point among his final five, but that NCSU has recruited him the hardest.

Wide receiver Nyqwan Murray (5-feet-11-inches, 165 pounds) of Orlando, Fla., said he will name his top five following spring practice.

Though he does not have a list just yet, he is sure of one thing: USC is his leader.

Murray has not visited Columbia, but plans to do so this summer. “They have a great head coach (Steve Spurrier),” Murray said. “I like their team. They’re always finishing at the top of the SEC (Southeastern Conference) and I think they’re close to winning a championship.”

Murray has only visited Miami and Florida and enjoyed both trips, but their locations may play in the favor of the Gamecocks. “I want to leave the state of Florida,” Murray said. His offers include USC, Cincinnati, Duke, Akron, East Carolina, Ohio, Kent State, Indiana and Wake Forest with interest from Ohio State, Florida, Florida State, Nebraska and Central Florida among others.

USC and Maryland are “neck and neck” for OL Tommy Hatton of Montvale, N.J. The Gamecocks offered Hatton on April 14, and he will visit USC for the second time on June 18. He plans to announce his commitment during ‘The Opening” in Oregon this summer.

“I just love South Carolina,” he said. “Everything about it is great. It’s beautiful down there and they have that (Williams-Brice) stadium. Plus, they’ve been really good lately and just keep winning. No one has ever told me a bad thing about them.”

He feels similarly about the Terrapins. Hatton has other offers but, as of now, it’s a 2-school race for his services.

Some of those other offers are Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Rutgers and Louisville.

Tight end Will Gragg (6-4, 240) of Pine Bluff, Ark., has over 30 offers including USC, Alabama, Auburn, Texas, Notre Dame, Arkansas, Mis-

sissippi, Mississippi State, FSU, Oregon, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Tennessee, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. He’s made several visits to schools within driving distance and plans to visit USC and others this summer. Gragg likes “all schools that have offered me” and does not have any favorites. His brother is a TE at Arkansas.

CLEMSON

TE Garrett Williams of Orlando expects to announce his decision in the next few weeks prior to his spring game on May 22. “I’m just really praying about it a lot and seeing where God leads me,” Williams said. “I’m talking with my parents and just praying a lot.”

Williams has Clemson, FSU, Auburn and Stanford as his final four with no leader. “I’ve already been to Clemson several times and am familiar with their culture and how they do things,” he said.

“They’re very much in the picture. They’ve been by this spring already, but we couldn’t talk long. They just told me why I should come there and things like that.”

Williams said there are very strong reasons for him to pick Clemson. “I love their coaching staff. I’ve known them since the beginning of my recruitment, and they haven’t changed at all. They are great men, men of God, and incredible coaches. I feel really comfortable with everyone on that coaching staff. And it’s a great system for the tight end. They use him a lot and run a great system for the tight end.”

Williams said Clemson has been recruiting him very hard. Stanford has also visited this spring with Auburn and FSU still to come.

Defensive back Antonio Parks of Reserve, La., had considered committing to Clemson earlier this month, but said the Tigers coaching staff wants him to visit first.

“They’ve had a couple guys commit and then decommit lately and they want me to be sure,” Parks said. “They think I should come up for a visit and see it before I make a commitment.”

He has scheduled that visit for June 5. Parks named Clemson, Arizona and Arizona State as the three schools showing the most interest and will visit all three this summer.

Clemson and Nebraska offered 2016 defensive end Malik Walker of Montezuma, Ga., last week. Clemson also offered ‘16 linebackers Tre’ Threat and PJ Blue of Alabama, WR Devin Duvenay of Texas and DE Marques Ford of Gibsonton, Fla., last week.

Clemson has offered ‘17 QB Connor Curry of Shreveport, La., as well.

USC AND CLEMSON

Crestwood High School running back Ty’Son Williams listed five of his favorites last

week at Clemson, USC, UNC, ND and Wisconsin.

Orangeburg-Wilkinson High defensive lineman Albert Huggins, to no one’s surprise, is a must-see for recruiters during this spring evaluation period. Clemson’s Marion Hobby and USC’s Everette Sands were among the coaches to stop by recently to check in on Huggins.

“We don’t talk much about football,” Huggins said of those conversations. “We talk about family and how they are doing and what I’ve got to do this season.” Other schools to come through to see Huggins were UNC, NCSU and Florida. Huggins has been to Clemson and USC about five times each, so he’s plenty familiar with each. He said he will try to visit UGA soon and he wants to visit Florida this summer.

“I’ve got to get out to see other schools to get a feel for them,” he Phil Kornblut said. “I’m getting the RECRUITING most love CORNER from Clemson, USC and North Carolina, but those are not a top three. How can I have a top three when I’ve only been to those three schools?” Huggins said he will be graduating in December so he will make his decision soon after his season.

DB Mike Hughes of New Bern, N.C., is hearing a lot from USC right now and the Gamecocks have him highly interested. He’s in touch with recruiter Deke Adams on a regular basis. “He wants me to come visit,” Hughes said.

“He likes my film and seems like he wants me pretty bad. I think it’s a great school. I saw a couple of their games last season. It’s a place where I could see myself playing.

South Carolina would be one of my favorites if I had favorites.”

Hughes said he’s also talking a lot with UNC and NCSU. He has not taken any visits this spring and has none planned. He hopes to make his decision before the season if he can. Hughes also has an offer from Clemson, but he said he’s not hearing that much from the Tigers. He also has offers from Florida, Ole Miss, Virginia, ECU, Virginia Tech, Louisville, WF, Duke and Texas A&M. RB Traveon Samuel of Phenix City, Ala., has USC among his top four at this point. Samuel has built a strong relationship with USC assistant Grady Brown and plans to visit Columbia this summer. “Coach Brown is a really good guy and he’s been by to see me a couple of times,” Samuel said.

“They’re just telling me that they’d like me to visit so I can experience everything firsthand. I think I fit in really well with their offense.”

His offers include USC, Clemson, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, FSU, Louisiana State, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Louisville and Duke. Samuel also plans to visit FSU over the summer. His most recent trip was to Auburn.

USC and Clemson are firmly in the mix with WR Darius Slayton (6-2, 182) of Norcross, Ga. They are in his top eight along with UGA, Auburn, LSU, Ohio State, Alabama and Tennessee. Slayton said he’s been hearing more from the Gamecocks than Clemson. “I like South Carolina a lot,” Slayton said. “Obviously, there’s Coach Spurrier and his offensive system. I like his style of ball. That’s a good fit for me. Overall, his resume is impeccable. They’ve got a great coaching staff, and they’ve got a good program going up there.”

Last season, Slayton had 33 catches for 940 yards and eight touchdowns. He also plays cornerback and had 14 tackles and one interception.

Clemson LB coach and defensive coordinator Brent Venables joined the race for LB Amonte Caban of Smith’s Station, Ala., last week.

“He said he liked the way I play the game,” Caban said.

“He said I have good instincts and I’m good in space and I will fit well with the team. He said he liked my explosiveness and my violent nature.”

Caban was excited to get the Clemson offer. “The offer means a lot,” he said. “It’s a great program up there. I didn’t know I was going to get the offer because I haven’t talked to them much. It really meant a lot to me.”

USC LB coach Kirk Botkin offered Caban several weeks ago and the two talked again recently. “He said he wants to coach me and said the same things Coach Venables said,” Caban said. “I talk to him about every week.” Botkin has been by the school.

Recruiters from Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama-Birmingham, South Alabama and Southern Mississippi have also been to see him. Caban has visited USC, Mississippi State, UAB and Auburn. He was at USC for junior day in March. He plans to visit Clemson the first week in June and will make a return trip to USC this summer. He also plans to visit Mississippi State, Louisville and Kentucky.

Caban also has offers from Mississippi State, UK Cincinnati, UAB, South Alabama, Alabama State, Troy, Jackson-

ville State, Western Kentucky and Southern Miss. He wants to make his decision by the end of summer. Last season Caban, who plays inside LB, registered 140 tackles and three QB sacks.

Athlete RayRay McCloud of Tampa, Fla., was able to visit both Clemson and USC during spring practice. He said that he remains interested in both.

“What stood out at Clemson was the coaches,” he said.

“They put God first in everything. What stood out about South Carolina was the intensity of practice. I got to watch them practice and they go hard. That’s why they’re a great program.”

McCloud has visited several schools within the state of Florida. He does not have favorites.

USC offered WR Jayson Stanley of Fairburn, Ga., last week. He also has a Clemson offer. Clemson offered ‘17 WR DJ Matthews of Jacksonville, Fla. USC has also offered Matthews. Clemson offered DB Jalen Thompson of Mobile, Ala. He also has a USC offer.

OTHERS

Liberty is the second school to offer DB Rion Davis of A.C. Flora High in Columbia, with several other teams closing in.

Davis’ other offer is from NCSU. UNC and WF have been by the school to check on him. He is also receiving mail from Alabama, Auburn and Dartmouth. He will visit Duke this summer for a tour and camp at FSU. WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside of Dorman High in Roebuck picked up offers last week from Maryland, GT and UCF. WR Tavin Richards of Byrnes High in Duncan was also offered by UCF. DL Nyles Pinckney, a ‘16 prospect from Whale Branch High in Beaufort was offered

by FSU. DL Paul McKiever of Batesburg-Leesville High was offered by WF. BASKETBALL

Tevin Mack, a 6-6 player from Dreher High in Columbia, made the short ride over to the USC basketball office with his head coach last week for a face-to-face meeting with Gamecock head coach Frank Martin and his assistants.

“It was pretty cool,” Mack said. “They talked about how I’ve started to progress in the past year. They like how I’ve developed in the past year.

And they talked about their team and the program. We had a good conversation.”

B6

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OBITUARIES

FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014

ADRIENNE BILLUPS MANNING — Adrienne Billups, 70, widow of Willie Edward Billups, died on Saturday, May 3, 2014, at Clarendon Memorial Hospital, Manning.

She was born on Aug. 9, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York, a daughter of Ethel Conyers.

She was reared by her maternal grandmother, Ella Turner, and her beloved aunt, Marie Turner.

She received her BILLUPS formal education in Brooklyn. She was employed by the New York Housing Authority, until her retirement.

Survivors are a son, Michael Kevin (Desiree Starr) Billups of Walden, New York; a daughter, Michelle Kara Billups of the home; one brother, Jimmy Conyers of Brooklyn; three brothers-in-law, John (Mable) Billups of Manning, Lawrence (Rita) Billups Jr. of Hampton, Virginia, and James (Fran) Billups of Roosevelt, New York; four additional sisters-in-law, Dorothy Mack of Buffalo, New York, Juanita Nelson and Eula Billups, both of Penllyn, Pennsylvania, and Viola Billups of Manning; and three grandchildren, De’Adrianne Billups and Demia Billups, both of Walden, and Isiah Kevyn Billups of the home.

Celebratory services for Mrs. Billups will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, 2571 Joseph Lemon and Dingle Road, Jordan community, Manning, with the Rev. Sam Livingston Sr. officiating and the Rev. O’Donald Dingle, Minister Eloise Jackson, Elder James O. Robinson and Evangelist Shirley Waiters assisting.

The family is receiving friends at the home of her sister-in-law, Viola Billups, 8021 S.C. 260, Jordan community, Manning.

These services have been entrusted to Samuels Funeral Home LLC of Manning.

JOHN A. HAYNESWORTH MANNING — John Allen Haynesworth, 76, died on Sunday, May 4, 2014, at his residence.

He was born on Aug. 14, 1937, in the Bloomville section of Manning, a son of the late David and Lila Mae Hatfield Haynesworth. He received his formal education in the public schools of Clarendon County School District 2 and HAYNESWORTH graduated from Manning Training School in 1956. He joined the U.S. Air Force and was honorably discharged after 20 years and 17 days of distinguished service. He received an industrial maintenance diploma from Sumter Area Technical College. He was a faithful member of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, where he served on the senior choir and trustee board. He was also a member of Brotherly Love Lodge No. 99.

Survivors are his brother, George (Denise) Haynesworth of Temple Hills, Maryland; two sons, Leon Walker of Columbia and John (Paula) Haynesworth of California; two grandchildren; two greatgrandchildren; and a special friend, Ruby Ridgill of Alcolu.

Celebratory services for Mr. Haynesworth will be held at 4 p.m. today at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, 105 Dinkins St., Manning, with the Rev. George P. Windley, pastor, officiating, and the Rev. Albert Brogdon and the Rev. David Haynesworth assisting. Burial will follow in Goodwill Baptist Church cemetery, 1329 Goodwill Road, Manning.

Mr. Haynesworth will lie in repose one hour prior to funeral time.

The family is receiving friends at his residence, 214 Reardon St., Manning.

These services have been entrusted to Samuels Funeral Home LLC of Manning.

ANITRA GIPSON PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Anitra Gipson, 35, died on Thursday, May 1, 2014, in Philadelphia, from injuries resulting from an automobile accident.

She was born on Dec. 29, 1978, in Manning, a daughter of General L. Gipson and

Juanita Jones Gipson. She received her formal education in the public schools of Florence County and was a graduate of Wilson High School Class of 1997. She received her bachelor of science degree from Pierce College and master of arts degree in public administration from Keller Graduate School of Management, Philadelphia. She was presently employed at Temple Physicians Inc. in Philadelphia. She was a member of First Church of Our Lord and Jesus Christ Inc. in Philadelphia.

Survivors are her parents, General Lee Gipson of Manning and Juanita Jones Gipson of Florence; one sister, Monica Denise Gipson of Sumter; eight aunts; four additional aunts; nine uncles; and two additional uncles.

Celebratory services for Ms. Gipson will be GIPSON held at 11 a.m. at Hayes F. & Lanelle J. Samuels Sr. Memorial Chapel, 114 N. Church St., Manning, with the Rev. Jerome McCray presiding and the Rev. Robert Gibson assisting.

The family is receiving friends at the home of her aunt and uncle, Lillian and Lee Ernest Lemon, 927 Berry St., Manning.

These services have been entrusted to Samuels Funeral Home LLC of Manning.

WILLIE P. RAGIN Willie P. Ragin, 58, husband of Dorothy Gaymon Ragin, entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center.

Born on Feb. 5, 1956, in New York, New York, he was a son of Lena Riley Ragin and the late George Ragin.

The family is receiving friends at the home, 2628 Elliott Road, Pinewood, and at the home of his mother, 1224 White & Rivers Road, Rimini community, Pinewood.

Funeral services are incomplete and will be announced at a later date by Dyson’s Home for Funerals.

LESSIE B. HARVIN Lessie Burgess Harvin, 93, departed this earth on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, at Sumter Health and Rehab Center.

She was a daughter of the late Fannie Burgess and the widow of Deacon Richard Harvin. Mrs. Harvin was a member of Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, where she served on the pastor’s aide, senior missionary and deacon’s wives ministries, until her health began to fail. She was also a member of the Golden Age Ministry of Mt. Zion Missionary Church.

She leaves to cherish her memories: a son, James L. Harvin of Sumter; a daughter, Sadie H. Robinson of Sumter; seven grandchildren; one great-grandchild; nieces, cousins and friends whom are all deeply saddened by her passing.

Funeral services will be held

at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, 155 Wall St., Sumter, SC 29150 with the Rev. Larry C. Weston, pastor, eulogist, assisted by the Rev. A. Barker, Minister C. Jackson, the Rev. K. Choice and Bishop L. Carter. Interment will follow at Hillside Memorial Park.

The body will lie in repose from 2:30 p.m. until the hour of service.

Public viewing will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. today.

Sumter Funeral Service Inc. is in charge of arrangements.

JOHN J. MAROON MANNING — John J. Maroon, 88, died on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, at National Health Care of Sumter.

You may sign the family’s guest book at www.brunsonfuneralhome.com.

Brunson Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 15 E. Hospital St., Manning, is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 433-2273.

LORENZO FELDER MANNING — Lorenzo Felder, 67, died on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, at Clarendon Memorial Hospital, Manning.

He was born on April 18, 1947, in Sumter County, a son of the late Fredrick and Elizabeth Clark Felder.

The family is receiving friends at his residence, 1078 Dockside Drive, Manning.

These services have been entrusted to Samuels Funeral Home LLC of Manning.

JANICE S. SHARPE PELION — Janice Sturkie Sharpe, 66, of Pelion, widow of Frank A. Sharpe, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Wednesday, May 7, 2014.

Born on Oct. 9, 1947, in Pelion, she was a daughter of the late Lionel and Pauline Sturkie. Mrs. Sharpe was a 1966 graduate of Pelion High School. She was a devoted and faithful wife for 46 years. She loved serving and caring for people in her lifelong town of Pelion and was a volunteer at PACES center in Pelion. She was a loving, caring and compassionate “Gran” to many children across the years. She worked for several daycare centers and often kept children in her home. She was deeply devoted to her grandchildren and loved to brag on their accomplishments. She loved her Lord Jesus and his church. Jan was a faithful member of Pelion Church of the Nazarene.

Survivors include a son, the Rev. Arthur Sharpe (Michelle) of Sumter and their children, Trey, Wes and Josh; a daughter, Kara Hobbs (Jason) of Cocoa, Florida, and their children, Caleb and Cayeson; a sister, Brenda Rawl (Clayton) of Lexington; a brother, James Sturkie (Martha) of Pelion; a special cousin and sister, Margaret Taylor of Sumter; a special “Gran,” Avery L. Floyd; and numerous nephews and nieces.

She was preceded in death by a brother, Zack Surkie.

Funeral services will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday in the Elmore-Cannon-Ste-

THE SUMTER ITEM phens Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Bill Watts, the Rev. Dennis Johnson and the Rev. F. Arthur Sharpe Jr. officiating. Burial will be at 2 p.m. in New Hope Baptist Church cemetery in Pelion. A time of gathering with friends and family will follow at 3:30 p.m. at Pelion Church of the Nazarene.

Nephews will serve as pallbearers.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and other times at the home of the Rev. and Mrs. Arthur Sharpe, 4235 Nazarene Church Road, Sumter.

A special thanks to SwingBed Rehab of Clarendon Memorial Hospital and Amedisys Home Health.

Memorials may be made to Calvary Church of the Nazarene, 4235 Nazarene Church Road, Sumter, SC 29154.

Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and Crematorium of Sumter is in charge of the arrangements.

CHARLES H. OVERTON Jr. Charles Henry Overton Jr., age 60, died on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, at his residence.

Arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by Bullock Funeral Home of Sumter.

THELMA EVANS Thelma Robinson Tolliver Evans, age 75, died on Thursday, May 8, 2014, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center.

Arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by Bullock Funeral Home of Sumter.

geant. After completing his term, he began a new career as a sales agent for American Airlines in New York. There he met Margaret Phillips Colcloughly, the love of his life, and the two began a lifelong union on June 16, 1960. The two began to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses and, on March 20, 1961, he dedicated his life to his God Jehovah by water baptism. In 1965, John and Margaret packed his black 1963 Chevy Impala and moved their family to Compton, California, where they raised their children as part of the West Compton Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses and where he served as an elder. Upon retiring in 1988, John and Margaret decided to move to her birthplace of Dalzell. There they joined the North Sumter Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, where he became affectionately known as “Pa Pa.” John was a people person.

He leaves to cherish his memory: his brother, Fredrick Thompson; his daughters, Shelia Gibbs and Jacqueline Thomas; his son, Jon (Felicity) Thompson; eight grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Thompson; and a son, Edward L. Gibbs.

Memorial services will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses, North Congregation, 2280 Thomas Sumter Highway, Sumter.

The family is receiving relatives and friends at 3715 Margion Road, Dalzell.

The processional will leave at 2:30 p.m. from the home.

Online memorial messages may be sent to the family at williamsfuneralhome@sc.rr. com.

Visit us on the web at www. williamsfuneralhomeinc.com.

Services directed by the staff and management of Williams Funeral Home Inc., 821 N. Main St., Sumter.

SHAKIMAH TORRES SIDNEY E. WALTON Jr. Sidney E. Walton Jr., 81, widower of Helen L. Walton, died on Thursday, May 8, 2014, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center.

Services will be announced

by Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, (803) 7759386.

JOHN I. THOMPSON John Irvington Thompson, 79, died on Wednesday, April 16, 2014, in Riverside, California.

Born on June 20, 1934, in New York City, he was the youngest of two children of the late Hector and Evelyn Thompson. Upon completion of high school, he entered the United States Air Force, where he reached the rank of staff ser-

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Shakimah Taherrah Evans Torres departed this life on Wednesday, April 30, 2014, at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg.

Born on June 25, 1979, in Newark, New Jersey, she was a daughter of Douglas Carter and Juanita Evans.

A service of remembrance will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday at St. John Baptist Church, Bloomville community, 3944 Brewer Road, Manning, where the pastor, the Rev. David Pugh, will officiate.

The service of committal, benediction and interment will follow at 10 a.m. on Monday at Fort Jackson National Cemetery, 4120 Percival Road, Columbia, SC 29229.

The family is receiving friends at the residence of her stepfather and mother Mitchell Calhoun and Juanita Evans, 6805 Moody Road, Rembert.

Fleming & Delaine Funeral Home and Chapel of Manning is in charge of service.

Online condolences may be sent to flemingdelaine@aol. com.

CLASSIFIEDS

FRIDAY, MAY 09, 2014

CLASSIFIEDS

803-774-1234 OR TO PLACE YOUR AD ONLINE GO TO WWW.THE ITEM.COM/PLACEMYAD Garage, Yard & Estate Sales

ANNOUNCEMENTS Happy Ads

2571 Wedgefield Rd 2 Family Sale Sat 8-12 Furn, Basketball Goal and pole, Furniture & more!

2660 Hodge St. Sat. May 10th, 7 am - 12 noon.

Pop up camper, commercial tanning bed, household furniture incl. beds, couches, end tables, and kitchen appliances, more!

4 family: 3100 S Wise Dr. Noon Fri. to Noon Sat. Ladies clothes (sz Large), Desk, living room, dining room furn., tools, beginners golfs clubs, RC airplanes, musical instruments, oil paintings, other stuff.

4 Family Sale 11 Fairfield Ct (off W Oakland) Sat 8-?

Happy 25th Birthday "Neesha Lite" "We Lubb U" Aunt Peet & Family

BUSINESS SERVICES Business Services NEED AN ERRAND RUN???

Call Gail at 803-464-8825. Very reasonable rates. Gail's Go For Service

Lawn Service Oxendine & Son Lawn Care All your lawn care needs & pressure washing. Call Jonathan 803-565-2160 or Kerry 316-8726.

Cooper's Lawn Care General lawn maintenance! Lic. & ins.

Price starts at $30. 803-565-1894 Rawls Lawncare: Clean up, Trim Shubery, Cut Grass, Pressure Wash & more. Free Estimates.

Lic/Insured. 803-425-4845 Hudson's Lawn Care, Mowing, Pine Straw, Installation. Licensed and Insured. 803-968-1313 J. Thompson Lawn & Garden plus Affordable Rates Licensed & Bonded Call 803-316-1109 or 803-840-7482

Lots of Costume Jewelry For small vendors & individuals. Below cost. Sound system with microphone. Friday, May 9th, 2 - 5 pm. Inside Palmetto Towers (behind K mart) 70 WILDBERRY LN ( Trailwood ) Sat 7-11 furn, tv.s, hshld items, clothes, compound bow, golf gear 19 Barnette Dr Sat 7-12 clothes, hsld items, purses, Reasonable prices!

Sat 7:30-12:30 Antique & Contemporary Furniture, crystal, china, milk glass, flower containers, horse items, and many other great treasures. Don't miss this final sale! 2550 Camden Hwy YARD SALE! 3025 Daufaskie Rd, Sat., 8AM - 3PM, Furniture, Grill, Electronics, and more!

1351 Shoreland Dr. Sat, May 10th, 7AM - 11AM. MOVING, Must see items!

Will buy furniture by piece or bulk, tools, trailers, lawn mowers, 4 wheelers, etc or almost anything of value Call 803-983-5364 Moving Sale 424 Sanders Dr. (Crosswell ) Sat. 8-12. Furn., and many items.

Rain or Shine 2277 Alex Harvin Hwy (across from Bobs bodyshop) Sat 8-?

Defauski St. Multi Family (carolina palms) Sat 8-1 clothes, hshld, yard , motorcycle items

Four Seasons Lawn Care Serving Sumter for almost 20 yrs!

Free est. 494-9169/468-4008

15 FAMILY YARD SALE SAT. 5/10 7AM - Noon. Lakewood Links Subd. off Hwy 15 S. Don't miss this huge sale. Many items from each family. Great items priced to go.

Tree Service A Notch Above Tree Care Full quality service low rates, lic./ins., free est BBB accredited 983-9721 NEWMAN'S TREE SERVICE Tree removal , trimming & stump grinding. Lic & Ins.

803-316-0128

Ricky's Tree Service Tree removal, stump grinding, Lic & ins, free quote, 803-435-2223 or cell 803-460-8747.

STATE TREE SERVICE Worker's Comp & General liability insurance. Top quality service, lowest prices. 803-494-5175 or 803-491-5154 www.statetree.net

MERCHANDISE Appliances White clothes dryer. $150 A/C window units, (1) 25,000 BTU $300, (1) 18,000 BTU $225, (1) 15,000 BTU $175, (1) 5,000 BTU $75. Call 803-934-6810

Farm Equipment / Tractors (2)Bush Hogs for sale. (1) like new & other for parts. $750 both (FIRM). Call 803-840-2221

Farm Products

DORR FARMS U PIC STRAWBERRIES 803-495-2639, 803-983-9342 Strawberries Richburg Farms HWY 261, Manning, SC 8am-6:30pm M-Sat (803)473-4844

Garage, Yard & Estate Sales LARGE GARAGE SALE 1st & 3rd Weekend Tables $1 & Up

3260 Tuckaway Dr Sat 6:30AM-10:30AM toddler clothes, baby access. & more!

Big Family Yard Sale: 320 Mims Rd. Sat. 7am. Too much to mention! Something for everyone.

Beach Forest Neighborhood Sale: Sat.7am Starting at back entrance (Beckwood Rd) on Hatteras Way and throughout.

4200 Dubose Siding Rd Sat 7-12 clothes, hshld items. All proceeds donated to Relay for Life Moving Sale, MAY 9th & 10th 7am. 3470 Sheila Circle (Dalzell), Furn, Glassware, Clothing, Decorators & misc 866 Whatley St Multi Family Sale Sat 7-? microwave, printer, comp.key boards , rocker, too much to list.

Support United Ministries/ Samaritan House, Please help us by donating New or Used items from your yard sale or business for our future yard sales. Call Ed: 803-464-7643 for Pick-up.

Renovation Sale Various items, lamps, artwork, pillows & bedding, office furn., upholstered seating, etc. Sat. 8 am - 12. Comfort Suites of Sumter Parking Area, 2500 Broad St. Sumter County Civic Center Indoor Garage Sale 700 W. Liberty St. Sat., May 24, 2014, 8 AM to 1 PM Free Admission For booth space, Call 436-2271 After 9:00am Huge Yard Sale 1131 Antlers Ct Fri 12-6 & Sat 7-4 Furn., tools, clothes & more 490 Bendale Rd. Sat. 7 am - 12. Housewares, clothing, different misc. items.

3305 Matthews Dr. (Ashbrook Subd.) off McCray's Mill Rd. Sat May 10th 8 -1pm. Everything goes!!! Lots of baby and toddler clothes, toys furn. tools, etc.

FLEA MARKET BY SHAW AFB

Open every weekend.

905-4242

For Sale or Trade Auction May 17, 2014 9AM 822 S Guingard DR Heat & A/C Business Closed.

Lots of Heat/AC parts. Antiques, Coke Collectibles, Antique Sumter telephone, Go to auctionzip.com for details and photos.

1930's China Cabinet $195, Metal Porch Glider w/cushion $95, Round Walnut Coffee table $125, Shield Back Arm Chair $25, Wicker Rocker $20, Round Piano Stool $95, Big trunk w/tray $100, Estate remains much more. Call 803-481-2995 I buy used Utility and Car trailers.

Call 803-972-0900 Martin's Used Appliance Washers, Dryers, Refrig., Stoves.

Guarantee 464-5439 or 469-7311

Colonial Dark Pine DR set, 64' round table, with lazy susan in center, 8 Captain chairs w/cushions, hutch, also comes with 4ft wagon wheel lamp to match.

Asking $1,250. Call 803-469-6870

3540 Green View Pkwy, (Lakewood Subd), Sat. May. 10th, 7am.

Clothes & a little of everything.

Taylor's Lawn Care Dependable and Affordable Call 803-651-0125

JT's Lawn Care: All your lawn needs, Tree cutting & pressure washing, Senior disc. 840-0322

THE ITEM

760 Pitts Rd. Sat, 7-12. Appliances, electronics, furniture, misc household items.

CLASSIFIED DEADLINES

11:30 a.m. the day before for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday edition.

9:30 a.m. Friday for Saturday’s edition 11:30 a.m. Friday for Sunday’s edition.

We will be happy to change your ad if an error is made; however we are not responsible for errors after the first run day. We shall not be liable for any loss or expense that results from the printing or omission of an advertisement.

We reserve the right to edit, refuse or cancel any ad at any time.

Medical Help Wanted

Unfurnished Homes

RN's And LPN'S needed for 2nd & 3rd shifts. Long term care experience preferred but will train.

Apply in person at 1761 Pinewood Rd Sumter SC 29154 Or Email Resume to roberta.smith@adcarehealth.com Paid vacations & Holidays. Only Serious inquirers need to apply.

Close to Shaw. Dalzell 3br 2ba brick, fenced yd, screen porch, all appl. C/H/A No Pets. $800 /mo+dep 803-316-8105.

REAL ESTATE

For an Extraordinary Learning experience with integrity. Pathway Medical Training Services, 1150 Broad St. Suite 9, Sumter, 803-316-2656.

Need a Good Spring Cleaning?

7 years exp. Very Reliable & Great Ref. Call Brenda 803-468-2225

RENTALS

Homes for Sale

Shannon Dr. behind Jehovah Church & Layfette. 3 Br, 1 Ba, completely remodeled, like new!

Fenced yard, den, dining room, C/H/A. $600 sec. dep + $600 mo.

Section 8 welcome! Call Mon - Fri between 9 am - 6 pm 803-316-7958 or 803-773-1838.

Mobile Home Rentals 1Br/1Ba on private lot in Wedgefield. $375/mo + dep. Application Req. Call 494-2954 lv msg.

FT Unit Manager Position Mon - Fri, 8am to 5pm, Occasional Nights, Weekends, or Holidays may be required.

Participate in On Call Rotation.

Responsible for day to day operations of a 44 bed Skilled Unit. RN preferred but not required. Will consider an LPN with Long term Care, Supervisor or Charge Nurse Experience.

Medicare Experience preferred.

Apply in person to : Covenant Place 2825 Carter Road Sumter, SC 29150 EOE Full Time Night Shift Supervisor RN preferred but LPN with Long Term Care and/or Charge Nurse experience will be considered.

Occasional Weekends and Holidays may be required. Will be responsible for supervising Licensed Nurses and CNAs in a 44 bed skilled unit along with making rounds in the Assisted Living Department.

Apply in person to: Covenant Place 2825 Carter Road Sumter, SC 29150 EOE

Furnished Apartments

(2) 4BR/2BA (Dalzell, 15S). Easy Financing. 983-8084

1bedroom Apt, liv. rm, kit, bath, fully furnished. $475 per month, incl. TV, garbage, water and sewer. Quiet Country Setting. No Smoking, drinking or drugs!

803-481-0015 Excellent for elderly person.

Unfurnished Apartments Senior Living Apartments for those 62+ (Rent based on income) Shiloh-Randolph Manor 125 W. Bartlette.

775-0575 Studio/1 Bedroom apartments available EHO SOUTH FORGE APTS. 1 & 2BR, Water, stove & frig furnished. Linda at 803-494-8443

Unfurnished Homes

2BR 1BA 14x52 MH near town, all appliances, C/H/A Sec 8 Accepted 469-6978 Oaklawn MHP: 2 BR M.H.'s, water/sewer/garbage pk-up incl'd.

RV parking avail. Call 494-8350 3br/2ba C/H/A 14x80, Off Ramsey Rd. $425/mo + $300/dep. 5 person max, No inside pets.

803-481-8134.

Newly Renovated SW 2 BR 1.5 BA C/H/A, appliances, pvt. lot, 803-206-7859.

Beautiful 6BR/4BA home. 10 mi. from Contential Tire. Den, LR, DR, Lg kitchen w/Island, W/D hook-up.

Featuring hardwood tile and carpet. Over-sized BRs & BAs. Huge fenced yard. Back/front patio. Like new. $1,250/mo + $1,250/dep.

Call 803-316-7958 or 773-1838 between 9am-6pm Mon-Fri.

Help Wanted Part-Time $$$ AVON $$$ FREE TRAINING! 803-422-5555 Deliver Phone Books Work Your Own Hours, Have Insured Vehicle, Must be at Least 18 yrs old, Valid DL. No Experience Necessary.

1-800-518-1333 x 224 www.deliverthephonebook.com

Trucking Opportunities F/T & P/T Class-A CDL Drivers needed to work night shifts hauling live chickens and/or protein in Sumter, SC. Must have 2-yrs verifiable experience and good MVR. Local positions, drivers are home daily, and company offers benefits. Call Danny at 803-236-0682 Long Haul flatbed drivers wanted. CDL Class A. 3 years experience and 25 yrs old required with a clean 10 year MVR. Well maintained equipment. Excellent commission based pay.

Steady freight. Call 843-906-7833

Looking for your DREAM HOME? LOW CREDIT SCORE? Been turned down for bad credit?

Come try us, we do our own financing. We have 3-4-5 bedroom homes. Layaway program available. For more information, call 843-389-4215.

Very Nice 4BR DW on 5 ac.

Owner fin. w/large down payment or boat trade. Call 803-236-5953

Farms & Acreage For Sale By Owner, 10 Acres, 8 miles to Sumter. $55,000. Owner Financing 803-427-3888.

Land & Lots for Sale

Experienced Collision Repair Techs and Painters wanted.

Apply in person at Pro Glo Collision Center, Jefferson Road Sumter.

Full time salvage yard employee.

Should have dependable transportation, able to lift 50 lbs or more, strength test will be required. Drug screen, great benefits, DO NOT APPLY IF YOU DO NOT HAVE FARM MACHINERY EXPERIENCE OR MECHANICAL ABILITY. Apply in person at: Baker Abilene Machine, 1303 Sumter Hwy, Bishopville or email www.sc onsentino@bakerabilenemachine .com. NO PHONE CALLS!

Absolute Real Estate Auction 28 Riley Street, Sumter 3 Bedroom, 3 Baths, Formal Living & Dining Rooms, Den, Sunroom, Basement, Deck, 2 car garage.

Preview Dates: May 6, 4-6 PM May 11, 3-5 PM May 13, 4-6 PM ABSOLUTE AUCTION May 15, 6 PM Details at: www.jrdixonauctions.com Rafe Dixon, SCAL 4059 (803) 774-6967

Manufactured Housing

EMPLOYMENT Help Wanted Full-Time

1000 sqft office space for lease. 2 offices, conference room and reception area. 730-C Broad St., $650/mo. Call (803) 494-6204

Church Building in Mayesville located on Willow St. for rent.

Contact 803-453-5187 or 803-775-3975

Schools / Instructional

MOTHERS DAY GIFTS $20 & UP! May 8-10.

Call 774-7823, 12:30-5PM 633 Bultman Dr.

Office Rentals

Commercial Rentals

Physician's Office need Admin staff a& Certified Medical Assistant. Fax resume to 803-774-7004

Work Wanted

C1

Minutes Walmart/Shaw, 1 Ac $6,000. 16.2 ac $32,600. Water, Electric, Paved 800-774-5720

STATEBURG COURTYARD

Ren. 3BR/2BA brick home. All hrdwd, 1,850+ sq ft. $1,050 + dep. Military dis. 803-968-9019 3BR 2BA Pinedale Subdv. $750 Mo + 750 Dep. Call 803-979-0275 or 803-847-2662 3Br home Burgess Ct. $495/mo & 2Br Apt Miller Rd. $395/mo.

774-8512 / 983-5691

5775 Cane Savannah Rd. (Wedgefield). 1+ acre land for sale. Perfect for a new home or future investment. Close to Shaw AFB. 803-983-2261

2 & 3 BRs 803-494-4015

Commercial Industrial

Mobile Home Lot Rentals

Building for sale. Must Sell CHEAP!!! Cash! Call Thomas 803-795-9392

130 Hoyt St. Sumter County close to downtown.

Call 864-349-1400.

TRANSPORTATION

Resort Rentals Autos For Sale Ocean Lakes 2BR/2BA C/H/A Sleeps 8, near ocean, Call 803-773-2438

2005 Mitsubushi Galant, Gold.

Great interior. Runs & drives great. $3,800 OBO. Call 803-406-5571

C2

CLASSIFIEDS

THE ITEM

Autos For Sale

Legal Notice

1999 Ford Escort, exc. condition.

Very clean inside/out. Gas saver. $2,300 firm. Call 803-447-5453

PUBLIC NOTICE T h e S u m t e r C o u n t y Registration/Election will have its first Tabulation Test Run for the June 10, 2014 Primary Election on Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 11:15 A. M. This will take place at the Sumter County Courthouse Room 114.

Summons & Notice SUMMONS Deficiency Judgment Waived IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS DOCKET NO. 14-CP-43-0392 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER

COUNTRY SPRING SALE "Remember Cars are like eggs" Cheaper in the country!

Financing Available 09 Ford Ranger 4D $4,995 07 Ford F150 Supercab $8,995 04 Chevy Z71 4x4 Xt cab $11,995 08 Chevy Trailblazer $10,995 07 Chevy Malibu $6,995 '08 Ford Focus $8,995 '07 Dodge Magnum SXT $8,995 '09 Honda Accord (Lded) $13,995 '010 Dodge Charger SXT $13,995 '013 Dodge Charger SE $20,500 3349 N. Main St., Hwy 15N. Across from Mozingo Conv. Store 803-469-9294

A Guaranteed Credit Approval AUTO LOANS We will arrange financing even if you have been turned down before.

Loans available for no credit, bad credit, 1st Time Buyers & Bankruptcy buyers. No co-signers needed. Call Mr. Ashley Brown at 803-926-3235

Wells Fargo Bank, NA, Plaintiff, v.

Jimmy Huggins; Laura J. Morris k/n/a Laura J. Huggins; Defendant(s). (013263-05026) TO THE DEFENDANT(S), Jimmy Huggins: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to appear and defend by answering the Complaint in this foreclosure action on property located at 2460 Autumn Terrace, Dalzell, SC 29040-8639, being designated in the County tax records as TMS# 134-00-02-053, of which a copy is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your Answer on the subscribers at their offices, 220 Executive Center Drive, Ste 109, Post Office Box 100200, Columbia, South Carolina, 29202-3200, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service; except that the United States of America, if named, shall have sixty (60) days to answer after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service; and if you fail to do so, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

TO MINOR(S) OVER FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND/OR MINOR(S) UNDER FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND THE PERSON WITH WHOM THE MINOR(S) RESIDES AND/OR TO PERSONS UNDER SOME LEGAL DISABILITY: YOU ARE FURTHER SUMMONED AND NOTIFIED to apply for the appointment of a Guardian Ad Litem to represent said minor(s) within thirty (30) days after the service of this Summons upon you. If you fail to do so, application for such appointment will be made by the Plaintiff(s) herein. Columbia, South Carolina April 11, 2014 NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANTS ABOVE NAMED: YOU WILL PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Summons and Complaint, of which the foregoing is a copy of the Summons, were filed with the Clerk of Court for Sumter County, South Carolina on February 27, 2014.

Columbia, South Carolina April 11, 2014

SUMMER SALE 200 cars $4,500 or less $$$ CASH $$$ Price is Right Auto Sales 3210 Broad St 803-494-4275

LEGAL NOTICES Legal Notice Public Storage/ PS Orangeco, Inc. LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY Notice is hereby given that the undersigned will sell to satisfy the lien of owner at public sale by competitive bidding on May 27th, 2014 personal and/or business property including but not limited to furniture, clothing, tools and other household/business items located at the properties listed.

The sale will begin at 1:00 pm at 1277 Camden Hwy, Sumter, SC 29153.

The personal goods stored therein by below named occupant(s); 1143 N.Guignard Dr, Sumter, SC 29150 202 - Clark, Angela 237 - Lowery, Tamieka 317 - Patrick, James 458 - Richardson, Joyce 463 - Swinton, Dale 471 - Shaw, Billy 507 - Brunson, Donna 603 - Richardson, Melissa 704 - Choice, Ernest 705 - Richardson, Melissa 736 - Maola, Crystal 1277 Camden Hwy, Sumter, SC 29153 B007 - Torres, Gloria B030 - Gilman, Kathleen E042 - Shaw, Andranete J009 - Carter, Shakeeda 3785 Broad St, Sumter, SC 29154 0147 - Dicks, Frankie 0517 - Estes, Anders 0520 - Wesbury, Marybeth 0551 - Wade, Toy 0737 - Ogle, Joshua 0815 - Faulk, Kaldejia 0835 - Stuckey, Sheila B Purchase must be made with cash only and paid for at the time of sale.

All goods are sold as is and must be removed at the time of the sale. Sale is subject to adjournment.

PUBLIC NOTICE The Annual Meeting of the Meeting Dalzell Rural Water Company will be held on Monday, May 12, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at the American Legion Community Center in Dalzell, South Carolina. The purpose of this meeting is to review the annual reports of the Dalzell Water District Board and the City of Sumter.

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE INTERVENTION PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT pursuant to the South Carolina Supreme Court Administrative Order 2011-05-02-01, you may have a right to Foreclosure Intervention. To be considered for any available Foreclosure Intervention, you may communicate with and otherwise deal with the Plaintiff through its law firm, Rogers Townsend and Thomas, PC. Rogers Townsend and Thomas, PC represents the Plaintiff in this action. Our law firm does not represent you. Under our ethical rules, we are prohibited from giving you any legal advice. You must submit any requests for Foreclosure Intervention consideration within 30 days from the date you are served with this Notice.

IF YOU FAIL, REFUSE, OR VOLUNTARILY ELECT NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN FORECLOSURE INTERVENTION, THE FORECLOSURE ACTION MAY PROCEED. Rogers Townsend and Thomas PC ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF Cheryl H. Fisher (SC Bar #15213) Robert P. Davis (SC Bar #74030) Vance L. Brabham, III (SC Bar #71250) Andrew W. Montgomery (SC Bar #79893) Andrew A. Powell (SC Bar #100210) J. Pamela Price (SC Bar # 014336) Laura R. Baer (SC Bar # 101076) Mary R. Powers (SC Bar # 16534) H. Guyton Murrell (SC Bar # 064134) John J. Hearn (SC Bar # 6635) Kevin T. Brown (SC Bar # 064236) 220 Executive Center Drive Post Office Box 100200 (29202) Columbia, SC 29210 (803) 744-4444

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS DOCKET NO. 13-CP-43-2154 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER Wells Fargo Bank, NA, Plaintiff, v.

Shawanda Evans; Cindy Akers; Derek Cain; Tyrone Cain; Any Heirs-at-Law or Devisees of Mary W. Cain a/k/a Mary Witherspoon Cain a/k/a Mary L. Cain, Deceased, their heirs, Personal Representatives, Administrators, Successors and Assigns, and all other persons entitled to claim through them; all unknown persons with any right, title or interest in the real estate described herein; also any persons who may be in the military service of the United States of America, being a class designated as John Doe; and any unknown minors or persons under a disability being a class designated as Richard Roe; Branch Banking and Trust Company; The South Carolina Department of Revenue; Republic Finance; Safe Federal Credit Union; Sumter Land and Realty, Inc.; Defendant(s).

(013263-04337)

SUMMONS Deficiency Judgment Waived TO THE DEFENDANT(S):

Summons & Notice Cindy Akers, Derek Cain, Tyrone Cain and any unknown Heirs-at-Law or Devisees of Mary W. Cain a/k/a Mary Witherspoon Cain a/k/a Mary L. Cain, Deceased, their heirs, Personal Representatives, Administrators, Successors and Assigns, and all other persons entitled to claim through them; all unknown persons with any right, title or interest in the real estate described herein; also any persons who may be in the military service of the United States of America, being a class designated as John Doe; and any unknown minors or persons under a disability being a class designated as Richard Roe YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to appear and defend by answering the Complaint in this foreclosure action on property located at 122 Phifer Street, Sumter, South Carolina 29150-3026, being designated in the County tax records as TMS# 248-09-03-060, of which a copy is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your Answer on the subscribers at their offices, 220 Executive Center Drive, Suite 109, Post Office Box 100200, Columbia, South Carolina, 29202-3200, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service; except that the United States of America, if named, shall have sixty (60) days to answer after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service; and if you fail to do so, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

TO MINOR(S) OVER FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND/OR MINOR(S) UNDER FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND THE PERSON WITH WHOM THE MINOR(S) RESIDES AND/OR TO PERSONS UNDER SOME LEGAL DISABILITY: YOU ARE FURTHER SUMMONED AND NOTIFIED to apply for the appointment of a Guardian Ad Litem within thirty (30) days after the service of this Summons upon you. If you fail to do so, Plaintiff will apply to have the appointment of the Guardian ad Litem Nisi, Anne Bell Fant, made absolute. Columbia, South Carolina February 28, 2014

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS DOCKET NO. 13-CP-43-2154 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER Wells Fargo Bank, NA, Plaintiff, v.

Shawanda Evans; Cindy C. Akers; Derek Cain; Tyrone Cain; Any Heirs-at-Law or Devisees of Mary W. Cain a/k/a Mary Witherspoon Cain a/k/a Mary L. Cain, Deceased, their heirs, Personal Representatives, Administrators, Successors and Assigns, and all other persons entitled to claim through them; all unknown persons with any right, title or interest in the real estate described herein; also any persons who may be in the military service of the United States of America, being a class designated as John Doe; and any unknown minors or persons under a disability being a class designated as Richard Roe; Branch Banking and Trust Company; The South Carolina Department of Revenue; Republic Finance; Safe Federal Credit Union; Sumter Land and Realty, Inc.; Defendant(s).

(013263-04337)

LIS PENDENS Deficiency Judgment Waived NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT an action has been or will be commenced in this Court upon complaint of the above-named Plaintiff against the above-named Defendant(s) for the foreclosure of a certain mortgage of real estate given

by Sylvester Cain and Mary L. Cain to Synovus Mortgage Corp. dated November 29, 2000, and recorded in the Office of the RMC/ROD for Sumter County on November 30, 2000, in Mortgage Book 788 at Page 1094.

This Mortgage was subsequently assigned to Homeside Lending, Inc. by assignment dated March 5, 2001 and recorded August 3, 2001 in Book 812 at Page 135; subsequently assigned to the Plaintiff herein by assignment dated January 12, 2007 and recorded January 26, 2007 in Book 1062 at Page 974. The premises covered and affected by the said mortgage and by the foreclosure thereof were, at the time of the making thereof and at the time of the filing of this notice, described as follows: ALL that certain piece, parcel, or lot of land, together with the dwelling and improvements thereon, lying and being situate in the City and County of Sumter, State of South Carolina, being shown and delineated as Lot No. 20 on that plat of Wilson Park Subdivision, prepared by Palmer and Malone dated October 31, 1954 and recorded in Plat Book Z-12 at Page 82 in the records of the Register of Deeds Office for Sumter county, and more recently on that plat prepared by Joseph R. Edwards, PLS, dated November 29, 2000 and recorded in Plat Book 2000 at Page 801, aforesaid records. Said Lot No. 20 consists of 0.25 acres, more or less, being bounded and measuring as follows: On the NORTHEAST by Phifer Street, a fifty foot (50') right-of-way, and fronting thereon 74.90 feet; on the SOUTHEAST by Lot No. 19, and measuring thereon 168.71 feet; on the SOUTHWEST by Lot No. 24, and measuring thereon 54.55 feet; and on the NORTHWEST by Lot No. 22 and Lot No. 21, and measuring thereon an aggregate distance of 168.16 feet.

Be all said measurements a little more or a little less and according to said most recent plat. This is the property known as 122 Phifer Street, Sumter, SC. This being the identical property conveyed to Sylvester Cain and Mary L. Cain, as tenants in common with an indestructible right of survivorship, by deed of Anna B. Nesbitt f/k/a Anna B. Moseley, dated November 29, 2000 and recorded November 30, 2000 in Deed Book 788 at Page 1089; subsequently, Sylvester Cain died on August 24, 2005, as detailed in Probate Case 2005-ES-43-410, vesting title in the subject property in the surviving tenant, Mary L. Cain; subsequently, Mary L. Cain died intestate on April 14, 2011, leaving the subject property to her heirs or devisees, namely, Shawanda Evans, Cindy C. Akers, Derek Cain, and Tyrone Cain, as is more fully preserved in the Probate records for Sumter County, in Case

FRIDAY, MAY 09, 2014

Summons & Notice No. 2011ES4300221.

Property Address: 122 Phifer St Sumter, SC 29150-3026 TMS# 248-09-03-060 Columbia, South Carolina December 5, 2013 NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANTS: Cindy Akers, Derek Cain, Tyrone Cain and any unknown Heirs-at-Law or Devisees of Mary W. Cain a/k/a Mary Witherspoon Cain a/k/a Mary L. Cain, Deceased, their heirs, Personal Representatives, Administrators, Successors and Assigns, and all other persons entitled to claim through them; all unknown persons with any right, title or interest in the real estate described herein; also any persons who may be in the military service of the United States of America, being a class designated as John Doe; and any unknown minors or persons under a disability being a class designated as Richard Roe YOU WILL PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Summons and Complaint, of which the foregoing is a copy of the Summons, were filed with the Clerk of Court for Sumter County, South Carolina on December 7, 2013.

Columbia, South Carolina February 28, 2014

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE INTERVENTION PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT pursuant to the South Carolina Supreme Court Administrative Order 2011-05-02-01, you may have a right to Foreclosure Intervention. To be considered for any available Foreclosure Intervention, you may communicate with and otherwise deal with the Plaintiff through its law firm, Rogers Townsend and Thomas, PC. Rogers Townsend and Thomas, PC represents the Plaintiff in this action. Our law firm does not represent you. Under our ethical rules, we are prohibited from giving you any legal advice. You must submit any requests for Foreclosure Intervention consideration within 30 days from the date you are served with this Notice.

IF YOU FAIL, REFUSE, OR VOLUNTARILY ELECT NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN FORECLOSURE INTERVENTION, THE FORECLOSURE ACTION MAY PROCEED. Columbia, South Carolina February 28, 2014

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS DOCKET NO. 13-CP-43-2154 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER Wells Fargo Bank, NA, Plaintiff, v.

Shawanda Evans; Cindy Akers; Derek Cain; Tyrone Cain; Any Heirs-at-Law or Devisees of Mary W. Cain a/k/a Mary Witherspoon Cain a/k/a Mary L. Cain, Deceased, their heirs, Personal Representatives, Administrators, Successors and Assigns, and all other persons entitled to claim through them; all unknown persons with any right, title or interest in the real estate described herein; also any persons who may be in the military service of the United States of America, being a class designated as John Doe; and any unknown minors or persons under a disability being a class designated as Richard Roe; Branch Banking and Trust Company; The South Carolina Department of Revenue; Republic Finance; Safe Federal Credit Union; Sumter Land and Realty, Inc.; Defendant(s).

(013263-04337) ORDER APPOINTING GUARDIAN AD LITEM NISI Deficiency Judgment Waived It appearing to the satisfaction of the Court, upon reading the Motion for the appointment of Anne Bell Fant as Guardian Ad Litem Nisi for any unknown minors and persons who may be under a disability, it is ORDERED that, pursuant to Rule 17, SCRCP, Anne Bell Fant, be and hereby is appointed Guardian Ad Litem Nisi on behalf of all unknown minors and all unknown persons under a disability, all of whom may have or may claim to have some interest in or claim to the real property commonly known as 122 Phifer Street, Sumter, South Carolina 29150-3026; that Anne Bell Fant is empowered and directed to appear on behalf of and represent said Defendant(s), unless the said Defendant(s), or someone on their behalf, shall within thirty (30) days after service of a copy hereof as directed, procure the appointment of a Guardian or Guardians Ad Litem for the said Defendant(s), and it is FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall forthwith be served upon the said Defendant(s) Cindy Akers, Derek Cain, Tyrone Cain and any unknown Heirs-at-Law or Devisees of Mary W. Cain a/k/a Mary Witherspoon Cain a/k/a Mary L. Cain, Deceased, their heirs, Personal Representatives, Administrators, Successors and Assigns, and all other persons entitled to claim through them; all unknown persons with any right, title or interest in the real estate described herein; also any persons who may be in the military service of the United States of America, being a class designated as John Doe; and any unknown minors or persons under a disability being a class designated as Richard Roe by publication thereof in the The Item, a newspaper of general circulation in the County of Sumter, State of South Carolina, once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, together with the Summons in the above entitled action.

Rogers Townsend and Thomas, PC ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF Samuel C. Waters (SC Bar #5958) Cheryl H. Fisher (SC Bar #15213) Jennifer W. Rubin (SC Bar #16727) Ellie C. Floyd (SC Bar #68635) Robert P. Davis (SC Bar #74030) William S. Koehler (SC Bar#74935) Vance L. Brabham, III (SC Bar #71250) Andrew W. Montgomery (SC Bar #79893) Andrew A. Powell (SC Bar #100210) J. Pamela Price (SC Bar # 014336) Laura R. Baer (SC Bar # 101076) Mary R. Powers (SC Bar # 16534) H. Guyton Murrell (SC Bar # 064134)

Summons & Notice

Summons & Notice

John J. Hearn (SC Bar # 6635) Kevin T. Brown (SC Bar # 064236) 220 Executive Center Drive Post Office Box 100200 (29202) Columbia, SC 29210 (803) 744-4444 James C. Campbell Clerk of Court for Sumter County Sumter, South Carolina 013263-04337 March 26, 2014 A-4457502 05/09/2014, 05/16/2014, 05/23/2014

SUMMONS AND NOTICE OF FILING OF COMPLAINT IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT C/A #: 2014-CP-43-483 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER GREEN PLANET SERVICING, LLC, Plaintiff, vs.

JEREMY S. SPENCER; DAVID A. BROWN ARLENE B. MITCHELL, AND CARI M. BROWN, AS HEIRS-AT-LAW OF GEORGE A. BROWN, DECEASED AND ANY OTHER HEIRS-AT-LAW OR DISTRIBUTEES OR PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES AND THEIR SPOUSES, IF ANY THEY HAVE, AND ALL OTHER PERSONS WITH ANY RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST IN AND TO THE REAL ESTATE DESCRIBED IN THE COMPLAINT HEREIN; ALSO ANY UNKNOWN ADULTS AND THOSE PERSONS WHO MAY BE IN THE MILITARY SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ALL OF THEM BEING A CLASS DESIGNATED AS JOHN DOE; AND ANY UNKNOWN MINORS OR PERSONS UNDER A DISABILITY BEING A CLASS DESIGNATED AS RICHARD ROE; HATFIELD'S HEATING & AIR CONDT.; FRED HATFIELD; CITIFINANCIAL, INC.; and BEST LUMBER & MILLWORK, Defendants.

TO THE DEFENDANT JEREMY S. SPENCER: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Amended Complaint in this action, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your answer to the said Complaint upon the subscribers, at their office, 1703 Laurel Street (29201), Post Office Box 11682, Columbia, South Carolina 29211, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service; and if you fail to answer the Amended Complaint in the time aforesaid, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Amended Complaint.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the original Complaint in the above entitled action was filed in the office of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County on March 10, 2014 and the Amended Complaint was filed on March 25, 2014.

SUMMONS AND NOTICE OF FILING COMPLAINT TO THE NAMED:

DEFENDANTS

ABOVE

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Complaint in this action, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your answer to the said Complaint upon the subscribers, at their office, 1703 Laurel Street, Post Office Box 11682, Columbia, South Carolina 29211, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service; and if you fail to answer the Complaint in the time aforesaid, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the original Complaint in the above entitled action was filed in the office of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County on March 10, 2014.

NOTICE OF ORDER APPOINTING GUARDIAN AD LITEM NISI AND ATTORNEY TO: THE DEFENDANTS HEREIN, NAMES AND ADDRESSES UNKNOWN, INCLUDING ANY THEREOF WHO MAY BE MINORS, IMPRISONED PERSONS, INCOMPETENT PERSONS, UNDER OTHER LEGAL DISABILITY OR IN THE MILITARY SERVICE, IF ANY, WHETHER RESIDENTS OR NON-RESIDENTS OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND TO THE NATURAL, GENERAL, TESTAMENTARY GUARDIAN OR COMMITTEE, OR OTHERWISE, AND TO THE PERSON WITH WHOM THEY MAY RESIDE, IF ANY THERE BE: PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a Motion for an order appointing Kelley Y. Woody, Esquire, as Guardian ad Litem Nisi, for all persons whomsoever herein collectively designated as Richard Roe or John Doe, defendants herein, names and addresses unknown, including any thereof who may be minors, imprisoned persons, incompetent persons, or under other legal disability, and as Attorney for said parties who may be in the military service, whether residents or non-residents of South Carolina, was filed in the Office of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County.

YOU WILL FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that unless the said minors or persons under other legal disability, if any, or someone in their behalf or in behalf of any of them, shall within thirty (30) days after service of notice of this order upon them by publication, exclusive of the day of such service, procure to be appointed for them, or either of them, a Guardian ad Litem to represent them for the purposes of this action, the appointment of said Guardian ad Litem Nisi and Attorney shall be made absolute.

AMENDED LIS PENDENS TO THE NAMED:

DEFENDANTS

ABOVE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an action will be commenced in this Court upon the Complaint of the above-named Plaintiff against the above-named Defendants for the

foreclosure of that certain Mortgage of Real Estate given by the Defendant Jeremy S. Spencer to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee for Amerigroup Mortgage Corporation a division of Mortgage Investors Corporation, its successors and assigns, dated December 28, 2010, and recorded on January 5, 2011, in the office of the Register of Deeds for Sumter County, South Carolina in Book 1149 at Page 824 (the "Mortgage").

By Mortgage Assignment (the "Assignment"), Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee for Amerigroup Mortgage Corporation a division of Mortgage Investors Corporation assigned the Mortgage to the Plaintiff, and the Assignment was recorded February 20, 2014, in Book 1199 at Page 849 in the office of the Register of Deeds for Sumter County, South Carolina.

At the time of the filing of this notice, the premises affected by the said action were situated in the County of Sumter, State of South Carolina, and are described as follows: All those certain pieces, parcels or lots of land with the improvements thereon, if any, situate, lying and being in the City and County of Sumter, State of South Carolina which are shown and designated as Lots 23 and 25 in Block B on a plat made by Joseph Palmer, CE, dated July 9, 1941 and recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds for Sumter County in Plat Book S-5, Page 109. The said lots have such metes, boundaries, courses and distances as are shown on said plat, which are incorporated herein in accordance with the provisions of Section 30-5-250 of the Code of Law of South Carolina, 1976. This being the same property known as 39 Lemmon St., Sumter, SC 29150.

Being the same property conveyed to Jeremy S. Spencer by deed of David A. Brown and Arlene B. Mitchell dated July 22, 2009 and recorded on July 31, 2009 in the office of the Register of Deeds for Sumter County in Book 1127 at Page 950.

TMS#:

248-09-04-008

For a complete description of the property encumbered by the Mortgage, the undersigned craves reference to the Mortgage, the terms of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Edward L. Grimsley Benjamin E. Grimsley Attorneys for the Plaintiff

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Civil Action No. 2014-CP-43-00257 NOTICE OF FILING OF COMPLAINT STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER Synovus Bank, N.A., formerly known as Columbus Bank and Trust, as successor in interest through name change and by merger with The National Bank of South Carolina, Plaintiff, vs.

Fluid Power of the Carolinas, Inc., MLR Fluid Power, Inc., Manchester Fluid Power, LLC, Michael W. Baker, Steven A. Varholy, SCBT, successor in interest by merger with First Federal Bank, Pinewood Development Authority and Branch Banking and Trust Company of South Carolina, Defendants.

TO: DEFENDANTS STEVEN A. VARHOLY, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS REGISTERED AGENT FOR FLUID POWER OF THE CAROLINAS, INC. AND MLR FLUID POWER, INC.: TAKE NOTICE that the Complaint in this action was filed in the Office of the Clerk of Sumter County on the 10th day of February, 2014 and an Amended Complaint filed on March 5, 2014.

AMENDED SUMMONS Foreclosure/Collection on Guarantees/Appointment of Receiver

Judgment Demanded Pursuant to S.C.Code Section 29-3-650 (Non-Jury) TO: THE DEFENDANTS STEVEN A. VARHOLY, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS REGISTERED AGENT FOR FLUID POWER OF THE CAROLINAS, INC. AND MLR FLUID POWER, INC.: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Amended Complaint in this action, a copy of which is hereby served upon you, and to serve a copy of your Answer to the said Amended Complaint upon the subscribers at 1320 Main Street, Post Office Box 11070, Columbia, South Carolina 29211, within thirty (30) days after service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service, and if you fail to answer the Amended Complaint within the time aforesaid, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Amended Complaint.

YOU WILL ALSO TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Rule 53(b), of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended effective September 1, 2002, the Plaintiff will move for a general Order of Reference to the Master In Equity for Sumter County, which Order shall, pursuant to Rule 53(b) of the SCRCP, specifically provide that the said Master In Equity is authorized and empowered to enter a final judgment in this action.

NELSON MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOROUGH LLP Jody A. Bedenbaugh SC Bar No. 71176 E-Mail: jody.bedenbaugh@nelsonmullins.com 1320 Main Street / 17th Floor Post Office Box 11070 (29211-1070) Columbia, SC 29201 (803) 799-2000

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Season finales air for ‘Blue Bloods,’ ‘Hawaii Five-O’

BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH The Reagans might just go on a rampage on the season finale of “Blue Bloods” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14). After being placed on leave for investigating a case outside of his jurisdiction, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) suspects that maybe he’s being silenced. Naturally, he passes the information along to his dad (Tom Selleck), who is startled at the size and scope of the apparent scandal. “Blue Bloods” was renewed some time ago and will return for a fifth season.

• “Hawaii Five-0” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) also concludes its fourth season with Grover’s daughter kidnapped by an old enemy who forces him to steal a $100 million ransom.

• “Vice” (11 p.m., HBO, TV-14), the unconventional investigative reporting series, visits Papua New Guinea. Long considered one of the more remote places on Earth, where life for some had barely advanced beyond the Stone Age, New Guinea may be the location of a 21st-century energy boom.

Exxon Mobil is developing a $19 billion liquefied natural gas facility there. Some think this could drag the country into modernity. Others fear environmental disaster and social unrest.

Vikram Gandhi, the “Vice” correspondent on this story, may be familiar to some. His 2011 documentary “Kumare” followed his impersonation of an Indian guru. “Kumare” begins as an expose of the gullibility of Westerners toward the mystic East, but Gandhi becomes genuinely moved by his followers, giving the false prophet a religious experience he never anticipated. “Kumare” can be streamed on Netflix.

• An inventor presents a kayak that can be folded up like origami on “Shark Tank” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG), also featuring entrepreneurial ideas about wine and treasure hunting.

TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS • Carrie examines her photographic memories when a high school classmate is murdered on “Unforgettable” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

• Jack and Chloe return, a little worse for wear, on a repeat two-hour helping of “24:

Fillion, Tom Dreesen and Hunter Hayes appear on “Late Show With David Letterman” (11:35 p.m., CBS) * Jimmy Fallon welcomes James McAvoy, Amy Schumer and Tune-Yards on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) * Jennifer Lopez and Elisabeth Moss visit “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (11:35 p.m., ABC, r) * Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Ronan Farrow and Gary Gulman visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC, r) * Craig Ferguson hosts Eugenio Derbez, Elizabeth Henstridge and A Great Big World on “The Late Late Show” (12:35 a.m., CBS).

CULT CHOICE CBS BROADCASTING INC.

After being placed on modified duty for working on an off-limits case, Danny realizes he has stumbled upon something big. When he alerts his father, Frank does some digging and is shocked by what he discovers on the season finale of “Blue Bloods” airing at 10 p.m. today on CBS. Live Another Day” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).

• The American Heroes Channel looks at the last days of the Third Reich on “Secrets of World War II” (9 p.m. and 10 p.m., TV-PG).

• Two murder victims have much in common on “Grimm” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

• Canadian Christmas tree salesmen (Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti) descend on Manhattan in search of business in the 2013 comedy “All Is Bright” (9 p.m., Starz).

• The writing/production team behind “Sons of Anarchy” appears on “The Writer’s Room” (9 p.m., Sundance, TVPG).

• Alana is locked and loaded on “Hannibal” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

• Carlos tries to keep his feelings in check on “Continuum” (10 p.m., Syfy, TV-PG).

• Les tries to prove the existence of a Canadian Sasquatch on “Survivorman: Bigfoot” (10 p.m., Science, TV-PG).

SERIES NOTES Balloons and gourmet grilled cheese on “Shark Tank” (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) * Zoe has advice for Wade’s lovelorn dad on “Hart of Dixie” (9 p.m., CW, TV-PG).

LATE NIGHT Tyler Glenn, Ben Gleib,

Arden Myrin and Tone Bell are on “Chelsea Lately” (11 p.m., E!, r) * IamSu! and Sage the

Gemini are booked on “The Arsenio Hall Show” (syndicated, check local listings) * Nathan

Residents of a small Australian town profit from purposefully caused car wrecks in the 1974 horror-comedy “The Cars That Ate Paris” (midnight, TCM), director Peter Weir’s debut feature.

Copyright 2014, United Feature Syndicate

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COMICS

FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014

BIZARRO

SOUP TO NUTZ

ANDY CAPP

GARFIELD

BEETLE BAILEY

BORN LOSER

BLONDIE

ZITS

MOTHER GOOSE

DOG EAT DOUG

DILBERT

JEFF MACNELLY’S SHOE

Husband’s absence gives wife taste of freedom DEAR ABBY — I’m a 27-yearold woman trapped in a loveless marriage. My husband is a few years younger, and Dear Abby very co-dependent. I ABIGAIL came into the VAN BUREN relationship with a child and some trust/fear issues because my ex had abused me.

My husband has now become verbally, sexually and to a lesser degree, physically abusive, to the point of striking my 5-year-old son. I threw him out for that, but caved to pressure from my family to take him back. They think he’s a “stabilizing” influence in my life. They don’t know about, or

THE SUMTER ITEM

can’t grasp, his abuse or the abuse I survived previously. If I hint at it, they accuse me of “lying for attention.”

My husband has left for basic training with the army and will be gone for a few months. I already feel freer, lighter and more able to cope with things. If I leave him while he’s away, the social and family repercussions will be devastating. My son and I may be forced to relocate.

I’m torn and afraid. I went through with the marriage only to please my family, as the abuse started before the wedding. It has been a year and a half, and all I can think about is getting out. Help me.

Canadian Reader DEAR READER — Of course I will help. Deciding to leave an abusive partner can be wrenching

as well as frightening. However, because abuse tends to escalate, it is what you MUST do.

Your and your child’s safety could depend on it. It is shameful that your family isn’t supportive, but don’t let that stop you. Relocate if you must.

You need to form an escape plan. The way to do that is to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.

Counselors there can refer you to help in your area -- they have done this for other Canadian women. They also offer education and empowerment programs so that victims will be less likely to be sweet-talked by their abusers into returning for more punishment.

Don’t wait to reach out because your son’s physical and emotional health depend on it.

If not for yourself, do it for him.

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.

THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS 1 Kate, to Petruchio 5 Works on walls 8 Apportioned, with “out” 13 Prayer leader 14 Sandwich staple 15 Bring forth 17 TV fare in Quebec?

20 Contributes 21 Spacewalk initials 22 See 2-Down 23 Marseilles : -euse :: Madrid : __ 24 “PensŽes” author 26 “... if I tell thee __, spit in my face”: Falstaff 27 Move a bit 29 Very long time 30 Teammate of Hubbell 31 Communication device in Nova Scotia?

37 Friend of Huck 38 One working at home 39 Tool storage convenience in Manitoba?

47 Psychotic Chihuahua 48 Theban queen of myth 49 Boss’s command

50 Works on walls 52 Reprimand often given while pointing down 55 Thin-rail bridge 56 “Get a __!”

57 Sea urchin roe, in sushi bars 58 Without restraint 60 Throat ailment in Alberta?

63 Additionally 64 DDE, e.g.

65 Speedy shark 66 Get to the bottom of 67 Weaken 68 Powerful team DOWN 1 Like some chickens 2 With 22-Across, “See ya!”

3 Split and flattened, as shrimp 4 Personnel providing CPR 5 Olympic venue 6 Thick-pile rug 7 Vonage, for one 8 Osmium or rhodium 9 English cathedral city 10 Actress Campbell of TV’s “Martin” 11 Rank

12 Igneous rock on which the Code of Hammurabi is inscribed 16 Brief statement, by necessity 18 Grave statement, briefly?

19 The Donald’s first ex 25 Questionnaire datum 28 Rembrandt van __ 32 Fiver 33 “Who, me?”

34 Furry youngster 35 Gp. for GPs 36 Apple product 39 Eccentric types 40 Undetermined

41 Liszt’s instrument 42 Some games have multiple ones 43 Neptune, e.g.

44 Toll, basically 45 Take a dim view of 46 Doesn’t quit 47 Synonym eponym 51 Wire holder 52 Monument Valley sight 53 Short 54 Original boss of Sara and Nick on “CSI” 59 Long ride?

61 Four-day weekend time, for many: Abbr.

62 Neptune’s realm

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