What’s the role of local school resource officers? Chief, sheriff, superintendent address your questions TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2015
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SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894 2 SECTIONS, 18 PAGES | VOL. 121, NO. 23
NATION
BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis, Sumter Police Chief Russell F. Roark III and Sumter School District Superintendent Frank Baker took questions from residents Sunday at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church about the role of school resource officers. The meeting, hosted by One
Sumter Community Group, came about as a result of an incident at a high school in Richland County School District 2 involving a school resource officer and a student. Ben Fields, a former SRO with Richland County Sheriff’s Office, picked a student up with her desk and threw her across the room after the student refused to get up from her desk and leave the classroom. The student had verbally
challenged the officer’s actions during an attempted arrest, according to media reports. The three Sumter officials present at Sunday’s meeting did not specifically address the incident at Spring Valley High School, but they answered questions on what would be done if a similar situation were to occur in Sumter
SEE SRO, PAGE A7
Sumter residents march for babies You can try out a tiny house Company will let you take it for a test run if you are thinking about downsizing A5 NATION
New way of treatment could change culture of health care system A4 DEATHS, B5 Orilee McLeod Mary-Jane E. Williams Mary K. Parnell Frances Sanders
Lillian Ward Harriett P. Barrineau John C. Benenhaley George L. Maple
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Walkers in the March of Dimes March for Babies make their way along a fairway at Sunset Country Club on Saturday.
About 100 people walk in annual event
WEATHER, A10 A LITTLE WARMER
BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com
Clouds clearing out today and tonight HIGH 70, LOW 47
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umter native Gracie Simon has been raising money for March of
Dimes since 1982. She got involved with the organization after her nephew, Anthony, was born premature at seven months. He weighed 2 pounds, 13 ounces and had to stay in the hospital for about a month. Simon has since raised thousands of dollars for the organization. “I love babies, and I’m happy to continue raising money for the organization every year,” she said. November is Prematurity Aware-
ness Month, and Nov. 17 is World Prematurity Day, observed each year to raise awareness of preterm birth and the concerns of preterm babies and their families worldwide. About 15 million babies are born preterm each year, or about one in 10 babies born worldwide, according to a 2012 report, “Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth.” The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality, according to the organization’s website, http://www.marchofdimes. org/. Sumter’s annual event attracted about 100 people. As of Saturday, Tuomey Healthcare System came out as the largest donor, raising about $11,200. Sumter School District was not far behind with about $9,000 raised. Doreen Hance, a nurse at Tuomey Regional Medical Center’s nursery, got involved with March of Dimes after her grandson, Jack-
Clemson Extension urges farmers to attend forum Ag leaders hope gathering will highlight need for aid BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com Clemson Extension Agronomist David DeWitt said Clemson Extension Service is not planning a Farmers Flood Forum in Sumter County, but farmers from the Sumter area are welcome to attend the Farmers Flood Forum at 7 p.m. Thursday at The Weldon Auditorium, 7 Maple St. in Manning. “It’s open to all farmers,” he said. According to Agent Hannah Mikell, the forum will include county, state and federal agencies such as U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, S.C. Department of Agriculture, Clemson Extension Service, agricultural lenders and agricultural chemical dealers. Farmers are also asked to attend to share their stories and photographs
highlighting the damage to their farms and buildings. Agriculture leaders in the state are hoping a large turnout will help convince elected officials at the state and local level of the need for additional programs to help South Carolina farmers facing heavy losses because of this year’s drought and 1,000-year flood. Clemson Extension has estimated crop losses as high as 100 percent in some areas. Farmers are also being encouraged to contact the local and national legislative delegations directly to push for more aid. S.C. Agriculture Commission Hugh Weathers said damage to crops is expected to far exceed a $300 million estimate released by the department soon after the flooding. “The more I’ve traveled around, (the more) I think those numbers were low,” Weathers said. DeWitt said the most important thing is for farmers to return their Agricultural Damage Assessment forms.
SEE FARMERS, PAGE A7
son, 7, was born with a paralyzed diaphragm. Jackson had to spend several months in a neonatal intensive-care unit, she said. Saturday’s three-mile walk at Sunset Country Club was part of an annual fundraiser that has seen the Sumter area raise about $43,000 so far this year, said Ashley Lamb Smith, executive director for the organization’s Midlands region. “The Sumter community has been able to raise a lot of money in a short period of time,” she said. Smith said money raised is used both locally and nationally. The organization focuses on community, advocacy, research, education and support, Smith said. Donations for this year will be accepted until Dec. 15, Smith said. Donations can be sent to Ashley Lamb Smith, 240 Stoneridge Drive, One Greystone Building, Suite 206, Columbia, SC 29210. Donations can be specified for the Sumter area. Donations can also be made online at http://www.marchofdimes.org/.
From left, Manning High School Air Force JROTC Cadet Capt. Chris Homan, Cadet Lt. Col. DeTremis Dow and retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bowman present the colors at A Vietnam Veterans 50th Anniversary Commemoration and Welcome Home event on Sunday in Manning. KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY / THE SUMTER ITEM
Manning DAR honors vets BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com Retired U.S. Army Sgt. James Patterson, a Vietnam veteran, was only 17 years old when he volunteered to serve his country. At 20, he was a radio operator and demolition expert and one of several hundred thousand soldiers deployed to serve in the war. It has been 49 years since he was deployed to one of the longest wars in American history, but the memory remains. “It’s something that lives with me to this day,” Patterson said. “You never forget.” Patterson was one of about a
dozen veterans from different wars honored at A Vietnam Veterans 50th Anniversary Commemoration and Welcome Home event on Sunday at Central Carolina Technical College’s F.E. Dubose campus in Manning. The event was hosted by the Elizabeth Peyre Richardson Manning Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Coach John Franklin Thames, a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, was the main speaker at the event. He said Vietnam veterans never received the welcome they
SEE VETS, PAGE A7