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Voters pick Yates for Ward 4 seat

BY MATT BRUCE matthew@theitem.com Former city council representative Colleen Yates will return to the Sumter dais after winning a special election Tuesday night.

Yates garnered 232 votes to defeat Alan Cannon, who finished with 145 votes, to become Ward 4’s new city

councilwoman, according to unofficial results.

“Of course I’m glad I won, and I appreciate all the support that I got,” Yates said moments after learning she’d won. “I CANNON look forward to working with the present members of council, and hopefully I will be able to have a voice. One of the big things

I’ve been concerned about is our neighborhoods. I think that we can do a better job, and maybe I can help. I’m just glad it’s over now.”

The race determined YATES who serves out the last two years of rookie councilman Charlie Burns’ first term.

Burns announced in July that he

would be stepping down.

Less than 400 people turned out for the vote on his successor, which came two weeks after the general election earlier this month. More than 1,400 voters cast ballots in the Ward 4 race then, with Yates grabbing 47 percent of the vote in a three-candidate race.

Cannon earned 28 more votes than

SUMTER, LEE DEPUTIES WORK TOGETHER ON ARRESTS

7 men face 49 charges in burglaries

SEE WARD 4, PAGE A10

Auditor says county expects $89.6M in tax bill payments

BY RICK CARPENTER rick@theitem.com

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

A Lee County deputy escorts suspected burglar Mikah Green to a squad car Tuesday afternoon in Sumter. Seven men suspected in a rash of recent burglaries in Sumter and Lee counties were arrested after deputies from both counties worked together to investigate.

Suspects linked to at least 11 recent Sumter, Lee crimes

BY MATT BRUCE matthew@theitem.com Sheriffs from Lee and Sumter counties stood side by side Tuesday afternoon as they announced their agencies worked together this week to round up seven men suspected in a barrage of burglaries that have plagued both counties for the past few months.

During a joint press conference inside Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, officers said they worked jointly with Lee County deputies to investigate the

string of burglaries, and the U.S. Marshals Task Force assisted deputies in making arrests this week.

“We always look at the fact that suspects themselves do not have jurisdiction,” Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Simon said. “So this would not have been possible if the communication between agencies that we’ve had these last couple of months had not occurred.”

The final suspect turned himself in to authorities Tuesday morning. Investigators said the seven men face a total of 49 charges in connection with the

crimes, ranging from burglary to criminal conspiracy and accessory. All of them remained behind bars at SumterLee Regional Detention Center as of Tuesday evening.

Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis noted the group of men appeared to be friends, adding they often operated in tandem on the break-ins.

Deputies linked the crew to at least 11 burglaries in the bi-county area between July and October.

According to a release from Sumter

SEE CRIMES, PAGE A10

A total of 77,735 Sumter County property tax bills were mailed Friday, and the $89.6 million they represent should be paid by Jan. 15, said County Auditor Lauretha McCants.

The tax bills are collected by the county for local municipalities, the county and school and special districts.

Taxes are based on assessed property values, and the total also includes taxes on boats and motors, airplanes and business personal.

Business personal taxes are collected based on the value of property used to operate a business.

Property taxes are based on the assessed value of real property. The county tax bills are based on a mill levy system. One mill equals $1 of $1,000 assessed value or $.001.

City and county governments as well as school districts apply a mill levy for each entity based on its budgets.

McCants said that while mill levies have basically stayed the same from 2013 to 2014, a system for returning excess revenue to property owners — referred to as the “credit factor” — has gone down from 2013, so taxpayers will likely have higher bills even though property values remain the same.

Here are the top 10 county taxpayers: 1. Becton Dickinson; 2. Duke Energy; 3. Black River Electric; 4. Pilgrim’s Pride; 5. South Carolina Electric & Gas; 6. Caterpillar; 7.

CSX Transportation; 8. FTC Diversified; 9. International Paper Co.; and 10. Kaydon.

Part-time principal power Community members serve as school leaders for 1 day in yearly event

BY RAYTEVIA EVANS ray@theitem.com About 8 a.m. Tuesday, Cherryvale Elementary School students had already enjoyed breakfast and were settling into their classrooms for a day of instruction and adventure.

Downtown Development Manager Howie Owens, who visited the school as part of the annual Principal for the Day program, joked that he received a pink slip after arriving a few minutes late to participate in his one-day administrative duties.

Like Owens, 27 other community and business leaders in Sumter visited schools in Sumter School District to engage with students, tour the facilities and see what it’s like to lead a

.com

Gypsy M. Mack Beverly Branton Helen M. James Harry Conners

RAYTEVIA EVANS / THE SUMTER ITEM

Downtown Development Manager Howie Owens reads to students at Cherryvale Elementary School during the annual Principal for the Day SEE PRINCIPALS, PAGE A10 program on Tuesday.

DEATHS, B6

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the

school of hundreds of students, faculty and staff members.

Principal Henrietta Green runs a tight ship at Cherryvale, and her day for Owens was planned perfectly, including a leadership meeting, classroom visits and a group reading.

“I was amazed when I first arrived. The students are well behaved, and the school is so clean. I was the kind of student who had to be told to be quiet

Crystal S. Bradley George W. Ramsey Robert E. Gamble James H. Catoe

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: pressrelease@theitem.com

LOCAL BRIEFS FROM STAFF REPORTS

Free event will focus on natural history of area USC Sumter Seminar Series continues this month with a presentation by Instructor of Biology Austin Jenkins at noon Friday in Schwartz Room 127. Jenkins, who teaches Natural History of South Carolina at USC Sumter, will focus on the natural history of the local area. Through an array of adaptations, Jenkins will show how geology of the past affects biology of the present.

Seminar Series is a free monthly event at USC Sumter open to all students, faculty, staff and community members.

The series highlights various areas of scholarship at the university throughout the academic year.

For more information, contact Kajal Ghoshroy, Seminar Series coordinator, at (803) 9383899.

Area home sales drop in October FROM STAFF REPORTS

down from $143,789 last year.

At the end of the month, there were 1,231 homes for sale, and the average amount of days on the market was 190.

About one third of the homes were paid for by cash.

While the number of homes sold and the average price were down, the month represented $17 million in sales versus $14.6 million in September and $12.3 million in October 2013.

Frank Howard, a past president of the Sumter Board of Realtors and current partner with Berkshire Hathaway

The Sumter Board of Realtors reports 127 homes were sold in October, a drop of 40 homes or 25 percent from September and a 37 percent drop from October 2013.

The Sumter Board of Realtors represents not only Sumter County, but also Lee and Clarendon counties, and the statistics quoted represent all three counties.

Meanwhile, the average price for a home sold in October was $134,488,

Home Services in Sumter, attributes part of the drop from September to the end of the federal government’s fiscal year Sept. 30. He said military families working at Shaw Air Force Base were likely relocated in August or September to accommodate school schedules while a drop in military spending might have limited relocations.

But he said his agency has noticed an increase in sales for homes sold above the $300,000 threshold. “The upper-end market is coming back,” he said.

On top of the Festival of Trees and the Circle of Lights, The Tuomey Foundation is offering custom ornaments this year to help raise money for Tuomey Hospice Services.

Jackie Olsen, widow of retired Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Olsen, is the newest committee member and is helping to continue his legacy.

Buy pancakes to help local dance academy DreamWorks Dance Academy will host a Flapjack Fundraiser starting at 8 a.m. Saturday at Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar, 2497 Broad St. Tickets are $7 and may be purchased at the door or by calling Ashleigh Davis at (803) 840-4403. Breakfast includes a short stack of pancakes, sausage and beverages. All proceeds raised will assist academy teams with upcoming competition fees.

To learn more about Flapjack Fundraisers, visit AGGrestaurants.com.

JADE REYNOLDS / THE SUMTER ITEM

Still time to donate for Thanksgiving dinner Cooking for her annual free Thanksgiving dinner is well underway, but Geraldine Singleton is still in need of donations for the Sunday event at South Sumter Gym. It’s the 20th year Singleton, with the help of family and friends who volunteer, will feed “anyone who needs a Thanksgiving meal.”

While she cooks about 60 turkeys herself, Singleton accepts donations of side dishes and money for the event that will be held from noon to 2 p.m. at the gym on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and South Sumter Street. Singleton, however, will be there at 8:30 a.m. to accept donations of canned goods, bread, desserts, beverages, paper goods and cooked dishes. Then she and volunteers will serve about 1,200 people who come each year; other volunteers will deliver meals to shut-ins.

If you’d like to make a donation before that time, you can find her at Sumter Cut Rate Soda Fountain on weekday mornings, or call her at (803) 775-2047.

CORRECTION If you see a statement in error, contact the City Desk at 774-1226 or pressrelease@theitem.com.

Ornaments will benefit Tuomey Hospice Services

BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com What started with one decorated tree to help raise money for Tuomey Hospice Services has grown to more than 60 trees.

This year, the fundraiser is also adding the option to purchase ornaments.

The Tuomey Foundation has banked about $614,000 from Festival of Trees and the Dr. Perry Davis Memorial Circle of Lights, said Jeff Faw, executive director of the foundation. Last year, the employee campaign pledged an additional $500,000 plus to Tuomey Hospice Services. With interest and continued donations, the foundation should have close to $2 million soon to build a hospice house in the vacant lot across from the Sumter hospital, he said.

You have several options for participating and helping the foundation reach its goal.

The first is to sponsor a tree in the 13th Annual Festival of Trees. The deadline is Monday.

The 7-and-a-half-foot tall beauties

cost $1,000 and will be displayed throughout the hospital Dec. 4 through Jan. 5. You or your company can decorate one yourself, or you may check a box to have a volunteer decorate it for you. Tuomey Foundation provides you with as many as 500 white lights.

The trees will be put up Nov. 30 and will be on display through Jan. 2. Decorating will take place Dec. 1 through the Dec. 3.

More than 60 trees were sponsored last year, Faw said. With 57 already reserved this year, according to Laura Haygood, annual fund director for The Tuomey Foundation, Faw is expecting a similar total this round.

“We’re very fortunate to have a lot of the same sponsors,” he said.

New signs will be on display this year announcing who sponsored and who decorated the trees, Haygood said.

More than 50 military personnel from Shaw Air Force Base volunteer to put up and take down the trees.

A second way is to purchase custom ornaments. They come in five shapes and cost $50 for three. They will be dis-

played during Festival of Trees and then mailed to the designated person after the first of the year.

Another way is to symbolically buy lights for the 14th annual Dr. Perry Davis Memorial Circle of Lights tree.

Sponsorships range from $25 to $250, and a card will be sent to the recipient or their family indicating your gift.

Davis served as medical director of hospice services at Tuomey for more than two decades.

There is no deadline for the Circle of Lights or ornament orders, Haygood said.

And of course, they are always looking for volunteers, Faw said.

Gifts are tax deductible.

The ceremony kicking off Festival of Trees and dedicating the Circle of Lights tree in the lobby of Tuomey Regional Medical Center, 129 N. Washington St., will start at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4. The Sumter High School Chorus will perform.

For more information on any of these initiatives or to volunteer, call The Tuomey Foundation at (803) 774-9014.

HOW TO REACH US IS YOUR PAPER MISSING? ANNOUNCEMENT ARE YOU GOING ON Birth, Engagement, Wedding, VACATION? Anniversary, Obituary 20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter, S.C. 29150 (803) 774-1200 Jack Osteen Editor and Publisher jack@theitem.com (803) 774-1238 Rick Carpenter Managing Editor rick@theitem.com (803) 774-1201 Waverly Williams Sales Manager waverly@theitem.com (803) 774-1237

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THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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Columbia City Ballet will perform Nutcracker in Sumter on Saturday Clara, recipient of the Nutcracker, a Christmas gift from her godfather, which seemingly inspires her magical dream that comprises the fantastical events of the story. The audience will see a battle between the Mouse King’s For the 14th year, the Columbia City Ballet will present the beloved Christmas season full- army and Clara’s nutcracker, who becomes length ballet Nutcracker. With music by Tchai- human and takes the young girl through several exotic locales: In the Snow Scene, snowkovsky and choreography by CCB’s William flakes turn into beautiful young women; sugar Starrett and a colorful and lavish set, the popular program will be presented twice on Satur- plums, lollipops, candy canes, a gingerbread house, Spanish hot chocolate and of course, day at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Patriot Hall. the Sugar Plum Fairy and her cavalier, all enCompany manager Jason Cobb said Startertain Clara. The audience is left to wonder rett, who created the staging as well as the whether Clara’s adventures were all a dream choreography, always “adds something a little or her reality. different” to the perennial favorite.

Sumter’s Carter Dwight, who several years “We’ve added several new dancers to the ago danced the part of the child Clara, “will company this year,” Cobb said, “and there will dance the lead angel this year. Carter started be 112 dancers from the Sumter area in the out as a mouse, I believe, and performances.” has continued to dance in NutPrincipal dancers Regina NUTCRACKER BALLET cracker ever since,” Cobb said.

Willoughby, Oscar Sanchez, She will also dance with three Claire McCaa, Manu Navarro, WHEN: 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday others as Cherry Gumdrops.

Camilo Herrera, Laura Lunde, WHERE: Patriot Hall, 135 “The Cherry Gumdrops (all Phillip Ingrassia and Autumn Haynsworth St. from Sumter) get their own diHill will dance featured roles.

TICKETS: $25 general admission; vertissement,” Cobb said.

Cobb noted there will even $18 students; and $15 children.

Libby Singleton of Miss Libbe differences in choreography Tickets available at Miss Libby’s, by’s School of Dance, sponsor and dancers in the matinee (803) 469-8277; SEACO, (803) of the ballet with Carolina Filand evening performances. He 773-8327; and at the door. ters, said the more than 100 gave as an example that CONTACT: Columbia City Ballet young dancers from Sumter, “Oscar will dance a solo as at (803) 799-7605 Manning and Columbia “are Spanish Hot Chocolate in the loving every minute of it. Olivmatinee, and in the evening, ia Burdick, Dwight, Emily MoPhillip and Autumn will dance ersen and Ambria Woolever will be dancing the role as a pas de deux, while Oscar will the parts of the Cherry Gumdrops en pointe, dance Sugar Plum Cavalier.” which is very difficult. Jordan Hawkins comes The choreography for Oscar Sanchez’s Cavover from Columbia every Sunday to teach the alier “is the same that was used in the late dancers the choreography, and as studio rep1990s when William (Starrett) danced the resentative, I’ve been working with them to role,” Cobb said. “It hasn’t been used since learn it.” then.”

In addition, Hawkins will dance the roles of Isabelle Snelling, a member of the ballet’s the Rat Queen and a Candy Cane. junior company, CCBII, will dance the part of

BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com

PHOTO PROVIDED

Prima ballerina Regina Willoughby dances the role of Sugar Plum Fairy in the Columbia City Ballet’s production of Nutcracker. The ballet will be performed at two times on Saturday at Patriot Hall.

POLICE BLOTTER CHARGES William Allen, 38, of Sumter, was arrested early Tuesday morning and charged with third-degree assault and battery after reportedly attacking a woman and dragging her down stairs during a party in the 2500 block of U.S. 15 South.

Joe Isaac, 22, of 1421 Frank St., was arrested after 11:30 a.m. Monday and charged with his fifth offense of driving under suspension after a traffic stop at the intersection of Maney and West Williams streets.

STOLEN PROPERTY A 2011 Toyota Tundra TRD Sport Edition valued at $33,000 was reportedly stolen from a Toyota dealership in the 2500 block of Broad Street between Nov. 8 and 1 p.m. Thursday. Owners at

the dealer discovered the key for the vehicle had been switched. Toyota’s corporate headquarters issued an alert for dealers to be on the lookout for the key-switch routine, noting reports of the maneuver happening at dealerships in surrounding areas and states across the Eastern Seaboard.

A 32-inch TV valued at $500, a 24-inch flat-screen TV valued at $200, a digital camera valued at $300, a jewelry box valued at $100, a one-carat diamond ring valued at $5,000 and assorted pieces of jewelry valued at $3,000 were reported stolen from a home in the 3700 block of Nazarene Church Road about 4:15 p.m. Monday.

A 12-gauge shotgun valued at $500 was reportedly stolen from a home in the 100 block of Lawson Street between 5:45 p.m. Thursday and 1:44 p.m. Friday. The home reportedly sustained $700 in dam-

age during the incident.

An iPad valued at $200, a laptop valued at $200, an Xbox 360 valued at $150, two Michael Kors watches valued at $200 apiece, a 30-inch flatscreen TV valued at $300, a 60-inch flat-screen TV valued at $500 and keys to a 2000 Chevrolet Impala were reportedly stolen from a home in the 200 block of Best Street between 7 p.m. Saturday and 7:20 a.m. Sunday.

Two flat-screen TVs, a DVD player, an iPad and children’s clothes, all valued at $1,340, were reportedly stolen from the first block of Third Avenue between 4 p.m. Saturday and 1:15 a.m. Sunday.

A Coach purse valued at $120, a laptop valued at $500, a wallet and several IDs and debit and credit cards were reportedly stolen from a home in the 100 block of Gertrude Drive between 6 p.m.

Friday and 6:45 a.m. Saturday.

A large container with several articles of clothing valued at $400 and a desktop computer valued at $300 were reportedly stolen from a residence in the 600 block of Brown Street between Sept.

1 and 1:30 p.m. Monday.

DAMAGED PROPERTY A 1999 Mazda 626 was reportedly vandalized and sustained $1,200 in estimated damage while parked in the 300 block of Sandy Run

between 1:30 and 9:20 a.m.

Friday.

A GMC Sierra pickup truck and GMC Acadia SUV both sustained $1,000 in estimated damage during an alleged break-in at an enclosed property in the 800 block of Guignard Drive between 6 p.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Friday, where thieves allegedly cut the locks off five enclosed trailers and damaged the steering columns on both vehicles.

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

Manson plans prison wedding

Plane crashes into Chicago home

BY JASON KEYSER The Associated Press CHICAGO — A small twin-engine cargo plane crashed into a home on Chicago’s southwest side Tuesday, killing the pilot but sparing a couple who were asleep just inches away.

The Aero Commander 500-B slammed nose-down into the front of the home about 2:40 a.m., punching through the ground floor into the basement and leaving about a third of the aircraft, including the tail, sticking straight out of the red-brick home.

“The wreckage was about 8 inches away from them,” Assistant Chicago Fire Department Commissioner Michael Fox said of the home’s two residents. “It’s very lucky. They were in a bedroom next to the living room, and the living room is gone.”

Both told first responders they were fine and refused any medical attention.

After stabilizing the house, crews recovered the body from the wreckage. No one else was on board. Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office did not immediately release the pilot’s name.

The pilot reported engine trouble shortly after taking off from Midway International Airport and asked to return to the airport.

But the plane crashed about a quarter mile short of the runway, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory.

Fire crews found aviation fuel leaking from the wreck, but there was no fire or explosion, and the airframe was mostly intact, investigators said.

“So we’re confident we’re not dealing with any type of in-flight breakup or some scenario like that,” said National Transportation Safety Board investigator Tim Sorensen.

The NTSB expects to have a preliminary accident report within a week, followed by a final report in about a year.

The airport is closely bounded by densely populated neighborhoods. Those living near the crash site said the impact shook houses.

“It wasn’t a big boom noise,” Robin Vrablic told WBBM radio. “It just shook

But Manson, who became notorious in 1969 as the leader of a roving “family” of young killers, was less certain about tying the knot.

“That’s a bunch of garbage,” Manson said in the December 2013 interview. “That’s trash.

We’re playing that for public consumption.”

Asked Monday about those comments, Burton said, “None of that’s true,” adding that they’re waiting for the prison to complete their paperwork.

California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton confirmed to the AP that the license had been transmitted to the prison.

Thornton said each California prison designates an employee to be a marriage coordinator who processes paperwork for an inmate’s request to be wed. In most cases, she said, the Department of Corrections approves of such weddings as “a tool of family reunification and social development.” But Manson is a unique case.

Burton said the wedding might have happened earlier if Manson did not have “some situations” at the prison.

Thornton explained that in February, Manson had three violations for possession of a weapon, threatening staff and refusal to provide a urine sample. Further details on the violations were not immediately available.

Burton said the prison holds marriages on the first Saturday of each month and she expects to be married in an inmate visiting room at the prison.

Thornton confirmed that Manson can have a wedding at the prison and invite an officiant from outside the prison to perform the ceremony.

Manson and his prospective spouse also would be allowed to invite 10 guests who are not inmates.

CORCORAN, Calif. (AP) — Mass murderer Charles Manson plans to marry a 26-yearold woman who left her Midwestern home and spent the past nine years trying to help exonerate him.

Afton Elaine Burton, the raven-haired bride to be, said she loves the man convicted in the notorious murders of seven people, including pregnant actress Sharon Tate.

No date has been set, but a wedding coordinator has been assigned by the prison to handle the nuptials, and MANSON the couple has until early February to get married before they would have to reapply.

The Kings County marriage license, viewed Monday by The Associated Press, was issued Nov. 7 for the 80-year-old Manson and Burton, who lives in Corcoran — the site of the prison — and maintains several websites advocating his innocence.

Burton, who goes by the name “Star,” told the AP that she and Manson will be married next month.

“Y’all can know that it’s true,” she said. “It’s going to happen.”

“I love him,” she added. “I’m with him. There’s all kinds of things.”

However, as a life prisoner with no parole date, Manson is not entitled to family visits, a euphemism for conjugal visits.

So why would Burton marry him under those conditions?

She said she is interested in working on his case, and marrying him would allow her to get information not available to nonrelatives.

“There’s certain things next of kin can do,” she said without elaborating.

Tate’s sister, Debra, who acts as a spokeswoman for the families of Manson’s victims, said the impending marriage is “ludicrous.”

“I think it’s insane,” she said. “What would any young woman in her right mind want with an 80-year-old man?”

As for Manson’s motives, she said, “The devil is alive and well.”

Burton gave an interview a year ago to Rolling Stone magazine in which she said she and Manson planned to marry.

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the ground, and the chandelier had shaken, or something, so we went out the front, and went down there, and I was astounded that it took the whole front of that house out.”

The pilot had been intending to fly to Ohio State University Airport in Columbus, Ohio.

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The wreckage of a small twin-engine cargo plane lies where the aircraft crashed into a home on Chicago’s southwest side early Tuesday. The Aero Commander 500 had recently taken off from Midway International Airport when it slammed into the front of the home and plunged into the basement. Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said two occupants of the home were unhurt. The pilot was killed in the crash.

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NATION

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

|

A5

No on Keystone pipeline — but GOP vows replay WASHINGTON (AP) — In a combustible blend of oil and politics, the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected legislation Tuesday night to force completion of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Republicans vowed to resurrect the controversial issue soon after taking two-house control of Congress in January.

The 59-41 Senate vote was one short of the 60 needed to clear the House-passed measure and marked a severe blow to embattled Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. While President Obama and much of her party oppose the bill, the third-term Democrat had commandeered control of the chamber’s agenda in hopes of securing approval of the project and boosting her chances in an uphill Dec. 6 runoff election.

All 45 Senate Republicans supported the legislation to build the Canada-to-Texas pipeline. Only 14 of 55 Democrats and allied independents joined them, a total that didn’t budge despite an appeal by the Louisiana Democrat behind closed doors a few hours before the vote.

The vote was one of the last acts of this Senate controlled by the Democrats. It is expected to complete its work by mid-December.

But Republicans said a pipeline replay with the potential to spark a veto confrontation with Obama would be coming — and soon.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and the incoming majority leader, said within minutes of the vote, “I look forward to the new Republican majority taking up and passing the Keystone jobs bill early in the new year.�

Her political career in jeopardy, Landrieu told reporters, “I’m going to fight for the people of my state until the day that I leave, and I hope that will not be soon.�

Rep. Bill Cassidy, Landrieu’s Republican opponent, said that Louisiana families “need better jobs, better wages and better bene-

Crews work on construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline near County Road 363 and County Road 357, east of Winona, Texas.

In the run-up to a razor-thin vote, Sen. Mary Landrieu beseeched fellow Democrats on Tuesday to provide the support necessary to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

fits,� and the pipeline would provide them.

Democratic divisions were on vivid display in a bill that pitted environmentalists against energy advocates.

While Obama opposes the measure, likely 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton has repeatedly refused to take a position. Most recently, her spokesman did not respond to two requests during the weekend to do so.

Among Senate Democrats, 14 had publicly announced their support for the bill in the hours before the vote, but several whom Landrieu had hoped would provide the critical 60th vote needed for passage failed to step forward.

Among retiring lawmakers, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Tom Harkin of Iowa all said in advance they would oppose the bill.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who opened the door on Monday to becoming the 60th vote, slammed it shut a few hours later.

Several Democrats said the issue was discussed at some length at a weekly closeddoor meeting of the party’s senators. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a supporter of the bill, said Landrieu pointed out that “this vote is going to happen, whether it happens now or it happens in January, same outcome, so

why not do it now? She brought it to a head.�

The project would move oil from Canada into the United States and eventually to the Gulf Coast. Supporters say it would create jobs and ease American dependence on Middle East oil. A government environmental impact statement also predicts that a pipeline would result in less damage to the climate than moving the same oil by rail.

Critics argue that the drilling itself is environmentally harmful and said much of the Canadian crude would be exported with little or no impact on America’s drive for energy stability.

At the White House, press secretary Josh Earnest said the measure is something “the president doesn’t support because the president believes that this is something that should be determined through the State Department and the regular process that is in place to evaluate projects like this.�

On the home front, Landrieu’s campaign announced during the day that musician Stevie Wonder would perform at a fundraiser on her behalf.

In the Senate, she has repeatedly cast herself as an independent lawmaker willing to stand up to Democratic leaders as well as the White House.

Even strong Democratic op-

ponents of the legislation credited Landrieu with making the effort to score a major victory for her oil-rich home

state. “Let the record be clear forever that this debate would not be before this body if not for Sen. Landrieu’s insistence,� said Sen. Barbara Boxer of California.

That was as far as it went, though. Boxer strongly opposed the project in remarks on the floor.

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A6

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NATION

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

Poll: Hispanics are happier with long-term care experience

BY JESSE J. HOLLAND The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Hispanics are more likely to consider caring for an elderly relative or friend to be a positive experience and are less likely to say it creates stress in their families, a new poll found.

More than 9 in 10 Hispanics older than 40 reflected positively on their personal experiences in providing assistance to loved ones, while 82 percent of non-Hispanics offered positive reflections, according to the poll released Tuesday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Also, 36 percent of Hispanic caregivers said they experienced stress as a result of assisting loved ones on an ongoing basis, with 54 percent of non-Hispanic caregivers saying the same.

Hispanic caregivers were also slightly less likely to say the experience placed a burden on their personal finances.

“There’s something to be said about the Hispanic culture that embraces caring for our families,” said Yanira Cruz, president and CEO of the National Hispanic Council on Aging. “It has been a way of life for us, and for many Hispanics, being able to care for a loved one or parent is gratifying because it’s a way to fulfill what we have been raised to do.”

According to the poll, 60 percent of Hispanics 40 and older said they have provided, received or financed longterm care services, and 15 percent are now receiving or have received long-term, ongoing living assistance.

Government figures show nearly 7 in 10 Americans will need long-term care at some point after they reach age 65.

Hispanic adults 40 and older are more apt than others to think they will need care someday, the poll found.

Thirty-two percent called that extremely or very likely, compared with 20 percent of non-Hispanics, yet only 1 in 10 Hispanics reported doing much planning for their own long-term care. Further, only 1 in 5 was confident they will be able to pay for long-term care if they personally need it.

The care of the United States’ aging population is becoming a national concern.

By 2050, there will be 83.7 million people in the U.S. age 65 and older, almost double the estimated 2012 population of 43.1 million. Hispanics will make up more than 1 of every 5 of that 2050 number, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Taking care of family “is often gratifying for Hispanics,” Cruz said.

“Being able to see Grandma interact with the grandchildren and being able to develop that intergenerational bond as a family is something that is very much in line with who we are as a people,” she said.

The AP-NORC Center survey was conducted by telephone from March 13 to April 23 among a random national sample of 1,745 adults age 40 or older, including 458 Hispanics, with funding from the SCAN Foundation. Results for the full survey have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. It is 6.8 percentage points among Hispanic adults.

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THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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A7

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Beef cattle feed at Briggs Feedyard near Seward, Nebraska, on Oct. 27. Even after adjusting for inflation, beef prices are at record levels thanks to the U.S. cattle herd dropping to its smallest level since 1951. Beef prices jumped 6 percent in October.

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WASHINGTON — Inflation picked up in October because of higher prices that U.S. companies received for new-model cars, beef, pork, pharmaceuticals and electric power.

The producer price index increased 0.2 percent in October from the previous month, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The index measures the cost of goods and services before they reach the consumer.

Prices for many products climbed even as wholesale gas costs plummeted 5.8 percent last month. Automakers contributed to inflation by introducing 2015 car models, with the Labor Department adjusting its producer prices report each October to address the improved quality. Beef prices jumped 6 percent, and pork prices surged 8.1 percent.

Excluding the volatile categories of food and energy, prices rose 0.4 percent in October.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said that increasing producer prices was partially the result of a “technicality” in how the index is calculated.

When gas prices fall, gas stations temporarily record higher profits, and that briefly causes the component of the index that measures wholesale and retail margins to rise.

“The jump,” Shepherdson said, “reflects a technicality, and does not signal a turn in the trend.”

Ongoing declines in fuel prices have been a benefit for most Americans. During the past month, average gas prices nationwide have plunged nearly 8 percent to $2.89 a gallon, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge.

Falling energy costs have restricted inflation in the broader economy. Producer prices increased only 1.6 percent in the 12 months ending in September, a rate substantially lower than the Federal Reserve target.

The Fed targets inflation at about 2 percent to protect against deflation, because falling prices could pull down wages and potentially trigger another recession. At the same time, the Fed target is designed to stop inflation from running so high that it could erode the buying power of consumers and businesses, which could also cause a recession.

Limited inflation for producers has also kept costs low for consumers. A separate government measure of consumer prices has risen just 1.7 percent in the 12 months ending in August.

Other economic factors have also eased inflationary pressures inside the United States.

Japan’s recession and slowing economies in Europe and China have caused the dollar to rise in value against foreign currencies. When the dollar strengthens, it typically reduces the cost of oil and other commodities that the financial markets price in U.S. currency.

NATION

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

|

A7

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SALE $665 $599 $359.99 $388 $359.99 $459.99 $197

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Producer prices rise 0.2 percent in October

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Beef cattle feed at Briggs Feedyard near Seward, Nebraska, on Oct. 27. Even after adjusting for inflation, beef prices are at record levels thanks to the U.S. cattle herd dropping to its smallest level since 1951. Beef prices jumped 6 percent in October.

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WASHINGTON — Inflation picked up in October because of higher prices that U.S. companies received for new-model cars, beef, pork, pharmaceuticals and electric power.

The producer price index increased 0.2 percent in October from the previous month, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The index measures the cost of goods and services before they reach the consumer.

Prices for many products climbed even as wholesale gas costs plummeted 5.8 percent last month. Automakers contributed to inflation by introducing 2015 car models, with the Labor Department adjusting its producer prices report each October to address the improved quality. Beef prices jumped 6 percent, and pork prices surged 8.1 percent.

Excluding the volatile categories of food and energy, prices rose 0.4 percent in October.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said that increasing producer prices was partially the result of a “technicality” in how the index is calculated.

When gas prices fall, gas stations temporarily record higher profits, and that briefly causes the component of the index that measures wholesale and retail margins to rise.

“The jump,” Shepherdson said, “reflects a technicality, and does not signal a turn in the trend.”

Ongoing declines in fuel prices have been a benefit for most Americans. During the past month, average gas prices nationwide have plunged nearly 8 percent to $2.89 a gallon, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge.

Falling energy costs have restricted inflation in the broader economy. Producer prices increased only 1.6 percent in the 12 months ending in September, a rate substantially lower than the Federal Reserve target.

The Fed targets inflation at about 2 percent to protect against deflation, because falling prices could pull down wages and potentially trigger another recession. At the same time, the Fed target is designed to stop inflation from running so high that it could erode the buying power of consumers and businesses, which could also cause a recession.

Limited inflation for producers has also kept costs low for consumers. A separate government measure of consumer prices has risen just 1.7 percent in the 12 months ending in August.

Other economic factors have also eased inflationary pressures inside the United States.

Japan’s recession and slowing economies in Europe and China have caused the dollar to rise in value against foreign currencies. When the dollar strengthens, it typically reduces the cost of oil and other commodities that the financial markets price in U.S. currency.

A8

|

NATION | WORLD

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

Obama’s final 2 years will focus on climate change

BY JOSH LEDERMAN The Associated Press WASHINGTON — With limited time still in power, President Obama is staking his final two years on climate change, pushing the issue to the front of his agenda as he seeks to leave an imprint on the world that will endure after he’s gone.

It’s a strategy rooted not only in Obama’s long-stated concern about global warming, but also in political reality.

Two weeks ago, Obama watched his prospects for realizing his goals on education, wages and immigration all but evaporate as voters handed his party a stinging rebuke in the midterms, putting Republicans in full control of Congress for the remainder of his presidency. But on a trip last week to Asia and Australia, Obama sought — and found — fruitful opportunities to make a lasting difference on global warming.

In China, traditionally a U.S. adversary on environmental issues, Obama set an ambitious new target for cutting future U.S. emissions as

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

U.S. President Obama, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping drink a toast at a lunch banquet in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 12. The United States and China pledged to take ambitious action to limit greenhouse gases. part of a landmark deal in which China will also rein in pollution. In Australia, he pledged $3 billion to

help poorer nations address changing temperatures while prodding Australia’s prime minister to stop

questioning the science of climate change.

“We’re showing there’s no excuse for other nations not to come together,” Obama said in Brisbane, where he also pressed the issue with leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies.

The emphasis on climate isn’t all by choice.

Although Obama has long sought to rally action against climate change, White House aides say the issue has become even more attractive after the election because it’s one where Obama has considerable leverage to act without Congress. Foreign policy is largely the domain of presidents, and at home, Obama has aggressively used his regulatory power to curb greenhouse gas emissions over fierce objections from Republicans and the energy industry.

“President Obama has made no secret that his climate crusade will proceed irrespective of what the American people want or what other global leaders caution,” said Laura Sheehan of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, which represents the coal industry.

U.S.-Iran negotiations haunted by history of failures LONDON (AP) — Bill Clinton tried. So did George W. Bush. Neither succeeded. As President Obama’s own second term winds down, he is getting closer than either of his immediate predecessors to the goal of improving U.S. relations with Iran. But he’s not there yet, and plenty stands in the way, including a messy and brutal conflict in Iraq and Syria.

As high-stakes negotiations with Iran about its nuclear program resumed Tuesday in Vienna ahead of a Nov. 24 deadline for a deal, the ghosts of previous failed attempts at American-Iranian rapprochement loom large. So do very

real and current concerns, largely the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, fierce opposition to a deal from Israel and open hostility in Congress and hardliners in Iran who already look to be trying to derail a potential agreement.

Those issues, combined with the complex nature of the negotiations, have made for slow going and increased chances for something less than a full deal being struck by the target date. Officials say an extension of the already once-extended talks is possible but warn additional delays will invite more complications.

Obama and his top aides deny that anything other than resolving the nuclear deadlock is in play. Yet, they also acknowledge a deal is key to any broader improvement in relations, something Obama is reported to have conveyed in a recent letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei.

Though it hangs over the process, what appears to be a shared U.S.-Iranian interest in defeating Islamic State has been raised only tangentially.

The Obama administration’s goal is to ultimately defeat the militants, whose rise it blames on atrocities committed by Syrian President Bashar

of contention.

Decades of mistrust weigh heavily on the talks. And they go back further than the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and the hostage-taking at the U.S. Embassy. Iranians also have long memories of U.S. support for the 1953 coup that overthrew Iran’s prime minister, Mohammed Mossadeq.

For the past 14 years, the U.S. has tried to undo some of that damage. At the same time, it has increased pressure on Iran by imposing sanctions on it for sponsoring U.S.-designated terrorist organizations, supporting anti-Israel groups, rights abuses and its nuclear program.

Assad and the failure of the previous leadership in Iraq.

Iran shares America’s goal of defeating IS, but while it may have acquiesced to the ouster of pro-Iranian Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki earlier this year, it has not given up on Assad, who the U.S. insists must go.

Hence, Obama is treading carefully as many demand more be done to get rid of Assad. He has rejected suggestions that more U.S. aid to Syrian rebels is aimed at toppling Assad.

The U.S.-Iran divergence on Assad alone would be problematic, but it’s far from the only non-nuclear point

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WORLD

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

|

A9

UN push against North Korea on human rights moves ahead

BY CARA ANNA The Associated Press UNITED NATIONS — The world’s boldest effort yet to hold North Korea and leader Kim Jong Un accountable for alleged crimes against humanity moved forward Tuesday at the United Nations, where a Pyongyang envoy threatened further nuclear tests.

The U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee approved a resolution that urges the Security Council to refer the country’s harsh human rights situation to the International Criminal Court.

The non-binding resolution now goes to the General Assembly for a vote in the coming weeks. China and Russia, which hold veto power on the council, voted against it.

The resolution was inspired by a groundbreaking U.N. commission of inquiry report early this year that declared North Korea’s human rights situation “exceeds all others in duration, intensity and horror.�

The idea that their young leader could be targeted by prosecutors sent North Korean officials on a furious effort to derail it.

North Korea sent a sharp warning in comments before the vote. Trying to punish it over human rights “is compelling us not to refrain any further from conducting nuclear tests,� said Choe Myong Nam, a foreign ministry adviser for U.N. and human rights issues.

Choe also accused the European Union and Japan, the resolution’s co-sponsors, of “subservience and sycophancy� to the United States, and he promised “unpredictable and serious consequences� if the resolution went forward.

The European Union, which co-sponsored the resolution, quickly issued a statement

welcoming the support of 111 countries in the vote. Nineteen countries voted against, and 55 abstained.

North Korea and its allies lobbied furiously until the last minute, arguing that a resolution that targets a single country would set a dangerous precedent and that other developing countries could be singled out, too.

The resolution says the commission of inquiry report found grounds to think that crimes against humanity have been committed under policies “established at the highest level of the State for decades.� It calls for targeted sanctions against the people who appear to be most responsible. The commission of inquiry earlier warned young leader Kim Jong Un that could include him.

Cuba proposed an amendment that would have stripped out the tough language on the ICC, but the committee’s member countries voted that down earlier Tuesday.

The mere possibility that its leader could be targeted by prosecutors has put North Korean officials, once dismissive of human rights issues, on edge. In recent weeks, it dangled the possibility of a visit by the U.N. human rights chief, among other attempts at outreach.

But in the back of the chamber Tuesday, a North Korean foreign ministry adviser, Kim Ju Song, was witnessed trying to get a U.N. official to eject Shin Dong-Hyuk, a young man who fled North Korea and has since spoken out against the Pyongyang regime.

The commission of inquiry report was based on interviews with dozens of people like Shin who had fled and detailed abuses including starvation and a system of harsh prison camps containing up to 120,000 people.

North Korea has accused people who cooperated with the commission of inquiry of lying.

F d a i r F&oHo y a M d i a l rket o Aldersgate UMC

Saturday, November 22nd 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM We will be selling:

Delicious Baked Goods, Casseroles, Homemade Jams, Pickles, Gift Items, Crafts, Plants and More!

Bar-B-Que Sandwich Bag Lunch Eat In or Take Out

Hope to see you there!

211 Alice Drive Sumter, SC

775-1602 • Aldersgatesumter.org

AP FILE PHOTO

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, arrives at the cemeteries of fallen fighters of the Korean People’s Army in Pyongyang, North Korea, in July 2013. A U.N. General Assembly committee approved a resolution urging the Security Council to refer North Korea’s human rights situation to International Criminal Court.

Sumter County Museum’s Carolina Backcountry Oyster Roast Thursday, November 20, 2014 6:30pm to 9:30pm It’s time for the museum’s Oyster Roast!

Join us for our 17th annual Carolina Backcountry Oyster Roast, the museum’s largest fundraiser. The event will be held in the beautiful Martha Brice Gardens on the museum complex.

We’ll have all you can eat oysters, barbecue, chili, collards, and all you can drink beer, wine, soda, and water!

Advance Tickets $50 Tickets at Door $55 (if remain)

To purchase tickets, call the museum at 775-0908 with a credit card, visit us at 122 N. Washington St., or pay online at www.sumtercountymuseum.org/events

Jobs in Advanced Manufacturing *HW 6RXWK &DUROLQD 0DQXIDFWXULQJ &HUWLÀHG Central Carolina Technical College is now offering specialized WUDLQLQJ WKDW ZLOO HDUQ \RX DQ LQGXVWU\ UHFRJQL]HG QDWLRQDO FHUWL¿FDWLRQ DQG ZLOO LQFUHDVH \RXU HPSOR\DELOLW\ IRU KLJK GHPDQG ZHOO SD\LQJ MREV 3DUWLFLSDWLQJ FRPSDQLHV LQFOXGH &RQWLQHQWDO 7LUH WKH $PHULFDV //& (DWRQ &RUSRUDWLRQ DQG &RYLGLHQ The program consists of 200 hours including: Classroom Training • Hands-on Skills Training • Production Simulation Topics include: ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

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With its unique jazz sound, the Glenn Miller Orchestra is considered to be one of the greatest bands of all time.

Tickets begin at $20.00 803-436-2616 www.sumteroperahouse.com

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LOCAL

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

PRINCIPALS FROM PAGE A1 all the time,” Owens said jokingly. “And everybody is just so enthusiastic about everything here.”

One of the more impressive activities Owens participated in was the school’s Administrative Leadership Group, which meets regularly to discuss and plan for the safety of students, faculty and staff in case of emergencies or situations such as an intruder in the building or a school shooting. The group discussed, tweaked and planned strategies to keep everyone safe no matter what the situation and also divided the responsibilities among the administrative faculty and staff.

Owens, who said he’s zoned for Cherryvale, said he wouldn’t have a problem sending his child to Cherryvale in the future when his son is old enough, and the visit showed him the opposite of some of the negative things he hears about public schools. He thoroughly enjoyed his classroom visits, dancing and exercising with preschool students and interacting with children in the halls, he said.

Because the schools have their own academic programs, procedures and unique character, each

CRIMES FROM PAGE A1 County Sheriff’s Office, the band of thieves allegedly targeted rural homes near the Sumter-Lee county line. Five of the break-ins fell on the Sumter County side, and the other six were in Lee County.

Authorities alleged the seven suspects were responsible for break-ins in both counties through the similar patterns they used in their crimes. Investigators also recovered several items from the burglaries and were able to tie the 11 break-ins together through those recoveries.

Dennis said the suspects had carved out a wellplanned operation for the burglaries, most of which took place during daytime hours. According to investigators, the thieves operated primarily between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., during hours when they thought residents would be away from their homes at work and school. The sheriffs noted they also avoided houses with long driveways to avoid running into homeowners as they left the residences. Authorities said they targeted electronic appliances,

stand-in principal on Tuesday had a different experience. First Citizens Bank’s David Durham’s visit to Ebenezer Middle School was just as informative but different from Owens’. Durham, who attended Ebenezer when he was 14 years old, walked the halls with Principal Marlene DeWit as they discussed programs and education legislation and reminisced about the school’s structure before its renovations.

Principal for the Day, according to Superintendent Frank Baker, allows community leaders to tour schools and interact with students while also providing students and faculty an opportunity to get to know them and show them what the schools are all about in Sumter School District.

The principals for every school had the opportunity to choose a business leader, elected official or community leader to stand in as principal for the day.

The annual program gave principals and teachers the opportunity to connect with community leaders and possible future partners. After his tour, Durham asked DeWit a question that teachers and principals welcome and don’t shy away from answering. “What can the bank do for you?” And making that connection is part of the purpose of doing the Principal for the Day program each year.

jewelry and credit cards.

The sheriffs also noted that deputies collected forensic evidence during the investigation, which authorities sent to the State Law Enforcement Division for analysis. Lee County deputies issued a reverse-911 call to residents in mid-September to gather information about the break-ins and alert the public.

Deputies learned the crew often operated by having one person knock on a targeted home’s front door as a way to determine whether residents were at home. If homeowners answered the door, the suspects would feign as if they were lost and looking for directions.

“From the midsummer through mid-October, these two counties were torched,” Lee County Sheriff Daniel Simon said. “Peoples’ lives have been changed overnight.

And I feel like with the holiday season coming, they’ve got something to look forward to with Thanksgiving as well as Christmas. And these seven individuals won’t be spending time to plot to break into somebody else’s house; they’ll be spending time behind bars.”

Those arrested and charged are:

Thanksgiving Deadlines

THE SUMTER ITEM

WARD 4 FROM PAGE A1

PRINCIPALS FOR THE DAY Alice Drive Elementary — Kyle Osteen Cherryvale Elementary — Howie Owens Crosswell Drive Elementary — Jerry Allred F.J. DeLaine Elementary — Dr. Steve Williams High Hills Elementary — Bishop Leroy T. James Kingsbury Elementary — Chief Russell F. Roark III Lemira Elementary — Meaghan Norman Manchester Elementary — Annie Brown Millwood Elementary School — Graham Osteen Oakland Primary — Rick T. Jones Pocalla Springs Elementary — Charles Fienning Rafting Creek Elementary — Bobby Beatson R.E. Davis Elementary — Stephen Davis Shaw Heights Elementary — Glenn Peagler Wilder Elementary — Tammy Kelly Willow Drive Elementary — Patty Patterson Alice Drive Middle — Joshua Thomas Bates Middle — Rep. J. David Weeks Chestnut Oaks Middle — Dusty Rhoads Ebenezer Middle — David Durham Furman Middle — Allen Bailey Hillcrest Middle — Artie Baker Mayewood Middle — Sen. Kevin Johnson Crestwood High — Earl Wilson Lakewood High — Harvin Bullock Sumter High — Sen. J. Thomas McElveen III Brewington Academy — Capt. Terrance Colclough Sumter Career and Technology Center — Dennis Turner

• Kennan Alonza Georgia, 18, of 1068 Fireglow St., Manning: destroying evidence, seven counts of criminal conspiracy and eight counts of second-degree burglary; • Mikah Neslun Green, 20, 5224 Summerton Highway, Manning: six counts of second-degree burglary and five counts of criminal conspiracy; • Frankie Lee Durant Jr., 18, of 8043 N. Brewington Road,

Edsel “Whit” Whitaker for the right to face off with Yates in Tuesday’s runoff.

City law requires a runoff election if no candidate wins the general election with more than 50 percent of the vote. County and area school district elections are not subject to the 51-percent runoff stipulation.

The Ward 4 race was the lone runoff to stem from the Nov. 4 general elections.

Yates criticized the rule and said one of her first orders of business would be to strike the law from the city codes.

“This runoff was totally unnecessary — the number of people who voted, and all,” she said. “Hopefully it can be eliminated so this does not happen again.”

Nine precincts were open for voters to cast ballots in the race.

No voters turned out to four of those polling places on Tuesday, records showed. Two of them tallied zero voters in the general election as well.

Cannon is a local businessman who coowns Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and serves as president of The Rotary Club of Sumter Sunrise.

“I’m disappointed from the voter turnout for one,” he said. “I just congratulate Ms. Yates. She worked hard, and her folks turned out and voted.”

Yates brings years of experience to her new post, as she served as a city councilwoman and elections commissioner in Sumter decades ago. She is involved in several civic organizations, including an anti-violence coalition and a forum for battered and abused women.

Alcolu: two counts of seconddegree burglary and two counts of criminal conspiracy; • Tyler David Samuel, 18, of 1386 Carrie Lynn Drive, Manning: three counts of seconddegree burglary and three counts of criminal conspiracy; • Andre Tindal, 19, of 3044 Raccoon Road, Manning: two counts of second-degree burglary and two counts of criminal conspiracy;

• Jeremiah Smith Jr., 26, of 108 Depot St., Manning: second-degree burglary, criminal conspiracy, accessory after the fact of a felony and destroying evidence; and • Maurice Haynesworth, 17, of 1029 Porter St., Sumter: criminal conspiracy, receiving stolen goods valued at $10,000 or more, destroying evidence, accessory after the fact to a felony.

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THE 2014 SUMTER

Singing Christmas Tree HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

g in s i t r e v d A y a Displ EDITION

DEADLINE r 21 at 2pm

ember 26 Wed., Nov ber 28 Fri., Novem mber 29 Sat., Nove 30 Sun., Nov. mber 2 Tues., Dece

be Fri., Novem 1am er 24 at 1 b m e v o N Mon., pm er 24 at 2 b m e v o N m Mon., 25 at 11a r e b m e v o Tues., N 6 at 11am 2 r e b m e v Wed., No

2014 PERFORMANCE DATES ARE:

December 5, 6 & 7 at 7:30 P.M. nightly Matinees on December 6 and 7 at 4:30P.M.

Singing Christmas Tree

TICKET ORDER FORM

NAME ____________________________________________ ADDRESS _________________________________________ CITY _________________ STATE ________ ZIP____________ PHONE ___________________________________________ EMAIL

_____________________________ TOTAL # OF TICKETS REQUESTED ________

PERFORMANCE PREFERENCE

Have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

NO PROOF DEADLINES Deadline is 24 hours earlier if proof is required

Business office will be closed November 27th and 28th.

We will reopen December 1.

20 N. Magnolia Street Sumter, SC 29150 803-774-1200

Friday

December 5

7:30 p.m.

_______________

Saturday December 6

4:30 p.m.

_______________

Saturday December 6

7:30 p.m.

_______________

Sunday

December 7

4:30 p.m.

_______________

Sunday

December 7

7:30 p.m.

_______________

Please mark blanks with MAIL TO: Sumter Singing Christmas Tree 1, 2, and 3 signifying your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 107 East Liberty Street • P.O. Box 867 performance preference.

Sumter, SC 29151-0867

Please fill out the order form completely and mail it to the First Baptist Church office.

To help with printing and postage costs, we ask that you please include $2.00 with your order. Thank you. **Tickets will be mailed out the week of November 16th. Ticket ordering is also available online at www.fbcsumter.org.

REGISTER FOR FREE @ www.FBCSUMTER.org

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

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 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 Rick Carpenter Managing Editor

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

COMMENTARY

Obama vs. us S

COMMENTARY

Eligible, but certainly not ready

W

hile I was visiting the old McCollum homestead back in Opelika last weekend, I happened to check my mail and had my interest piqued by a letter from the First Baptist Church of Opelika.

Inside, a letter addressed “Dear Friend” informed me I was allegedly now eligible to serve as a member of the church’s deacon board, should I choose to stand for election, despite the noticeable fact I now reside in Baldwin County, some three-and-a-half hours away.

I in no way wish to sound disrespectful when I say this, but receiving that letter made me laugh for a solid three to four minutes.

••• According to church bylaws, I may, in fact, be “eligible” to serve, but I certainly am not “qualified.”

Cliff When I think of the men qualified to be deacons at McCollum that church, my name does not appear among the ranks, even in my own mind.

Men like my father spring to mind, temperate, seasoned veterans of the church — the calm, cool considerate set. Maybe this letter was meant for him — the reigning Clifford McCollum — and was only sent to me by accident.

I state my lack of qualifications not to be vicious or mischievous, but to show how wrong I am as a candidate, demonstrating absurdity perhaps by being absurd.

I am not “the husband of one wife,” “sensible” or “dignified”; I don’t think I fit the quality of “not quarrelsome,” either (1 Tim. 3:2-3).

I’m fairly certain I don’t “manage (my) own household well” and I have no children to keep “submissive” or “respectful in every way” (and having met kids these days, I’m not sure I want that unenviable task. I’m still at that point in life where children seem to be an incurable form of STD.) I concede I do fit the qualities about not being a “recent convert,” and I imagine I’m “well thought of by outsiders” (honestly, it’s the insiders I’d really be more worried about).

I admit freely that my attendance has

been ... lax ... and I’ve always felt deacons, like the Lord, should be omnipresent (at least within the church). To be fair, though, living some 200-plus miles away does put a damper in one’s attendance.

I have been known to, on occasion, write in women on my deacon ballot, a decided Southern Baptist faux pas. I maintain I only submitted the names of people I knew to be serious, well thought of candidates, but it was not meant to be.

••• Also included inside of the envelope from the church was a small postcard with some writing on it.

I, the potential deacon candidate, was supposed to check my intention to run in a pre-printed box.

If I can offer no better proof that I do not belong on such an august body, may I point to this: I seem to have misplaced the card.

Church office, please consider this my official notice that I do not wish to be a candidate for deacon.

Thank you kindly for the offer, but we both know it wouldn’t be the best idea.

I’m eligible, but I’m far from ready.

Author’s note: Since history has shown me my words have an odd way of being misinterpreted, let me state here and now that this column was meant to be seen as a lighthearted, jovial column.

In no way do I wish to demean or attack First Baptist Church Opelika or its deacon board filled with compassionate, caring Christian men — many of whom I’ve known and looked up to for most of my life.

My purpose with this piece was more an act of self-deprecation, or, to paraphrase an old Groucho Marx line — I just don’t want to belong to any club that would have someone like me as a member.

Cliff McCollum is an 80-year-old soul trapped in a 20-something body. He is an ordained minister and former community college professor who enjoys British literature and field herpetology. He spends his spare time trying to show Vegans and vegetarians the error of their ways. As managing editor of the Gulf Coast Newspapers in Baldwin County, Alabama — now part of Osteen Publishing Co. — he can be reached at cmccollum@gulfcoastnewspapers.com.

uppose you saw a person driving his car on the wrong side of a highway, against the traffic. Would you call him a stupid and/or incompetent driver? You say, “Williams, what kind of question is that?

Of course he’s one or the other!” I’d say, “Hold your horses. What are his intentions?” If the driver’s intentions are to cause highway calamity, one can hardly call his actions stupid or incompetent.

Given his intentions, he is wisely acting in a manner to achieve his objectives.

This observation lies at the heart of my colleague Dr. Thomas Sowell’s column last week, in which he says, “Pundits who depict Obama as a weak, lame duck president may be greatly misjudging Walter him, as they Williams have so often in the past.”

After suffering an elective trouncing at the polls, President Obama issued Congress an ultimatum, saying that if it doesn’t enact the kind of immigration law that he would like, he will unilaterally issue an executive order to change the nation’s immigration laws.

This threat, along with other abuses of his office, is not a sign of presidential stupidity or incompetence.

Obama is doing precisely what he promised during his 2008 presidential campaign, to cheering and mesmerized crowds: “We are going to fundamentally change America” and “We will change America. We will change the world.” Obama is living up to those pledges by subverting our Constitution and adopting the political style of a banana republic dictator.

He showed his willingness to ignore the Constitution when he eliminated the work requirement in welfare reform laws enacted during the Clinton administration. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, was enacted by Congress and hence is the law of the land. Obama has used executive orders to change the law on several occasions. Ask yourself whether our Constitution permits the president to unilaterally change a law enacted by Congress. For a president to do so is for him to behave like a banana republic dictator. As Sowell says, “people who are increasingly questioning Barack Obama’s competence are continuing to ignore the alternative possibility that his fundamental values and imperatives are different from theirs.”

The recent elections, which gave Republicans control of both houses of Congress, clear-

‘Seeing as all branches of federal government ignore most of the provisions of the Constitution, I think we can safely say that we’ve reached the postConstitution stage of our history.’ ly indicate a repudiation of much of Obama’s agenda. But the question is whether the Republican majority has the courage to act on that repudiation and stop the president from running roughshod over the Constitution. Because Article 1 of the Constitution grants Congress the power of the purse, there is not much a president can do without a budget appropriation. The question is whether Congress has the guts to exercise its power.

We can rightfully condemn the president for picking and choosing which laws of the land he will obey and which he won’t, in violation of the Constitution’s Article 2, but is his administration’s executive branch that much of an exception to the other branches of the federal government — the legislative and judicial branches?

The legislative branch is bound by Article 1 of the Constitution. Section 8 of Article 1 delineates the scope of congressional power to tax and spend. Nowhere within Article 1, Section 8 is Congress granted the authority to tax for at least two-thirds of the federal budget.

The courts are bound by the Constitution’s Article 3. Part of the courts’ responsibility is to ensure that the executive and legislative branches of government uphold the Constitution. In that respect, the courts have been grossly derelict, particularly during and after the New Deal era.

Seeing as all branches of federal government ignore most of the provisions of the Constitution, I think we can safely say that we’ve reached the post-Constitution stage of our history. Washington politicians are not to blame. It’s the American people who’ve lost their love and respect for our Constitution. Washington’s politicians are simply the agents for that contempt.

Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. © 2014 creators.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR TAKE DOWN YOUR HANDICAP TAG WHILE DRIVING A note to all you handicap drivers: If you have a handicap driver tag you hang from the inside mirror of your vehicle, before you head out on the road carefully read the back side of this tag. Near the mirror hook, you should see a fine warning sentence, “Do not hang this while driving this vehicle!

Only to be used when parking this vehicle in a handicap parking space” (Do not have this tag hanging out while your vehicle is in motion, it might obstruct your forward view.)

HENRY WINDER Handicap driver Sumter

THANKS TO ALL WHO SUPPORT PUBLIC SCHOOLS Communities nationwide will celebrate 93 years of American Education Week, the national observance that honors students, teachers, education support professionals, parents and community members who help students succeed. Events are designed to honor

and recognize the professionalism and commitment of educators and appreciate parents and community members who work toward quality public schools for every student.

As the 2013-14 Sumter School District Teacher of the Year, I have the privilege of working as the chairwoman of our Teacher Forum. We work together to inform teachers about current education issues in South Carolina. We also work to recruit and retain the best teachers for our district. This year we will award four scholarships to students who plan to pursue education degrees and become teachers. One of our scholarships is the Hailey Bordeaux Memorial Scholarship, named in memory of one of our own Sumter School District students. Hailey was an education major and Teaching Fellow at University of South Carolina. We want to honor Hailey’s legacy by awarding her scholarship to a qualified graduate of one of our district high schools.

Our district works diligently to provide the best instruction for all of our students, and our success

would not be possible without the community partnerships we have forged with business, industry, military and faith-based communities. Thank you for providing materials for our classrooms, speakers who share their expertise with our students, rewards for grades and good behavior for students, discounts and appreciation cards for teachers and the many other ways that you show your support for our public schools.

I consider it an immense privilege to work in the classroom every day. Over the 29 years I have been a teacher, I have taught and loved over 600 students. I know of no other job that allows a person to impact the lives of so many. Sumter School District has a wonderful community of teachers, and we hope that you will continue to provide your support and encouragement as we strive to do the very best for the children of our community.

TINA F. SORRELLS Alice Drive Elementary Sumter School District Teacher Forum Chairwoman

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

SUPPORT GROUPS AA, AL-ANON, ALATEEN: AA — Monday-Friday, noon and 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., 1 Warren St. (803) 7751852.

AA Women’s Meeting — Wednesday, 7 p.m., 1 Warren St. (803) 775-1852.

AA Spanish Speaking — Sunday, 4:30 p.m., 1 Warren St. (803) 775-1852.

AA “How it Works” Group — Monday and Friday, 8 p.m., 1154 Ronda St. Call (803) 4945180.

Al-Anon “Courage to Change” Support Group — Tuesday, 7 p.m., Alice Drive Baptist Church, Room 204, 1305 Loring Mill Road. Call Dian at (803) 316-0775 or Crystal at (803) 775-3587.

441 AA Support Group — Monday, Tuesday and Friday, 8:30 p.m., Hair Force, 2090-D S.C. 441.

AA Summerton Group — Wednesday, 8 p.m., town hall.

Manning Al-Anon Family Group — Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Behavioral Health Building, 14 Church St., Manning. Call Angie Johnson at (803) 4358085.

C/A “Drop the Rock” Group — Thursday, 9:30 p.m., 1154 Ronda St. Call Elizabeth Owens at (803) 607-4543.

HIV/AIDS: Positive Outlook, through Wateree AIDS Task Force, meets at 11:30 a.m. third Friday of each month. Support group for those with HIV/ AIDS as well as their friends and family. For location, contact Kevin at (803) 778-0303 or at watereeaids@sc.rr.com.

(803) 469-9426.

EFMP Parent Exchange Group — Last Tuesday each month, 11 a.m.-noon, Airman and Family Readiness Center. Support to service members who have a dependent with a disability or illness. Call Dorcus Haney at (803) 895-1252/1253 or Sue Zimmerman at (803) 847-2377.

WEDNESDAY MEETINGS: Sickle Cell Support Group — last Wednesday each month, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., South Sumter Resource Center, 337 Manning Ave. Call Bertha Willis at (803) 774-6181.

THURSDAY MEETINGS: TOPS S.C. No. 236 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) — Thursdays, 9 a.m., Spectrum Senior Center,1989 Durant Lane.

Call Diane at (803) 775-3926 or Nancy at (803) 469-4789.

Asthma Support Group — Every 1st Thursday, 6 p.m., Clarendon County School District 3 Parenting Center, 2358 Walker Gamble Road, New Zion.

Call Mary Howard at (843) 659-2102.

Alzheimer’s Support Group through S.C. Alzheimer’s Association — Every 1st Thursday, 6-8 p.m., McElveen Manor, 2065 McCrays Mill Road. Call Cheryl Fluharty at (803) 905-7720 or the Alzheimer’s Association at (800) 636-3346.

Journey of Hope (for families members of the mentally ill), Journey to Recovery (for the mentally ill) and Survivors of Suicide Support Group — Each group meets every 1st Thursday, 7 p.m., St. John United Methodist Church, 136 Poinsett Drive. Call Fred Harmon at (803) 905-5620.

MONDAY MEETINGS: Sumter Vitiligo Support Group — second Monday of each month, 5:45-6:45 p.m., North HOPE Center, 904 N. Main St. Call Tiffany at (803) 316-6763.

Find us on Facebook at Sumter Vitiligo Support.

TUESDAY MEETINGS: Sumter Connective Tissue Support Group — 1st Tuesday of Jan., March, May, July, Sept. and Nov., 7 p.m., 180 Tiller Circle. Call (803) 773-0869.

Mothers of Angels (for mothers who have lost a child) — Every Tuesday, 6 p.m., Wise Drive Baptist Church. Call Betty at (803) 469-2616 or Carol at

FRIDAY MEETINGS: Celebrate Recovery — Every Friday, 6 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. program, Salt & Light Church, Miller Road (across from Food Lion). For help with struggles of alcohol, drugs, family problems, smoking, etc.

SATURDAY MEETINGS: Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/ Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Support Group — 1:30 p.m. every third Saturday, 3785 Blackberry Lane, Lot 7.

Call Donna Parker at (803) 481-7521.

DAILY PLANNER

WEATHER

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2014

AccuWeather® five-day forecast for Sumter TODAY

TONIGHT

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Sunny and cold

Cold with a starlit sky

Sunshine mixing with some clouds

Sunshine

Mostly sunny

Warmer with rain and a t-storm

48°

29°

57° / 32°

55° / 31°

61° / 48°

72° / 60°

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 10%

Chance of rain: 15%

Chance of rain: 75%

S 4-8 mph

SW 4-8 mph

WSW 7-14 mph

ENE 6-12 mph

E 6-12 mph

SSW 8-16 mph

TODAY’S SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER

Gaffney 44/28 Spartanburg 46/29

Greenville 45/29

Columbia 48/27

Sumter 48/29

IN THE MOUNTAINS Aiken 49/25

ON THE COAST

Charleston 51/31

Today: Sunny and cold. High 47 to 52.

Thursday: Clouds and sun; however, sunnier in southern parts. High 58 to 62.

LOCAL ALMANAC

LAKE LEVELS

SUMTER THROUGH 4 P.M. YESTERDAY

Today Hi/Lo/W 49/33/s 28/15/sn 60/39/s 32/20/sn 65/48/pc 75/57/pc 60/44/s 34/32/s 65/44/pc 33/32/s 74/49/pc 66/55/sh 38/34/s

SUN AND MOON 7 a.m. yest.

355.82 74.54 74.49 96.98

24-hr chg +0.11 +0.08 +0.12 -0.01

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

trace 0.74" 1.70" 32.15" 44.15" 42.39"

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

41° 30° 66° 40° 84° in 2013 26° in 1959

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

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 56/34/s 23/9/pc 65/54/c 27/15/sf 70/59/r 69/57/pc 69/52/pc 44/27/s 69/49/pc 46/27/s 73/53/s 62/54/r 49/29/s

Myrtle Beach 47/33

Manning 49/26

Today: Sunny and warmer. Winds southwest 4-8 mph.

Thursday: Sun, some clouds. Winds west-southwest 7-14 mph.

Temperature High Low Normal high Normal low Record high Record low

Florence 47/29

Bishopville 47/27

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

Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr stage yest. chg 12 2.27 +0.01 19 3.17 -0.23 14 2.77 -0.05 14 3.43 +0.48 80 75.76 -0.36 24 4.87 +0.06

Sunrise 6:58 a.m.

Moonrise 4:00 a.m.

Sunset Moonset

5:16 p.m.

3:35 p.m.

New

First

Full

Last

Nov. 22

Nov. 29

Dec. 6

Dec. 14

TIDES AT MYRTLE BEACH

Today Thu.

High 6:25 a.m.

6:30 p.m.

7:09 a.m.

7:15 p.m.

Ht. 3.2 3.0 3.3 3.0

Low 12:36 a.m.

1:14 p.m.

1:19 a.m.

2:01 p.m.

Ht. 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.3

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

Today Hi/Lo/W 43/27/s 48/27/s 50/23/s 52/31/s 42/35/s 51/31/s 44/27/s 48/32/s 48/27/s 46/27/s 42/31/s 45/30/s 46/29/s

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 49/23/pc 56/28/s 60/28/s 61/36/s 55/39/pc 61/37/s 55/27/s 58/31/s 59/31/s 57/29/s 56/30/pc 56/32/s 56/30/s

City Florence Gainesville Gastonia Goldsboro Goose Creek Greensboro Greenville Hickory Hilton Head Jacksonville, FL La Grange Macon Marietta

Today Hi/Lo/W 47/29/s 55/26/s 45/27/s 42/28/s 50/29/s 41/27/s 45/29/s 42/27/s 50/36/s 53/26/s 52/28/s 50/23/s 47/30/s

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 57/32/s 63/33/s 57/27/s 55/29/s 60/36/s 52/26/s 56/28/s 53/27/s 59/41/s 62/34/s 60/30/s 60/28/pc 53/29/s

City Marion Mt. Pleasant Myrtle Beach Orangeburg Port Royal Raleigh Rock Hill Rockingham Savannah Spartanburg Summerville Wilmington Winston-Salem

Today Hi/Lo/W 44/24/s 51/31/s 47/33/s 49/28/s 51/30/s 43/27/s 45/26/s 45/23/s 54/29/s 46/29/s 50/32/s 47/30/s 41/28/s

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 53/24/pc 60/38/s 58/37/pc 59/32/pc 60/37/s 54/26/s 55/27/s 55/26/s 63/36/s 57/28/s 60/38/s 58/34/pc 52/26/s

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

PUBLIC AGENDA CLARENDON SCHOOL DISTRICT 3 Thursday, 7:30 p.m., district office, Turbeville

THE SUMTER ITEM

your qualifying Trane 0% APR and Purchase system before Dec. 15, 2014 and take your choice of 0% APR for 48 with equal payments or up 48 MONTHS months to a $1000 trade-in allowance.

For special accommodations, call (803) 934-0396, extension 103.

TUOMEY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER BOARD Monday, noon, Tuomey

CLARENDON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES Tuesday, 6 p.m., hospital board room

SANTEE WATEREE RTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Monday, 6 p.m., 129 S. Harvin St.

SUMTER COUNTY COUNCIL Tuesday, 6 p.m., Sumter County Council Chambers

Call today for complete details & schedule your FREE in-home consultation to learn how much you can save.

803-795-4257 ARIES (March 21-April 19): Tension will EUGENIA LAST skyrocket over a financial or legal matter. Letting your temper get the better of you won’t help, but making personal changes will help you get things back in control and redeem your standing.

The last word in astrology

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Do whatever you can to help others.

Be a participant, and you will draw interesting people into your circle.

A partnership will enable you to achieve twice as much in half the time. Be cautious while traveling or dealing with institutions.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t let a poor relationship curb your appeal or your ability to get things done. Concentrate on work and reevaluate the people, organizations and friendships interwoven in your life. It’s time to make adjustments.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Stop stewing and start doing. Make choices so others don’t feel the need to do so for you. If you feel uncertain, ask for help. Don’t sit by, expecting things to fall into place.

Don’t let change daunt you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take care of the domestic situations that are worrying you. Nurture the ones you love and listen to complaints and suggestions attentively.

Expand your interests, and you will encourage others to join you. Love is on the rise.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Talks will help you settle a pending matter.

Joining a social group will enable you to see the possibilities that exist. A relationship or health problem could be affected by faulty information. Get a second opinion.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You are overdue for a change, but don’t let anyone put demands on you.

Whatever you decide must be for your own benefit. If you are honest about how you feel and what you want, you won’t feel guilty.

LOTTERY NUMBERS

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Follow through with your plans, but don’t do so in a gregarious manner.

Keeping your moves a secret will help you avoid interference.

Insecurity will plague a relationship with someone special. Avoid being jealous or possessive.

PICK 3 TUESDAY

PICK 4 TUESDAY

1-9-9 and 8-2-3

2-3-9-8 and 4-6-7-2

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Keep an open mind and refrain from going into combat with someone who is in an authoritative position. The information you offer is best presented in detail and without exaggeration. Don’t let emotional matters squelch your happiness. Move on.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Get your work out of the way so you can enjoy your free time. Tinkering with odd jobs will ease your mind and make you feel good about your accomplishments. Sometimes it’s the little jobs that cause the most stress. Reward yourself.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Listen carefully and stick to the rules. Stay well-informed and you will be able to make changes that can raise your income. Pursue something you find innovative. Romance should highlight your evening and will improve your personal relationships.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Check out what others are offering. What you learn through observation will help you secure your position and attain future advancement. Don’t allow a personal matter to hinder your chances of voicing your opinion or presenting your top performance.

PALMETTO CASH 5 TUESDAY

POWERBALL SATURDAY

MEGAMILLIONS FRIDAY

3-7-9-20-23 PowerUp: 4

13-16-33-35-51 Powerball: 28 Powerplay: 2

3-49-61-62-68 Megaball: 15 Megaplier: 5

PICTURES FROM THE PUBLIC Dimitria Alston comments on her photo submission, “I was passing by my uncle’s field off David Austin Road and thought that this was an awesome picture of the cows in yellow pasture.”

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

SECTION

Tide climb to top spot in latest playoff rankings B3

B

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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

PREP FOOTBALL

CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Numbers never lie

Sprained LCL puts Watson in limbo No surgery needed, but no firm date for Tiger QB’s return to action

BY AARON BRENNER Post and Courier

SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO

Laurence Manning Academy quarterback J.T. Eppley (11) and the Swampcat offense have been firing on all cylinders this season, averaging 37.4 points per game.

Switch to spread/power set produces most productive offense in LMA history

BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER michaelc@theitem.com Coming off his first year as the Laurence Manning football head coach, Robbie Briggs was searching for the best fit for his players. A friend introduced him to a spread/power offensive set similar to what Auburn runs.

The team responded to the change and the numbers don’t lie. Last year, the

Swampcats scored 372 points, good for a 28.6 average points per game. Compare that to this year’s 486 total points, which is a 37.4 average.

“You have to be more of a physical team to run this offense, and we’re more of a physical team compared to most teams,” LMA center Tillman Tumbleston said.

“It’s very different from most teams. Most teams are spread out and we’re all to-

gether, and it’s been good for us.”

LMA will battle Hammond for the SCISA 3A state title in Columbia at Benedict College’s Charlie W. Johnson Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 p.m..

The 11-2 Swampcats, who were slowed by injuries and getting acclimated to Briggs’ way of running things last year, now find themselves as the most productive offense in school history, according

to the website SCISA Football history WIKI (https:// sites.google.com/site/ scisafootballhistory/home).

LMA has scored in the 50s four times, in the 40s three times and put up 60 points once this year.

“It all starts with the center and Caleb Pipkin was injured two weeks ago, so we moved Tillman Tumbleston in to center,” Briggs said.

CLEMSON — Casual fans understand tears, strains and sprains of the ACL — and know those are the three most feared letters in sports medical vernacular. Diehards are cognizant of injuries to the MCL. Only the mediWATSON cally inclined really are familiar with a lesser-discussed knee ligament — the LCL, or lateral collateral ligament.

Freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson on Saturday suffered a bone bruise and, more significantly, sprained his LCL, which has Clemson fans frantically searching WebMD and other online publications for information.

Even head coach Dabo Swinney doesn’t know much about the injury Watson sustained in Clemson’s 28-6 loss to Georgia Tech.

“They don’t do surgery on it,” Swinney said. “They put a brace on it and go play.”

Swinney said he was informed by Clemson’s doctors there was no damage to Watson’s ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) or MCL (medial collateral ligament) — but the coach deferred when asked if Watson could risk further, more long-term damage by returning too soon.

“You’ll have to go talk to the doctors about that,” Swinney said. “When they tell me he can play, he plays. That’s what our medical team does. We’re not going to put anybody out there that’s not ready to play.

They all have risk when they go out there.”

Clemson declines media requests for its medical experts, including head trainer Danny Poole and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Larry Bowman,

SEE LMA, PAGE B2

SEE WATSON, PAGE B3

USC FOOTBALL

USC BASKETBALL

Rejuvenated Gamecocks ready for final stretch

Chery leads Baylor to 69-65 win over Carolina

BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press

BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press COLUMBIA — Steve Spurrier was happy to see South Carolina again play like he expected when the year began.

For the 10th-year coach, the schedule’s been largely a series of disastrous losses and unmet expectations. The Gamecocks (5-5) turned that around for at least one week with a miraculous finish to defeat Florida 23-20 in overtime last Saturday.

Spurrier was proud of how his players persevered when they could’ve shut down when faced with what looked like another Southeastern Conference loss. Instead, the Gamecocks blocked a field goal and a punt, the latter leading to a

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

After a dramatic 23-20 overtime win over Florida last week, a rejuvenated South Carolina football team is set to make some noise in its final two games of the season, starting on Saturday at home against South Alabama. tying touchdown at the end of regulation.

South Carolina capped the comeback with Dylan Thompson’s 4-yard TD run in overtime.

The win put some pep in the

Gamecocks’ step heading into the final two games, starting Saturday against South Alabama (6-4).

South Carolina entered the

SEE USC, PAGE B3

COLUMBIA — Baylor coach Scott Drew is glad he’s got senior Kenny Chery guiding his young team.

Chery scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half to lead the Bears to a 69-65 victory over South Carolina on Tuesday.

“I know we have a lot of inexperienced players, first time playing college basketball,’’ Drew said. “It really makes it easy when you have a senior point guard in Kenny Chery controlling the tempo out there.’’

Chery worked through a cold first half — he made just one of seven shots — and improved after the break. He had two 3-pointers as the Bears built a 64-54 lead with less than five minutes left, then made two clinching foul shots after South Carolina

cut the deficit to just 67-65 in the final seconds.

“We have a lot of young CHERY guys as senior leaders, our job is to keep everybody together,’’ said Chery, who helped Baylor reach the NCAA Sweet 16. “We’ll never be too high or too low, and I think we’re doing a great job.’’

So far. The Bears opened 2-0 for the ninth straight season.

Freshman Johnathan Motley, among seven newcomers on Baylor’s 13-man roster, added 17 points for Baylor.

It’s the second consecutive season these teams have played a down-to-thewire contest — and the second year Baylor came out on top. Last season, Royce O’Neale made two foul

SEE CAROLINA, PAGE B5

B2

|

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

SPORTS ITEMS

SCS squads win 3 of 4 The Sumter Christian School varsity boys and girls basketball teams and the junior varsity boys opened their seasons with victories of North Myrtle Beach Christian on Monday at the SCS gymnasium.

In the varsity boys game, the Bears picked up an 83-63 victory. TJ Barron and Aaron Pekuri both had 20 points to lead SCS while Grayson Dennis had 14.

In the varsity girls game, SCS won 50-14. Susanna Hutson led the way with 19, while Sarah Fraser had 17 and Dixie Jones 9.

Sumter Christian won the JV boys game 50-48. Dennis had 17, while Donzell Metz had 14 and Desmond Sigler had 10.

North Myrtle Beach won the JV girls contest 11-10. Hutson led SCS with five.

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCRIMMAGES SATURDAY

Middle school basketball scrimmages will be held on Saturday at the Mayewood Middle School gymnasium and the R.E. Davis Elementary gymnasium beginning at 9 a.m. at each site.

Local schools that will be competing are Furman, Bates, Alice Drive, Mayewood, Hillcrest and Wilson Hall, Scott’s Branch and Manning along with Darlington and Hartsville.

Admission is $3 per person.

PANTHERS COACH: HARDY ‘PROBABLY’ DONE FOR THE YEAR

CHARLOTTE — Panthers coach Ron Rivera says he’s “probably’’ given up hope of Greg Hardy playing this season following the NFL’s decision Tuesday to suspend Vikings running back Adrian Peterson for the remainder of the year.

Peterson pleaded no contest Nov. 4 to misdemeanor reckless assault for injuries to his 4-year-old son.

Hardy, a Pro Bowl defensive end, was placed on the exempt-commissioner’s permission list Sept. 17, two months after being convicted on two counts of domestic violence. Hardy is appealing. His court date was recently pushed back to 2015.

Hardy becomes a free agent in March.

Rivera said the team hadn’t decided if it would consider re-signing Hardy.

Rivera says, “People are looking at us in terms of the moral compass, so we’ve got to be smart about things we decide.’’

LMA FROM PAGE B1 “(Tillman’s) a tremendous snapper of the football, which gives us some great rhythm.

“Offensively, our two guards, Raymond Davis and Cameron Menser, have done a great job being able to pull and lead up and be more of an athletic type of lineman. Then Tyler Riles, a senior, is our right offensive tackle and Austin Griffith is our left offensive tackle. Both of those kids have had great seasons for us.”

LMA has scored more than 400 points only four times in its 41-year history. Prior to this year, it was 1997 in which LMA scored its most points, 442.

Ironically, that’s the last state title won by LMA as it went 13-0.

“In high school, your goal is to run 60 plays a game,” Briggs said.

“We go into every game breaking it down, what we want to do with these 60 plays, and of

COLLEGE BASKETBALL (11) WICHITA ST. 71 MEMPHIS ST 56.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Ron Baker scored 21 points to lead No. 11 Wichita State to a 71-56 win Tuesday over Memphis State, pushing the Shockers regular-season win streak to a nation-leading 33 games.

Fred VanVleet had 15 points and Darius Carter added 12 for the Shockers (2-0).

The Tigers were led by Nick King’s 16 points. Austin Nichols and Avery Woodson added 10 each.

Wichita State led 39-22 at half, holding the Tigers to a 5-for-21 shooting from the field while forcing 14 turnovers. The Shockers had a 15-2 run early in the second half, capping it with Baker’s 3-pointer with 13:43 to play to give Wichita State a 47-31 lead.

(16) SAN DIEGO ST. 53

SAN DIEGO — JJ O’Brien had a strong second half and finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, helping No. 16 San Diego State to 53-49 victory against No. 25 Utah in a Tuesday matinee between cold-shooting teams that had a crazy final 47 seconds.

O’Brien had no points and three rebounds in the first half, and SDSU trailed 18-17 at the break. The Aztecs looked like a different team in the second half, starting when O’Brien grabbed a rebound and then made a reverse layup 40 seconds in.

Angelo Chol scored six points during a 9-0 run that put SDSU (2-0) ahead for good.

WOFFORD 86 IONA 73

SPARTANBURG — Karl Cochran scored 20 points and Lee Skinner added 15 points as Wofford beat Iona 86-73 on Tuesday as part of ESPN’s Tip-Off Marathon.

Iona led 42-39 at halftime and David Laury hit a short shot in the paint to tie the game at 52-52 with 14:41 left, but Wofford steadily pulled away. Jaylen Allen’s 3-pointer at 6:35 put Wofford up by 12 and the Terriers led by as many as 18 points in the closing minutes.

The 6-foot-9 Laury led Iona (1-1) with 23 points on 8 of 17 shooting while A.J. English added 22.

From staff, wire reports

course Tyshawn (Epps), he’s going to get his carries no matter what, and then we go from there.”

Whether it’s J.T. Eppley or Adam Lowder at quarterback, the Swampcats aren’t afraid to go with the hot hand with running backs like Epps, Cagney Brunson or Brandon Hutson.

“You’ve got to have a very knowledgeable and tough quarterback,” Briggs said. “Of course, when you’ve got someone like Tyshawn Epps who can stretch the field and everyone has got to pay attention to where he is the entire time, then he opens up a lot of holes for some other players.

“Two other positions that are critical to what we do are tight end with Todd Larrimer — he’s as good as any tight end I’ve ever coached — and then what we call our turtle back, that’s Davis Martin, which is more or less a fullback. He’s been outstanding along with Colton Ardis.

Friday Second Round 4A Division I (8) Summerville (1) Fort Dorchester (13) Lexington at (5) Hillcrest (10) Dorman at (2) Dutch Fork (6) Northwestern at (3) Byrnes Division II (16) River Bluff at (9) York (5) Greenwood at (4) Westwood (7) North Augusta at (2) South Florence (6) Spartanburg at (3) Stratford Third Round 3A Upper State (2) Emerald at (1) A.C. Flora (2) Belton-Honea Path at (1) South Pointe Lower State (1) Berkeley at (1) Hartsville (2) Marlboro County at (1) Myrtle Beach 2A Division I Upper State (3) Newberry at (1) Fairfield Central Lower State (3) Loris at (1) Dillon 2A Division II Upper state (6) Ninety Six at (5) Keenan

SCOREBOARD

Chicago 105, L.A. Clippers 89

TUESDAY’S GAMES

L.A. Lakers at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

New York at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Utah, 9 p.m.

New Orleans at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

TV, RADIO TODAY

11 a.m. -- Professional Golf: Asian Tour Chiangmai Golf Classic Final Round from Chiangmai, Thailand (GOLF).

1 p.m. -- Women’s College Basketball: Cal State-Northridge at Brigham Young (BYUTV).

6 p.m. -- Women’s College Volleyball: South Carolina at Tennessee (ESPNU).

6:05 p.m. -- Talk Show: Sports Talk (WPUB-FM 102.7, WDXY-FM 105.9, WDXY-AM 1240).

7 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: San Antonio at Cleveland (ESPN).

7 p.m. -- Women’s College Volleyball: Texas A&M at Arkansas (SEC NETWORK).

8 p.m. -- College Football: Bowling Green at Toledo (ESPN2).

8 p.m. -- College Football: Kent State at Buffalo (ESPNU).

8 p.m. -- College Basketball: Oklahoma at Creighton (FOX SPORTS 1).

8 p.m. -- NHL Hockey: Philadelphia at New York Rangers (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

9 p.m. -- College Basketball: Southern Virginia at Brigham Young (BYUTV).

9 p.m. -- College Basketball: Wake Forest at Arkansas (SEC NETWORK).

9:30 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: Los Angeles Lakers at Houston (ESPN).

9:30 p.m. -- Professional Golf: PGA Tour of Australasia Australian Masters First Round from Melbourne, Australia (GOLF).

11 p.m. -- College Basketball: NIT Season TipOff Regional-Round Game -- St. Joseph’s at Gonzaga (ESPNU).

3 a.m. -- Professional Golf: European PGA Tour World Tour Championship First Round from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (GOLF).

4 a.m. -- Professional Baseball: MLB All-Stars vs. Samurai Japan National Team Game Six from Okinawa, Japan (MLB NETWORK).

(25) UTAH 49

Those guys have done a tremendous job opening holes and give us a running threat up the middle.”

Tempo has also been important to the success of the offense, and Epps said he feels the team goes as the tempo does. Nonetheless, the Swampcats have shown they can win games when their offense has been limited. They beat Augusta Christian 14-5 and Porter-Gaud 15-10 while losing 8-7 to SCISA 2A Florence Christian.

“We can get it done in the running game, but we can also pass it too, so I think this offense is a really good offense,” he explained.

“We prefer to run it; I mean when we’ve got as good of backs as we have like Cagney Brunson, Brandon Hutson and myself, the running game is pretty good. With this blocking scheme I’ve had to be a lot more patient than I was last year but when the blocks do open they’re all touchdowns.”

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Kent St. at Buffalo, 8 p.m.

Bowling Green at Toledo, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

EAST Fordham at Army, Noon Villanova at Delaware, Noon Robert Morris at Duquesne, Noon Holy Cross at Georgetown, Noon Gardner-Webb at Monmouth (NJ), Noon Columbia at Brown, 12:30 p.m.

Penn at Cornell, 12:30 p.m.

Yale at Harvard, 12:30 p.m.

Dartmouth at Princeton, 1 p.m.

Syracuse at Pittsburgh, 3:30 p.m.

Cincinnati at UConn, 8 p.m.

SOUTH Charleston Southern at Georgia, Noon SMU at UCF, Noon Morehead St. at Charlotte, Noon E. Kentucky at Florida, Noon Elon at James Madison, Noon South Alabama at South Carolina, Noon Marshall at UAB, Noon Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, 12:30 p.m.

Liberty at Coastal Carolina, 1 p.m.

Hampton at Howard, 1 p.m.

Delaware St. at Morgan St., 1 p.m.

Louisiana Tech at Old Dominion, 1 p.m.

Norfolk St. at SC State, 1:30 p.m.

The Citadel at VMI, 1:30 p.m.

Mercer at Wofford, 1:30 p.m.

Bethune-Cookman vs. Florida A&M at Orlando, Fla., 2 p.m.

Tennessee St. at Murray St., 2 p.m.

NC A&T at NC Central, 2 p.m.

Georgia St. at Clemson, 3:30 p.m.

Tulane at East Carolina, 3:30 p.m.

Boston College at Florida St., 3:30 p.m.

Chattanooga at Furman, 3:30 p.m.

W. Carolina at Alabama, 4 p.m.

South Florida at Memphis, 4 p.m.

Tennessee Tech at Austin Peay, 5 p.m.

Appalachian St. at Louisiana-Lafayette, 5 p.m.

Samford at Auburn, 7 p.m.

Miami at Virginia, 7 p.m.

FAU at Middle Tennessee, 7 p.m.

Vanderbilt at Mississippi St., 7:30 p.m.

Missouri at Tennessee, 7:30 p.m.

MIDWEST Penn St. at Illinois, Noon Rutgers at Michigan St., Noon Minnesota at Nebraska, Noon Indiana at Ohio St., Noon Northwestern at Purdue, Noon W. Michigan at Cent. Michigan, 1 p.m.

E. Michigan at Ball St., 2 p.m.

Indiana St. at W. Illinois, 2 p.m.

Wisconsin at Iowa, 3:30 p.m.

Texas Tech at Iowa St., 3:30 p.m.

Maryland at Michigan, 3:30 p.m.

Louisville at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m.

SOUTHWEST Kansas at Oklahoma, Noon Tulsa at Houston, 3 p.m.

Alabama A&M at Ark.-Pine Bluff, 3:30 p.m.

Mississippi at Arkansas, 3:30 p.m.

Oklahoma St. at Baylor, 7:30 p.m.

FAR WEST Washington St. at Arizona St., 1 p.m.

New Mexico at Colorado St., 1:30 p.m.

Savannah St. at BYU, 3 p.m.

Arizona at Utah, 3:30 p.m.

Stanford at California, 4 p.m.

Louisiana-Monroe at New Mexico St., 4 p.m.

Colorado at Oregon, 4:30 p.m.

Southern Cal at UCLA, 8 p.m.

Boise St. at Wyoming, 10:15 p.m.

Fresno St. at Nevada, 10:30 p.m.

Oregon St. at Washington, 10:30 p.m.

UNLV at Hawaii, 11 p.m.

NBA STANDINGS

By The Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION

Chicago Cleveland Milwaukee Indiana Detroit

W 8 4 3 3 0

L 2 6 6 8 10

Pct .800 .400 .333 .273 .000

GB – 4 41/2 51/2 8

W 7 5 6 5 4

L 2 4 5 7 7

Pct .778 .556 .545 .417 .364

GB – 2 2 31/2 4

W 8 5 5 4 3

L 3 4 5 7 8

Pct .727 .556 .500 .364 .273

GB – 2 21/2 4 5

W 10 9 8 6 5

L 1 2 3 4 4

Pct .909 .818 .727 .600 .556

GB – 1 2 31/2 4

W 8 4 3 3 2

L 3 7 7 8 7

Pct .727 .364 .300 .273 .222

GB – 4 41/2 5 5

W 8 6 5 6 1

L 2 4 4 5 9

Pct .800 .600 .556 .545 .100

GB – 2 21/2 21/2 7

SOUTHWEST DIVISION

Lower State (2) Timberland at (1) Woodland 1A Division I Upper State (2) McBee at (1) Christ Church Lower State (4) Bamberg-Ehrhardt at (2) Allendale-Fairfax 1A Division II Upper State (2) Hunter-Kinard-Tyler at (1) Lamar Lower State (2) Estill at (1) Lake View

SCISA

Saturday State Championships At Charlie W. Johnson Stadium in Columbia 3A (2) Laurence Manning vs. (1) Hammond, 7:30 p.m.

2A (1) Florence Christian vs. (1) Northwood Academy, 3:30 p.m.

1A (3) Holly Hill Academy vs. (1) Curtis Baptist, noon 8-Man Friday TBA (4) Carolina Academy vs. (1) Richard Winn, TBA

Memphis Houston Dallas San Antonio New Orleans NORTHWEST DIVISION Portland Utah Denver Oklahoma City Minnesota PACIFIC DIVISION Golden State Sacramento L.A. Clippers Phoenix L.A. Lakers

MONDAY’S GAMES

THURSDAY’S GAMES

L.A. Clippers at Miami, 8 p.m.

Chicago at Sacramento, 10:30 p.m.

NFL STANDINGS

By The Associated Press AMERICAN CONFERENCE EAST New England Miami Buffalo N.Y. Jets SOUTH Indianapolis Houston Tennessee Jacksonville NORTH Cincinnati Pittsburgh Baltimore Cleveland WEST

Dallas 107, Charlotte 80 Denver 106, Cleveland 97 Orlando 107, Detroit 93 Phoenix 118, Boston 114 Miami 95, Brooklyn 83 Memphis 119, Houston 93 San Antonio 100, Philadelphia 75 Portland 102, New Orleans 93

W 8 6 5 2

L 2 4 5 8

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .800 .600 .500 .200

PF 323 249 200 174

PA 218 180 204 265

W 6 5 2 1

L 4 5 8 9

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .600 .500 .200 .100

PF 310 229 168 158

PA 253 204 250 282

W 6 7 6 6

L 3 4 4 4

T 1 0 0 0

Pct .650 .636 .600 .600

PF 224 288 261 216

PA 221 263 181 195

W 7 7 6 0

L 3 3 4 10

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .700 .700 .600 .000

PF 293 241 218 152

PA 224 171 192 265

EAST

UTEP at Rice, 8 p.m.

Air Force at San Diego St., 9:30 p.m.

San Jose St. at Utah St., 9:30 p.m.

E. Washington at Portland St., 10:05 p.m.

Washington Atlanta Miami Orlando Charlotte CENTRAL DIVISION

Boston at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Dallas at Washington, 7 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Charlotte at Indiana, 7 p.m.

San Antonio at Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Memphis at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

Phoenix at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

Milwaukee at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

New York at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Denver, 9 p.m.

L.A. Lakers at Houston, 9:30 p.m.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Kansas St. at West Virginia, 7 p.m.

SE Louisiana at Nicholls St., 7 p.m.

North Carolina at Duke, 7:30 p.m.

Arkansas St. at Texas St., 9:30 p.m.

Toronto Brooklyn Boston New York Philadelphia SOUTHEAST DIVISION

TODAY’S GAMES

Denver Kansas City San Diego Oakland

TODAY

WESTERN CONFERENCE

PREP FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS SCHSL

THE SUMTER ITEM

Philadelphia Dallas N.Y. Giants Washington SOUTH Atlanta New Orleans Carolina Tampa Bay NORTH Detroit Green Bay Chicago Minnesota WEST Arizona San Francisco Seattle St. Louis

W 7 7 3 3

L 3 3 7 7

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .700 .700 .300 .300

PF 299 261 205 204

PA 251 212 263 256

W 4 4 3 2

L 6 6 7 8

T 0 0 1 0

Pct .400 .400 .318 .200

PF 238 261 215 194

PA 255 252 300 279

W 7 7 4 4

L 3 3 6 6

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .700 .700 .400 .400

PF 188 330 215 181

PA 156 225 290 220

W 9 6 6 4

L 1 4 4 6

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .900 .600 .600 .400

PF 237 211 260 185

PA 176 212 215 258

THURSDAY’S GAME Miami 22, Buffalo 9

SUNDAY’S GAMES

Chicago 21, Minnesota 13 Kansas City 24, Seattle 20 Cincinnati 27, New Orleans 10 St. Louis 22, Denver 7 Houston 23, Cleveland 7 Atlanta 19, Carolina 17 Tampa Bay 27, Washington 7 San Francisco 16, N.Y. Giants 10 San Diego 13, Oakland 6 Arizona 14, Detroit 6 Green Bay 53, Philadelphia 20 New England 42, Indianapolis 20 Open: Baltimore, Dallas, Jacksonville, N.Y. Jets

MONDAY’S GAME

Pittsburgh 27, Tennessee 24

THURSDAY, NOV. 20

Kansas City at Oakland, 8:25 p.m.

SUNDAY, NOV. 23

Green Bay at Minnesota, 1 p.m.

Cincinnati at Houston, 1 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Chicago, 1 p.m.

Cleveland at Atlanta, 1 p.m.

Tennessee at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.

Detroit at New England, 1 p.m.

Jacksonville at Indianapolis, 1 p.m.

N.Y. Jets at Buffalo, 1 p.m.

Arizona at Seattle, 4:05 p.m.

St. Louis at San Diego, 4:05 p.m.

Washington at San Francisco, 4:25 p.m.

Miami at Denver, 4:25 p.m.

Dallas at N.Y. Giants, 8:30 p.m.

Open: Carolina, Pittsburgh

MONDAY, NOV. 24

Baltimore at New Orleans, 8:30 p.m.

NHL STANDINGS

By The Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W Montreal 19 14 Tampa Bay 19 13 Boston 19 11 Detroit 17 8 Ottawa 17 8 Toronto 18 9 Florida 15 6 Buffalo 19 4 METROPOLITAN DIVISION GP W Pittsburgh 16 12 N.Y. Islanders 17 11 New Jersey 18 8 N.Y. Rangers 18 7 Washington 17 7 Philadelphia 16 7 Columbus 17 6 Carolina 17 5

L 4 4 8 4 5 7 4 13

OT 1 2 0 5 4 2 5 2

Pts 29 28 22 21 20 20 17 10

GF 55 71 51 45 47 56 33 30

GA 47 49 49 42 45 51 37 68

L 3 6 8 7 7 7 10 9

OT 1 0 2 4 3 2 1 3

Pts 25 22 18 18 17 16 13 13

GF 60 54 46 50 50 51 44 37

GA 35 50 53 58 49 53 59 51

OT 1 2 1 3 0 5 4

Pts 25 24 21 21 20 17 16

GF 49 43 51 37 50 47 49

GA 33 35 36 42 39 61 61

WESTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL DIVISION St. Louis Nashville Chicago Winnipeg Minnesota Colorado Dallas PACIFIC DIVISION

GP 17 17 18 19 17 19 18

W 12 11 10 9 10 6 6

L 4 4 7 7 7 8 8

GP W L OT Pts GF GA Anaheim 19 11 4 4 26 51 46 Vancouver 18 12 6 0 24 53 52 Calgary 19 11 6 2 24 59 50 Los Angeles 18 9 5 4 22 45 40 San Jose 20 10 8 2 22 56 53 Arizona 18 8 9 1 17 47 57 Edmonton 18 6 10 2 14 44 60 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.

MONDAY’S GAME

Tampa Bay 5, N.Y. Rangers 1

TUESDAY’S GAMES

St. Louis at Boston, 7 p.m.

Tampa Bay at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Columbus, 7 p.m.

San Jose at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.

Nashville at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

New Jersey at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.

Carolina at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Anaheim at Calgary, 9 p.m.

Washington at Arizona, 9 p.m.

Florida at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES

Philadelphia at N.Y. Rangers, 8 p.m.

Vancouver at Edmonton, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Minnesota at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

St. Louis at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

Nashville at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.

Detroit at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.

Arizona at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Washington at Colorado, 9 p.m.

Chicago at Calgary, 9 p.m.

Anaheim at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

Carolina at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

Florida at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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B3

Chants enjoy run of success under Moglia

BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press COLUMBIA — Coastal Carolina head football coach Joe Moglia made reaching the top a habit, whether in the boardroom or on the sidelines.

The one-time CEO of TD Ameritrade is excelling in his return to college football, leading the undefeated Chanticleers to No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision MOGLIA coaches’ national rankings. It’s the latest run of success for Moglia, who increased the stock value of his company from $700 million to more than $10 billion from 2001 to 2008 at TD Ameritrade.

The Chants (11-0) are yielding similar dividends in Moglia’s three seasons, winning two Big South Conference titles and making the NCAA playoffs both years.

They join Harvard of the Ivy League (8-0) as the two perfect teams in the FCS. Moglia was a college coach in the 1970s and 1980s before moving to the business track. After nearly two decades at the top of Wall Street, Moglia felt it was time to get back to football and see if those dreams deferred could become a reality.

Moglia found many of his business skills could transfer to the field.

“You’ve got to be sophisticated enough in the business world to be competitive on the global basis, but simple enough for all your employees to be able to execute,” Moglia said. “That is the exact same

AP FILE PHOTO

Coastal Carolina quarterback Alex Ross (4) and the Chanticleers are enjoying marked success under head coach Joe Moglia, who has guided them to a No. 1 ranking in the FCS coaches’ poll. thing in football. You’ve got to be sophisticated enough to have the different type of answers you need to compete and simple enough for your guys to execute.”

The philosophy has worked for Coastal Carolina. It’s the first Big South team to win that many games to start a season and the first to rise to a No. 1 ranking. The Chants

are No. 2 behind New Hampshire in an FCS poll compiled from media voting.

After deciding to give football another try, Moglia had an apprenticeship at Nebraska as special assistant to Cornhuskers head coach Bo Pelini in 2009 and 2010. He coached the United Football League’s Omaha Nighthawks the next season before Moglia

Alabama surges to top spot in rankings

BY RALPH D. RUSSO The Associated Press With just three weeks until the College Football Playoff committee releases its final rankings, Alabama, Oregon and Florida State seem to be in control of their championship chances.

Keeping winning and the Crimson Tide, Ducks and Seminoles should be in.

The race for the fourth and final spot in the playoff is shaping up to be a tussle between four teams.

Alabama jumped from fifth to first after handing previously undefeated and topranked Mississippi State its first loss on Saturday. The Bulldogs slid to fourth.

Oregon was bumped down to second and Florida State is now third. The Seminoles are the only undefeated team left in a Big Five conference.

Florida State fans might not be happy about how their team is being treated, but the Seminoles appear to be safe if they can keep winning right through the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. Same goes with Alabama in the Southeastern Conference and Oregon in the Pac-12.

After that, things get complicated.

USC FROM PAGE B1 season with an 18-game home win streak, the longest in the NCAA. But things have not gone well at Williams-Brice Stadium from the start with a 52-28 loss to Texas A&M in college football’s opening week.

There were also two major meltdowns at home, with Missouri rallying from 13-points down in the fourth quarter to win 21-20 and Tennessee coming back from 14-points down with less than five minutes left to win 45-42 in overtime.

The Gamecocks felt as energized as they had in some time, Spurrier said, perhaps since their 38-35 win over Georgia more than two months ago.

“We were a little bit in the dumps after the last one here two weeks ago’’ against Tennessee, Spurrier said. “But our players, I’m really proud of how they got over it. Nobody pointed fingers, who did this, that or the other. We

COLLEGE PLAYOFF RANKINGS Team 1. Alabama 2. Oregon 3. Florida St. 4. Mississippi St. 5. TCU 6. Ohio St. 7. Baylor 8. Mississippi 9. UCLA 10. Georgia 11. Michigan St. 12. Kansas St. 13. Arizona St. 14. Auburn 15. Arizona 16. Wisconsin 17. Utah 18. Georgia Tech 19. Southern Cal 20. Missouri 21. Oklahoma 22. Clemson 23. Nebraska 24. Louisville 25. Minnesota

Record 9-1 9-1 10-0 9-1 9-1 9-1 8-1 8-2 8-2 8-2 8-2 7-2 8-2 7-3 8-2 8-2 7-3 9-2 7-3 8-2 7-3 7-3 8-2 7-3 7-3

Mississippi State is followed

by TCU, which slipped to No. 5 after a closer-than-expected win against Kansas on Saturday. Ohio State moved up two spots to No. 6, ahead of TCU’s Big 12 rival Baylor.

The Bulldogs play Vanderbilt on Saturday but finish the regular season at Ole Miss, giving them a chance for another resume-boosting victory. They could use it because their best wins from early in the season (LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn) have been tarnished a bit lately.

Ohio State is in position to play in the Big Ten champion-

ship if it wins out.

The Big 12 has no conference championship game. TCU and Baylor would be co-champs if each finishes 11-1, but Baylor beat the Horned Frogs in Waco, Texas last month.

The selection protocol calls for the committee to use championships won as a tiebreaker if teams have similar resumes.

Selection Committee chairman Jeff Long said “the differences between teams four through seven are narrow, very narrow.’’

Whether it’s narrow enough to allow TCU, Ohio State or Baylor to jump past Mississippi State if one of those teams wins its conference and Mississippi State doesn’t remains to be seen.

“I don’t think there is any way to project that,’’ said Long, the athletic director at Arkansas. “It will certainly be weighed into the equation on Dec. 6 and 7.’’

The committee releases its final rankings on Dec. 7, the day after most of the conference championship games are played.

Long said Alabama controlled the game in its 25-20 victory against Mississippi State enough to earn the big promotion this week.

was hired at Coastal Carolina after the ‘11 season. Quarterback Alex Ross recalled some chatter among players wondering whether the new guy with the high-finance background had football chops.

“He talked like a football coach and when we left, that’s what we saw him as,” said Ross, the league’s preseason offensive player of the year

who’s thrown for 2,595 yards and 15 touchdowns. “That hasn’t changed.”

What did change is the players’ belief in how much they can accomplish, Moglia said.

His tenure had a bumpy start, opening at 2-4 in 2012, but Coastal Carolina reeled off five straight wins to take the Big South crown and won an FCS playoff game.

WATSON FROM PAGE B1 as a practice.

Dr. David Geier, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Charleston who writes a column for The Post and Courier, spoke in general terms without specifically referring to Watson’s treatment or prognosis as he offered insight to LCL injuries.

The LCL is a cord-like ligament on the outside of the knee, supporting sideto-side stability. The LCL is “injured a lot less commonly than the MCL on the inside of the knee,” according to Geier.

“We don’t have as much data on isolated LCL injuries, so we don’t know as reliably how quickly they recover,” Geier said. “But we do expect that an athlete with a partial LCL injury should return to play; it’s just hard to predict how quickly that happens.”

Expected healing times can range from a week to a month, given normal treatment. But football moves that Watson would need to perform could be tough on

a knee still recovering from injury.

“Once it’s completely healed, a quarterback, running back or anybody should be able to do all that fine,” Geier said. “But in the healing process, that will be very difficult, even in a brace. That involves planting your foot, changing directions side to side.

That would be difficult early in the recovery process.”

Watson has been all but ruled out for this Saturday’s game with Georgia State.

It’s the following Saturday, against South Carolina, where the Tigers are hopeful Watson can suit up and start.

“How quickly he gets his motion, strength and ability to do his job on the field for a partial tear, is anywhere from one to four weeks,” Geier said. “But every athlete’s different.”

Geier said a return too soon from ACL or MCL injuries can put athletes at higher risk than normal for repeat injuries.

Links at Lakewood Sumter, South Carolina

played well as a team.’’

And Spurrier’s hoping that can continue. The Gamecocks will honor their seniors like defensive tackle J.T. Surratt and quarterback Thompson in their final home game this weekend.

Junior tailback Mike Davis, who said before the season he’d consider jumping to the NFL a year early, will be honored in Senior Day ceremonies, as star junior defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was before declaring for the NFL draft.

Then comes the yearly showdown with Clemson on Nov. 29, a game where a victory can take the sting out of even the sorriest of seasons.

Reaching the postseason and beating your rival may seem paltry goals for a club picked to the SEC Eastern Division back in the summer.

Still, it’s all that’s left for the Gamecocks and Spurrier wants to see them achieve it.

“That’s what the challenge

is for the entire team and especially the seniors,’’ he said.

“Let’s finish strong. Let’s try our best to get bowl-eligible and go from there.’’

Spurrier’s already warned his players about South Alabama’s strengths. The Jaguars qualified for a bowl last week with their 24-20 win over Texas State last week. Defeating an SEC team is a bonus the Jaguars are ready for, said South Alabama linebacker Malaki Harris.

“It’s just another team, another set of players who put their pants on one leg at a time,’’ he said. “We’re never going to back down or shy away from a challenge. Hopefully, we’ll all rise to the occasion and give them a run for their money.’’

It won’t be easy if South Carolina’s defense plays like it did against Florida. A unit that had been last in SEC yards allowed on the season gave up just 278 yards overall and only 60 on the ground.

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B4

|

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

AREA SCOREBOARD

PRO FOOTBALL

ROAD RACING TURKEY TROT

The 32nd Annual Turkey Trot 5K and Gobbler Dash will be held on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27.

Early registration for the event will run through Nov. 24. The entry fee is $20 per individual, while the cost for a family is $20 for the first member and $10 for each additional family member from the same househould age 10 or older. The fees increase by $5 for those who register Nov. 25-27.

People can register online at www.ymcasumter.org.

For more information, call the Sumter Family YMCA at (803) 774-1404.

BASEBALL U.S. BASEBALL ACADEMY CAMP

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The National Football League suspended Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson, left, without pay for at least the remainder of the season. The league said on Tuesday it informed the Vikings star he will not be considered for reinstatement before April 15, 2015, for violating the NFL personal conduct policy by whipping his son with a tree branch.

NFL suspends Peterson for ’14 season

BY DAVE CAMPBELL The Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — Adrian Peterson’s future with the Minnesota Vikings dimmed further Tuesday, with the NFL suspending the star running back without pay for at least the rest of the season.

As his representatives initiated an appeal, Peterson remained at the center of an escalating dispute between the league and the NFL Players Association over the player discipline process.

Commissioner Roger Goodell told Peterson he will not be considered for reinstatement before April 15 for his violation of the NFL personal conduct poli-

cy _ the first example of a crackdown on players involved with domestic violence.

The NFLPA quickly announced it would immediately appeal, calling for a neutral arbitrator to handle it, and sharply rebuked the league for what it labeled as inconsistency and unfairness in determining the discipline. The NFL’s words were even stronger, with a nearly 1,600-word statement spelling out the conditions for Peterson’s path to return to the field and describing the reasons for the stiff punishment.

Peterson pleaded no contest Nov. 4 to misdemeanor reckless assault in Texas for injuries to his 4-year-old son with a wooden switch.

He said he intended no harm, only discipline. Peterson was on a special exempt list at the sole discretion of Goodell, essentially paid leave while the case went through the legal system.

The NFLPA said Peterson was told that would count as time served toward a suspension, citing an unidentified NFL executive. League spokesman Brian McCarthy said the stay on the exempt list was taken into account.

“There were aggravating circumstances that led to the discipline announced,’’ McCarthy said.

Peterson’s salary for the season was $11.75 million.

He will keep the money accrued while on the exempt

list. But the NFL’s punishment has now amounted to a 14-game ban, with six unpaid weeks. That’s the equivalent of a fine of more than $4.1 million.

Peterson’s agent, Ben Dogra, told The Associated Press he and his client were scheduled for a conference call Tuesday with the NFLPA to discuss options.

“We look forward to filing an immediate appeal and coming to a resolution for Adrian Peterson that would be appropriate under the circumstances,’’ Dogra said.

The Vikings don’t practice Tuesdays. The organization issued a brief statement: “We respect the league’s decision and will have no further comment at this time.’’

Bell’s stellar night helps Steelers rally past Titans

BY TERESA M. WALKER The Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — This time, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat their struggling opponent.

Ben Roethlisberger and Le’Veon Bell were an impressive duo in Music City on Monday night.

Roethlisberger threw a 12yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown with 9:01 left, lifting the Steelers to a 27-24 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

Pittsburgh (7-4) staged an impressive rally in the second half to take sole possession of second in the successful AFC North heading into the bye. Bell ran for 204 yards — an NFL high for a single game this season — and a TD. William Gay returned an interception 28 yards for a score, and Shaun Suisham kicked two field goals.

“Not a perfect night but really a great night for us in that we were down by 11, and we had an opportunity to bounce back,’’ Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said. “And I think anytime you can do that

and gain victory you grow from it and grow from it in the right ways.’’

Bell had 33 carries in the best game by a Steelers running back since 2010.

“When 26 gets the ball in his hands you never know what’s going to happen, and it’s awesome,’’ Roethlisberger said.

Roethlisberger had never beaten the Titans at LP Field, missing the Steelers’ win here in 2010. With Bell running through and over the Titans, the Steelers took the pressure off Big Ben by holding the ball for 39 minutes, 49 seconds with a 386-312 edge in total offense.

The University of South Carolina Sumter will host a 4-week baseball camp beginning on Jan. 3, 2015.

Fire Ants head coach Tim Medlin will direct the program in conjunction with the U.S. Baseball Academy. Classes are available for players in grades 1-12 and are limited to six players per coach. Sessions are offered in advanced hitting, pitching, catching, fielding and base running.

Registration is now being taken.

For more information, visit www.USBaseballAcademy.com or call 866-622-4487.

SCISA UMPIRES NEEDED

The South Carolina Independent School Association is looking for anyone who might interested in becoming a baseball umpire.

Experienced umpires are preferred.

For those who are interested, contact SCISA District Director of Umpiring, Teddy Weeks at TWeeks51@aol.com.

SOFTBALL SCISA UMPIRES NEEDED

The South Carolina Independent School Association is looking for anyone who might interested in becoming a softball umpire.

Experienced umpires are preferred.

For those who are interested, contact SCISA District Director of Umpiring, Teddy Weeks at TWeeks51@aol.com.

GOLF LAKEWOOD TEE IT UP CLASSIC

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell (26) breaks free against Tennessee in the second half of the Steelers’ 27-24 victory on Monday in Nashville, Tenn.

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Lakewood Baseball’s First Tee It Up Classic will be held on Dec. 6 at The Links at Lakewood.

The format for the tournament will be 4-man Captain’s Choice and will begin at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start. The cost is $200 per team or $50 per player. Lunch will be provided.

The registration and payment deadline is Nov. 21.

For more information, call Lakewood baseball head coach Mike Chapman at (843) 685-0568 or (803) 506-2700 (Ext. 1001) or email him at Chapmonis@gmail. com.

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SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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B5

RECRUITING

DE Huggins strongly considering Georgia S

hrine Bowl defensive end Albert Huggins of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School took an official visit to Georgia over the weekend. It was his first official visit and it may be his only one. Huggins said UGA has told him he will have an opportunity to play DE with them, but it views him long term as a defensive tackle.

“I’m really considering Georgia,” Huggins said prior to the visit. “It’s a great program.

(Head) Coach (Mark) Richt, (assistants) Coach (Tracy) Rocker, Coach (Mike) Ekeler, all of them are good coaches.

I’m really interested in Georgia to see what they really have for me.”

Clemson also has been strong with Huggins for an extended period, and he’s made numerous visits there.

That’s why a return for an official visit, in his mind, may not be necessary.

“Right now, I’m just taking it official visit by official visit,” Huggins said. “Now, let’s get Georgia out the way.

Let’s take it step by step and if I have time (he’s graduating early) to take more official visits then I will do that. Is it really necessary to take an official visit to Clemson? I’ve been there a good eight or nine times. I’ve seen what I’ve needed to see. If I do take an official visit to Clemson it’s just to hang out with the crew.”

Florida and North Carolina are two others Huggins would consider for visits if he decides to take other official visits. He’s also thinking about Auburn and Florida State.

DT Christian Wilkins of Suffield, Conn., is scheduled to officially visit Clemson this weekend. Wilkins has already been to Stanford for an official and plans to visit Ohio State and Notre Dame. He’s also looking at Penn State.

Tennessee linebacker commit Cecil Cherry of Lakeland, Fla., said he’s setting up an official visit to Clemson for Nov. 29 when the Tigers host South Carolina, according to 247Sports. Cherry said he isn’t talking to any other schools beyond Tennessee, Texas and Clemson. He doesn’t have any other official visit dates set.

Cherry played his freshman season at O-W High.

USC Wide receiver Christian Owens (6-feet-5-inches, 210 pounds) of Griffin, Ga., ended his commitment to UGA last week that dated back to 2013 and is now likely to land at USC. In announcing his decommitment from the Bulldogs, Owens originally stated he was committing to USC, but he soon backed off of that and considers the Gamecocks as his favorites right now. He will make an official visit for the South Alabama game on Saturday.

“I’m not officially committed to South Carolina at the moment, but they are at the top,” Owens said. “I respect UGA. They were great to me.

We just had a couple of situations where we couldn’t see eye to eye on some things, and I had to do what’s best for my family and what’s best for me.”

CAROLINA FROM PAGE B1 shots at the end for the Bears’ 66-64 win.

Tyrone Johnson had a career-high 21 points to lead the Gamecocks.

Motley’s jumper gave Baylor its biggest lead — 10 points — with less than 5 minutes left. But freshman Marcus Stroman sparked the final charge by the Gamecocks.

Johnson had a chance to tie it while down 64-61, but his 3-pointer didn’t fall.

“It was the right shot, it just didn’t go in,’’ Johnson said.

Baylor and South Carolina both had easy season-opening wins and geared up for a much tougher test. The teams locked up inside with the Bears’ Motley and Deng Deng squaring off against the Gamecocks’ Demetrius Henry

Owens had offers from USC, Clemson, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, UNC and Vanderbilt before he committed to UGA. After deciding to de-commit, Owens said he quietly reached out to other schools and the Gamecocks responded with strong interest. He said the fact he hasn’t gone public with a commitment to them right now is not an issue.

“I talked to (USC assistant) Coach (Steve) Spurrier Jr. over the internet and we are on the same page,” Owens said. “I want a chance to get on campus and see it for myself and meet the coaching staff. I’ve never been to South Carolina.

I’ll most likely commit on the visit.”

Owens also plans to enroll in January. This season he has five touchdown catches.

As a junior, he had 23 catches for 600 yards and three TDs. Tight end Chris Clark of Avon, Conn., has been committed to Michigan since the summer, but concern about the future of the coaching staff there has him looking around again. One place he’s looking is USC. Clark has set an official visit with the Gamecocks for Jan. 23, 2015. He also set official visits to Southern California on Nov. 29, Texas on Dec. 5 and UNC on Jan. 16. He originally committed to the Tar Heels before backing off that and pledging to the Wolverines.

“I’m concerned about the Michigan staff,” Clark said.

“I’m pretty convinced (head) Coach (Brady) Hoke will be fired. They have a new AD (athletic director), and he will have a new vision, but I still feel good about Michigan. I’m still somewhat committed.

We’ll see what happens. I’m just living in the moment.”

USC recruiter GA Mangus has continued to recruit Clark despite the pledges elsewhere and that persistence has paid off with renewed interest from the big tight end.

“I’ve been talking to Coach Mangus a bunch,” Clark said.

“We’ve been talking a lot.

They are losing a couple of tight ends after this year, so it’s a great opportunity to play early. And it’s the SEC (Southeastern Conference).”

Clark has never visited USC. This season ,he had over 40 catches for over 600 yards and eight TDs. Linebacker Amonte Caban of Smiths Station, Ala., wants to take an official visit to USC for the South Alabama game and is just now getting all of his academic paperwork together to be able to take official visits. Caban remains committed to Louisville and will visit there in January. He said USC and Louisville are the only schools he’s considering at this time.

DE Marquavius Lewis of Hutchinson Junior College in Kansas is still holding to his commitment to USC, but three of the Gamecocks’ SEC rivals are working him for official visits. For right now, he’s not sure if he’ll take any.

Lewis made his official visit to USC last summer, and he talked with recruiter Deke Adams recently. However, he’s also getting pitches from Louisi-

and Michael Carrera under the boards.

The Gamecocks overcame Baylor’s 16-11 lead with 11 straight points, closed by Carrera’s put-back basket.

Stroman hit a pair of foul shots to put South Carolina up 27-24 with three minutes left in the half when Baylor closed the period with a 6-0.

Motley had two buckets, including a final one just before the buzzer, to send the Bears into the break ahead 30-27.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY South Carolina head coach Frank Martin was not pleased with the loss. However, he did believe this tight contest will help the Gamecocks down the road. “We’ll be better because of this game. A shame we let a great opportunity for our program kind of escape,’’ he said.

ana State, Alabama and Auburn and each has invited him for an official visit.

“They are losing people Phil Kornblut and I can be an immediate RECRUITING impact,” CORNER Lewis said is what he’s being told by the schools. “I’m just taking a look at them.”

Lewis said he’s doing well in school and is on track to graduate in December, so he can enroll at his new school in January. Lewis helped to lead Hutchinson to a conference championship and a bowl game next month with 55 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 11 quarterback sacks and 19 QB hurries.

Punter Sean Kelly of Orlando, Fla., is waiting to hear back from USC admissions before deciding on his next move. Kelly attends Tallahassee JC and USC has talked with him about walking on in January. Kelly said he’s not sure where he wants to go yet between USC and FSU. Kelly originally walked on out of high school as a punter at Florida Atlantic. He also played QB in high school.

USC defensive back commitment Mark Fields Jr. of Cornelius, N.C., has heard and read the rumors that he plans to take more official visits this winter than his one to Columbia. Last week, Fields put an end to all of that talk.

“I haven’t set up any visits, and I don’t plan on going anywhere but to South Carolina in January,” Fields said. “Pretty much every SEC and ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) school has been talking to me, but I just really don’t feel like going on official visits.”

Texas, UGA and Tennessee are three which have been making a strong push for Fields, who has only been to games at USC this season. He plans to see the Gamecocks again when they play at Clemson.

USC commitment DE Arden Key of Atlanta has set official visits to Texas Tech for Dec. 5 and to LSU for Jan. 16. He made an unofficial visit there for the Alabama game. Key also will visit USC on Jan. 23 and UGA on Jan. 30. Key was at UGA on Saturday for the Auburn game.

JUNIORS CLEMSON AND USC Running back Shakur Chisolm of Barnwell High will make his second trip to USC this season when the Gamecocks host South Alabama.

Chisolm has USC among his favorites, along with Clemson and Auburn. Auburn has extended a verbal offer while Chisolm waits on the Tigers and Gamecocks to do the same. Chisolm is looking forward to returning to Columbia for another game.

“I like their offense, it’s sneaky,” Chisolm said. “The thing I like about them the most is the support system.

Their fans are so amazing.

Even though they’re not having a good season, I know

they’ll be good again. They’ve got a really good recruiting class coming in.”

Chisolm also likes Clemson.

He has not visited Death Valley this season, but was overwhelmed by his trip to Clemson last year.

“I went to the Florida State game and even though they got blown out, the first half was incredible,” Chisolm said.

“That’s the loudest stadium I’ve ever been to.”

He hopes to get back to Clemson for the USC game.

Chisolm may visit Auburn after the season and has been invited to attend a basketball game on The Plains. In his junior campaign, Chisolm rushed for over 1,500 yards and scored 18 TDs. He had 250 yards receiving and another three scores.

Offensive lineman Parker Boudreaux of Orlando has over 40 offers and plans to narrow his list to 10 or 15 schools after the season.

Clemson and USC are among those offers and are strong possibilities to make the short list. Boudreaux visited Clemson earlier this season and maintains contact with the coaches. He has not yet visited USC, but he’s in regular contact with coaches.

Boudreaux has visited Clemson, UF, Marshall, North Carolina State, East Carolina, UGA, Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern. His other offers include ND, Mississippi, Oklahoma State, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Kentucky, Miami, GT, Vandy, Virginia Tech, Duke, Iowa, Indiana, PSU and West Virginia.

Defensive lineman Derrick Brown (6-3, 295) of Buford, Ga., narrowed his list to 10 last week and Clemson and USC both made the cut. He visited Clemson this past summer and plans to visit USC in the offseason. Brown would like to visit all 10 schools this spring and said his decision could come as early as next summer.

UGA, Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Alabama, Vandy, Ole Miss and FSU round out his top ten in no order. Brown has visited Vandy, Mississippi State, UGA and Alabama this season, giving each trip high marks. He has not scheduled any additional visits. Brown does not have any favorites.

RB CJ Freeman (5-11, 190) of Greensboro, N.C., visited USC earlier this season for the UGA game and will return for the South Alabama game.

Freeman also has visited Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss, VT and the instate North Carolina schools this season. He’s also going to Louisville before the season ends.

USC and VT are his first two offers. He’s also hearing from Clemson, UGA, ND, Purdue, Iowa State and Vandy along with the schools he’s visited. Freeman said USC and VT stand out right now because those are his offers.

He plans to make his decision this summer. Freeman rushed for 1,800 yards and 20 TDs last season. This season, he has 1,200 yards and 15 TDs. Clemson and USC have offered junior DB John Broussard of Phenix City, Ala. Broussard has intentions of

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visiting Clemson when they host the Gamecocks. Broussard camped at USC this summer and wanted to attend a game in Columbia this season, but it did not work out.

He has been to games at Auburn and Alabama, but has not made it out of state recently. He named Auburn and UK as the two schools showing him the most interest, but said that he does not have any favorites.

USC Athlete Davante Turner (511, 195) a ‘16 recruit from Lake City High made an unofficial visit to USC for the Tennessee game. This past summer, USC was one of the camps that Turner attended and he got a chance to meet with some of the coaches. Missouri is the other school Turner mentioned that has been showing interest. And he’d like to visit UGA next year. He has not yet been offered.

BASKETBALL USC and Clemson missed on 6-5 Tevin Mack of Dreher High in Columbia, who signed with Virginia Commonwealth last week. Mack acknowledged after his announcement that he had a very difficult time making his decision, and at one time or another he favored each of the five schools.

He also confirmed that after P.J. Dozier of Spring Valley High in Columbia committed to USC on Wednesday, he had stronger thoughts about the Gamecocks Wednesday night.

“I thought about that last night,” Mack said. “By that time I felt like I was too far gone in the process to turn back and decide on something else.”

A source said USC looked like his pick when Mack went to bed on Wednesday night, but after conferring with his family and confidants at the school, Mack settled on VCU. “It was real, real tough,” Mack said. “I just think I felt more comfortable there. It felt more like a brotherhood to me. I feel like the system they run fits my game a lot, and they get after it on defense a lot. It was just my gut feeling.

I had a gut feeling about a week ago, but I wasn’t 100 percent.”

Clemson also missed on 6-9 Ebuka Izundu of Nigeria and Charlotte. He signed with Charlotte. The Tigers did sign their previously committed prospects in 6-1 Ty Hudson of Mableton, Ga., and 7-0 Legend Robertin, a London native who attends Chipola JC in Florida.

Along with Dozier, USC also signed previously committed 6-9 Chris Silva of New Rochelle, N.J. Presbyterian signed 5-10 Darius Moore of Brown Summitt, N.C., and 6-9 Austin Venable of Homer, Ga. Charleston Southern signed 6-7 Antwan Maxwell of Savannah, Ga., and 6-1 Armel Potter of Marietta, Ga. Wofford signed 6-4 Fletcher McGee of Orlando, 6-10 Matthew Pegram of Wando High in Mt. Pleasant and 6-5 Trevor Stumpe of Plainfield, IL. Furman signed 6-4 Andrew Brown of Travelers Rest High and 6-8 Jalen Williams of Wade Hampton High in Greenville.

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FAMILY & AESTHETIC DENTISTRY

Catherine M. Zybak, DMD

B6

|

OBITUARIES

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

GYPSY M. MACK COLUMBIA — Gypsy Mauney Mack, 95, of Columbia, died on Nov. 15, 2014, at National Healthcare in Sumter.

She was born on Feb. 6, 1919, in LaGrange, Georgia, to the late John Stowe and Vassie Vinson Mauney. She MACK moved to Columbia after her mother died when Gypsy was 2 years old. She was raised by her grandmother, Victoria Mauney. Gypsy graduated from Columbia High School in 1936, where she lettered in basketball and was voted “most athletic.” She was a sports enthusiast, playing and coaching softball. She met her late husband, Earl Legree Mack, while playing softball. They were married for 45 years. She loved watching the Lady Gamecocks play basketball and, for many years, never missed a home game. She passed on her love of sports to her only child, Patricia Mack Pinkerton Harvin.

She worked for many years at General Electric and Mepco companies in Irmo as an engineering technician. Gypsy was very involved in her beloved church, College Place United Methodist Church in Columbia. She served as church treasurer; was selected woman of the year; was president for many years of the Guilds-McLeod Sunday School Class; and was a member of the Leisure Club. Gypsy was known for her vivacious personality and quick wit.

She is survived by her daughter, Pat (Will) Harvin; cousin, Carolyn W. (James) Luker; as well as many stepchildren, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her stepmother, Sallie Nixon Mauney.

The funeral service for Mrs. Mack will be held at 11 a.m. today at Shives Funeral Home, Colonial Chapel, 5202 Colonial Drive, Columbia.

Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service.

Burial will follow the service at Greenlawn Memorial Park. The Rev. Tiffany Knowlin will officiate.

Members of both the Leisure Club and the GuildsMcLeod Sunday School Class are invited to serve as honorary pallbearers.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to College Place United Methodist Church, 4801 Colonial Drive, Columbia, SC 29203.

Memories and condolences may be shared at ShivesFuneralHome.com.

BEVERLY BRANTON

HELEN M. JAMES Helen Montague James has gone to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. She died peacefully on Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, at her beloved home at Edisto, The Seagull II, surrounded by her family.

Mrs. James lived in Sumter in the beautiful home that her JAMES late husband, J. Francis James, an architect of distinction, designed and built for her.

Born on Sept. 12, 1917, in Sumter, Helen was a daughter of B.L. and Marie DuPre Montague.

She was predeceased by

her sister, Mrs. George N. (Marie) Kurzenburger; and brother, Larry D. Montague and his wife, Virginia “Snookie” Thorne.

She became a member of First Baptist Church in Sumter at her marriage and was deeply involved in many ministries, some of which included decades of teaching Sunday school; sponsorship of the Girls’ Auxiliary; the Soup Kitchen ministry; and the Celebration Singers. She was a devoted member of the Hannah Plowden Circle and the Fellowship Sunday School Class.

Mrs. James was a magna cum laude graduate of Coker College, earning a triple major in English, French and art and a minor in piano. Helen was a gifted painter, depicting her beloved ocean, birds and flowers in oils and watercolors.

She designed and handhooked magnificent area rugs that will remain as heirlooms for generations.

She was a member of the Junior League of Sumter, a founding member of the Thursday Afternoon Book Club, and an avid bridge player. One of her greatest pleasures was cooking and gifts from her kitchen blessed many throughout her life.

Mrs. James is survived by her children: Helen Montague “Montie” Van Nostrand (Brian) of Hacker Valley, West Virginia, James Francis “Jimmy” James Jr. (Karen) of Sumter, Marie DuPre “’Rie” James-Roane (Doyle) of Charleston; and niece, Ann Kurzenberger Mohr (Bob) of Greenville. Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Montague (Karen) and Mrs. Steve Barwick (Ginger) were very special lights in her life. Mrs. James was the adored “GiGi” to her grandchildren: Bryson Van Nostrand (Gretchen), Lisa Van Nostrand-Shikert (Scott), Elizabeth James Kirlis (Karey), Marie James Corrao (Scott), Caroline DuPre Roane Vaughn (Brian) and Suzanne Montague Roane Auld (Davis). Her precious “honorary” grandchildren include Ann-Marie Mohr Sanderson (Jay), Ashley Mohr Bentley, Misty Mohr Hinckle (Jason), Trip and Susy Montague, Mary and Hubert Moser, Rebecca and Richie Brogdon, and Dixon Montague. She was blessed to be the great-grandmother of 19 and had one greatgreat-grandchild. Helen is also survived by her closest friends, Dr. Mary Blanchard of Sumter, Mary Jackson, and sisters-in-law, Eleanor James, Mary James and Janet James.

Her Sunday school class members were her treasures.

The family would like to express their love and gratitude for the care and love provided to Helen by Bessie and Buster Kind, Viola Magazine, Iesha Tindal,

h t u e o r n S B y l p m i Rotisserie & Grill istr

o

S

HOPKINS — Beverly Jean Hudson Branton, age 55, died on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014, at Palmetto Health Baptist.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, she was a daughter of Maurice A. Hudson and the late Geraldine Reffitt Hudson. Beverly graduated from St. Andrews Presbyterian College with a bachelor of arts degree in photo-

journalism. She was awarded second place by Gov. Carroll Campbell for her work as a photojournalist BRANTON and covering agriculture for the Conway Journal for two years in a row. She was the manager for the Forest Drive FedEx location in Columbia. She was an advocate for breast cancer and participated annually in the breast cancer walk to Charlotte. She traveled to Columbus, Ohio, once a week for more than four years to take care of her sister during her courageous battle with cancer. She enjoyed the outdoors and loved to travel. Beverly will be remembered as a loving daughter, mother, friend and kind soul. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her.

Surviving in addition to her father are stepson, Dustin Smith of Conway; stepdaughter, Marie Branton of Conway; one brotherin-law, Vince Marchese of Columbus; and one grandchild, Camden Cash Branton.

In addition to her mother, she was preceded in death by a son, Nicholas Branton; one sister, Sue Marchese; and two nephews, Nathan Marchese and Christopher Marchese.

A funeral service will be held at noon on Friday in the Bullock Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Tommy McDonald officiating.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at Bullock Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to SCOA Cares Foundation, P.O. Box 2046, West Columbia, SC 29171.

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

The family has chosen Bullock Funeral Home of Sumter for the arrangements.

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Helen’s examples of amazing faith, unconditional love, and joie de vivre that were so integral to her life were her greatest contributions to all who knew and loved her. Her benevolent influence will endure in her children, grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, and for generations to follow.

A celebration of life service will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday at First Baptist Church-Sumter with the Rev. Dan Barber and the Rev. Charles Clanton officiating.

The family will receive friends immediately following the service in the church fellowship hall.

Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, 107 E. Liberty St., Sumter, SC 29150 or a charity of one’s choice.

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

HARRY CONNERS Harry Lee Budden Conners was born on Oct. 22, 1926, in Sumter, to the late Lucille Montgomery Riley.

He was reared in the home of his grandparents, Ferris and Adrana Budden. He departed this life on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014, at Florence Regency Hospital, Florence.

Conners was educated in the public schools of Sumter County. He began his Christian walk with the Lord at an early age at Enon Missionary Baptist Church. He later moved to New York and was employed by Ford Motor Co. for a number of years. He then moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he was employed by General Motors Co. He later retired in 1989. After returning to Sumter in 1989, he attended Enon Missionary Baptist Church. Years later, he united with Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church, where he attended until his health failed. He was a faithful member of King David Grand Lodge AF&AM, located in Detroit.

He was united in holy matrimony to the late Rebecca J. Conners for more than 50 years.

He leaves to cherish his memories: a loving and devoted caretaker/nephew, Ervin Budden Jr.; one sister, Lue Rosa Ramsey of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; two brothers, Ervin Budden Sr. of Sumter and Calvin (Toby) Budden of Philadelphia; six grandchildren, Crystal Davis-Santiago (Rick), Anthony and Bernard Davis, all of Brooklyn, New York, and Michael, JJ and Deon; a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Public viewing will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. today at Job’s Mortuary.

Mr. Conners will be placed in the church at 10 a.m. on Thursday for viewing until the hour of service.

Funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday at Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church, 803 S. Harvin St., Sumter, with Pastor Marion H. Newton. Interment will follow in Haynesworth Cemetery, Sumter.

Job’s Mortuary Inc., 312 S. Main St., Sumter, is in charge of arrangements.

Online memorials may be sent to the family at jobsmortuary@sc.rr.com or visit us on the web at www. jobsmortuary.net.

CRYSTAL S. BRADLEY BISHOPVILLE — Crystal S. Bradley entered eternal rest on Nov. 15, 2014.

Visitations will be held from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. today at the mortuary.

Funeral service will be held at noon on Thursday at New Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, Bishopville, with the pastor, the Rev. A.S. Temoney Sr., officiating. Burial will follow in New Zion Memorial Garden.

Wilson Funeral Home, 403 S. Main St., Bishopville, is in charge of arrangements.

GEORGE W. RAMSEY George Washington Ramsey departed this life on Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center.

He was born on Nov. 3, 1934, to the late Wash and Annie Mae Rhames Ramsey.

The family is receiving friends at 46 Van Buren St., Sumter.

Funeral plans are incomplete and will be announced

by Job’s Mortuary Inc. of Sumter.

ROBERT E. GAMBLE Robert Edward Gamble, 38, of 8371 Two Mile Road, Lynchburg, entered eternal rest on Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center.

He was born on Aug. 15, 1976, in Baltimore, Maryland, a son of Virginia Epps Gamble and the late Robert F. Gamble.

The family is receiving friends at the home, 8375 Two Mile Road, Lynchburg.

Funeral services are incomplete and will be announced by Community Funeral Home of Sumter.

JAMES H. CATOE REMBERT — James Harold Catoe, age 73, beloved husband of the late Diane Elizabeth Hopkins Catoe, died on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014, at his residence.

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

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ANNOUNCEMENTS Lost & Found

MERCHANDISE Want to Buy

Found on Indigo Dr.: young male cat 3-6 months old. Black & white.

Owner call 983-2400 to identify.

In Memory

Golden Kernel Pecan Co. 1214 S. Guignard Dr. Sumter 803-968-9432 We buy pecans, We sell Pecan halves & Pieces, Chocolate, Sugarfree Chocolate, Butter Roasted, Sugar & Spiced, Prailine, Honey Glazed, English Toffee Gift Packages available . M-F 9-5 Sat 9-1

Firewood For Sale, Tons of fire wood premium seasoned oak. You pick up $40 per pick up load, delivered 1/2 cord $70. Call Collins Tree Service 803-499-2136

Garage, Yard & Estate Sales Annie's, Briley's, Candyman & All that Glitters @ Sumter Co Flea Mkt. Open Fri 10-6 Through the end of the year. And Sat & Sun

LARGE GARAGE SALE 1st & 3rd Weekend Tables $2 FLEA MARKET BY SHAW AFB

Open every weekend.

905-4242

For Sale or Trade Expert Tech, New & used heat pumps & A/C. Will install/repair, warranty; Compressor & labor $600.

Call 803-968-9549 or 843-992-2364 Mary Lowery Nov.19, 2013 was the most heartbreaking day of all. Mom we love you and we miss you.

Your Daughters: Paula (Karlef), Shirley Pamela (Bernard) & Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren

Cemetery Plots- Two plots with vaults, opening/closing fees and granite marker with vase in Evergreen Memorial Park, Sumter, SC. Save thousands. Call 803-469-9763

Hickory & Oak firewood. Seasoned/Green $65 Delivered. Notch Above Tree Service. 983-9721 Martin's Used Appliance Washers, Dryers, Refrig., Stoves.

Guarantee 464-5439 or 469-7311

BUSINESS SERVICES

Firewood for Sale Will Deliver. Call 803 651-8672

Business Services

American Red Cross New Crop Variety Shelled Pecans 803-775-2363

Bird's Towing & Lock Out 24 Hour Service 803-834-BIRD (2473)

EMPLOYMENT

Home Improvements Winter is hear time to insulate your attic. Call Nunnery Roofing & Remolding 803-968-2459

Lawn Service Four Seasons Lawn Care Serving Sumter for almost 20 yrs!

Free est. 494-9169/468-4008 Affordable Lawn Care, free estimates Call 803-406-5075

Roofing All Types of Roofing & Repairs All work guaranteed. 30 yrs exp. SC lic.

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

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

PETS & ANIMALS

Cooks FT/PT - Seeking experienced and service-oriented line cooks and culinary professionals for Sumter, SC assisted living community. Responsible for prepping, cooking and serving resident meals, working closely with dietary team and maintaining a clean and sanitary kitchen environment. Candidates will have a clear understanding of cooking in a high volume kitchen and proper food handling techniques. Varying shifts and weekends are required. Must have reliable transportation, strong customer service skills and ability and desire to work with senior adults. Interested parties apply in person Mon-Fri. 10am - 4pm at Morningside of Sumter 2500 Lin-Do Court, Sumter, SC 29150. NO PHONE CALLS Lee County is seeking applicant to fill the position of Voter Registration and Elections Director GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB: organizes and manages Lee County Voter Registration/Election procedures following current registration and election laws. Maintains accurate and up-to-date records of all citizens registered to vote in Lee County. Manages office operations and formulates Department policies and procedures in accordance with South Carolina Registration and Election laws. The Director is responsible for hiring and managing the staff. The Director serves at the pleasure of the Lee County Board of Voter Registration and Elections.

MINIMUM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE: Requires high school diploma (a Bachelor's Degree preferred) plus three to five years in responsible office management position, a Voter Registration Office, or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience that provides the required Knowledge, skills and abilities. Applications can be picked up and submitted to: Office of Human Resources, Lee County Courthouse 123 S. Main Street, Bishopville, SC 29010. All applications/resumes must be received by December 1, 2014. If you previously applied for this position in July, your application is still active and will be considered. Anyone who would like a more detailed description of job duties and responsibilities should contact Sherry Kerr, Director of Human Resources, at (803) 484-5341 Ext. 342 or skerr@leecountysc.org.

"This Institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer." It is the policy of Lee County to recruit, hire, train and promote employees on the basis of qualifications and without discrimination because of race, religion, color political affiliation, physical disability, national origin, sex, age. Lee County is a Drug-Free Workplace.

Help Wanted Full-Time Bristol General Contractors, LLC has openings for both Carpenters and Laborers located at Shaw Air Force Base, SC. This is a regular, full-time, benefit-eligible position and is expected to last approximately 18 months.

Please visit our website at www.brist ol-companies.com to view the full job description and to apply.

Resumes will not be accepted.

Locally established Heating & Air condition Co. looking for Exp. Service Tech. Needs to have good driving record. Pay range from $33k-$46k a year plus health insurance, retirement, bonus and commission available. Apply in person at 1640 Suber Street.

Vice President of Lending Sumter, SC SAFE Federal Credit Union For details, please visit our website at: http:/www.safefed.org Billing Clerk min. of 1 year ins. billing exp. req.. FT w benefits. Send resume to Early Autism Project at cbaun@sceap.com Large grooming operation in Sumter is now hiring experienced groomers. Please email resume to: marylynch0413@gmail.com Wanted Body Shop Manager and Sheet Metal / Paint Body man. Apply at Mclaughlin Ford 950 N. Main St., Sumter, SC

Help Wanted Full-Time WANTED: Sheet Metal Worker [Welding experience a plus] & Commercial Roofer, exp. preferred but not required. Benefits include Paid Holidays, Paid Vacation. Apply Mon-Thurs, between 9 & 4 at 14 W Oakland Ave Sumter. No Phone Calls Please.

Travel as you work with Klean E-Z amazing cleaner. Looking for Sales Rep., Must be 18 to apply, no experience necessary.

Earn $350-$500 per week. Return transportation available. Call Mr. Peters at 803-360-3284 Tow driver needed. Pay is commission based. Must be able to pass DOT physical & have a clean driving record.

Call Cary Cook at 803-499-9086 to set up interview.

Help Wanted Part-Time $$$ AVON $$$ FREE TRAINING! 803-422-5555

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Office rentals: 712 Bultman Dr. Upstairs Space, 450 sq ft - 2 units $325 mo 170 sq ft 1-office $165 mo, 550 sq ft can divide $395 mo.

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LOW CREDIT SCORE? Been turned down for bad credit? Come try us, we do our own financing. We have 2-3-4 bedroom homes. For more information, call 843-389-4215.

Mobile Home with Lots

Business Rentals Christmas, Birthday, Parties, etc.

Large room available. Call Bobby Sisson at 464-2730

3BR 2BA MH 1 Acre. Owner Fin. with 5K dwn Call 983-8084

Land & Lots for Sale

Commercial Rentals 4,000 sq ft retail space available.

Call Bobby Sisson, 464-2730.

REAL ESTATE

DALZELL/WALMART 1 AC. PAVED, SEPTIC OPTIONAL! $5990! 888-774-5720

Autos For Sale

Homes for Sale

Work Wanted I am a reliable CNA looking to sit with your elderly loved ones day or night.

Ref. provided.

Call 803-225-0924 or 803-225-0543

RENTALS 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 Nice 1BR Apartment $475/mo & $325/dep. No pets. 803-775-5638 Oakland Plantation Apts.

5501 Edgehill Rd 499-2157 2 & 3 BR apartments avail.

Applications accepted Mon., Wed. & Fri. 8 am - 4:30 pm.

Unfurnished Homes Rent: 2 BR house suitable for mature couple. $400 mo+$400 Dep Call 803-494-3095 2 br, 1 ba, 50 Colt Run, $575 mo. 2 br, 2 ba, 16 Althea, $640 mo. 3 Br, 2 Ba, 4000 Delaware, $740 mo. 3 Br, 2 Ba, 6413 Sweet Olive, $1025 mo.

Broker Owned. Call 803-316-3725.

Mobile Home Rentals 3BD 2BA D/W Hwy 441 behind Shaw $685+dep Call 803-225-0389 2, 3 & 4 Br, all appliances, Section 8 accepted. 469-6978 or 499-1500

STATEBURG COURTYARD 2 & 3 BRs 803-494-4015

7510 Ruggs Lake Road, Rembert, SC 29128 Sealed Bidding will start at $129,900 on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 and end on November 26, 2014. Any formal offer over $140,000 will remove this home from the market immediately. Any offer less, well remain a sealed bid until December 1, 2014 To schedule appointment for showing call The Whiting Company at 803-774-2085.

821 Holiday Drive, 2 bedroom, 1 bath, possible owner financing.

803-983-7064.

3BR 1BA on 1 acre of land $49,000 Call 803-775-5638

Manufactured Housing For Sale Nice 4 Br 2 Ba D/W MH w/ dinning rm, den w fire place, bonus rm. c//h//a, new carpet & paint, brick underpinning, lg fenced lot 803-983-0408

Fall Special No Payment Til Dec. As Low As $175.00 Per Mo. On Site Rent. For A Limited Time Only.

Why Rent When You Can Own? “Close to Everything” • Free Appliances • AC/Heat • 1 Month Free Cable Bring back this ad & receive FREE application fee.

Call Now! 469-8515

HOT CARS & TRUCKS FAll SPECIALS: '05 Mustang GT loaded $12995 '06 Honda Accord $8995 '08 Honda Accord loaded $12995 '08 Toyota Avalon loaded $9995 '10 Dodge Charger SE $12995 '11 Chevy Malibu $11995 '10 Ford Explorer Ed Baurer 3rd seat $16995 '03 Toyota Tacoma Excab.

SRS $8995 '04 Chevy Z71 Excab 4x4 $10995 '04 GMC Crewcab SLT $11995 '04 Dodge Quad Cab SLT $8995 '03 Ford Sporttrac $7995 Ernest Baker Auto Sales & Equip: 3349 N. Main St. Sumter Call 803-469-9294

1999 Ford Taurus 3.0 AT, AC, 144K Salvage title, Runs good, $2100 OBO Cash 803-972-0900 R & R Motors 3277 Broad St. 803-494-2886 07 'Chevy Impala $7495, 02' Jeep Liberty $5295, 08' Hyundai Santa Fe $8759, 08' Ford Escape $8559, 05' Pontiac G6 $5549, 06' Ford Taurus $4250

BETTER THAN WALKING SPECIAL "Remember Cars are like eggs" Cheaper in the country!

Financing Available '99 Mercury Sable $2495 '01 Nissan Altima GLE $3995 '00 Olds Intrigue GL $3995 '04 Nissan Altima S $5995 '07 Chevy Malibu LS $6995 '01 Chevy Subarban $3495 Ernest Baker Auto Sales & Equip.

3349 N. Main St., Hwy 15N. Across from Mozingo Conv. Store 803-469-9294

Look in Sunday’s paper for...

Coupons

Dogs OBEDIENCE TRAINING Basic Commands, Behavior problem solving, Advanced training. Ask about our vacation package. Call 803-972-0738 or 972-7597

PLEASE CALL

774-1200

It’s the After Thanksgiving Sale NOW - Before Thanksgiving at Mayo’s!

Sale

You Heard It Right!

Why Wait till the Day after Mayo’s is starting “NOW!” SHIRTS, TIES, PANTS & SHOES

Buy 1, Get a 2nd “like” item at HALF PRICE!

Entire stock of Suits - Buy 1 Regular Priced Suit, Receive 2nd Suit of Equal Value FREE!

MAYO’S SUIT CITY If your suits aren’t becoming to you, It’s a good time to be coming to Mayo’s!

Wesmark Plaza • 773-2262 • Mon-Sat 10-7

B8

CLASSIFIEDS

THE ITEM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

Holiday Open House Thursday, November 20th 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Enjoy 20% off all regular-priced merchandise (some exclusions apply) Specialty Baskets Available, and light refreshments.

unique gifts, jewelry and accessories, stationery, monogramming, etc.

105 E. Wesmark Blvd. #9 • Sumter, SC 803-774-5570

TRANSPORTATION

Miscellaneous

in the bidding process. No bid shall be withdrawn for a period of thirty (30) days subsequent to the opening of the bids without the consent of the Housing Authority of Sumter.

Wayne Turner Modernization Coordinator 803-774-7315 TDD# 1-800-545-1833 Ext. 100

SUMMONS AND NOTICES IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS C/A NO.: 2014-CP-43-02029

LEGAL NOTICES Legal Notice STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA BEVERLY D. SINGLETON vs SC Department of Social Services and SC State Accident Fund WCC #0918674 SAF #2009-5252 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the above styled action is scheduled to be heard before the SC Workers' Compensation Commission in connection with the October 1, 2011 death of Beverly D. Singleton.

Any person or persons having information concerning the identity and/or location of anyone who is, or claims to be, an heir at law of the said Beverly D. Singleton, Deceased or any person who was or claims to have been dependent upon the said Beverly D. Singleton, eceased at the time of her death on October 1, 2011 please contact, Jim Crosby, Post Office Box 102100 Columbia, South Carolina 29221-5000 Telephone number (803) 896-5895.

Public Notice: P/N SAC 2014-00929-2D Roger Edwards has applied to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control for a water quality certification and construction in navigable waters permit to remove silt from canal for private use in Lake Marion at Taw Caw Creek. Comments will be received by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control at 2600 Bull St. Columbia, SC 29201-1708, Attn: Rusty Wenerick, Division of Water Quality until December 4, 2014.

Bid Notices INVITATION FOR BIDS The Housing Authority of Sumter will receive bids for painting services for all projects on Tuesday December 2, 2014 until 10:00 a.m. at the Central Office located at 15 Caldwell St. Sumter, SC at which time and place all bids will be publicly opened and read aloud.

Bids shall be in sealed envelopes labeled as follows:

Summons & Notice

Bid Notices

Summons & Notice

Reconditioned batteries $35. New batteries, UBX 75-7850. Golf cart batteries, 6V. exchange $300 per set, while they last. Auto Electric Co. 803-773-4381

Doolallies is now under New Management Heather Rowland Hodge, Owner

FORECLOSURE OF REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE (Non-Jury) STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER US Bank, National Association, as Trustee for HomeGold Home Equity Loan Trust 1999-1, Plaintiff, vs.

The Estate of Francis X. Gill, John Doe and Richard Roe, as Representatives of all Heirs and Devisees of Francis X. Gill, Deceased, and all persons entitled to claim under or through them; also, all other persons or corporations unknown claiming any right, title, interest in or lien upon the real estate described herein, any unknown adults, whose true names are unknown, being as a class designated as John Doe, and any unknown infants, persons under disability, or persons in the Military Service of the United States of America, whose true names are unknown, being as a class designated as Richard Roe; HomeGold, Inc.; Conseco Finance Servicing Corp. ultimate successor to Green Tree Acceptance, Inc.; CFNA Receivables (SC), Inc. ultimate s/b/m to Associates Financial Services Company of South Carolina, Inc.; South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, Defendant(s).

TO THE DEFENDANT(S) ABOVE NAMED: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to appear and defend by answering the Complaint in this action, a copy of which is hereby served upon you, and to serve a copy of your Answer on the subscribers at their offices at 3800 Fernandina Road, Suite 110, Columbia, SC 29210, 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 TO 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 and Notice upon you. If you fail to do so, application for such appointment will be made by Attorney for

Summons & Notice

Summons & Notice 2014.

Plaintiff.

YOU WILL ALSO TAKE NOTICE that Plaintiff will move for an Order of Reference or the Court may issue a general Order of Reference of this action to a Master-in-Equity/Special Referee, pursuant to Rule 53 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure.

YOU WILL ALSO TAKE NOTICE that under the provisions of S.C. Code Ann. § 29-3-100, effective June 16, 1993, any collateral assignment of rents contained in the referenced Mortgage is perfected and Attorney for Plaintiff hereby gives notice that all rents shall be payable directly to it by delivery to its undersigned attorneys from the date of default. In the alternative, Plaintiff will move before a judge of this Circuit on the 10th day after service hereof, or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard, for an Order enforcing the assignment of rents, if any, and compelling payment of all rents covered by such assignment directly to the Plaintiff, which motion is to be based upon the original Note and Mortgage herein and the Complaint attached hereto.

LIS PENDENS 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 Francis X. Gill and Shirley A. Gill to Homegold, Inc. dba Emergent Mortgage Corp. dated August 19, 1998 and recorded on August 27, 1998 in Book 715 at Page 1219, in the Sumter County Registry (hereinafter, "Mortgage").

Thereafter, the Mortgage was transferred to the Plaintiff herein by assignment and/or corporate merger.

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, more particularly described in the said Mortgage and are more commonly described as: All that certain piece, parcel or lot of land, together with any and all improvements thereon, lying being and situate in Middleton Township, the County of Sumter, State of South Carolina, being shown and delineated as Lot 111-A of Wessex Subdivision on that certain plat by Croft Engineers, dated October 12, 1987, recorded in the Office of the RMC for Sumter County in Plat Book 87 at Page 1713, and re-recorded in Plat Book 89 at Page 645.

Also included herewith is that certain 1992 Fleetwood Manufactured Home bearing serial number GAFLM35A&B04990HS. This being the same property conveyed to Francis X. Gill and Shirley A. Gill, as tenants in common with rights of survivorship by Deed of The Sun Company, dated 3-10-97, and recorded 4-16-97 in Book 672 at Page 808, Sumter County records.

Thereafter Shirley A. Gill passed away on or around October 31, 2012 and title to the subject property passed unto Francis X. Gill by operation of law.

TMS No. 1280802021 (land) 4000017385 (mobile)

Summons & Notice

ORDER APPOINTING GUARDIAN AD LITEM AND APPOINTMENT OF ATTORNEY FOR UNKNOWN DEFENDANTS IN MILITARY SERVICE It appearing to the satisfaction of the Court, upon reading the filed Petition for Appointment of Kelley Woody, Esquire as Guardian ad Litem for known and unknown minors, and for all persons who may be under a disability, and it appearing that Kelley Woody, Esquire has consented to said appointment, it is FURTHER upon reading the Petition filed by Plaintiff for the appointment of an attorney to represent any unknown Defendants who may be in the Military Service of the United States of America, and may be, as such, entitled to the benefits of the Servicemember's Civil Relief Act, and any amendments thereto, and it appearing that Kelley Woody, Esquire has consented to act for and represent said Defendants, it is ORDERED that Kelley Woody, Esquire of P.O. Box 6432, Columbia, SC 29260 phone (803) 787-9678, be and hereby is appointed Guardian ad Litem on behalf of all known and unknown minors and all unknown persons who may be under a disability, all of whom may have or claim to have some interest or claim to the real property commonly known as 5680 Alcott Drive, Wedgefield, South Carolina 29168; that she is empowered and directed to appear on behalf of and represent said Defendants, unless said Defendants, or someone on their behalf, shall within thirty (30) days after service of a copy hereof as directed, procure the appointment of Guardian or Guardians ad Litem for said Defendants.

AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Kelley Woody, Esquire of P.O. Box 6432, Columbia, SC 29260 phone (803) 787-9678, be and hereby is appointed Attorney for any unknown Defendants who are, or may be, in the Military Service of the United States of America and as such are entitled to the benefits of the Servicemember's Civil Relief Act aka Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, and any amendments thereto, to represent and protect the interest of said Defendants,

J. Martin Page, SC Bar No. 100200 Brock & Scott, PLLC 3800 Fernandina Road, Suite 110 Columbia, SC 29210 Phone 888-726-9953 Fax 866-676-7658 Attorneys for Plaintiff

SUMMONS IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CASE NO. 2014-CP-43-0871 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER Green Tree Servicing LLC Plaintiff, -vsAnn Aavik, The Estate of Thomas Aavik, acting by and through its Personal Representative, whose name is unknown, South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, Ford Motor Credit Company LLC, and any and all persons claiming any right, title, estate or interest in real estate described in the Complaint any unknown adults being as a class designated as John Doe, and any unknown infants or persons under disability being as a class designated as Richard Roe, Defendant(s) YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Complaint in this action, and to serve a copy of your Answer on the subscribers at their offices, 1640 St. Julian Place, Columbia, South Carolina 29202, within thirty (30) days after 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 answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid, the Plaintiff in this action will apply to the Court for a judgment by default granting the relief demanded in the Complaint.

TO MINOR(S) OVER FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE, AND/OR TO MINOR(S) UNDER FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND THE PERSON WITH WHOM THE MINOR(S) RESIDE(S), AND/OR TO PERSON UNDER SOME LEGAL DISABILITY, INCOMPETENTS AND PERSONS CONFINED:

AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED That a copy of this Order shall be forth with served upon said Defendants by publication in The Item, a newspaper of general circulation published in the County of Sumter, State of South Carolina, once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, together with the Summons and Notice of Filing of Complaint in the above entitled action.

NOTICE OF FILING COMPLAINT

YOU ARE FURTHER SUMMONED AND NOTIFIED to apply for the appointment of a Guardian ad Litem within thirty (30) days after service of this Summons and Notice upon you. If you fail to do so, application for such appointment will be made by the Plaintiff.

NOTICE OF FILING COMPLAINT

ABOVE

YOU WILL PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Summons and Complaint in the above-captioned action were filed on May 6, 2014, in the Office of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County, South Carolina.

YOU WILL PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the original Complaint, Cover Sheet for Civil Actions and Certificate of Exemption from ADR in the above entitled action was filed in the Office of the Clerk of Court for SUMTER County on September 17,

NOTICE OF ORDER APPOINTING GUARDIAN AD LITEM NISI AND NOTICE A GUARDIAN AD LITEM APPOINTED

TO THE NAMED:

DEFENDANTS

Property Address: 5680 Alcott Drive, Wedgefield, SC 29168

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT an action involving real property known as 4650 Christine Dr., Sumter, SC 29150, in which you may have an interest, has been commenced in the Court of Common Pleas for Sumter County, South Carolina and that, by Order of the Clerk of Court filed

therein on November 29, 2014, Kimberly Allen Raber has been appointed Guardian ad Litem Nisi for all minors and persons under legal disability as a class designated as Richard Roe, Defendants herein.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT, unless you or someone on your behalf apply to the Court for appointment of a suitable person to act as Guardian ad Litem herein, within thirty (30) days after service by publication of this Notice, the appointment of Kimberly Allen Raber as Guardian ad Litem shall be made absolute.

LIS PENDENS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an action has been commenced and is now pending in this Court upon the Complaint of the above-named Plaintiff for the foreclosure of a certain mortgage of real estate given

by Ann Aavik and Thomas Aavik to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as a nominee for 1st Choice Mortgage/Equity Corporation of Lexington dated January 19, 2005, and recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds for Sumter County on January 24, 2005 at 3:39 PM in Book 967 at Page 86 The premises covered and affected by the said mortgage and the foreclosure thereof, were, at the time of making thereof and at the time of the filing of the Lis Pendens, as described on the attached Exhibit "A".

EXHIBIT "A" All that certain piece, parcel, or lot of land, together with the improvements thereon, if any, situate, lying, and being in the Township of Privateer, County of Sumter, State of South Carolina, being shown and designated as Lot #63, Havenwood Subdivision, Section # 9, as shown on that certain plat prepared by Croft Engineers, RLS, and recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds for Sumter County in Plat Book 87 at page 349, and having such metes and bounds as are shown on said plat, this description being in lieu of metes and bounds, as permitted under Section 30-5-250 of the 1976 Code of Laws of South Carolina. This is the property known as 4650 Christine Drive.

ALSO INCLUDED: one (1) 1999 Liberty MH (42 x 56) This is the identical property conveyed to Thomas Aavik and Ann Aavik by deed of Ruby O. Cain dated May 24, 2003 and recorded May 30, 2003 in the Office of the Register of Deeds for Sumter County, South Carolina in Book 891 at page 889; thereafter, re-recorded September 10, 2003 in Book 907 at Page 1316 to correct the spelling of the grantee's name.

Crawford & von Keller, LLC. PO Box 4216 1640 St. Julian Place (29204) Columbia, SC 29240 Phone: 803-790-2626 Attorneys for Plaintiff

Sell More PLACE AN AD

Full Time Party Director Needed

Bid Submitted From: ____________________________________________ For: Painting Services Date/Time of Bidding Opening: December 2, 2014 @10:00 am Proposed Forms Documents, including are available Administrative Office Caldwell St.

of Contract specifications from the located at 15

Attention is called to the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Provisions and Requirements of all contracts entered into by the Housing Authority of Sumter. All bids will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital or veteran status, the presence of a non-job related medical condition of handicap, or any other legally protected status. a. The Housing Authority of Sumter reserves the right to reject any and all bids or to waive any informality

Must work flexible hours and weekends. Experience required in party planning, booking and making arrangements for parties of 25 to 2,500.

Must present resume with references.

Serious inquiries only contact

803-983-7448 or email to: yarber.t.admin@ubimf.com

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014 Call Ivy Moore at: (803) 774-1221 | E-mail: ivy@theitem.com

THE SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTOS

The firefighters from Oswego Station of the Sumter Fire Department are used to winning barbecue compeitions. Last year, they won the People’s Choice Award, and they’re ready for some stiff competition from around 24 other fire station chefs.

Firefighters ignite their grills

BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com

F

irefighters have a reputation for being good cooks, and those from around this area are not shy about their culinary talents.

On Saturday, Nov. 22, the public can sample barbecue from more than 18 fire stations in the area. For the past four years, fire station cooks from Sumter, Clarendon, Kershaw and Lee counties, as well as some from Dorchester and Darlington, have stayed up overnight making sure fires are not extinguished. They’re cooking whole hog barbecue to support Sumter’s office of the American Red Cross.

Just because their efforts are for the Red Cross doesn’t mean the competition isn’t fierce, said Nancy Cataldo, executive director.

“They’re really funny,” she said. “They start talking smack and challenging each other for the next year as soon as the competition is over.”

Robbie Watts of the Concord Fire Station, which won the Firefighter Pit Master award, said there’s no doubt the team will win again.

“We cook with oak wood,” he said, “and we use a secret family recipe. (Brothers) Woody Newman and Eddie Newman cook with the recipe passed down to them by Roy Welch. It’s even a secret to me, and (Dwight Mixon and) I help them.”

Watts said Concord’s barbecue is vinegar-based and mild.

He said he thinks the station’s toughest competitor will be the “Dollard clan of Station 13,” Bethel Station on Nettles Road.

“They cook with wood, too,” Watts said. “A lot of people cook with gas, but barbecue tastes better when it’s cooked with wood.”

The Concord team will be up all night on Friday before the competition, watching and feeding the fire under their hog.

Oswego should be a tough

competitor, too, he said. The station won the People’s Choice Award in 2013.

“We are going to win, though,” Watts said. “Nothing’s going to change: We’re going to cook it the same way.”

Cataldo said the event is the biggest fundraiser for the Red Cross.

“It’s very important to us,” she said. “Without being a federal agency, we have to raise every bit of money we need.”

The late Tom Garrity, himself a firefighter, came up with the idea for the barbecue competition, Cataldo said. “He was very supportive of the event and the Red Cross and did a lot for us over the years. That’s why we named the event for him in 2013.”

Cataldo said the event was held at Garrity’s business, G&G Metal Fabrication and Fire Equipment Services, and it continues to be at that location, now called Fire Equipment Services.

“The new owner has also been very supportive of the

Lawton Kirby, then 4, imitates a firefighter during a past Firefighters’ BBQ Challenge. function,” she said. “We are very grateful, because this event is so important to us.”

The 5th Annual Capt. Tom Garrity Firefighters BBQ Challenge will be held from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, at Fire Equipment Services on Stamey Livestock Road, which is near the intersection with Broad Street Extension. Admission is $10, which includes generous tastes of any or all of the different fire stations’ barbecues. Participants can vote for their favorite team and purchase barbecue sandwiches,

barbecue by the pound and soft drinks.

The family-friendly event will also include a display of antique cars and fire department vehicles, as well as face painting for the children. All proceeds benefit the Red Cross.

A large grill made and donated by Fort Roofing and Sheet Metal Works will be awarded as door prize.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Red Cross at 1155 N. Guignard Dr. in Sumter, visit redcross.org/ sandhills or call (803) 775-2363.

Sumter Volunteers ornament salutes local education Sumter Volunteers Inc. continues its annual Sumter Keepsakes ornament series with “School Days,” a goldtoned and red metal depiction of a traditional “little red schoolhouse.” Information and a brief history of Sumter County education is included with the ornament, now on sale for $15 each.

“School Days” can be purchased at the Sumter Volunteers Office, 12 W. Liberty St., in Suite H of the Liberty Center; at the Elephant Ear Gallery on Bultman Drive; at the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce on West Calhoun Street; at the Swan-Lake Visitors Center; and at the Sumter County Treasurer’s Office. It is the 21st ornament in three different series offered

by Sumter Volunteers; several of the previous ornaments can still be purchases at the Sumter Volunteers Office.

For more information, call

(803) 775-7423.

The text included with the School Days ornament is: America’s traditional symbol of learning, The Little Red Schoolhouse speaks volumes on the subject of this year’s keepsake ornament — Education. It is adapted from drawings in the My Community and Me notebook, a Sumter Volunteers program for fourth-graders now in its 19th year.

A BRIEF HISTORY Sumter’s first public school system, District #17, has a rich history dating back to 1888.

Born out of Sumterville Academy and formed on Dec. 24, 1888, by the S.C. Legislature, this brand new education venture opened with a five-room building on East Hampton Street.

In the early 1900s, District #2 was formed by combining 26 small rural districts. The

district got its name because it was the second independent school district formed in Sumter County.

SUMTER SCHOOL DISTRICT On July 1, 2011, the two school districts were consolidated into the present Sumter School District. Dr. Frank Baker serves as superintendent.

One hundred twenty-six years later, the public school system that began so modestly affords public school education to 17,000 students in grades pre-school through 12 and employs more than 3,000.

OTHER EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES In addition to the Sumter School District, the Sumter community abounds with many other excellent educational opportunities. Among the many private schools in the area are St. Anne Catholic

School, St. Francis Xavier High School, Sumter Academy, Sumter Christian School, Thomas Sumter Academy, Westside Christian Academy, Wilson Hall and others.

Six institutions of higher learning add to the opportunities offered locally: Central Carolina Technical College, Morris College, St. Leo, Troy State and Webster universities, and the University of South Carolina Sumter.

MEMORIES Cherished memories of “School Days” remain when others have long since faded.

Favorite teachers and leaders, classmates, activities and events are all part of Precious Memories shared by students here in Sumter and everywhere.

For those presently experiencing School Days, remember — you’re building memories for a lifetime. Enjoy!

MATT WALSH/THE SUMTER ITEM

“School Days” is the 21st ornament offered by Sumter Volunteers Inc. in as many years. It is now on sale at several locations, and some previous years’ ornaments are still available at the Volunteers office.

C2

FOOD

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

|

THE SUMTER ITEM

Bold tasting spinach dish is simple to prepare

BY ALISON LADMAN The Associated Press

F

or such a simple dish, creamed spinach can be a pain to

make. Most recipes call for some sort of roux-based sauce, such as bechamel.

As though we have time for that while trying to assemble the rest of the Thanksgiving meal...

And yet, creamed spinach is an excellent choice for this special day. After all, if greens are going to be consumed, they need some serious oomph to stand up to all the other boldly flavored dishes on the table. So we came up with a simple creamed spinach that requires little effort beyond slowly simmering heavy cream. Easy, bold and delicious.

GARLIC CREAMED SPINACH Start to finish: 45 minutes Servings: 8 6 cloves garlic 1 pint heavy cream Three 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed Kosher salt and ground black pepper One at a time, use the side of a large chef’s knife to smash the garlic cloves. Peel away and discard the skins.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the garlic and the cream. Bring to a bare simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 35 minutes, or until the mixture is slightly thickened and reduced to 1 cup.

Meanwhile, drain the thawed spinach in a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth, squeezing out as much water as possible. Set aside.

When the cream is ready, use a slotted spoon to transfer the garlic to a cutting board. Use the back of a fork to mash the garlic cloves to a paste, then return

Replace turkey with roasted pig

Nutrition information per serving: 240 calories; 200 calories from fat (83 percent of total calories); 22 g fat (14 g saturated; 0.5 g trans fats); 80 mg cholesterol; 6 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 4 g protein; 360 mg sodium.

A little protein makes dessert a lot healthier

BY ELIZABETH KARMEL The Associated Press Thanksgiving is all about feasting. And though tradition plays a big role in setting the menu, there are a lot of people who like to mix it up and add something new. One of my friends smokes racks and racks of ribs to serve alongside the turkey, while many Italian families also serve lasagna. And baked ham has long played a starring role on Southern Thanksgiving tables.

This year, I decided to take that ham to the next level and roast a whole suckling pig instead of, or in addition to, the traditional turkey. After all, it’s all about the intoxicating smell of roasted meat wafting through the house, and nothing smells as good as roast pork! And I can’t think of a better meat to go with the traditional sides of sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and dressing (except maybe turkey!).

Most people, myself included, associate whole pig cookery with summer and outdoors. But I was convinced we could move our pig inside for this holiday.

For that reason, I asked for help from my friend and butcher extraordinaire Pat LaFrieda Jr., who just released his first cookbook, “Meat: Everything You Need to Know.”

LaFrieda suggested that to feed a Thanksgiving crowd I should use at least a 15- to 20-pound suckling pig. Mine — ordered from an Amish farm — ended up coming in at 22 1/2 pounds. Please note, you will want to plan this meal a bit in advance; most butchers will need a few days to get you a whole pig.

Once you procure the pig, there is almost no prep needed for it. I seasoned the cavity with a little salt and pepper, then LaFrieda showed me how to score the skin so that as the pig cooked the skin would not only develop a beautiful pattern, it also would develop crisp cracklings (often considered the best part of whole hog barbecue). But if the skin is not your thing, you can skip this step.

I pulled out my turkey roaster and fitted it with a rack; the pig fit perfectly.

That said, most people will find it easier to use a large baking sheet. The pig fits better on that and it’s easier for when you need to flip the pig during roasting. I placed the pig on its side, tucked the legs into the belly and it was almost ready to go into the oven.

them to the cream, along with the spinach. Cook, stirring well, on medium heat until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper.

BY MELISSA D’ARABIAN The Associated Press

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ROASTED WHOLE SUCKLING PIG For Thanksgiving, a roasted whole suckling pig is a dramatic way to do something other than a turkey. I suggest roasting and serving it whole, then carving it at the table. If you’d rather roast it and chop it to make a more classic barbecue, you will want to roast it until the thigh hits 180 F (not 145 F, as called for below).

If you like, you can fill the cavity of the pig with aromatics and vegetables, such as garlic, onions, celery and carrots.

But this seems to have a negligible effect on the flavor of the pig. It will just make the house smell good. If you are going to want to put an apple in the pig’s mouth for the final presentation, place a ball of foil in the mouth during cooking.

Start to finish: 4 to 5 hours (30 minutes active) Servings: 16 to 20 15- to 23-pound whole suckling pig Kosher salt and ground black pepper Heat the oven to 400 F and arrange an oven rack on the lowest level. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Coat the foil with cooking spray.

Use a very sharp knife to score the skin of the pig. Working on one side of the pig at a time, cut a series of long, crossing shallow lines into the skin. As the pig cooks, the scored sections will “pop” up, get crispy and resemble diamonds.

Season the cavity of the pig with salt and pepper. Transfer the pig to the prepared pan. Arrange it on its side with the back legs tucked and pointing forward and the front legs tucked underneath and pointing backward.

Roast the pig for 2 hours, then flip it onto its other side. To do this, wrap the feet in clean kitchen towels, then grasp them and carefully lift and turn. Roast for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until evenly browned on both sides. If the ears or any part of the face becomes too dark during roasting, cover with foil that has been coated with cooking spray.

Roast until a thermometer reads 145 F at the thickest part of the thigh. Remove the pig from the oven and let rest 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

For presentation purposes, I placed an apple in the pig’s mouth, but remember that the apple will cook. If you want to present the pig with a shiny red apple, you will need a second apple. Alternatively, you can form a foil ball and place it in the pig’s mouth during roasting so the mouth will cook in an open position and you will have the room to place a fresh apple when the pig is done.

After much discussion, LaFrieda and I decided a constant temperature of 400 F was best for roasting the pig. You can generally count on the pig needing 8 to 10 minutes roasting per pound to hit 145 F at the thickest part of the leg

(the best spot to measure internal temperature during cooking).

An instant meat thermometer is essential when cooking a suckling pig, just as it is with a turkey.

And, just like a turkey, you need to let it rest 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

After the pig has rested, it’s time to serve. You can carve at the table or in the kitchen. I like to use both a carving knife and a pair of kitchen shears. The carving knife is good for the leg and shoulder meat, and I like to cut the ribs out with scissors into twobone portions. That way everyone gets to have both roast pork and a rib bone to chew on.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The holiday season just isn’t the same if I don’t stuff my face with pumpkin pie.

There, I’ve said it.

Judge if you must, but then read on to hear my secret for pumpkin dessert goodness with fewer calories and better nutrition.

First, I make a pumpkin crunch instead of a pumpkin pie. Why? Because while I love the buttery flavor and satisfying texture the crust gives a pie, I’ve found I can scratch that itch (almost) as well with a cinnamonlaced buttery pecan topping. I make just enough to add the texture and buttery goodness I’m looking for, but hold back just enough to make my waistline happy, too.

Second, let’s talk about that pumpkin pie filling — creamy and unctuous, warmed with classic holiday spices.

Perfection.

Instead of relying on tons of cream and egg yolks for a smooth texture, I turn to a magical

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Instead of relying on tons of cream and egg yolks for a smooth texture for this dessert, try silken tofu. ingredient: silken tofu. Yes, tofu! But be sure to get the silken variety, which usually is sold on shelves, not in the refrigerated section with the Asian produce. Silken tofu brings the creamy with far less fat and fewer calories than cream, and it will thicken the custard beautifully in place of the eggs.

As a bonus, the tofu also boosts the protein. I find that adding a little protein to my sweets keeps the sugar lows at bay.

And the secret be-

LIGHTENED PUMPKIN CRUNCH Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes Servings: 8 For the filling: 4 ounces light cream cheese (such as Neufchatel), softened 10-ounce package firm silken tofu, rinsed 15-ounce can pumpkin puree 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice blend 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt For the crunch topping: 1 graham cracker broken into pieces 1/4 cup rolled oats 1/4 cup pecans (halves or pieces) 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks Heat the oven to 350 F. Coat a 9or 10-inch pie pan (or a 2 1/2-quart baking dish) with cooking spray.

In a food processor, combine the cream cheese and tofu, then pro-

hind the secret: a few ounces of light cream cheese. The cream cheese not only adds to the creaminess of the filling, it also lends a slightly tangy flavor, which offsets the ever-so-slight soybean taste that might linger on overly perceptive tongues. (But truth is, my family never notices.)

The recipe says this “pie” feeds eight, but that’s just a guideline; I fully support grabbing a spoonful from the leftovers every time you pass through the kitchen.

cess until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the pumpkin puree, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and salt, then process again. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie pan and bake for 30 minutes.

While the filling bakes, prepare the crunch. Clean the food processor bowl, then in it combine the graham cracker, oats, pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon. Process with several 3-second pulses to reduce the mixture to a coarse meal with some larger chunks.

Add the butter and process for another 5 to 10 seconds, or until well incorporated.

After the filling has baked for 30 minutes, sprinkle the crunch topping evenly over it, then return to the oven for another 30 minutes.

Cool to room temperature before slicing.

Nutrition information per serving: 200 calories; 90 calories from fat (45 percent of total calories); 10 g fat (4 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 20 mg cholesterol; 23 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 18 g sugar; 5 g protein; 190 mg sodium.

FOOD

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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Put the children to work making a sweet potato tart

BY J.M. HIRSCH AP Food Editor

I

t seemed an unlikely goal. I wanted a single solution for two prob-

lems — how to keep kids entertained while preparing Thanksgiving dinner AND how to serve sweet potatoes in a fresh, creative way.

Turned out to be easier than I thought, so long as I was willing to pitch in to get the dish rolling. And it turned out that was the easy part.

Truth is, no matter how classic or traditional they may be, sweet potatoes can be a bit of a challenge to serve at Thanksgiving. You don’t want to mash them (that encroaches on the territory of regular potatoes).

You don’t want to roast them (many of us do that to the butternut squash). You can casserole them with marshmallows, but that can be a pretty polarizing dish.

Unrelated to all that, kids can be a real challenge to keep occupied at Thanksgiving. They want to be in the way or run crazy or get out of their fancy clothing or help out or — most likely — all of the above all at once.

So solve both problems with this easy sweet potato tart recipe. It’s a delicious roasted dish that brings out the natural sweet and savory sides of sweet potatoes, but won’t be confused with the squash. It also has a hint of sweetness, which should keep the marshmallow fan club pleased. And it’s so foolproof to assemble, the kids can be put in charge of it.

All you need to do is prep the potatoes (a food processor will do this in seconds) and set out the ingredients and pan for the kids. The beauty of this recipe is they really can’t mess it up. If they use up all of the cheese in the first few layers of the tart, who cares? Give them more cheese. The dish will be even more delicious.

the dish, send them away. Give the top of the tart a final sprinkle of cheese and a spritz of cooking spray, then bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned and a knife inserted at the center of the tart passes easily through the layers.

Cool for 15 minutes, then drizzle a bit of maple syrup over the tart and slice into squares.

Nutrition information per serving: 160 calories; 50 calories from fat (31 percent of total calories); 6 g fat (3.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 20 mg cholesterol; 16 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 10 g sugar; 9 g protein; 240 mg sodium.

Thanksgiving Greetings

It’s your world.

Read all about it.

Call (803) 774-1200 and get started today.

Lots of animals have bodies that blend into the world around them. This is called camouflage. But the bold black and white markings on a skunk make them easy to spot. They don’t need to hide. Other animals know to leave them alone.

© 2014 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 30, No. 49

Find the differences between the two pictures.

To find each answer, start at the compass square each time and follow the directions.

What if you could ask a skunk any question you wanted? What would you ask? Kid Scoop spoke with skunk authority P.U. Stenchmuch to learn about these smelly creatures from a safe distance.

Q: How far can skunks spray?

A: Start at compass. Go 1 square north, then 1 square west.

Q: Do skunks ever run out of stinky spray?

A: Start at compass. Go 3 squares north, then 1 square west, then 1 square north.

We skunks are shy and gentle creatures. Yet the sight of a skunk is a fearful sight to many animals!

Standards Link: Investigation: Find similarities and differences in common objects.

Q: Where is the skunk’s secret weapon?

A: Start at compass. Go 3 squares north.

Next, go 1 square east. Then go 1 square south.

That’s because skunks have a powerful and stinky weapon right under our tails – a VERY stinky spray!

We hiss and stamp our feet. If this doesn’t work, we raise our tail over our head as a threat.

However, we only use this weapon when threatened.

Even then, we do everything possible to avoid sending the final stinky spray.

SKUNKS SMELLY STINKER PUTRID COMPASS MUSTY DISTANCE WEAPON SOUR POLECAT BLACK MARKINGS WHITE WEST STRIPES

Q: What color is the musk skunks spray?

A: Start at compass. Go 4 squares north.

Then go 1 square west. Next, go 1 square south.

Q: What are baby skunks called?

A: Start at compass, go 2 squares north.

Q: What is another name for a skunk?

A: Start at compass and go 1 square north. Next, go 1 square west. Then go 2 squares north and then 1 east.

Q: A skunk is about the same size as a ____________.

A: From compass, go 2 squares north.

Then, go 1 east and 1 south.

If those warnings don’t work, well, LOOK OUT!

Find the words in the puzzle, then in this week’s Kid Scoop stories and activities.

T A C E L O P W S S S S N O P A E W K K G E P U M S C U K R N P U Y T P N C R E I

I T L N K A K U K

K R R L S L T S O N R T I E B S S T S I A S D M W H I T E T M Y T S U M D E L S Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognizing identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

Stinky Words Make a list of words that describe how things smell – for example: odor, putrid, musty, sour.

Using one page of the newspaper, have students find and circle the letters that spell five of the smelly words.

There are three kinds of skunks. Do the math problems to match the name of each kind of skunk with its description.

15. It has a broad, hairless muzzle, like that of a pig. The back and tail are white.

SWEET POTATO TART WITH PARMESAN AND MAPLE SYRUP Start to finish: 1 hour (20 minutes active) Servings: 12 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled 10 ounces grated Parmesan cheese Ground black pepper Maple syrup, to serve Heat the oven to 350 F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Trim the sweet potatoes so that they fit into the feed tube of the food processor. It’s fine if you need to cut them into chunks for them to fit.

Using the processor’s thinnest slicing blade, cut all of the sweet potatoes into very thin slices. Alternatively, use a mandoline to slice the sweet potatoes.

Pile the sliced sweet potatoes on the work surface. Place the Parmesan in a bowl next to them. Have a grinder of black pepper nearby. Instruct the children to arrange a single layer of sweet potato slices over the bottom of the prepared pan, then sprinkle a small amount of the cheese over them. Finish with a few grinds of pepper.

Now have them repeat this, arranging another layer of sweet potato slices over the cheese, followed by another sprinkling of cheese and pepper. Have them continue until they run out of ingredients. If they run out of cheese before they run out of sweet potatoes, give them more cheese.

When the kids finish assembling

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sweet Potato Tart with Parmesan and Maple Syrup are a great twist on the traditional way to prepare the vegetable.

Standards Link: Vocabulary: Understand and explain synonyms.

Reading Comprehension: Follow multiple step directions.

10. The smallest of all skunks, it has a dot in the middle of its forehead. The stripes go in lots of different and wiggly directions.

23. The face is black except for one white stripe that runs from the nose to the shoulders. At the shoulders, the stripe splits in two parts, one running down each side of the body.

Send your story to:

Who is your favorite leader? Tell why this person is important to you.

Standards Link: Life Science: There is variation among individuals of one kind within a population.

Black & White and Read All Over Select a page of the newspaper. Find all of the words you can read, and if you know what they mean, circle them in red.

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Use context to understand meaning.

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C6

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COMICS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

BIZARRO

SOUP TO NUTZ

ANDY CAPP

GARFIELD

BEETLE BAILEY

BORN LOSER

BLONDIE

ZITS

MOTHER GOOSE

DOG EAT DOUG

DILBERT

JEFF MACNELLY’S SHOE

Mom should ask doctor about children’s sexual play DEAR ABBY — Last weekend some family members were at my mom’s house for a meal. My 6-year-old Dear Abby son and my cousin’s ABIGAIL 4-year-old VAN BUREN daughter were playing in the room my mom had set up for the grandkids.

When I went to check on them, I noticed the bathroom door was closed, so I knocked.

My son answered, sounding rather panicked. I asked if “Jenny” was in there with him. He said no, then opened the door, but he looked scared, as if he knew he had

THE SUMTER ITEM

done something wrong, and glanced nervously at the closed shower curtain.

Sure enough, there was Jenny, standing in the tub with her bathing suit around her ankles trying to get it back on. I told her to put her clothes on and took my son outside to speak with him.

“Rory” admitted they were showing each other their private parts and had touched and rubbed them. I asked him why and where he learned how to do that, and he implied it was his idea!

Abby, he has never seen any adult movies, magazines, love scenes, or caught me or anyone else in the act. Why on earth would this be on his mind at such a young age? Do you think he needs counseling?

THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Worried mom in California DEAR WORRIED MOM — No. Playing doctor is a game children have played ever since curiosity was born. I think you need to talk to your child’s pediatrician and ask if this behavior is normal at this age.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.

DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order “How to Be Popular.”

Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

(Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

JUMBLE

SUDOKU

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

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

ACROSS 1 Amin portrayed in “The Last King of Scotland” 4 Arabic “son of” 7 Took out 13 __ race 14 Lingerie tops 16 Turkey feature 17 Leave in a huff 19 Necessitate 20 “Evil Woman” rock gp.

21 Lode loads 23 Jalape–o topper 24 Chignon, e.g.

25 Book keeper?

27 Ultimate authorities 29 “Have some!”

30 Seattle-toReno dir.

31 Stains on a record 32 One who woke up on the wrong side of the bed, say 34 Steak topper 40 Neighborhood sale caveat 41 Dishonorable fellow 43 Blissful sounds 46 Cherry core 47 Damaged 48 Deep-fried

carnival treat 52 One, to Goethe 53 Deceit 54 “Are we __ not?”: “Is it a date?”

55 Puerto Rico hrs.

56 TaylorMade parent 58 Virtual storage area, and a hint to words that start 17-, 25-, 34- and 48-Across 61 “Fighting” college team 62 “Born Free” lioness 63 Word after common or case 64 Starts over 65 Pink Floyd guitarist Barrett 66 New Haven student DOWN 1 Govt. org. that may freeze assets 2 Desert fruit tree 3 “See?!”

4 “Big Blue” 5 Coop groups 6 Tiny Pacific republic 7 Ma that baas 8 Go off on 9 Place to stick rarely used stuff

10 Celery pieces 11 Fails to pronounce 12 Knock out, as a character 15 Fr. holy women 18 Dove bars?

22 Cooks, as dim sum dumplings 24 iPad-to-PC port 26 Ring punches 28 __Kosh B’Gosh 32 Store with a Kirkland Signature brand 33 Many a Louis 35 One way to travel 36 Letters in an APB 37 Beyond be-

lief 38 Lingerie top 39 Ultimate 42 Vogue VIPs 43 Intense romance 44 Steeplechase feature 45 Escargots 46 One fussy about minor details 47 Charge against Galileo 49 Film with a minimal costume budget?

50 Put in a chip 51 JCPenney rival 57 Paris, to Nicky 59 Dishonorable fellow 60 MADD focus

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62 Car Chaser Rich Guide Shark Tank (HD) Shark Tank Entrepreneurs. (HD) Car Chaser Car Chaser Shark Tank (HD) Shark (HD) 64 Erin Burnett OutFront (N) Anderson Cooper 360° (N) (HD) Somebody’s Gotta Do It (N) CNN Tonight Anderson Cooper 360° (HD) Mike Rowe Key & Peele (N) Daily Show (N) The Colbert Re- (:01) @midnight 136 (:58) South Park (:29) Tosh.0 (HD) Key & Peele (HD) Key & Peele (HD) South Park (HD) South Park (HD) South Park (N) (HD) (HD) (HD) (HD) port (N) (HD) (N) (HD) Girl Meets Two Frenemies (‘12, Family) ac Bella Thorne. Friends fight Dog Blog: Avery Jessie School Liv and Maddie Austin & Ally I Didn’t Do It: Bad The Even 80 Austin & Ally (HD) companies. for senior editor job.

B. Jealous dance. (HD) (HD) (HD) News Stevens Movie 103 Dude, You’re Screwed (HD) Dude You’re Screwed (N) (HD) Dude, You’re Screwed (N) (HD) Naked and Afraid (HD) Naked and Afraid (HD) Naked (HD) 35 NBA Basketball: San Antonio Spurs at Cleveland Cavaliers z{| (HD) NBA Basketball: Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets from Toyota Center (HD) Sports (HD) 39 SportsCenter (HD) College Football: Teams TBA z{| (HD) SportsCenter (HD) NFL Live (HD) Liar Liar (‘97, Comedy) aac Jim Carrey. A boy’s birthday wish prevents The 700 Club Sister Act II: 131 Zookeeper (‘11, Comedy) aa Kevin James. In order to keep their zookeeper from leaving, animals reveal they can talk. (HD) an unscrupulous lawyer from telling lies. (HD) Back in Habit 109 Beat Bobby Beat Bobby Cutthroat Kitchen: Ho-Ley Pot Cutthroat: Empanada Chance Kitchen Inferno (N) Cutthroat: The Rice Stuff Cutthroat 74 On the Record with Greta (N) The O’Reilly Factor (N) (HD) The Kelly File News updates.

Hannity Conservative news. (HD) The O’Reilly Factor (HD) The Kelly File 42 College Football: Wake Forest Demon Deacons at North Carolina State Wolfpack no} (HD) ACC Gridiron Live! (HD) World Poker Tour no} (HD) Unleashed A Very Merry Mix Up (‘13, Holiday) Alicia Witt. A shop owner travels to stay Window Won183 (6:00) Holiday Engagement (‘11, Hol- Let It Snow (‘13, Holiday) Candace Cameron Bure. A talented businessiday) Bonnie Somerville. (HD) woman must inspect a new property for her company. (HD) with her fiance’s parents for the holidays. (HD) derland (HD) 112 Property Brothers (HD) Property Brothers (HD) Buying and Selling (N) (HD) Hunters (N) Hunters (N) Property Brothers (HD) Buying (HD) 110 American Pickers (HD) American Pickers (HD) American Pickers (N) (HD) Down East Dickering (N) (HD) Pawn. (HD) Pawn. (HD) American (HD) Cold Case: Rampage Shooter sought Cold Case Miss160 Cold Case: Death Penalty: Final Ap- Cold Case: The Hen House One-hit Cold Case: The River Murdered doc- Cold Case: Joseph Lilly fixated on peal Death row appeal. (HD) writer. (HD) tor’s gambling addiction. (HD) murdered counselor. (HD) in mall rampage. (HD) ing vet. (HD) The Notebook (‘04, Romance) aaac Rachel McAdams. A woman chooses between a man of whom True Tori: He Said, She Said Accusa- (:02) The Note145 (6:00) Movie her parents approve and her first love. (HD) tions. (HD) book (‘04) (HD) 76 Hardball with Chris (N) (HD) All in with Chris Hayes (HD) The Rachel Maddow Show (N) Lawrence O’Donnell (HD) All in with Chris Hayes (HD) Maddow (HD) 91 Thunderman Max Shred (N) Full Hse Full Hse Full Hse Full Hse Prince Prince Friends (HD) Friends (HD) How I Met 154 Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Impact Wrestling (N) (HD) G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (‘09) aac (HD) Thor: Hammer of 152 The Uninvited (‘09, Horror) aac Emily Browning. A ghostly warning is Shutter (‘08, Horror) aa Joshua Jackson. A couple starts to see strange The Almighty Johnsons: A Damn given to a girl about her father’s new love interest. images of a mysterious girl on their photographs.

Fine Woman (HD) Gods (HD) Seinfeld Muffin Family Guy Family Guy: The Big Bang The Big Bang The Big Bang The Big Bang Conan (N) (HD) Hospital Over156 Seinfeld: The Yada Yada (HD) tops sold. (HD) Stewie Kills Lois Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) crowded living.

The Whistler (‘44, Mystery) aac Richard Dix, J. Carrol Naish. A mysterious figure narrates Voice of the Whistler (‘45, Drama) Mysterious Intruder (‘46, Mystery) 186 (6:45) Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (‘58) aa Allison Hayes. the tale of a man who orders a hit on himself after learning of his wife’s death.

Richard Dix. A jealous fiancé.

Richard Dix. Man looks for girl.

157 Extreme (HD) Extreme (HD) Extreme (HD) Extreme (HD) Extreme Cheapskates (N) (HD) Virgin Coaches (HD) Extreme Cheapskates (HD) Virgin (HD) 158 Castle: A Murder Is Forever A famous Sherlock Holmes (‘09, Action) aaac Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes investigates a (:31) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (‘11, Action) aaa Robert relationship therapist. (HD) mystery involving a dead occult leader. (HD) Downey Jr. Tracking down a criminal mastermind. (HD) 102 S. Beach S. Beach S. Beach S. Beach S. Beach S. Beach (N) S. Beach S. Beach (:01) Pawn (:31) Pawn (:02) S. Beach 161 Hogan (:40) Hogan (:20) Family Feud (HD) Friends (HD) Friends (HD) Cleveland (N) The Exes (N) Cleveland The Exes (HD) Queens (HD) Next Friday (‘00, Comedy) aac Ice Cube. A young man is sent off to live Modern Family Modern Family: White Collar 132 Friday (‘95, Comedy) aaa Ice Cube. Young men try to survive on the gang-ridden mean streets of Los Angeles. with his uncle and cousin in the suburbs.

(HD) Fizbo (HD) (HD) Law & Order: D-Girl (HD) Law & Order: Turnaround (HD) Law & Order: Showtime (HD) Law & Order: Mad Dog (HD) Law & Order Kidnapping. (HD) Law (HD) 172 Funniest Home Videos (HD) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (‘06, Action) aaa Johnny Depp. Pirates make deals.

How I Met How I Met Rules (HD)

‘Duck Dynasty’ fans will welcome ‘Country Buck$’

BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH It had to happen. Now entering its seventh season, “Duck Dynasty” (9 p.m., A&E, TV-PG) has a spin-off series, “Country Buck$” (10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., A&E, TV-PG). “Green Acres” to its “Beverly Hillbillies,” “Country” hardly deviates from the “Dynasty” template.

Just as “Dynasty” celebrates a clan who has carved out a business empire in the Louisiana hinterlands, the Busbice family owns more than 55,000 acres in the state, a fantasy hunting camp for bow hunters, deer hunters and guys (mostly) who like to play with high-tech hunting toys, ride all-terrain vehicles and just blow things up.

Hunting, once seen as the province of sportsmen who revere nature, is reduced here to just another outlet for mindless consumerism and loud, trashy behavior.

We’re told that the Busbices’ business, Wildgame Innovations, attracts a rich clientele.

But the first guests we see are Willie Robertson of “Dynasty” and Troy Landry of “Swamp People.” The circle of product placement is complete. We now have an A&E show promoting a business that promotes other A&E shows.

You don’t need to watch these clowns in camo to see how this genre of television reduces its subjects to the ridiculous.

• Over on “Nashville” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG), poor, miserable Layla (Audrey Peebles) was all set to relaunch her career as a singer of alt-country emo ballads, but her appearances on the reality show created to promote her husband Will’s (Chris Carmack) career have turned her into a new variation on Jessica Simpson’s ditzy television persona.

• Vanishing Arctic ice has affected more than polar bears.

“Invasion of the Killer Whales” on “Nature” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) looks at how this has introduced predatory killer whales into open waters. There, they feed on the seals, narwhal, belugas and bowhead whales that have been a source of food for the Inuit for centuries.

Some Inuit have used these new neighbors to their advantage. Some feel that the killer whales’ herding strategy has made their jobs easier. But

RICHARD KNAPP / A+E NETWORKS

From left are: Beth Busbice, Bill Busbice, Matt Busbice, Ryan Busbice, T-Carr, Mona Busbice and Hardluck Busbice of “Country Buck$,” premiering at 10 p.m. today on A&E. marine biologists worry that this new voracious hunter and killer will soon exhaust the food supply, threatening the Inuit way of life.

• Asian inspiration abounds on Syfy. Two teenage girls defy their stepmother on the advice of their dead mother’s ghost in the 2009 shocker “The Uninvited” (7 p.m., Syfy). David Strathairn and Elizabeth Banks star in this remake of the 2003 Korean horror film “A Tale of Two Sisters.” “Shutter” (9 p.m., Syfy) follows, itself a 2008 remake of a Thai horror movie from 2004.

TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS • A couple’s slaying may have religious origins on “The Mysteries of Laura” (8 p.m., NBC, TV14).

• Oliver evades a stalker on “Arrow” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).

• The battered girlfriend of a sports anchor avoids the authorities on “Law & Order: SVU” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

• A new doctor’s approach raises eyebrows on “Red Band

Society” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG).

• Secret holiday agendas abound on “Modern Family” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).

• “NOVA” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) recalls the March 2014 landslide in Oso, Washington, that killed dozens and destroyed 50 houses.

• Terror in the suburbs on “Stalker” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

• A jeweler’s death is investigated on “Chicago P.D.” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

• Dell alienates the ladies on “American Horror Story” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA).

CULT CHOICE Diana Ross portrays troubled jazz singer Billie Holiday in the 1972 biopic “Lady Sings the Blues” (6:30 p.m., Ovation). A strong supporting cast includes Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James Callahan, Sid Melton, Virginia Capers and Scatman Crothers.

SERIES NOTES A test of loyalty on “Survivor”

(8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) * Dining out for Thanksgiving on “The Middle” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) * Jazzercise to the max on “The Goldbergs” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) * Bonkers in Boston on “Criminal Minds” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) * Finn snaps on “The 100” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14) * The mother of all visitors on “black-ish” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TVPG).

LATE NIGHT Jessica Chastain is booked on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (11 p.m., Comedy Central) * Toni Morrison is on

“The Colbert Report” (11:30 p.m., Comedy Central) * Bill Cosby and Hundred Waters appear on “Late Show With David Letterman” (11:35 p.m., CBS) * Jimmy Fallon welcomes Jon Stewart and U2 on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) * Keira Knightley, Al Michaels and St. Lucia visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) * Craig Ferguson hosts Malin Akerman, Claire Holt and Metallica on “The Late Late Show” (12:35 a.m., CBS).

Copyright 2014, United Feature Syndicate

Timothy L. Griffith Attorney at Law

803-607-9087 Family Law • Divorce, Visitation & Custody Criminal Defense • DUI • Federal and State Court www.tlgriffith.com

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Cream cheese produces ultimate creamy pumpkin pie

I

n our search for the creamiest possible pumpkin pie, we decided to take our inspiration from the ultimate of

ULTRA-CREAMY PUMPKIN PIE

creamy pies — cheesecake.

Start to finish: 1 hour 10 minutes (15 minutes active) Servings: 8

We love the richness and depth cheesecake gets from its prime ingredient — cream cheese. That said, we didn’t want to bake a pumpkin cheesecake, which can be a bit too heavy after an already heavy meal. Plus, Thanksgiving is all about tradition and we love a classic pumpkin pie.

But we did add just enough cream cheese to our favorite cream-based pumpkin pie filling to push it over the top in terms of creaminess. You’re going to love this. We opted for a chocolate crumb pie crust for this pie, but the filling will work wonderfully in any crust you care to use. Substitute at will.

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground dry ginger ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg ¼ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon kosher salt ½ cup packed brown sugar ½ cup maple syrup 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature 3 eggs

15-ounce can pumpkin puree ½ cup heavy cream 1 prepared deep-dish chocolate crumb crust (or preferred crust)

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the oven’s middle rack.

In a food processor, combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, salt and brown sugar.

Process until well mixed. Add the maple syrup, cream cheese, eggs, pumpkin and cream, then process until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure even mixing.

Transfer the pumpkin mixture to the prepared crust, smoothing the top. Place the pie on the heated baking pan in the oven (this promotes even cooking). Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the center of the pie jiggles only slightly. Cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition information per serving: 360 calories; 150 calories from fat (42 percent of total calories); 17 g fat (8 g saturated; 2.5 g trans fats); 115 mg cholesterol; 49 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 36 g sugar; 6 g protein; 320 mg sodium.

Penuche Cream Pie

Penuche fudge and vanilla custard together as pie

O

bviously, there will be pumpkin pie. There’s not a

PENUCHE CREAM PIE

lot of debate there. But this

Start to finish: 2 hours (40 minutes active) Servings: 8 8 to 8 ¾-ounce package shortbread cookies 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

is Thanksgiving; one pie simply isn’t sufficient. So then comes the question... Which pie will be pumpkin’s wingman?

Bored with the usual selection of fruit and pecan pies, we decided to create something a little different this year. We were inspired by classic vanilla cream pies, but wanted something with a bit more substance. So we created a penuche fudge filling that gets hidden beneath the layer of vanilla custard. Add a shortbread crust and we had a winner.

It is important to assemble this pie only just before serving; the penuche will soften once the custard layer is added.

Luckily, the layers can be prepared well in advance. The penuche can be poured into the crust and held at room temperature for up to two days. The custard can be refrigerated for two days.

1 cup packed brown sugar ¾ cup granulated sugar, divided 2 tablespoons corn syrup 1 ½ cups heavy cream, divided Pinch kosher salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse the shortbread cookies and flour until they are reduced to fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse just until evenly moistened. Press the crumbs over the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the penuche layer. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the brown sugar, ½ cup of the granulated sugar, the corn syrup, ½ cup of the cream, and the salt. Bring to a boil and cook until the mixture reaches 230 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour into the prepared pie crust. Allow to cool at room temperature.

While the penuche cools, prepare the custard. In a medium bowl, combine the cornstarch with the remaining 1/4 cup of

2 tablespoons cornstarch 3 egg yolks 1 ½ cups whole milk 1 vanilla bean 2 tablespoons powdered sugar Toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)

granulated sugar. Add the yolks and beat until smooth. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium, heat the milk along with the vanilla bean, splitting and scraping the inside of the pod into the milk. When the milk comes to a simmer, slowly pour it into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the entire thing back into the pan and heat, whisking continuously, until the mixture comes to a simmer and thickens.

Remove the vanilla bean and transfer the custard to a bowl.

Place plastic wrap directly over the custard and refrigerate until completely chilled.

When ready to serve, whip the remaining 1 cup of cream with the powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Pour the custard over the penuche filling in the pie, then top with whipped cream and toasted nuts, if desired.

Nutrition information per serving: 600 calories; 300 calories from fat (50 percent of total calories); 33 g fat (18 g saturated; 0.5 g trans fats); 160 mg cholesterol; 71 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 55 g sugar; 6 g protein; 180 mg sodium.