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Charges filed in deadly shooting Florence man accused of obstruction of justice in recent Lynchburg case BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Sumter County Sheriff’s Office has charged a 43-year-old Florence man with obstructing justice in connection
Floods won’t capsize housing market
with the investigation into a deadly shooting Tuesday evening in Lynchburg. Braden Bunch, public information officer with the sheriff’s office, said Wednesday’s report of the incident in-
correctly stated the shooting happened on Monday. According to a new release from the sheriff’s office distributed Wednesday, Travis Byron Jones, of 3039 Arthur Road, Florence, was found at the scene of the shooting and was brought in for questioning. Jones was charged Thursday after the suspect allegedly made several false statements to investigators con-
cerning the shooting death of 70-yearold Joseph Frey. Bunch said Jones’ statements contradicted themselves and did not match with evidence found by investigators. About 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, deputies responded to a call at a residence in the 3300 block of Narrow Paved Road
SEE SHOOTING, PAGE A8
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BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com October’s floods led to a surge in the rental market, according to Sumter Board of Realtors Executive Director Darlene Hebert, and disrupted real estate agents’ ability to manage some listings; but it has not slowed down the overall market. “I don’t know of a single Realtor whose phone has not been ringing off the hook,” she said. In October 2014, 65 properties were rented, she said, and this year there were 89 during the month of October. “Obviously, the rentals have gone up due to folks being displaced from their homes,” Hebert said. She said a Realtor at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices John M. Brabham Real Estate, which sells residential and commercial real estate and also handles property management, told her in a normal week the company has three pages of rental listings, and now they have less than a page. “It has definitely caused a little bit of a demand for rentals,” she said. The flood is not likely to have a long-lasting effect on real estate values, according to William Harrison, an adjunct professor with University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business. He said University of North Carolina Wilmington studied real estate trends after the Wilmington area experienced a string of direct hits from hurricanes. “There seems to be an academic consensus that when you have a catastrophic event, a lot of the effect on real estate values depends on the perception of whether or not there is a potential for it to happen again,” he said. When researchers do see such a decrease in value, Harrison said, it usually results
SEE REALTORS, PAGE A8
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Excited Gamecock fans greet Cocky during Big Wednesday at University of South Carolina Sumter. The event features an appearance by the USC and Clemson mascots, dinner and silent auction. It’s a fundraiser for the USC Sumter Alumni Association.
Officials: State agricultural damage nearly double original estimates BY TIM SMITH tcsmith@greenvillenews.com COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s estimated agricultural losses from last month’s floods have grown to almost $600 million, and farmers statewide are hurting, state officials say. State Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers initially estimated losses at $300 million but officials with his agency told members of the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday that the total agriculture-related losses are now estimated at $587 million. Agriculture is the state’s biggest industry. Farmers already faced a horrible year
because of a late freeze and a summer drought, Assistant Agriculture Commissioner Clint Leach told the panel. “They are to the point of desperation,” he said. The grim news came as the budget-writing committee heard final testimony from agencies as well as local officials on the impact of the flood, which killed 17 people, closed more than 500 state roads and bridges and displaced thousands. Much of the financial cost for repairing damage from the flood has not yet been tallied or released. Agriculture officials, however, say they do have estimates, and the damage has shaken farmers and those
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who make their living off of agricultural products statewide. They said while they talked to members of the state’s congressional delegation and to federal agriculture officials, the industry now is in “crisis.” Rep. Brian White, an Anderson Republican and chairman of the committee, said he thinks the state should provide some financial assistance. “We help other industries,” he said. “It’s time we help farmers too.” Leach said his agency has surveyed the damage and talked to farmers. “Our industry has been hit very hard,” he said. “Our farmers are in deep despair.
We’re hearing from them constantly.” He said according to a study done for his agency by a retired Clemson economics professor, losses in the field, primarily from soybeans, peanuts and cotton, amount to $329 million, with another $46 million in losses from plantings that could not occur, $114 million in lost wages for 3,500 jobs and millions more in indirect costs. Farmers, he said, are not interested in obtaining lowinterest loans, the aid being offered by the federal government. That’s because farmers have gone a year without much income,
SEE DAMAGE, PAGE A8
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