November 22, 2014

IN SPORTS: Swampcats’ title hopes come down to rematch

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HELPING OUT

Volunteers grow veggies for needy Church’s fall garden will help provide supplies for many A2

SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

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Tri-county jobless rates drop State’s numbers rise as more people start search for work THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The jobless rates in Sumter, Lee and Clarendon counties decreased in October, while the overall seasonally adjusted rate in South Carolina rose for the fourth month in a row, increasing

slightly from 6.6 percent in September to 6.7 percent in October, officials said Friday.

The raw jobless rate in Sumter County — not seasonally adjusted — fell from 7.5 percent to 7 percent, with 441 more people reported working and 250 more workers joining the labor force. In Lee County, the raw rate dropped slightly from 7.7 percent to 7.6 percent, with 62 new jobs but an addi-

tional 55 workers. Clarendon County added 148 new jobs, with 124 more people in the workforce, and saw the raw jobless rate drop from 9.2 to 8.9 percent.

The Sumter Metropolitan Statistical Area saw an increase of approximately 500 employed workers from a month earlier and 700 from a year earlier.

But while local unemployment looks better, South Carolina was one of five

states that registered increases in unemployment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

“In October, 34 states and the District of Columbia had over-the-month unemployment rate decreases, five states had increases, and 11 states had no change,” the bureau reported in a written statement.

SEE JOBLESS, PAGE A6

SPREADING THE GOSPEL’S MESSAGE DURING CHRISTMAS SEASON

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Truman Jordan and Sheila Strack load boxes of Operation Christmas Child gifts into Northside Memorial Baptist Church from their truck. They brought the gifts from Clarendon County on Friday afternoon. “God knows where these boxes are going, and He knows what the kids need,” said Tim Garrett, Northside Memorial Baptist Church’s relay coordinator for the project.

Church collects boxes of goodies for children across the globe

BY RAYTEVIA EVANS ray@theitem.com

from Northside Memorial Baptist

O

of a number of necessary items

Church’s mission project, on top

ne of the inspiring stories from previous years of Operation Christmas Child that Tim Garrett remembers is finding out about a young girl in Romania who prayed for a new pair of shoes. And when she received her shoebox of goodies

was a pair of shoes in her size.

“God knows where these boxes are going, and He knows what the kids need,” said Garrett, Northside’s relay coordinator for Operation Christmas Child. “This is just all a part of that process.”

For the 16th year, Northside Memorial Baptist Church is changing lives

BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com Nathan Martin wants a kidney and LEGOs for Christmas.

The 6-year-old Sumter boy was diagnosed with kidney failure in May

JADE REYNOLDS / THE SUMTER ITEM

the

.com

also serves as a collection location for Operation Christmas Child for the Bishopville, Manning and Turbeville areas. Garrett said as a church, it wanted to do something to help spread the gospel even to those in need overseas.

“This is an opportunity for the gospel to reach a child. Every child will get the opportunity to learn about the gospel and about Jesus,” Garrett said.

“And it may be the only gift that child

SEE PROJECT, PAGE A6

Sumter family seeks support after son diagnosed with kidney failure

Matthew Martin sits with his youngest son, Nathan, and wife, D.D. Martin, on Friday. Nate, as his parents often call him, has kidney failure and is on a transplant list.

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through its mission project Operation Christmas Child, an outreach ministry of Samaritan’s Purse that supplies shoeboxes of necessities to kids around the world. Two years ago, the church collected more than 3,400 boxes and increased to about 4,000 in 2013. Garrett said they try to improve their efforts each year and hope to collect 4,100 boxes this year — a goal he said they will probably reach by their deadline Monday.

Northside has about 900 members who all help donate items. The church

CONTACT US

DEATHS, A7

Information: 774-1200 Advertising: 774-1237 Classifieds: 774-1234 Delivery: 774-1258 News and Sports: 774-1226

Milton Dow

when he was still 5. Out of nowhere, the Oakland Primary School student started acting lethargic, vomiting in the mornings and having nosebleeds.

“An adult will tell you he feels like he has the flu,” said D.D Martin, his mother.

She took him to his pediatrician, who ran blood work. He called to tell her he had reserved a room for Nathan at Palmetto Richland Children’s Hospital.

Her son was in end-stage renal failure.

SEE NATHAN, PAGE A7

WEATHER, A8

INSIDE

SUNNY SATURDAY

2 SECTIONS, 14 PAGES VOL. 120, NO. 34

Mostly sunny today and cloudy and chilly tonight HIGH 58, LOW 41

Classifieds B6 Comics A4

Lotteries A8 Television A5

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

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

LOCAL & STATE BRIEFS FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Juvenile arrested for assault with walking stick A Wedgefield juvenile was arrested Thursday morning following reports he assaulted an elderly family member with a walking stick.

The minor, whose name was not released because of his age, was charged with third-degree assault and battery in connection with the incident.

The alleged assault unfolded before 11 a.m. at a home in the 1300 block of Hidden Oaks Drive, according to a statement from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

The victim described the suspect as his wife’s grandson. He told officers he and the juvenile were engaged in a verbal dispute when the minor snatched his cane from his hand and began hitting him with it. The suspect allegedly hit the 62-year-old victim across the stomach, on the left knee and then threw the cane at the man, striking him in the chest, the report indicated. The victim sustained bruising on the chest and stomach and a cut to the knee from the attack.

The juvenile told officers he attacked the man because he gets very irate in the mornings.

Racing tonight at Silver Drag Strip Sumter Outlaw Street Racing will have a competition from 4 to 6 p.m. today at Silver Drag Strip, 8497 Silver Road. Competition is open to street cars, import cars, street bikes and drag bikes. The competition fee is $25. Admission is $10. Proceeds will benefit the club’s project to feed the homeless on Nov. 28.

For more information, call (803) 236-0906.

Sumter County Library seeks writers for local fair The Sumter County Library is seeking writers to participate in its 2015 Local Author Fair from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2015. Applications can be picked up at any library location and must be turned in by Dec. 17.

The fair offers a chance for local writers to display, sign and sell their works, and for readers to meet the writers and talk to them about writing and publishing. For more information, call the library at (803) 773-7273.

USC agrees to sell coastal plantation for $4M COLUMBIA — The University of South Carolina has agreed to sell a 1,500-acre Lowcountry coastal plantation for the $4 million asking price.

The State of Columbia reports USC trustees chairman Gene Warr said the buyer is still inspecting the property known as the Wedge Plantation. Officials didn’t identify the buyer.

USC has leased the nearly 200-year-old plantation founded by rice planter William Lucas for years after the school stopped using it for insect research. Plantation renters have included hunters and filmmakers shooting a Kevin Costner movie.

New Bethel’s garden helps feed 25 families a Thanksgiving meal

BY RAYTEVIA EVANS ray@theitem.com Despite the record low temperatures earlier in the week, New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church’s fall garden survived the weather and produced enough vegetables to provide boxes of food and goods for 25 needy families for the Thanksgiving holiday. On Friday afternoon, New Bethel member and City Councilman Calvin Hastie assessed the garden and picked some of the vegetables to add to the packed boxes.

With the help of AmeriCorps, Youth Build, United Way, Princess in Me and other local organizations, New Bethel planted the garden with collard greens, broccoli, lettuce and other fall vegetables for its community garden.

Hastie, who’s also a Sunday school teacher at New Bethel, said the church has been growing the garden for about six years and look to provide for those in need. The community garden is open throughout the fall for members and those in need to come in to pick the vegetables they need.

However, the church asks that community members be considerate and not pick all of the vegetables for themselves.

Hastie said the church and community leaders looks for ways to collaborate with each other and local organizations to encourage Sumter youth to

RAYTEVIA EVANS / THE SUMTER ITEM

New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church’s Mike Bradley and City Councilman Calvin Hastie pick collard greens from the church’s community garden in preparation to wash and pack away goods for 25 needy families Friday afternoon. volunteer, get involved in their communities and be a part of something positive. The community garden was one of many ways New Bethel tries to reach its youth and the community to educate them on healthy eating, positive interactions, volunteering and helping those in need.

Although the members picked some of the vegeta-

Clarendon Board of Education defers action on trustee’s arrest

bles for the Thanksgiving holiday, Hastie explained that the garden — which is mostly organic — will continue to grow to provide for the community throughout the winter and into the spring when they will clean out the garden and start over with spring crops.

A group of veterans who attend the church helped

pick the vegetables Friday afternoon, and they rinsed and packed them into boxes for each family along with a turkey, rice, stuffing, cranberry sauce and other Thanksgiving staples to help those families enjoy their holiday next week. The members spent Friday evening packing the boxes and will deliver them to the families today.

Making biscuits for bazaar

BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com The Clarendon County Board of Education met Thursday at the county Administration Building and delayed any response to the arrest of Clarendon School District 2 Board Trustee Robert Fleming.

“We will not take any action at this point,” said Board of Education Chairman George Wilson.

“We will let it play out in the court system and see exactly what happens.”

Fleming was arrested Nov. 13 in Williamsburg County for allegedly removing roadside campaign signs and impersonating an officer by showing an out-of-date parole officer ID to police.

Fleming was reportedly charged with five counts of petit larceny and one count of impersonating an officer. Richard Canady, who was with Fleming at the time of his arrest, was also charged with five counts of petit larceny in the incident.

Wilson said the board’s legal counsel had recommended against taking any action in the Fleming case.

“He has not yet had a preliminary hearing or any of that,” Wilson said. “We want to wait until we have all the information to make an executive decision.”

The board also re-appointed two members to the Clarendon County School District 1 Board of Trustees, Ann Darby and Johnny Lawson.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Pilot Club members Carolyn Brewer, Kathy Geddings, Sandra Brewer, Jane Benton and Peggy Benton make homemade biscuits for the club’s annual bazaar set for 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Presbyterian Church, 233 N. Brooks St., Manning. The bazaar funds scholarships for area students.

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

Earle Woodward Customer Service Manager earle@theitem.com (803) 774-1259 Michele Barr Business Manager michele@theitem.com (803) 774-1249 Gail Mathis Clarendon Bureau Manager gail@theitem-clarendonsun.com (803) 435-4716

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THE SUMTER ITEM

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

Large crowd swings to Glenn Miller Orchestra

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SUMTER OPERA HOUSE SCHEDULE

BY JANE G. COLLINS Special to The Sumter Item By the time the Glenn Miller Orchestra finished the opening theme song “Moonlight Serenade,” the audience was already “In the Mood,” silver, gray and no-hair heads bobbing, shoulders swaying, hands clappin’ and feet tappin’. Although there were many ages represented in the crowd, the over-60 group proved itself an excellent supporter of the event.

The orchestra, under the direction of Nick Hilscher, maintains a killer schedule: on the road about 48 weeks a year, five nights a week, a schedule the band has maintained since 1956. The audience was rewarded with the rich sounds of the group, the great variety of Glenn Miller favorites and getting to participate, shouting out “Pennsylvania 6-5000!” Also rewarding was the almost-filled Sumter Opera House, a wonderful venue that has been struggling with attendance, espe-

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PHOTO PROVIDED

The Glenn Miller Orchestra, directed by Nick Hilscher, provided an enjoyable evening of mostly classic swing tunes to an enthusiastic, nearly full audience at Sumter Opera House on Thursday.

A REVIEW cially the culturally enriching, variety-filled SumterShaw Community Concert Series.

The name “Glenn Miller Orchestra” suggests certain givens: swaying swing jazz, big band sounds and close harmony of vocals and instruments. The evening met all those expectations and more.

The members cleverly choreographed instrument styling

POLICE BLOTTER CHARGES Hampton Wright, 59, of Rembert, was arrested Thursday and charged with pointing and presenting firearms at a person after he reportedly pointed a shotgun at someone during a family dispute.

Alger Peay, 57, of Sumter, was arrested early Friday morning and

and positions, using hats as mutes, and included vocals by the energetic Hilscher and Natalie Angst, whose voice was moderate range, clear and carefully controlled, never overshadowing the band or the intent of the song.

Director Hilscher was careful to introduce each number and the soloists, giving significant historical information, such as “Chattanooga ChooChoo” being the first gold record, with more than 1,200,000 sold in 1941. The program

charged with pointing and presenting firearms at people after he reportedly pointed a 9 mm handgun toward two people and threatened to shoot his son if he didn’t leave the family’s home in the 1100 block of Ronda Street.

Adrian Murray, 33, of 522 Cedarwood Drive, Sumter, was arrested Friday and charged with pointing and presenting firearms at a person after he reportedly went to a

moved smoothly from reverieevoking tunes like “Skylark,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree,” “String of Pearls” and “I’ll Be Seeing You” to catchy, syncopated numbers like “Tuxedo Junction,” “Little Brown Jug” and “American Patrol,” played as a tribute to the military. Inclusion of the band’s singing group, the Moonlight Serenaders, added depth to the already entertaining evening.

Yes, we did swing, we swang, and by the end of the

home in the 2800 block of Millstone Drive and pointed a handgun at two victims, then fired a shot from the weapon as he was leaving the residence in a vehicle.

STOLEN PROPERTY A homemade cooker valued at $1,000 and 20 corrugated roofing sheets were reportedly stolen from a backyard shed in the 1600 block of South St. Pauls Church Road be-

• Dec. 14 — Community Concert Band Christmas Extravaganza; • Jan. 10 — Classical Piano of Hughes and Zhang; • Feb. 5 — Alex DePue with Miguel De Hoyos, Latin violinist/ fiddler; • Feb. 14 — Comedian James Gregory; • Feb. 20 — The Blind Boys of Alabama, five-time Grammy winners; • March 7 — Comedian Julie Scoggins; • March 13 — The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, New Orleans brass band ensemble; • March 20 — Galleria Seasons, Vegas string quartet and abstract artist Timothy Raines; and • April 18 — Heritage Blues Orchestra.

For ticket information, visit www. sumteroperahouse.com or call (803) 436-2616.

evening and the encore “I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo,” the audience had swung its way through an evening of great musical entertainment and enrichment, invigorated and energized by music that makes the heart sing and the body move to the rhythm of the beat.

Maybe people will take advantage of the variety of future programs at the historic, beautiful and acoustically excellent Sumter Opera House.

tween Nov. 6 and 12:50 p.m. Thursday.

A flat-screen TV, makeup, birth control pills and an engagement ring were reported stolen from a home in the 400 block of Mims Road about 1 a.m. Friday.

An HP Elite Book laptop valued at $1,200 was reportedly stolen from a classroom in the 500 block of North Guignard Drive between 8:30 and 9:55 a.m. Wednesday.

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COMICS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

BIZARRO

SOUP TO NUTZ

ANDY CAPP

GARFIELD

BEETLE BAILEY

BORN LOSER

BLONDIE

ZITS

MOTHER GOOSE

DOG EAT DOUG

DILBERT

JEFF MACNELLY’S SHOE

Teen hesitates to approach parents about fear DEAR ABBY — I’m 13 and I’m afraid I may have OCD. I want to find out, but what’s standing in my way is Dear Abby that sometimes my ABIGAIL parents VAN BUREN think I make stuff up to get attention. I’m afraid to tell them, but I know if I do, it will answer my question. Can you give me some advice?

Anonymous in Ohio DEAR ANONYMOUS — Be brave and talk to your parents about your fears. They are your best friends, and you should be able to talk to them about any-

THE SUMTER ITEM

thing — particularly anything that bothers you. However, before you do, make a list of the behaviors that cause you to think you may have OCD, and when you approach them, read them what’s on it. That way, if you become nervous, you won’t forget anything.

DEAR ABBY — My daughter and her boyfriend have been dating for three years. They are now in their first year of college and she gets upset when he texts other girls and Snapchats them. He makes her feel like she’s overreacting, but I can understand her fears that he is being unfaithful. What do you think about social networking and how it can affect relationships and even marriage?

Wise mom in North Carolina

DEAR WISE MOM — If someone wants to be unfaithful, social networking makes it easier than ever. But men and women who are ready to settle down and make a commitment do not look for outside adventures, no matter how they go about it.

If your daughter is insecure about what her boyfriend is doing, she may have good reason. If she’s right about her hunches, the time has come for BOTH of them to meet and date other people. Because she has spent so much of her teens with only this young man, the prospect may frighten her. But please explain that this will be her chance to mature and grow.

As a “Wise Mom,” I’m sure you can get the message across.

JUMBLE

SUDOKU

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

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

THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS 1 Jeweler’s concerns 9 Coke product 15 Passed 16 “Top Hat” dancer 17 How Dickens’ novels were first published 18 Is wild about 19 Backwash creator 20 Montreal Canadiens’ all-time leading point scorer 22 Toon shopkeeper 23 Signals one’s presence, in a way 25 Highly visible septet 27 Year in Clement VIII’s papacy 28 Piquancy 29 Silly sorts 30 Jump back into the fray 32 Clingy husk 33 Paper fatteners 34 Flips 38 Hot air ballooning watchdog: Abbr.

39 Almond confection 40 About 1% of the Earth’s atmosphere 43 Engine once

known as Live Search 44 Abbey section 45 Gig at the brig 47 Your alternative, at times 48 Taper off 49 1974 top ten hit for Carole King 51 Kenyan export 53 Green Giant morsel 55 Dietary practice 57 Efface 58 Sea along the Balkan peninsula 59 Letter closing 60 Buoys up DOWN 1 Underwhelming 2 She played Principal McGee in “Grease” 3 View providers 4 Prefix with athlete 5 Right-leaning type?: Abbr.

6 Bourbon Street city, informally 7 Drivers can be seen in them 8 Broad view 9 Mountebank 10 Five-time A.L. home

run champ 11 A BMOC may have a big one 12 Colorful cover-up 13 Brunch order 14 Guarantee 21 Whisking target 24 Miss badly 26 Blofeld’s cat, in Bond films 27 Picture of health?

28 “I’m off!”

31 Baryshnikov move 32 Wimbledon five-peater 34 Largest moon of Jupiter 35 Fondness 36 Submits, as an exam paper 37 Topeka-toPeoria dir.

39 Bar __ 40 Handout from a chair 41 40th anniversary symbols 42 Unintelligible talk 43 Sawyer of old comics 46 “Antiques Roadshow” expert 47 Booth warning sign 50 Onetime capital of the Mughal Empire 52 Pacers and Ramblers 54 Bk. of the Torah 56 Baseball’s Ryan Zimmerman or Jordan Zimmermann, briefly

TELEVISION

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The news of the date.

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(HD) Skylar’s secret.

Too Short Boys Are Icky (HD) 103 Airplane Repo (HD) Airplane Repo (HD) Airplane Repo: Wheels Up (N) Airplane Repo: Wheels Up (N) Airplane Repo (HD) Airplane (HD) 35 Scoreboard College Football: Missouri Tigers at Tennessee Volunteers from Neyland Stadium z{| (HD) SportsCenter (HD) Sports (HD) 39 College Football: Miami Hurricanes at Virginia Cavaliers from Scott Stadium z{| (HD) (:15) College Football: Boise State Broncos at Wyoming Cowboys z{| (HD) The Hunger Games (‘12, Action) aaa Jennifer Lawrence. In a post-apocalyptic future, an annual event is held The Mummy Returns (‘01, Adventure) aac Brendan 131 Mulan (‘98, Adventure) Ming-Na Wen. A woman goes to war. (HD) in which 24 young people are pitted against each other in a bloody game of survival. (HD) Fraser. The Scorpion King and Imhotep face off.

109 Chopped: Cornuchopia (HD) Chopped (HD) Chopped Pumpkin pie. (HD) Chopped Bean casserole. (HD) Chopped: Give It Your All (HD) Chopped (HD) 74 FOX Report Saturday (HD) Huckabee (N) (HD) Justice with Judge Jeanine (N) Geraldo Rivera Reports Red Eye (HD) Justice (HD) 42 Ext. Games Driven (HD) Hurricanes NHL Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes at Colorado Avalanche from Pepsi Center (HD) Postgame Coll. Ftbl (HD) Christmas Magic (‘11, Holiday) aac Lindy Booth. An event planner Thanksgiving 183 (6:00) A Princess for Christmas (‘11, A Royal Christmas (‘14, Romance) Lacey Chabert. A prince falls for a Holiday) aac Katie McGrath. seamstress despite their royal customs. (HD) must save a struggling restaurant owner before going to heaven. (‘13) aac (HD) 112 Flop Flop Property Brothers (HD) Property Brothers (HD) House Hunters (N) Hunters (HD) Hunters (HD) Prop Bro (HD) 110 American Pickers (HD) American Pickers (HD) American Pickers (HD) American Pickers (HD) Country (HD) American (HD) American (HD) 160 Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Deli- Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Gods Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Abel Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Love Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Love Law & Order: cate Ballerina murdered. (HD) & Insects (HD) & Willing (HD) Sick (HD) on Ice (HD) Criminal (HD) (:02) An En Vogue 145 (6:00) Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B An En Vogue Christmas (‘14, Holiday) Rhona Bennett. En Vogue reunites (:01) An En Vogue Christmas (‘14, Holiday) Rhona Bennett. En Vogue (‘14) Alexandra Shipp. (HD) for a benefit concert. (HD) reunites for a benefit concert. (HD) (‘14) (HD) 76 Caught on Camera (HD) Caught on Camera (HD) Lockup The feel of murder. (HD) Lockup (N) (HD) Lockup A juvenile prison. (HD) Lockup (HD) 91 Henry Henry Henry (N) Nicky (N) Thunderman Haunted (N) Prince Prince Friends (HD) Friends (HD) How I Met 154 Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Cops (N) (HD) Cops (HD) Auction (N) Thrift (N) (HD) Transporter 3 (‘08, Thriller) aac Jason Statham. Kidnapped daughter. (HD) 152 Final Destination 3 (‘06, Horror) Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Survivors of a The Cabin in the Woods (‘12, Horror) Kristen Connolly. Five friends staying The Crazies (‘10, Horror) aaa Timothy Olyphant. roller-coaster accident are tracked down by death one by one. at a cabin in the woods are attacked by malevolent forces.

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It’s beginning to sound like ‘An En Vogue Christmas’

BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH Nine out of 10 Christmas movies are horrible. And I’m being generous. For every “A Christmas Story” and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” there are literally thousands of abominable efforts. Yet people still watch them, and, year after year, they continue to get made and provide work for actors either on their way up or down Hollywood’s game of chutes and ladders.

The Hallmark Channel alone has been inflicting 1,300 hours of this saccharine onslaught since Halloween. ABC Family launches its “Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas” on Sunday.

And it’s relatively late to the party.

Sadly, while bad Christmas movies proliferate, the cheesy, over-the-top celebrity holiday musical specials of yesteryear seem as extinct as the Triceratops.

Gone are the days of watching Robert Goulet, Mitzi Gaynor, John Denver, the Osmonds or even Kathie Lee Gifford warble “Silver Bells” in front of the June Taylor Dancers. Shot in August and as synthetic as Dacron, these specials’ very fakery was as comforting as an electric fireplace.

Of course they were artificial.

Our favorite stars were putting on a “show.”

What if the holiday elves conspired to combine these two traditions and shoehorned a razzle-dazzle show into a corny and contrived Christmas movie stuffed with enough sweetness to give the Grinch diabetes?

Oh, by gosh, by golly, our Christmas prayers have been answered in the form of “An En Vogue Christmas” (8 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime)! In this strenuously sentimental effort, an orphaned musical producer, Kendall (Genelle Williams), cajoles the pop divas of En Vogue (Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron and Rhona Bennett) to reunite and put on a charity event to save The Opera House, their favorite concert venue, from closing its doors to bankruptcy.

The Opera House was willed to Kendall by her father before he conveniently died and she grew up to become a bitter Scrooge promoting talentless “singers” for a soulless music industry. She’s also embittered because the business was all but squandered by her funny

• A wealthy benefactor adopts Tony and Emily on “The Missing” (9 p.m., Starz, TVMA).

• Cameron Diaz hosts “Saturday Night Live” (11:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14), featuring Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars.

SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

IAN WATSON / LIFETIME

Rhona Bennett, Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron star in the all-new holiday movie “An En Vogue Christmas,” premiering at 8 p.m. today on Lifetime.

Uncle Marty (David Alan Grier).

Anybody who has ever watched “The Brady Bunch” has seen this story before. And when Marty exclaims, “We’re gonna need a Christmas miracle!” you know you’re in for a real treat.

Look for En Vogue to perform familiar hits, holiday favorites and a few new numbers as well.

• In “A Royal Christmas” (8 p.m.

Saturday, Hallmark), Emily (Lacey Chabert) worries that her handsome accented beau (Stephen Hagan) is hiding something from her, only to discover that she’s right: He’s really a prince from a tiny country nobody’s ever heard of. Would she mind visiting his castle for the holidays and meeting his ice queen of a mother (Jane Seymour)?

The most shocking aspect of “Royal” is not the juxtaposition of Emily’s fake tan with plastic snow; it’s the blatant product placements. In the opening moments, the secret prince arrives holding a giant Wal-Mart bag (because all the royals shop there!) and plunks down a giant can of Folgers Coffee in the center of the next scene.

Yikes!

• Sometimes the Christmas movies that try the hardest end up the most misbegotten.

“Signed, Sealed, Delivered for Christmas” (9 p.m. Sunday, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries

Channel) offers a movie-length special episode of the Hallmark series created by Martha Williamson (“Touched by an Angel”).

To those unfamiliar with “Signed,” it concerns the youngish employees of a special division of the post office, assigned to deliver “dead letters” to recipients who could really use a pick-me-up. Who better to deliver such letters to Santa?

But in this special, gueststarring Marion Ross and Rob Estes, one missing missive is addressed, not to St. Nick, but to God. Far be it from me to offer advice to Williamson — a woman who literally wrote the book on gauzy shopping-mall spirituality — but conflating, confusing and equating God with Santa Claus may not exactly warm the hearts of the truly devout. In fact, reducing faith in the divine to belief in Santa’s sleigh ride and the Easter Bunny is often the very message of evangelical atheists like Richard Dawkins or the late Christopher Hitchens. But I digress.

These messengers (Eric Mabius, Kristin Booth, Crystal Lowe and Geoff Gustafson) are clearly not your average civil servants, but symbolic standins for angels or agents of some sort of divine grace. Williamson has endowed, or rather cursed, them with stilted, unbelievable dialogue. Their cute

and quirky interactions are so forced that “Signed” often appears to have been translated from a foreign or alien language. No human beings talk, or behave, like these mail carriers. If their celestial post office is Williamson’s idea of heaven, count me out!

• Jay Leno receives the Mark Twain Prize (8 p.m. Sunday, PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) and the adulation of his peers. Leno will also be Craig Ferguson’s final guest on “The Late Late Show” on Dec. 19.

• “Hello Ladies: The Movie” (10 p.m. Saturday, HBO, TV-MA) wraps up Stuart’s (Stephen Merchant) lonely affairs in tidy fashion. Perhaps the series’ story should have been reduced to a movie. In addition to being almost unspeakably sad, Stuart’s character is just not terribly three-dimensional. “Ladies” does a better job of fleshing out Stuart’s roommate, Jessica (Christine Woods), and her desperate efforts to land an acting job in a city where thousands of younger and pretty competitors arrive every day.

SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS • The enterprise leaves Cheyenne on the season finale of “Hell on Wheels” (9 p.m., AMC, TV-14). A fifth season has been announced.

• The city faces siege on “Atlantis” (9 p.m., BBC America, TV-PG).

• Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): America’s aging infrastructure.

• Fans determine the winners of the 2014 American Music Awards (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14).

• A shooter puts the State Department on lockdown on “Madam Secretary” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).

• The New York Giants host the Dallas Cowboys on “Sunday Night Football” (8:20 p.m., NBC).

• Cary receives a sobering plea deal on “The Good Wife” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

• A rescue mission leaves the group with no one to spare on “The Walking Dead” (9 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).

• Will feels ambushed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on “The Newsroom” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).

• Carrie improvises on “Homeland” (9 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).

• An addict overdoses in rehab on “CSI” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

• Seth Rogen is cast as Paulie G. on “The Comeback” (10 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).

• The family goes back to Brooklyn on “The Affair” (10 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).

• Technical difficulties on “Getting On” (10:30 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).

CULT CHOICE Ancient rites and unspeakable wrongs unfold in the 2012 satirical shocker “The Cabin in the Woods” (9 p.m. Saturday, Syfy).

SUNDAY SERIES Homer joins other dads in a cover band on “The Simpsons” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) * Going postal on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (8:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14) * A new twist on fairy tales on “Family Guy” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14) * Bob’s boycott fizzles on “Bob’s Burgers” (9:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14).

Copyright 2014, United Feature Syndicate

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LOCAL

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

PROJECT FROM PAGE A1 gets for Christmas.”

Churches in Sumter and surrounding areas often donate a number of shoeboxes or the items to stuff the boxes, explained Garrett. To help them meet their goal by Monday afternoon, Garrett said they’re also expecting football players from Crestwood, Lakewood and Sumter high schools to drop off a large donation on Monday.

By Tuesday afternoon, they will have all of the donations packed and loaded to be sent to Charlotte for shipment.

Samaritan’s Purse was established more than 40 years ago and does everything it can to tend to the needy, poor, sick and suffering around the world. The shoebox collection initiative started in 2009 and is a way to give to those in need while simultaneously spreading the gospel. Northside Memorial Baptist Church will continue to collect shoeboxes from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday and 1 to 3 p.m. Monday.

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Sue Garrett and Allison Johnson pack boxes Friday at Northside Memorial Baptist Church with Operation Christmas Child gifts that were donated by members throughout the Sumter and Clarendon communities. Each box fits 23 Operation Christmas Child gifts.

JOBLESS FROM PAGE A1 Nationally, the unemployment rate went down last month, dropping to 5.8 percent in October from 5.9 percent in September.

In a news release, the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce said the estimated number of unemployed people in the state rose by 2,291 in October from a month earlier, reaching 146,713. Officials said the state labor force increased during the month by some 9,487 people.

Marion County registered South Carolina’s highest unemployment rate, with 11.3 percent. Saluda and Lexington counties registered the lowest, with 5.1 percent each.

The state’s unemployment rate for the month compared favorably to a year ago. In October 2013, the rate was 7 percent, with 153,030 people out of work, the agency reported.

“As the state’s economy continues to grow, South Carolinians are seeking new employment opportunities,” Cheryl Stanton, director of DEW, said in a written state-

ment. “DEW will work with job seekers to match them with the more than 65,000 available jobs.”

The state agency reported that in October, the seasonally adjusted, non-farm payroll increased by 4,900 with growth of 2,600 in the education and health services sectors and an increase of 2,100 positions in manufacturing.

In non-agriculture employment, the government category saw an increase of 4,100 positions, and professional and business services rose by 2,800 jobs. However, the leisure and hospitality industry dropped 2,200 positions, and the information sector lost 100 positions.

Sumter Item reporter Jim Hilley contributed to this report.

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A7

Friendship Nine to return to court, 53 years later South Carolina author ‘Expunging the record or a pardon didn’t strike me as helped make it happen appropriate because they (the Friendship Nine) didn’t do anything wrong.’

BY JOE DEPRIEST Charlotte Observer CHARLOTTE — Nearly 54 years after they went to jail for sitting at a whites-only lunch counter in Rock Hill, the Friendship Nine are returning to court to get their records cleared.

Children’s author Kimberly Johnson of York is proud she helped make that happen.

Her latest book, “No Fear For Freedom,” is about the nine Friendship College students and a young civil rights organizer who refused to pay a $100 fine and spent 30 days at a York County prison farm in 1961. Over the years, the convictions haven’t gone away. But that will change in January.

“I feel all that I did was get the truth in front of people,” said Johnson. “And somebody listened.”

That somebody was 16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett of Rock Hill.

Johnson recently met with him to share insights she’d gotten from a recent rereading of Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

In July, she’d accepted an invitation from King Center CEO Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., to attend a weeklong nonviolence study camp in Atlanta. Bernice King wrote the foreword to Johnson’s book on the Friendship Nine.

The session included bus trips to Montgomery and Birmingham in Alabama to tour key sites in the American civil rights movement. Participants also studied civil rights texts like the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Johnson had read the letter many times before. But on this occasion, the letter’s argument that it’s not a crime to break an unjust law suddenly resonated for her.

When Johnson discussed the issue with Brackett, he was sympathetic.

He said people had approached him several times about what could be done about throwing out the Friendship Nine convictions.

NATHAN FROM PAGE A1 “That was the worst call of my life,” she said.

When the medical staff took his blood pressure at the Columbia facility, it was 180/130.

A normal child’s should be 90/60, Martin said. He was taken to the intensive care unit where his 12-year-old brother, Logan, was not allowed to go.

“He was freaked out,” Martin said. “He was pretty scared when we told him Nathan would need another kidney.”

Nathan would stay in the hospital 18 days. He was never scared.

“He’s very brave,” said Matthew Martin, Nathan’s father and a master sergeant with the Air Force.

D.D. is a stay-at-home mom working on getting a human resources degree online.

“I was terrified, but I don’t think they told me exactly how dire it was, what a lifethreatening condition it was,” she said. “I didn’t know the kidneys did all that.”

After some surgeries, the little boy was ready to come home. But he and his family still had to make several trips a week to Columbia for dialysis. At the time, the pediatric version of the blood-cleaning

KEVIN BRACKETT 16th Circuit Solicitor of Rock Hill “I’ve never had an issue about doing anything to right the wrong,” Brackett said. “The question has been how to go about doing it. Expunging the record or a pardon didn’t strike me as appropriate because they (the Friendship Nine) didn’t do anything wrong.”

After meeting with Johnson, Brackett said it occurred to him for the first time how to deal with the issue in a way that honored the Friendship Nine’s courage and sacrifice.

In late January, he’ll be back in court on a motion to vacate the cases, clearing their records. The session will be at the Moss Justice Center in York, and presiding Circuit Court Judge John Hayes III will make the judicial order to have the cases vacated. He’s the nephew of the original trial judge, the late Rock Hill City Judge Billy Hayes.

Retired S.C. Chief Justice Ernest Finney of Sumter, the first black on South Carolina’s Supreme Court and the person who represented the Friendship Nine in 1961, will represent them again in January.

Friendship Nine member Willie McCleod told the Rock Hill Herald that he was always concerned about history being erased if the record was expunged.

“My record for fighting segregation was always something I was proud of,” said McCleod. “I don’t want it erased. I want people to remember what we did and why we did it.”

The court hearing to clear their records would keep history intact while acknowledging the wrong done by the legal system.

Clarence Graham of Rock Hill, one of the Friendship Nine, hopes the court action will “open eyes to what injustice was done.”

Meanwhile, he and other local

process was not available in Sumter, she said.

“You planned your day around it,” Matthew said.

Now Nathan has a machine at home to do it and helps his parents keep everything straight.

“He’ll say, ‘Mom, I need my mask,’” Matthew Martin said.

“Or, ‘Dad, did you wash your hands?’”

He has to take lots of medicines. His least favorite is the iron.

“I haven’t tasted it because I can’t get past the smell of it,” D.D. Martin said.

Then began the search for a match. His father cannot donate because of high blood pressure, and his mom was not a match.

“Nathan cried,” D.D. said. “I was devastated. I could have just screamed the day they told me I was not a match.”

Other family members and friends have also not worked out. So they got Nathan on the donor transplant list.

COTA Matthew Martin was set to retire the first of next month, but his active duty status was extended 120 days to keep Nathan insured.

“Shaw and my squadron leaders have been amazing,” he said. “They’ve allowed me to work here and be with him.

They’ve been super supportive.”

members of the Friendship Nine continue doing speaking engagements and want to expand their efforts at providing scholarships to students.

The Friendship Nine protesters are McCleod, Graham, David Williamson Jr., John Gaines, Mack Workman, Thomas Gaither, James Wells, W.T. “Dub” Massey and the late Robert McCullough. All except Great Falls native Gaither, a civil rights organizer, were teenage students raised in Rock Hill who were attending the all-black Friendship College when they were arrested.

All were honored decades later by the city of Rock Hill. Stools with their names on them are still in use at the Five & Dine restaurant on Main Street in Rock Hill, where McCrory’s store and lunch counter stood in 1961. A tenth man, Charles Taylor, was convicted but left jail after a few days because he would have lost a scholarship at school.

Graham thinks Johnson’s book has “broadened our horizons.”

“Kim has been a godsend for us,” said Graham, 72, a retired social worker. “We love the book. It’s created a lot of stir. We’ve developed a great, great friendship.”

For Johnson, writing about the Friendship Nine was a chance to tell an inspiring story. She’ll be with them in her hometown of Shelby on Saturday for a “living history” program on the civil rights icons at the Earl Scruggs Center.

The trip will stir memories of where Johnson first found inspiration.

She lived with her grandparents, Amos and Lucy Pearson, in a black neighborhood.

Barely literate, the couple enjoyed having their granddaughter read

While the benefits are great and the family is doing fine right now, D.D. Martin said she quickly realized how expensive the situation was going to get and that Nathan will need care the rest of his life.

A social worker at Medical University of South Carolina told her about the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, a national charity that helps communities raise money for transplant-related expenses.

“It’s an amazing company,” D.D. said. “Once you’re a COTA kid, you’re a COTA kid for life. When I learned this is for life, I was sold. One day, he will not be on our insurance.

When he’s 40 and needs another kidney, funds will still be available for him to get another transplant.”

It also helps pay other medical expenses such as the monthly medications he’ll need that can cost thousands of dollars a month.

COTA is assisting the family and their friends now with ideas for fundraisers and setting up an account in Nathan’s honor to collect donations. The Sumter Optimist Club has donated a spot for him in the parade coming up in December, and details are being finalized for a golf tournament. Another woman is hosting a wine and paint party next month to help

raise money, and a bowl-athon is also in the works.

Links to these events and others can be found on Nathan’s COTA page, cotaforteamnathanm.com. You can also keep up with how he’s doing at his Facebook page, facebook.com/natertotsspot.

Donations may be mailed to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, 2501 W. COTA Drive, Bloomington, Indiana, 47403. Checks or money orders should be made payable to COTA, with “In Honor of Team Nathan M” written on the memo line of the check. Secure credit card donations are also accepted online at www.cotaforteamnathanm.com.

“We can use prayers all the time,” D.D. said.

To volunteer or share fundraising ideas, contact Paula Hill at (803) 499-4047 or teamnathanm@gmail.com or Sherryl Linkous at (803) 983-5769 or sherryl.linkous@gmail. com.

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forward to.” Cuomo said the state was sending in pumps, boats, helicopters and highaxle vehicles that can operate in 4 to 5 feet of water.

“If we’re lucky we won’t

need any of it,” he said. “But prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for Sunday to Wednesday.

OBITUARY MILTON DOW Milton Dow, 70, died Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center, Sumter. He was born Oct. 6, 1944, in Clarendon County, a son of Elliott and Mamie Gipson Dow. Family is receiving friends at the home of his nephew and his wife J.W. (Dorothy) Walters, 309 Pinckney St., Sumter.

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

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Buffalo faces flooding after snowstorms BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Residents of western New York may soon have to worry about the water in their basements as well as the snow on their roofs.

After a three-day onslaught that dumped a historic 7 feet of snow on the Buffalo area and killed at least 12 people, the sun came out Friday, but so did predictions of flooding caused by rain, temperatures up to 60 degrees and blocked catch basins.

“We are preparing now for more flooding than we’ve seen in a long, long time,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “We still have that challenge to look

newspapers to them aloud.

“They were really poor people, but they were hardworking and churchgoing people,” Johnson said. “And they were wonderful storytellers.”

The couple took good care of their granddaughter. Although they had little education, they recognized its value. The message to her never wavered: You can be anything you want.

“They never made me feel inadequate,” said Johnson, who worked her way through UNC Chapel Hill and became a Piedmont Airlines flight attendant. “They helped me build self-esteem. I had a solid foundation.”

The Rev. Sam Raper, pastor of Shelby’s Mount Calvary Baptist Church, was also part of that foundation. A Shelby City Council member for 25 years, he was the first black person elected to office in Cleveland County.

A businessman and community leader, “he was larger than life,” Johnson recalled.

When she came home as a flight attendant, her proud grandmother insisted Johnson wear her uniform to church, where Raper led the congregation in applauding her. “I was embarrassed,” she said. “But they were planting the seeds of hope.”

Johnson moved to York from Fayetteville when her husband, Jeff, retired from the Air Force in 2004. She’s nearing completion of a doctorate in education from Northeastern University in Boston.

Three years ago, Johnson connected with the Friendship Nine. She knew something of their story, but when she started digging deeper, “I was blown away by their courage, bravery and what they stood for. I knew I had to do something about them.”

She feels doing a program with the Friendship Nine in her hometown is almost like paying homage to her grandparents.

“It’s a way to say thank you to the older generation for helping me understand things like kindness, integrity and helping others,” Johnson said.

“That’s what the Friendship Nine exemplify. It makes me proud to know they did the right thing.”

The (Rock Hill) Herald reporter Andrew Dys contributed.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

AROUND TOWN A Relay for Life craft show fund- The St. Jude Alumni Association raiser will be held from 9 a.m. & Friends 10th Annual Harvest to 2 p.m. today at the GameBall will be held 7:30 p.m.Purchase supporton Relay cock Shrine Club on some U.S. 15crafts, midnight Saturday, Nov. South. for Life 29, at Serendipity Catering and Café, 118 S. Main St. AdHillcrest High School Class of mission is $40 per person.

1975 will hold a reunion Attire is semi-formal. Call meeting at 1 p.m. today at Claude Esperson at (917) St. Paul AME Church Shaw.

589-2737 for tickets.

Join the group on Facebook at Hillcrest High School Class The annual Evening Optimist of 1975.

Christmas Parade will be held Wine & Cheese Sip, sponsored at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, on Main Street. The parade by the Comrades and Ladies will feature marching bands, Auxiliary of VFW Post 10813, beauty queens, festive holiwill be held from 5 to 8 p.m. day floats and more. The on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 610 theme for this year’s parade Manning Ave. Enjoy an eveis “What Christmas Means to ning of community fellowMe.” ship, music, great cheese and fine beverage. Donation: The 10th Annual Christmas Lu$5 at the door. minary Memorial Service presented by Evergreen and The Lou-Von Foundation will Hillside Memorial Parks will host a free community Thanksbe held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesgiving dinner at 11 a.m. on day, Dec. 9, at 802 N. GuigTuesday, Nov. 25, at the Imnard Drive. Rain date will be perial Restaurant, 451 Broad St. Reserve your place at the Thursday, Dec. 11. table by calling Natisha The Dalzell-Shaw American LeOwens at (803) 773-1838, exgion Post 175 will hold an oratension 227. torical contest for high school The Lincoln High School Preser- students at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 3625 Camden Highvation Alumni Association will way, Dalzell. For details and sponsor its Eighth Annual Gala Banquet / Fundraiser 6:30 p.m.- registration forms, visit p175. org. Deadline for entries is Dec. midnight on Friday, Nov. 28, 2. at the Lincoln High School gymnasium, Council Street.

Clarendon School District One Dr. Lois Weston Green, 1960 will conduct free vision, heargraduate, will speak. Call ing, speech and developmental James L. Green at (803) 968screenings as part of a child 4173. find effort to identify students with special needs.

The fourth Green School ReScreenings will be held from union will be held at noon on Saturday, Nov. 29, at the Trin- 9 a.m. to noon at the Summerton Early Childhood Cenity Lincoln Center (old Lincoln High School), 25 Council ter on the following Thursdays: Dec. 11; Jan. 8, 2015; St. Contact Linwood at (803) Feb. 12, 2015; March 12, 2015; 773-6363 or Shirley at (803) April 9, 2015; and May 14, 481-0587 for information.

2015. For more information, The Manning High School Class call Sadie Williams or Audrey of 1974 will hold its 40-year Walters at (803) 485-2325, exclass reunion at 6 p.m. on tension 221.

Saturday, Nov. 29, at the The Civil Air Patrol Sumter Manning Restaurant, 476 N. Composite Squadron’s Wreaths Brooks St., Manning. Call Russell A. Miller at (803) 410- Across America ceremony will 7311 or Sylvia Lindsey-Spann be held at noon on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Sumter Cemetery, at (803) 225-0964.

700 W. Oakland Ave.

DAILY PLANNER

WEATHER TODAY

TONIGHT

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

Mostly sunny

Cloudy

Heavy rain and a thunderstorm

Mostly cloudy, a shower; warmer

Cloudy and cooler

Partly sunny

58°

41°

61° / 58°

75° / 48°

64° / 39°

56° / 32°

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 15%

Chance of rain: 80%

Chance of rain: 55%

Chance of rain: 25%

Chance of rain: 20%

ENE 4-8 mph

ENE 3-6 mph

E 7-14 mph

SW 10-20 mph

NNW 4-8 mph

SSW 4-8 mph

TODAY’S SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Follow through with your plans even if you face opposition. Once you complete your pursuit, it will be easier for others to see why you were so adamant. Integrating a different way of doing things will pay off.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Less talk and more action will lead to more fun and new friendships. Take on a physical challenge and show off your talent and skill. Love is in the stars, and romance will bring about favorable changes to your personal life.

Columbia 57/41

Aiken 59/44

Charleston 65/51

Today: Sunshine mixing with some clouds.

High 58 to 65.

Sunday: Heavy rain and a thunderstorm.

High 66 to 70.

LOCAL ALMANAC

LAKE LEVELS

SUMTER THROUGH 4 P.M. YESTERDAY

Today Hi/Lo/W 57/46/pc 49/43/r 65/56/t 45/39/i 71/58/t 73/54/pc 73/62/sh 42/39/s 78/67/c 45/36/s 74/50/s 65/50/r 48/38/s

Full pool 360 76.8 75.5 100

Lake Murray Marion Moultrie Wateree

63° 34° 65° 40° 80° in 2011 20° in 1951

SUN AND MOON 7 a.m. yest.

355.82 74.35 74.25 96.67

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Don’t underestimate what’s going on behind the scenes with regard to your career. Excess will be your downfall and creativity your saving grace. Pick your course of action wisely and with good intentions.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A surprise that will bring favorable personal changes is heading your way. You may think someone you love is letting you down, but in the end you will realize that the actions taken are in your best interest.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take an intelligent approach to your professional options. You may be looking for advancement, but don’t jump into something that is shortsighted. Longevity and a slow build can end up being more rewarding and prosperous in the end.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Check out the online job market. A career that allows you to use your skills and talents in an interesting and diverse manner will lead to a partnership that can change your standard of living and set you on the path to success.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Travel and communication will lead to trouble. You may desire change VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Travel, and excitement, but in the end you communication and community are likely to face disillusionment events will be enlightening. You and disappointment. A romantic will discover how to make your situation can turn sour quickly. personal life less stressful through mindfulness or a self-help program. Protect your possessions, your cash and your heart.

Don’t put up with anything or

24-hr chg +0.01 -0.07 -0.03 -0.02

Sunrise 7:01 a.m.

Moonrise 6:57 a.m.

RIVER STAGES

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

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

0.00" 0.74" 1.99" 32.15" 44.15" 42.68"

Sun. Hi/Lo/W 60/56/r 52/38/r 70/42/s 50/44/r 77/47/s 77/55/s 77/56/r 53/49/c 83/69/c 55/48/c 74/46/s 64/49/pc 58/52/r

Myrtle Beach 58/48

Manning 59/44

Sunset Moonset

5:15 p.m.

5:43 p.m.

New

First

Full

Last

Nov. 22

Nov. 29

Dec. 6

Dec. 14

TIDES

Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr stage yest. chg 12 2.28 +0.02 19 3.60 +0.30 14 2.72 -0.01 14 3.63 -0.06 80 75.91 +0.42 24 9.75 -1.70

AT MYRTLE BEACH

Today Sun.

High 8:34 a.m.

8:40 p.m.

9:16 a.m.

9:24 p.m.

Ht. 3.6 3.1 3.6 3.1

Low Ht. 2:45 a.m. -0.1 3:31 p.m. 0.0 3:29 a.m. -0.2 4:16 p.m. -0.1

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

Today Hi/Lo/W 53/34/pc 56/41/pc 61/43/pc 65/53/pc 50/44/s 65/51/pc 54/34/s 55/42/s 57/41/s 56/36/s 53/37/s 56/38/s 55/36/s

Sun. Hi/Lo/W 50/46/r 58/55/r 64/57/r 70/62/r 63/60/r 70/64/r 57/52/r 56/51/r 62/57/r 60/56/r 64/59/r 62/61/r 60/57/r

Today City Hi/Lo/W Florence 57/40/s Gainesville 73/61/pc Gastonia 54/35/s Goldsboro 53/34/s Goose Creek 64/50/pc Greensboro 51/33/s Greenville 54/37/s Hickory 51/33/s Hilton Head 62/58/pc Jacksonville, FL 70/61/pc La Grange 62/51/pc Macon 61/49/pc Marietta 55/44/pc

Sun. Hi/Lo/W 62/59/r 78/64/t 56/54/r 60/58/r 69/63/r 53/52/r 54/51/r 51/49/r 69/63/r 76/63/t 67/58/r 66/57/r 58/54/r

Today City Hi/Lo/W Marion 54/32/pc Mt. Pleasant 63/52/pc Myrtle Beach 58/48/s Orangeburg 59/45/s Port Royal 63/54/pc Raleigh 52/32/s Rock Hill 53/34/s Rockingham 54/33/s Savannah 67/57/pc Spartanburg 54/38/s Summerville 62/57/pc Wilmington 58/42/s Winston-Salem 51/33/s

Sun. Hi/Lo/W 50/47/r 69/64/r 67/64/r 65/59/r 69/63/r 57/54/r 58/53/r 59/55/r 72/65/r 53/50/r 68/62/r 67/62/r 53/51/r

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

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anyone who makes you miserable.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Finish what you start and take care of responsibilities, or you will face complaints. Arguing is not the answer. Re-evaluate the past until you can clearly see what’s required to improve your future. Steer clear of individuals with bad habits.

Sumter 58/41

ON THE COAST

Temperature High Low Normal high Normal low Record high Record low

Florence 57/40

Bishopville 57/40

Today: Mostly sunny. Winds east-southeast 3-6 mph.

Sunday: Cloudy with rainy spells. Winds east-northeast 7-14 mph.

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

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Make positive changes that will please someone you love. Fixing up your surroundings or making changes to the way you live will turn out splendidly. Love and romance are highlighted and will improve your life.

Greenville 54/37

IN THE MOUNTAINS

The National Kidney Foundation The Rembert Area Community of South Carolina is in need of Coalition (RACC) is accepting unwanted vehiclesyour — even ones applications fora the 2014-15 Donated unwanted vehicles for that don’t The car will be after school program. Appligoodrun. cause towed at no charge to you cations can be obtained at and you will be provided the main office, 8455 Camwith a possible tax deducden Highway, Rembert, SC tion. The donated vehicle 29128. For information, call will be sold at auction or re(803) 432-2001. cycled for salvageable parts.

Having cancer is hard. Finding For information, call (800) help shouldn’t be. Free help 488-2277. for cancer patients from the The Muscular Dystrophy Family American Cancer Society.

Foundation Inc. (MDFF), a nonTransportation to treatprofit organization, accepts vement, help for appearance hicle contributions. To comrelated side effects of treatplete a vehicle donation, ment, nutrition help, onecontact MDFF to make aron-one breast cancer suprangements by calling 1-800port, free housing away 544-1213. Donors may also from home during treatlog onto the organization’s ment, help finding clinical Web site at www.mdff.org trials, someone to talk to — and click on the automobile all free from your American icon to complete an online Cancer Society. Call (800) vehicle donation application.

227-2345.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ll feel as if you are in a tug-of-war when it comes to important relationships. Don’t run away or evade issues, or the situation will escalate. Resolving matters peacefully will help you avoid ruining your weekend. Don’t overreact.

Gaffney 53/36 Spartanburg 54/38

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

NATIONAL CITIES

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Make a EUGENIA LAST difference.

Take care of business and update your personal papers. What you discover will save you on taxes and help you invest wisely in your future. Don’t give in to unreasonable demands. Love is heading somewhere special.

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2014

AccuWeather® five-day forecast for Sumter

FYI

The last word in astrology

THE SUMTER ITEM

803-795-4257

LOTTERY NUMBERS PALMETTO CASH 5 FRIDAY

POWERBALL WEDNESDAY

2-11-23-29-38 PowerUp: 3

6-36-38-48-51 Powerball: 17 Powerplay: 2

PICK 3 FRIDAY

PICK 4 FRIDAY

0-7-4 and 5-0-1

3-8-5-9 and 8-5-2-1

MEGAMILLIONS numbers were unavailable at press time.

SPCA CAT OF THE WEEK Lickorish, a 1-year-old black and white female American shorthair, is available for adoption at the Sumter SPCA. She is housebroken, sweet, affectionate, gentle, playful, active and great with other cats. Lickorish loves to be held, petted and cuddled. She would make the perfect lap cat for any family. The Sumter SPCA is located at 1140 S. Guignard Drive, (803) 773-9292, and is open 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day except Wednesday and Sunday. Visit the website at www.sumterscspca.com.

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

SECTION

B

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014 Call: (803) 774-1241 | E-mail: sports@theitem.com

SCISA 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

History in the making?

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

The Laurence Manning Academy football team looks to capture its first SCISA 3A state championship since 1997 today when it faces Hammond at Benedict College’s Charlie W. Johnson Stadium in Columbia at 7:30 p.m.

Swampcats look to clear Hammond hurdle for 1st title since 1997

BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER michaelc@theitem.com Going into today’s SCISA 3A football state championship game, Laurence Manning Academy and Hammond might have more of a common bond than most people realize.

On one hand, you have the 12-0 Skyhawks, who are making their ninth straight title appearance. Then you have

the 11-2 Swampcats, who are aiming for their first state championship since 1997 and seventh overall.

So what’s the connection?

Each team is in the process of overcoming mental hurdles. The two schools will meet at 7:30 p.m. today in Columbia at Benedict College’s Charlie W. Johnson Stadium looking for clarity.

The Skyhawks beat LMA 37-7 during the regular sea-

SCISA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS At Charlie W. Johnson Stadium, 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

son. After LMA fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, Hammond went on to score 30

points in the first half and cruised to an easy victory.

“We get to the take the retest on Saturday,” LMA head coach Robbie Briggs said.

“You know how you study the wrong things and you’re not yourself on test day? We get to take the retest on Saturday.”

“I don’t think it was them being more physical than us, I think it was more of a mental state because they’ve come in and beat us so many years in

a row and we weren’t mentally prepared against them,” LMA junior Tillman Tumbleston said. “I think we’re going to have to stay on our blocks, keep our poise and just play how we’ve been playing the last few weeks.”

Briggs feels the game could come down to five or six plays.

“In a high school state championship game, it is

SEE HISTORY, PAGE B5

CLEMSON FOOTBALL

USC FOOTBALL

Swinney strongly behind QB Stoudt

Gamecocks, Spurrier not looking past S. Alabama

BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press COLUMBIA — Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has a message for those fans who want to take out the Tigers recent offensive slowdown on quarterback Cole Stoudt: Get a life.

Swinney defended the senior who’s struggled to get Clemson’s attack moving the way it had the previous three years — and the way it does with freshman Deshaun Watson behind center. But the coach said with Watson out again with an injury, meaning Stoudt is the Tigers (7-3) best option to win football games.

Swinney said it’s a shame anyone would want to boo

Stoudt when he takes the field Saturday against Georgia State (1-9) after everything he’s endured. Then again, there was plenty of displeasure among Tiger fans attending last week’s 28-6 loss to No. 17 Georgia Tech (No. 18, CFP).

Watson, just back from missing three games with a broken finger in his throwing hand, was wincing on the field and grabbing his left knee after a run. In came Stoudt, who finished off a win over Louisville after Watson’s earlier injury then led Clemson to three victories while Watson recovered.

This time, though, Stoudt was not up to the task. He

BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press

Manning as well as the academic players of the year.

Tyler, a Shrine Bowl wide receiver, caught 65 passes for 1,367 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Gamecocks, who finished 7-5 on the season. He also had 13 rushes for 201 yards and four scores

COLUMBIA — South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is worried about facing South Alabama and believes his Gamecocks should be, too.

On paper, this one between the Southeastern Conference power and the Sun Belt team is a huge mismatch. But with South Carolina’s recent problems, Spurrier is wary of what could happen against the Jaguars (6-4) today.

“We’re not good enough to think we can show up and roll over people,’’ he said. “We know that we have struggled a lot this year and we’ve got to really play our best if we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win.’’

The Gamecocks (5-5) have had many chances at success this season, but found ways to stumble. South Carolina lost three all but certain wins to Missouri, Kentucky

SEE YEAR’S BEST, PAGE B5

SEE USC, PAGE B3

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney had choice words for any fans considering booing quarterback Cole Stoudt, left, during today’s SEE STOUDT, PAGE B3 game against Georgia State because of his recent struggles.

PREP FOOTBALL

Tyler, Watkins, Boatwright, Cruz earn player of the year honors

BY DENNIS BRUNSON dennis@theitem.com Sumter High School’s Ky’Jon Tyler and Vincent Watkins, Manning’s Aaron Boatwright and Laurence Manning Academy’s Tony Cruz have been selected as the Sumter Touchdown Club’s players of the year.

man and Watkins the special teams player.

The quartet was honored at the final WATKINS BOATWRIGHT CRUZ TYLER meeting of the Tyler is the offensive player, club on Friday along with asCruz the defensive player, sistant coach of the year Boatwright the offensive lineElmer Bench of Laurence

B2

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SPORTS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

SPORTS ITEMS

Timeout gaffe costs Tigers in 72-70 loss ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands — Clemson coach Brad Brownell took responsibility for his team’s late timeout gaffe.

Freshman Donte Grantham called for one when the Tigers didn’t have any and Jarvis Davis made two late free throws to capitalize and give Gardner-Webb a 72-70 victory in the first round of the Paradise Jam on Friday.

“I think I’ve seen a loss about every possible way but then this happens,’’ Brownell BROWNELL said. “It’s on me. Obviously I thought we had another timeout. On the inbound pass itself, there wasn’t a ton of duress. It’s unfortunate and right now I can’t worry about who we play (Saturday), I have to get our guys’ minds right.’’

After Davis knocked down the free throws for the Runnin’ Bulldogs (21), Clemson (1-2) had three shots at the rim but could not convert as the buzzer sounded.

Tyler Strange scored 19 points to lead Gardner-Webb, including a 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left to tie the game and set up more drama in the finish.

Damarcus Harrison scored 19 points to lead Clemson. Rod Hall added 16 points for the Tigers.

Clemson closed the first half on a 15-4 run capped by Hall’s tip-in at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 36-34 lead at the break. Gardner Webb scored 15 straight points earlier in the half.

The Tigers had three 12-point leads in the second half, and took a 62-49 lead on Josh Smith’s running hook shot in the lane with 8:15 left. The Runnin’ Bulldogs whittled at the lead, however, and Adonis Burbage made a layup with 3:55 left to cut the lead to 63-61.

Strange made a steal and then knocked down two free throws with 33.2 seconds left to bring the Bulldogs within 68-67.

After Hall made two free throws, Strange pump-faked Hall to nail the tying 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left to set up the dramatic finish.

CHARLOTTE 65 SOUTH CAROLINA 63

CHARLESTON — Mike Thorne hit two foul shots with 1:10 left to put Charlotte ahead for good as the 49ers rallied past rallied past South Carolina 65-63 Friday night to reach the Charleston Classic championship game.

Braxton Ogbueze had 12 of his 14 points in the second half for the 49ers, who’ll face Miami for the tournament title Sunday night.

Sindarius Thornwell had an open look for a 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left, but it clanged off the rim for South Carolina (2-2). Thornwelll led the Gamecocks with 20 points, only two in the second half.

It was the eighth straight regularseason tournament win for the 49ers (3-0), who needed double overtime to outlast Penn State 106-97 here Thursday night. This time, Charlotte trailed by as many as 14 points in the opening half. But the 49ers used a fast start in the second half to push past the Gamecocks.

(1) KENTUCKY 89 BOSTON UNIVERSITY 65

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Aaron Harrison scored 19 points, Devin Booker added 15, and top-ranked Kentucky shot 59 percent from the field to pull away from Boston University for an 89-65 victory.

(9) VIRGINIA 59 GEORGE WASHINGTON 42

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Justin

Anderson scored 18 points, Malcolm Brogdon had 15, and No. 9 Virginia put the defensive clamps on George Washington in the second half on the way to a 59-42 victory.

(17) CONNECTICUT 75 DAYTON 64

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Ryan Boatright had 20 points, Rodney Purvis added 19 and No. 17 Connecticut rallied from five points down in the second half to defeat Dayton 75-64 in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. (23) SYRACUSE 66 IOWA 63

NEW YORK — Chris McCullough had 20 points, nine rebounds and a key steal with 8.4 seconds left, and No. 23 Syracuse held off Iowa 66-63 in the 2K Classic consolation game.

TEXAS A&M 59 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 50

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Peyton Allen had 14 points, Jalen Jones added 12 and Texas A&M rallied in the second half to slip past College of Charleston 59-50 in the consolation round of the Puerto Rico TipOff. NBA MAGIC 105 HORNETS 100 CHARLOTTE — Evan Fournier scored 21 points, Tobias Harris had 17 points and 16 rebounds as the Orlando Magic erased a 23-point second-half deficit to hand the Charlotte Hornets their fourth straight loss 105-100 on Friday night.

SUNS 122 76ERS 96

PHILADELPHIA — Isaiah Thomas scored 23 points and Markieff Morris had 18 to lead the Phoenix Suns past the winless Philadelphia 76ers 122-96 on Friday night.

WIZARDS 91 CAVALIERS 78.

WASHINGTON — John Wall took over in the third quarter Friday night and finished 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and the hustling Washington Wizards clamped down for a 91-78 win over LeBron James and the mostly flatfooted Cleveland Cavaliers, who lost their third straight to fall back below .500.

GRIZZLIES 117 CELTICS 100

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Marc Gasol matched his career high with 32 points, Zach Randolph added 16 points and 16 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Boston Celtics 117-100 on Friday night.

4A

3A

Upper State Quarterfinals A.C. Flora 58, Emerald 21 South Pointe 23, Belton-Honea Path 20, OT Lower State Quarterfinals Hartsville 55, Berkeley 0 Marlboro County 42, Myrtle Beach 17

2A

Division I Upper State Semifinal Newberry 16, Fairfield Central 3 Lower State

SCOREBOARD

FRIDAY’S GAMES

TV, RADIO TODAY

8 a.m. – Formula One Racing: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Pole Qualifying from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

9:55 a.m. – International Soccer: Barclays Premier League Match from London – West Brom vs. Chelsea (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

Noon – College Football: Fordham at Army (CBS SPORTS NETWORK).

Noon – College Football: Minnesota at Nebraska (ESPN).

Noon – College Football: Southern Methodist at Central Florida (ESPNEWS).

Noon – College Football: Penn State at Illinois (ESPN2).

Noon – College Football: Northwestern at Purdue (ESPNU).

Noon – College Football: Kansas at Oklahoma (FOX SPORTS 1).

Noon – College Basketball: Robert Morris at Georgetown (FOX SPORTS 2).

Noon – College Football: South Alabama at South Carolina (FOX SPORTSOUTH, WIBZ-FM 95.5, WNKT-FM 107.5).

Noon – College Football: Charleston Southern at Georgia (SEC NETWORK).

Noon – College Football: Texas (San Antonio) at Western Kentucky (SPORTSOUTH).

12:30 p.m. – International Soccer: Barclays Premier League Match from London – Arsenal vs. Manchester United (WIS 10).

12:30 p.m. – College Football: Virginia Tech at Wake Forest (WACH 57).

12:30 p.m. – College Football: Yale at Harvard (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

1:30 p.m. -- LPGA Golf: CME Group Tour Championship Third Round from Naples, Fla. (GOLF).

1:30 p.m. – College Football: The Citadel at Virginia Military Institute (WDXY-FM 105.9, WDXY-AM 1240).

2:30 p.m. – College Basketball: Omaha-Nebraska at Marquette (FOX SPORTS 2).

3 p.m. – College Football: Savannah State at Brigham Young (BYUTV).

3:30 p.m. – College Football: Louisville at Notre Dame (WIS 10).

3:30 p.m. – College Football: Mississippi at Arkansas (WLTX 19).

3:30 p.m. – College Football: Boston College at Florida State (WOLO 25).

3:30 p.m. – College Football: Lafayette vs.

Lehigh from New York (CBS SPORTS NETWORK).

3:30 p.m. – College Football: Arizona at Utah (ESPN).

3:30 p.m. – College Football: Wisconsin at Iowa (ESPN2).

3:30 p.m. – College Football: Syracuse at Pittsburgh (ESPNU).

3:30 p.m. – College Football: Georgia State at Clemson (FOX SPORTSOUTH, WWBD-FM 94.7, WPUB-FM 102.7).

3:30 p.m. – College Football: New Hampshire at Maine (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

3:30 p.m. – College Football: Texas Tech at Iowa State (SPORTSOUTH).

4 p.m. – College Football: South Florida at Memphis (ESPNEWS).

4 p.m. – College Football: Stanford at California (FOX SPORTS 1).

4 p.m. – College Football: Western Carolina at Alabama (SEC NETWORK).

5 p.m. – College Basketball: Loyola (Md.) at Butler (FOX SPORTS 2).

7 p.m. – College Football: Miami at Virginia (ESPN2).

7 p.m. – College Football: Samford at Auburn (ESPNU).

7 p.m. – College Basketball: Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Consolation Game from Brooklyn, N.Y. (TRUTV).

7 p.m. – Professional Boxing: Manny Pacquiao vs. Chris Algieri in a Welterweight Bout from Macao, China (TIME WARNER PPV 660).

7:30 p.m. – College Football: Oklahoma State at Baylor (WACH 57).

7:30 p.m. – College Football: Missouri at Tennessee (ESPN).

7:30 p.m. – College Football: Richmond at William & Mary (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

7:30 p.m. – College Football: Vanderbilt at Mississippi State (SEC NETWORK).

7:30 p.m. – High School Football: SCISA 3A State Playoffs Championship Game from Columbia – Laurence Manning vs. Hammond (WWHM-FM 92.3, WWHM-FM 93.3, WWHM-AM 1290).

8 p.m. – College Football: Southern California at UCLA (WOLO 25).

8 p.m. – College Football: Cincinnati at Connecticut (CBS SPORTS NETWORK).

8 p.m. – NBA Basketball: Dallas at Houston (NBA TV).

8 p.m. – College Basketball: Missouri State at Texas Tech (SPORTSOUTH).

9 p.m. – NHL Hockey: Carolina at Colorado (FOX SPORTSOUTH).

9:30 p.m. – Women’s College Basketball: Nevada at Brigham Young (BYUTV).

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

9:30 p.m. – College Basketball: Coaches vs.

Cancer Classic Championship Game from Brooklyn, N.Y. (TRUTV).

10:15 p.m. – College Football: Boise State at Wyoming (ESPN2).

10:30 p.m. – College Football: Fresno State at Nevada (ESPNU).

2:30 a.m. -- Professional Golf: European PGA Tour World Tour Championship Final Round from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (GOLF).

CIGANDA, GRANADA TIED FOR LEAD AT LPGA FINALE

GOLF The Associated Press

NAPLES, Fla. — Michelle Wie played well enough Friday in the CME Globe Tour Championship to consider a million ways her great year can get even better.

On another blustery day, Carlota Ciganda of Spain had a 5-under 67 to share the lead with Julieta Granada of Paraguay, who shot 70. They were a stroke ahead of Morgan Pressel, who birdied all the par 5s in her round of 66.

Wie had a 67 and emerged as a possibility to win the Race to CME Globe and collect the $1 million bonus. Wie was two shots off the lead and in prime position to capture the biggest payoff in women’s golf.

Stacy Lewis struggled to a 74 and was six shots behind. Inbee Park was eight shots back after a 74.

CME GROUP TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PAR SCORES

From wire reports

FRIDAY’S PREP FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SCORES Division I Quarterfinals Dutch Fork 27, Dorman 13 Fort Dorchester 31, Summerville 16 Hillcrest 52, Lexington 14 Division II Quarterfinals Greenwood 16, Westwood 0 South Florence 38, North Augusta 23 Spartanburg 51, Stratford 20 York Comprehensive 33, River Bluff 28

THE SUMTER ITEM

Dillon 37, Loris 20

Semifinal

Division II Upper State Semifinal W.J. Keenan 46, Ninety Six 28 Lower State Semifinal Timberland 34, Woodland 14

1A

Division I Upper State Semifinal Christ Church Episcopal 35, McBee 8 Lower State Semifinal Bamberg-Ehrhardt 20, Allendale-Fairfax 8 Division II Upper State Semifinal Hunter-Kinard-Tyler 32, Lamar 24 Lower State Semifinal Lake View 36, Estill 14

SCISA

Eight Man State Championship Richard Winn 50, Carolina Academy 14

Friday At The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort (Tiburon Course) Naples, Fla. Purse: $2 million Yardage: 6,540; Par: 72 Second Round Carlota Ciganda 70-67—137 -7 Julieta Granada 66-71—137 -7 Morgan Pressel 72-66—138 -6 Michelle Wie 72-67—139 -5 Sarah Jane Smith 70-69—139 -5 Sandra Gal 68-71—139 -5 Chella Choi 71-69—140 -4 So Yeon Ryu 70-70—140 -4

NBA STANDINGS

By The Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION Toronto Boston Brooklyn New York Philadelphia SOUTHEAST DIVISION Washington Miami Atlanta Orlando Charlotte CENTRAL DIVISION Chicago Milwaukee Cleveland Indiana Detroit

W 9 4 4 3 0

L 2 6 7 10 11

Pct .818 .400 .364 .231 .000

GB – 41/2 5 7 9

W 7 6 5 5 4

L 3 6 5 8 8

Pct .700 .500 .500 .385 .333

GB – 2 2 31/2 4

W 8 7 5 5 3

L 4 5 5 7 9

Pct .667 .583 .500 .417 .250

GB – 1 2 3 5

L 2 3 3 4 4

Pct .833 .750 .750 .636 .600

GB – 1 1 21/2 3

L 3 7 7 7 10

Pct .727 .417 .364 .300 .231

GB – 31/2 4 41/2 6

L 2 4 5 5 9

Pct .800 .636 .583 .583 .250

GB – 11/2 2 2 6

WESTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHWEST DIVISION W Memphis 10 Dallas 9 Houston 9 San Antonio 7 New Orleans 6 NORTHWEST DIVISION W Portland 8 Utah 5 Denver 4 Minnesota 3 Oklahoma City 3 PACIFIC DIVISION W Golden State 8 L.A. Clippers 7 Phoenix 7 Sacramento 7 L.A. Lakers 3

THURSDAY’S GAMES

L.A. Clippers 110, Miami 93 Sacramento 103, Chicago 88

Phoenix at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Orlando at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Milwaukee at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

Brooklyn at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

Boston at Memphis, 8 p.m.

San Antonio at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Cleveland at Washington, 8 p.m.

L.A. Lakers at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

New Orleans at Denver, 9 p.m.

Utah at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Chicago at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES

Miami at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Phoenix at Indiana, 7 p.m.

Toronto at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at New York, 7:30 p.m.

Dallas at Houston, 8 p.m.

Sacramento at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Washington at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.

Brooklyn at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.

New Orleans at Utah, 9 p.m.

SUNDAY’S GAMES

L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 6 p.m.

Charlotte at Miami, 6 p.m.

Portland at Boston, 6 p.m.

Golden State at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Denver at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 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 Denver Kansas City San Diego Oakland

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 1

L 3 4 4 10

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .700 .636 .600 .091

PF 293 261 218 176

PA 224 195 192 285

NATIONAL CONFERENCE EAST 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

Oakland 24, Kansas City 20

SUNDAY’S GAMES

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, ppd., snow 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’S GAMES

N.Y. Jets vs. Buffalo at Detroit, 7 p.m.

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

THURSDAY, NOV. 27

Chicago at Detroit, 12:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at Dallas, 4:30 p.m.

Seattle at San Francisco, 8:30 p.m.

NHL STANDINGS

By The Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W Montreal 21 15 Tampa Bay 21 13 Detroit 19 10 Boston 20 12 Ottawa 18 9 Toronto 20 10 Florida 17 7 Buffalo 20 5 METROPOLITAN DIVISION GP W Pittsburgh 17 13 N.Y. Islanders 18 12 Washington 19 9 N.Y. Rangers 19 8 New Jersey 19 8 Philadelphia 18 7 Carolina 19 6 Columbus 18 6

L OT 5 1 6 2 4 5 8 0 5 4 8 2 5 5 13 2

Pts 31 28 25 24 22 22 19 12

GF 59 75 54 53 50 63 38 34

GA 52 59 45 49 47 62 44 69

L OT 3 1 6 0 7 3 7 4 9 2 9 2 10 3 11 1

Pts 27 24 21 20 18 16 15 13

GF 64 59 55 52 47 53 45 44

GA 35 52 52 58 56 58 58 64

WESTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA Nashville 19 12 5 2 26 54 40 St. Louis 19 12 6 1 25 50 39 Chicago 19 11 7 1 23 55 39 Winnipeg 21 10 8 3 23 43 47 Minnesota 18 11 7 0 22 53 41 Dallas 20 7 9 4 18 56 68 Colorado 20 6 9 5 17 49 64 PACIFIC DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA Anaheim 21 12 4 5 29 58 53 Vancouver 20 13 6 1 27 61 60 Los Angeles 20 11 5 4 26 53 44 Calgary 21 12 7 2 26 66 57 San Jose 22 10 9 3 23 59 60 Arizona 20 8 10 2 18 49 62 Edmonton 19 6 11 2 14 48 65 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Anaheim 4, Vancouver 3, SO Florida 3, San Jose 2, SO Minnesota 3, Philadelphia 2 Toronto 5, Tampa Bay 2 Montreal 4, St. Louis 1 Ottawa 3, Nashville 2 Detroit 4, Winnipeg 3 Dallas 3, Arizona 1 Washington 3, Colorado 2 Chicago 4, Calgary 3 Los Angeles 3, Carolina 2

FRIDAY’S GAMES

N.Y. Rangers at Buffalo, ppd., snow N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.

Boston at Columbus, 7 p.m.

New Jersey at Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES

St. Louis at Ottawa, 3 p.m.

Montreal at Boston, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Toronto, 7 p.m.

Minnesota at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.

Pittsburgh at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.

Columbus at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Buffalo at Washington, 7 p.m.

Florida at Nashville, 8 p.m.

Los Angeles at Dallas, 8 p.m.

Carolina at Colorado, 9 p.m.

New Jersey at Calgary, 10 p.m.

Chicago at Edmonton, 10 p.m.

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

SUNDAY’S GAMES

St. Louis at Winnipeg, 4:30 p.m.

Montreal at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.

Arizona at Anaheim, 8 p.m.

Chicago at Vancouver, 9:30 p.m.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

THE SUMTER ITEM

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

Williams, UNC rout Duke 45-20

BY JOEDY MCCREARY The Associated Press DURHAM, N.C — North Carolina took things from No. 25 Duke all night: The ball. The momentum. And, finally, the Victory Bell.

The Tar Heels routed Duke 45-20 on Thursday night with Marquise Williams throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for two more.

“I think we finally put together a complete game,’’ coach Larry Fedora said.

Williams was 18 of 27 for 276 yards with touchdown passes covering 3 yards to Quinshad Davis and 1 yard to Mack Hollins. He also had scoring runs of 1 and 16 yards.

Tim Scott returned an early fumble 10 yards for the tone-setting score. The Tar Heels (6-5, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 38-7 in earning bowl eligibility while wrapping up the Coastal Division title for Georgia Tech.

Anthony Boone was 22 of 40 for 262 yards with two touchdowns for the Blue Devils (8-3, 4-3). They needed to win their last two to earn a second straight ACC title game berth.

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GEORGIA STATE AT CLEMSON WHERE: Memorial Stadium, Clemson WHEN: Today, 3:30 p.m.

TV: FOX SPORTSOUTH RADIO: WWBD-FM 94.7, WPUB-FM 102.7

STOUDT FROM PAGE B1

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Duke quarterback Anthony Boone (7) is tackled by North Carolina’s Nazair Jones (90) during the Tar Heels’ 45-20 victory on Thursday in Durham, N.C. The Tar Heels scored 21 points off Duke’s three turnovers. Duke managed 378 total yards against a defense that allows an ACC-worst 512 per game.

“We made mistakes early (and) they capitalized on our mistakes,’’ Boone said. “We usually play mistake-free football,

taking care of the football on offense, and they did a good job of capitalizing and creating turnovers.’’

T.J. Logan rushed for 116 yards and a 1-yard touchdown, and Ryan Switzer caught three passes for 109 yards for the Tar Heels.

They reached the six-win

mark for the second straight year and seventh time in eight years while beating Duke for the first time since 2011 — earning the coveted bell that goes to the winner of this fierce backyard rivalry. They rang it repeatedly — and audibly — both on the field and in the locker room.

Coastal Carolina tries to finish undefeated season

BY JEFFREY COLLINS The Associated Press

SCHEDULE STATE

COLUMBIA — Coastal Carolina coach Joe Moglia is one of those coaches who believes in the idea of taking each game on its own and don’t look ahead.

So with just a win over Liberty today standing between the Chanticleers and an undefeated season, Moglia is ready to embrace what this team has accomplished over the whole season.

“It would be incredible — 12-0 and undefeated season,” said Moglia, who is in his third season at Coastal Carolina. “That would be just wonderful, spectacular, to wind up the No. 1 team in the country.”

For the rest of South Carolina’s Football Championship Subdivision teams, there isn’t a lot of drama.

South Carolina State can still win a share of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title with a win over Norfolk State and some help, but the league’s automatic bid is out of reach. Charleston Southern heads to Football Bowl Subdivision Georgia, while the state’s Southern Conference teams have no postseason shot. The Citadel travels to VMI; Furman hosts Chattanooga; and Wofford hosts Mercer.

In Conway. Coastal Carolina (11-0, 4-0 Big South) must beat Liberty (7-4, 3-1) to get the Big South’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, even though the Chanticleers are playoff bound with a loss. The Flames win the league’s bid if they pull off the upset.

The Chanticleers remain No. 1 in the FCS coaches poll and No. 2 in The Sports Network poll of media members. A win today, and Coastal

USC FROM PAGE B1 and Tennessee with fourthquarter collapses where it squandered double-digit leads.

The Gamecocks enter with hope, though, from last week’s reversal of fortune at Florida.

South Carolina got a late blocked punt and a bobbled pitch touchdown to tie the Gators at the end of regulation before Dylan Thompson’s game-winning 4-yard TD run in overtime after the defense held Florida to a field goal in a 23-20 win.

The result moved the Gamecocks closer to the postseason, something South Alabama took care of last week with a 24-20 win over Texas State.

Jaguars coach Joey Jones doesn’t see a bumbling South Carolina team despite finishing 3-5 in the SEC. “It’s a typical SEC team, they’ve lost a lot of close games and could very easily be a lot better from a record standpoint,’’ Jones said. “I always look at players and teams rather than records, and their team is certainly

Today Georgia State at Clemson, 3:30 p.m. (FOX SPORTSOUTH, WWBD-FM 94.7, WPUB-FM 102.7) South Alabama at South Carolina, noon (FOX SPORTSOUTH, WIBZ-FM 95.5, WNKTFM 107.5) (9) Georgia vs. Charleston Southern, noon (SEC NETWORK) Citadel at VMI, 1:30 p.m. (WDXY-FM 105.9, WDXY-AM 1240) Mercer at Wofford, 1:30 p.m.

Chattanooga at Furman, 3:30 p.m.

Liberty at Coastal Carolina, 1 p.m.

Norfolk State at S.C. State, 1:30 p.m.

North Greenville vs. Shorter University, noon

ACC

Thursday North Carolina 45, (25) Duke 20 Today (1) Florida State vs. Boston College, 3:30 p.m. (WOLO 25) Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, 12:30 p.m.

(WACH 57) Syracuse at Pittsburgh, 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU) Louisville at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m. (WIS 10) Miami at Virginia, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

SEC

Today (2) Alabama vs. Western Carolina, 4 p.m.

(SEC NETWORK) (4) Mississippi State vs. Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m. (SEC NETWORK) (8) Mississippi at Arkansas, 3:30 p.m.

(WLTX 19) (16) Auburn vs. Samford, 7 p.m. (ESPNU) (19) Missouri at Tennessee, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Eastern Kentucky at Florida, noon

TOP 25

Today (3) Oregon vs. Colorado, 4:30 p.m.

(6) Baylor vs. Oklahoma State, 7:30 p.m.

(WACH 57) (7) Ohio State vs. Indiana, noon (10) Michigan State vs. Rutgers, noon (11) UCLA vs. (24) Southern Cal, 8 p.m.

(WOLO 25) (13) Arizona State vs. Washington State, 1 p.m.

(14) Wisconsin at Iowa, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (15) Arizona at (20) Utah, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN) (18) Marshall at UAB, noon (21) Nebraska vs. Minnesota, noon (ESPN) (22) Colorado State vs. New Mexico, 1:30 p.m.

(23) Oklahoma vs. Kansas, noon (FOX SPORTS 1)

Carolina would likely end up with a top four seed in the playoffs that would assure two home playoff games. The door could open for a

has a bunch of talent.’’

And Spurrier knows how to use that talent against teams his club is supposed to beat.

Spurrier is 51-0 all-time against opponents from outside the Bowl Championship Subdivision qualifying leagues or Power Five conferences.

South Alabama will receive $900,000 for the visit.

SENIOR DAY It’s a final home farewell for quarterback Dylan Thompson, who is 412 yards shy of the school’s single-season record for passing yards.

Thompson had his moments before as Connor Shaw’s backup — winning at Clemson in 2012 and throwing the game-winning TD in the Outback Bowl that same season — but has been a steady performer in his lone year as starter.

JUNIOR DAY Among the handful of juniors who’ll be honored for their final game is star tailback Mike Davis, who is sixth in the Southeastern Confer-

top two seed, which would allow the Charleston Southern (8-3) will keep an eye on the scoreboard as it faces Southeastern Conference opponent Georgia (8-2) in Athens, Georgia.

South Carolina State (7-4, 5-2 MEAC) can still win a league title if the Bulldogs beat Norfolk State (4-7, 4-3) in Orangeburg and North Carolina A&T loses.

That loss could mean as many as five teams could finish on top of the league. But the Bulldogs lose every tiebreaking scenario sent out by the MEAC this week.

SoCon) is the only league team from the state that can finish with a winning record if the Terriers beat Mercer.

It’s been a frustrating season for Wofford coach Mike Ayers. His normally sure-handed team has given the ball away more than it has taken the ball back. His offense is next-tolast in the SoCon. And there has been only one loss by a score or less.

The Citadel (5-7, 2-4 SoCon) might not have a playoff bid to play for, but the Bulldogs will try to hold on to the Silver Shako against VMI (2-9, 1-5) in Lexington, Virginia, The Silver Shako is the trophy for The Military Classic of the South, pitting the two state military schools.

In Greenville, Furman (3-8, 2-4 SoCon) will try to end a frustrating season in a positive way against Chattanooga (7-3, 6-0).

The Paladins’ season started off wrong after starting quarterback Reese Hannon broke his ankle in the opener. The injuries kept piling up and a year after making the FCS playoffs, Furman lost eight in a row before beating Wofford 31-14 last week.

threw three interceptions, two that were returned for touchdowns. Stoudt was benched for third stringer Nick Schuessler in the second half.

But with Watson doubtful for today, Swinney said Stoudt will start and give a large home crowd the chance to vent their disappointment.

“People need to get a life if they’re going to boo a guy like Cole,’’ Swinney said. “He’s a class act and deserves to be treated with class. It’s my hope Cole will finish this thing great.’’

To do that, offensive coordinator Chad Morris said Stoudt must regain the swagger he had earlier this season when he won the job over Watson.

“We have to get Cole back to playing the way he did against Georgia and the confidence level he was playing at,’’ Morris said.

No matter who starts at quarterback, the Tigers will be huge favorites to put away the Panthers. Georgia State fell at Washington 45-14 last September.

“Hopefully we learned that we can only worry about what we control,’’ Georgia State coach Trent Miles said.

“We can’t control the crowd or the weather, we can’t control their size and speed. We can only control our preparation, our effort and our execution, so hopefully we go out there and just worry about us and play as hard as we can.’’

DEFENSIVE BOUNCE BACK Clemson held Georgia Tech to 353 yards of offense, more than 100 fewer than the Yellow Jackets have averaged a game this year. Still, the Tiger defenders were not pleased with their efforts and hope to get back on track against the Panthers.

PLAYING TOUGH Georgia State gave Washington all it could handle into the second half in its trip West earlier this season. The Panthers held a 14-0 lead at the half and were still up 14-7 in the third quarter before the Huskies got going in a 45-14 victory.

DEATH VALLEY EXPERIENCE While Georgia State coach Trent Miles only experience at Clemson was visiting his school’s basketball team taking on the Tigers in last year’s NIT, offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski knows what it’s like to quiet large crowds at Death Valley. Jagodzinski was Boston College coach in 2007 when the Eagles used a 43-yard TD pass from Matt Ryan to Rich Gunnell for a 20-17 win that eliminated Clemson from the ACC Atlantic Division race.

WAITING ON WATSON Freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson likely won’t play against the Panthers with the hope he’s ready to face rival South Carolina the next week.

Swinney feared the worst when Watson grabbed his left knee. Instead, tests showed he had a sprained ligament and bone bruise, leaving the possibility he could return.

AIR ARBUCLKE Georgia State quarterback Nick Arbuckle leads the Sun Belt Conference with 279 yards passing. He’s also set school marks this season with 214 completions, 2,812 passing yards and 19 touchdown passes.

not said for sure he’s leaving.

S. ALABAMA AT USC

FACING THE SEC

WHERE: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia WHEN: Today, noon TV: FOX SPORTSOUTH RADIO: WIBZ-FM 95.5, WHKT-FM 107.5

ence with 875 yards. Davis had talked of jumping to the NFL before this season. He ran for 1,183 yards a year ago and can become only the second player in school history with multiple years of cracking the 1,000-yard barrier. Davis has

South Alabama has played SEC opponents in each of the past three seasons. The school, which joined the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2011, lost to Mississippi State in 2012, to Tennessee a year ago and to the Bulldogs again earlier this year. This is the first time South Alabama has ever played the Gamecocks.

PASS RUSH The Gamecocks had been the SEC’s worst in sacks and generating a pass rush this season. That changed a week ago in a 23-20 overtime win at

Florida. They held the Gators to 278 yards, a season best by South Carolina. The Gamecocks two sacks last week equaled their total of the previous four games.

LOOKING AHEAD While Spurrier and the Gamecocks are focused on South Alabama, South Carolina fans have their minds on next week and rival Clemson.

Spurrier stirred up Tiger fans last week when he asked if that “Upstate school’’ had lost at Georgia Tech (it did). Spurrier said he wasn’t picking at Clemson and that the Gamecocks had more than enough issues of their own to worry about.

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B4

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NFL

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

Snow-laden Bills, Jets head to Detroit

BY JOHN WAWROW The Associated Press

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Denver quarterback Peyton Manning, left, and the seemingly unstoppable Broncos offense have looked pedestrian the past two weeks. They face a suddenly hot Miami team on Sunday.

Manning, Broncos suddenly vulnerable

BY BARRY WILNER The Associated Press The Denver Broncos suddenly are looking fragile. They need to end their November swoon quickly or even could face the possibility of not playing in January.

Peyton Manning and the defending AFC champions played their two worst games in the past three weeks, falling at New England at St. Louis.

On Sunday, they take on a Miami team that is 6-4, winning four of its past five, with the loss coming at Detroit in the final seconds.

Yes, the Dolphins’ resume of late is more impressive than the Broncos’.

“I think there definitely is a sense of urgency,’’ Manning says. I think when you lose a game, what we’ve talked about offensively this week is everybody focuses on doing their job better, and you hope that results in better offensive play.’’

The Broncos (7-3) were held to seven points by the Rams; Manning usually can produce one touchdown in his sleep.

And do it against a wellrested Dolphins team oozing with conviction that it can make a run to the playoffs.

DETROIT (7-3) AT NEW ENGLAND (8-2) It seems to happen every year: the weather gets cold and the Patriots turn torrid.

They’ve won six in a row and have the AFC’s best record. New England’s defense has been reliable, the running game resurgent.

Into Foxborough comes the NFL’s stingiest defense; Detroit has allowed

only 156 points.

ARIZONA (9-1) AT SEATTLE (6-4) For every person who has challenged the Cardinals to keep proving themselves, here’s the absolute best chance for Arizona to silence the critics.

A victory at the loudest and most intimidating NFL venue would stamp the Cardinals not only as the likely NFC West champion, but as the NFC’s No. 1 team.

The Seahawks already have more losses than in 2013. But Marshawn Lynch has rushed for 140 and 124 yards in the past two games.

DALLAS (7-3) AT N.Y. GIANTS (3-7)

CINCINNATI (6-3-1) AT HOUSTON (5-5)

DeMarco Murray might be salivating all day Sunday for this night matchup against the league’s worst rushing defense. New York’s fivegame losing streak includes being run over by several opponents, and Murray is the first back in NFL history with at least 100 yards rushing in nine of the first 10 games of a season. He leads the NFL with 1,233 yards on the ground.

Not a favorite place for the Bengals, who lost playoff games during the 2011 and 2012 seasons in Houston. With Gio Bernard out, they have gotten solid contributions on the ground from Jeremy Hill.

The second-round pick had 152 yards rushing in a win last week at New Orleans and leads rookies with 556 yards rushing.

JACKSONVILLE (1-9) AT INDIANAPOLIS (6-4)

Lots of angst and turmoil coming out of the Redskins’ facility, and they come off perhaps their worst performance of the year in a 27-7 home loss to Tampa Bay. Getting things turned around against the Niners, who come off two close road victories, will be a difficult chore.

The Titans have won the past four meetings after the Eagles won the first six when the Titans were the Houston Oilers.

To add to that string will be difficult because the Eagles have won nine in a row at home, have forced 16 fumbles to lead the league, and are 3-0 against the AFC South this year.

Neither team has its starting quarterback from the beginning of the season.

The Colts’ mastery of the AFC South can be explained in, well, their mastery of the AFC South.

Indianapolis has won 10 straight division games, including four in a row against Jacksonville. Andrew Luck can tie Drew Brees’ NFL record for consecutive 300-yard passing games (nine) and break Peyton Manning’s single-season franchise record for 300-yard games (10). T.Y. Hilton needs 39 yards for a second straight 1,000-yard receiving season.

GREEN BAY (7-3) AT MINNESOTA (4-6)

BALTIMORE (6-4) AT NEW ORLEANS (4-6)

ST. LOUIS (4-6) AT SAN DIEGO (6-4)

Now that they know Adrian Peterson won’t be suiting up for them this year, the Vikings can concentrate on their spoiler role. Their defense, led by safety Harrison Smith and end Everson Griffen, is their best shot at surprising any contenders.

The Packers have struggled in the Metrodome through the years (15-16), but with the Vikings’ new stadium being built, this game will be at the University of Minnesota’s building. Outdoors — just like Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson and Clay Matthews like it.

Despite their records, the Saints are in a firstplace tie in their division (the awful NFC South) and the Ravens are in a tie with Cleveland for last place in their sector (AFC North).

Philip Rivers has been struggling since the Chargers started off 5-1, and here come the Rams with their revitalized pass rush. St. Louis has 13 sacks in the past three games, and despite being last in the potent NFC West, it has impressive wins over the Seahawks, Broncos and 49ers.

WASHINGTON (3-7) AT SAN FRANCISCO (6-4)

TENNESSEE (2-8) AT PHILADELPHIA (7-3)

CLEVELAND (6-4) AT ATLANTA (4-6) Similar circumstance to Ravens-Saints.

Browns receiver Josh Gordon returns after serving 10-game suspension for violating the NFL’s drug policy. Gordon led the league with 1,646 yards receiving in just 14 games last season.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Whether by plane, snowmobile or sled dog, the Bills are leaving snowbound Buffalo behind for Detroit to play their “home’’ game against the New York Jets on Monday night.

And there’s no telling when they will be back.

The Bills’ schedule is suddenly in upheaval because of a lake-effect storm that dumped more than 5 feet of snow on the Buffalo region since Monday. Another 1 to 3 feet was projected to fall by Friday.

The storm that paralyzed much of the community surrounding the Bills’ home at Orchard Park led to the NFL’s decision Thursday to relocate the game, which will be played at the Lions’ downtown Detroit home, Ford Field.

“It really wasn’t an option to try to play the game (in Buffalo) at any point Sunday, Monday or even potentially Tuesday based on what the forecast is,’’ Bills President Russ Brandon said. “All the focus needs to be on the safety of not only the fans but the community.

And everyone needs to be focused on helping our neighbors.’’

Given the cleanup job, Brandon said the team is considering spending next week practicing out of town. And he wasn’t sure if Ralph Wilson Stadium will be ready for the Bills’ next home game against the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 30.

“That’s a good question,’’ Brandon said. “It’s going to be a full-on effort by our stadium operations crew and everyone involved here to get that facility ready for next week. There’s an enormous amount of snow to be removed.’’

Preparing for the Jets is the Bills’ first priority after the team canceled its past two days of practice because of impassible roads and numerous driving bans in the community.

The team plans to fly to Detroit on Friday afternoon and practice at the Lions facility in the evening. The Lions are at New England on Sunday.

This marks the second time the Bills will play at Ford Field this season following a 17-14 win over the Lions on Oct. 5. It also is the second time in four years the facility has hosted a neutral site game.

The last time an NFL game was moved to Ford Field unexpectedly, the fans who did show up witnessed a bit of history. Brett Favre’s streak of 297 regular-season starts came to an end that night — on Dec. 13, 2010 — when the Minnesota Vikings lost to the New York Giants 21-3. Favre was sidelined by shoulder and hand issues.

That game was moved to Detroit because the Metrodome roof collapsed.

“We are pleased to be hosting the Bills and Jets for their game Monday night,’’ Lions president Tom Lewand said.

“While our thoughts are with the people of the Buffalo area during this difficult time, our team at Ford Field will do everything we can to be good hosts to their team this weekend.’’

The Bills also get an extra day to prepare, with the game pushed back from Sunday.

TAMPA BAY (2-8) AT CHICAGO (4-6) Lovie Smith, who led the Bears to a Super Bowl berth and was fired after going 10-6 in 2012, brings his current team to Soldier Field.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Huge snowbanks almost obscure the Ralph Wilson Stadium sign above the stadium on Friday in Orchard Park, N.Y. Snowed out in Buffalo, the Bills are heading to Detroit to play their “home” game against the New York Jets on Monday.

Raiders snap skid, top KC 24-20

BY JOSH DUBOW The Associated Press

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Oakland running back Latavius Murray (28) runs past Kansas City linebacker Josh Mauga (90) to score an 11-yard touchdown during the Raiders’ 24-20 victory on Thursday in Oakland, Calif.

OAKLAND, Calif. — After 368 days and 16 straight losses, the Oakland Raiders finally had something to celebrate.

Rookie Derek Carr threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to James Jones with 1:42 remaining, and the Raiders got one last defensive stop to snap a 16-game losing streak with a 24-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.

“Hopefully there’s many more to come because I like this feeling better than the

other one, that’s for sure,’’ Carr said.

Oakland’s Latavius Murray ran for two touchdowns and 112 yards on just four carries before leaving the game with a concussion. The Raiders (1-10) built a 14-point lead, but needed a 17-play, 80yard drive led by Carr to secure its first win since beating Houston on Nov. 17, 2013.

“We learned something today,’’ interim coach Tony Sparano said. “We learned something about ourselves.

We’ve been in this end of the pool a long time. I kept saying that eventually it’s going

to happen. Today they just refused to give up.’’

The Raiders became just the third team since the merger to beat a first-place team for their first win after losing at least 10 games to start the season. Indianapolis did it against Green Bay in 1997 and Buffalo did it to Dallas in 1984.

Alex Smith threw two TD passes for the Chiefs (7-4), who had won five in a row.

They fell a half-game behind Denver in the AFC West. The Chiefs will have a long time to stew over this loss before hosting Denver on Nov. 30.

SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

BOXING

|

B5

NASCAR

Johnson says Harvick was correct winner

BY JENNA FRYER The Associated Press

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, left, and WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri will meet in a title fight today in Macau, China.

Pacquiao needs signature W vs. Algieri

BY TIM DAHLBERG The Associated Press MACAU — Boxing is a hurt business, as Manny Pacquiao found out when he ended up face down on the canvas after being knocked out just three fights ago by Juan Manuel Marquez.

It’s also a risky business, and there are some in the sport who believe Pacquiao is taking a big one when he gets up Sunday morning in this gambling enclave for his welterweight title fight with Chris Algieri.

The stakes are always high anytime Pacquiao fights. This, though, is a fight he must not only win but look good while doing so if there is to be any hope of a megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. “A fifth- or sixth-round

knockout would be perfect,’’ promoter Bob Arum said. “But who really knows?’’

Pacquiao is a heavy favorite against Algieri, a New Yorker who seemingly came out of nowhere to get the fight. But Algieri poses problems for Pacquiao with both his height — he is a half head taller — and a left jab that he used to come back from two first-round knockdowns to beat hard-hitting Ruslan Provodnikov in his last bout.

Algieri is also unbeaten in 20 fights and extremely confident his boxing skills will allow him to prevail in a bout being fought at a catch weight of 144 pounds.

“When I look into the mirror I know I’ve done all the work necessary to win this fight,’’ said Algieri,

YEAR’S BEST FROM PAGEB1 and returned 12 kickoffs for 499 yards, a 41.6 average and three touchdowns.

Tyler scored 19 touchdowns for 114 points.

Watkins connected on 11 of 15 field goals and 38 of 39 extra-point attempts. He finished second in scoring

who holds a master’s degree in clinical nutrition.

“I’m sure that Manny realizes this will be a real fight.’’

Algieri apparently didn’t do enough work, though, when he weighed in at 144.4 pounds Saturday morning to 143.8 for Pacquiao. Algieri worked off the weight and 50 minutes later came in at 143.6.

Pacquiao will make more than $20 million for the fight regardless of what happens, but an even bigger payday with Mayweather, a bout boxing fans have been clamoring for years.

That would likely be out the window for good if Algieri somehow finds a way to win.

“I’m not predicting a knockout but I’m looking for a good fight and looking to prove I can still

for SHS with 97 points.

Boatwright played every position on the line for Manning. He graded out at 86 percent and had 21 knockdown blocks. On the defensive side of the ball, Boatwright had 86 tackles.

Cruz leads LMA with 139 tackles and eight interceptions from his safety position. The Swampcats play Hammond today for the SCISA 3A state title.

fight,’’ Pacquiao said. “I’m looking to maintain my speed and my power in this fight.’’

Talk about a possible Mayweather fight heated up this week. Though Algieri is an attractive and articulate opponent who has done more than his share to sell the bout, the tantalizing possibility of a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight suddenly seems real again.

Arum said he has had talks with Les Moonves, the head of CBS Corp., to bring a previously reluctant Mayweather into the ring with Pacquiao next spring, and believes they could have a deal in place by the end of the year. Mayweather is under contract to the Showtime network, which CBS owns, for two more fights.

The players recognized for their work in the classroom are Dex Buschor of Wilson Hall, Watkins, Nicolas Davis of Crestwood, Lakewood’s Dominique Rose, Thomas Sumter Academy’s Noah White, Josh Martin of LMA, Jamie Land of Manning, Lee Central’s Devin Wilson, Chris Godwin of Robert E. Lee Academy, Jared Hair of East Clarendon, C.E. Murray’s Alexander Bradley and Josh Reynolds of Lake City.

HISTORY FROM PAGE B1 similar to, like, the fog of war,” he explained. “Things happen really quick, and by the time you fix that first thing the game can be over so you want to have confidence, you want to have clarity and want to have communication during the game.”

Hammond head coach Erik Kimrey agreed, and said the reason his kids have been successful is because they’ve been able to play consistently and avoid mistakes.

“I think turnovers are always huge, and that’s something we avoided the last time we played them and it hurt them,” Kimrey said. “I think consistency is huge and just being able to clear out all the distractions and play football is key.

“Laurence Manning has a lot more speed inside than we do, so it’s going to take those types of intangibles to help us win –- playing together, playing assignment football. Our kids are smart, playing with poise and never panicking; those are the types of things we’ve done well.”

Hammond has the recent history of getting to and winning the big game. Even though they’ve lost the last two title games, the Skyhawks won the six prior to that and are going for their 10th championship.

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Laurence Manning Academy quarterback J.T. Eppley, right, and running back Tyshawn Epps look to guide the Swampcats’ high-powered offense past Hammond today in the SCISA 3A state title game at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium in Columbia.

They’ve overcome the losses of several key players from last year’s state runner-up squad. Their task this year will be to not repeat the same mistake of turning over the ball in critical moments like the past two seasons.

“We just made too many mistakes to win a championship,” Kimrey said. “We’ve won some that we probably shouldn’t have won. We lost one that I’d say we probably could’ve won, maybe two, but we made too many mistakes

CHARLOTTE — Jimmie Johnson believes NASCAR’s new championship format produced the correct champion and a Ryan Newman victory would have been “tough to swallow for the sport.’’

Johnson began the season as the six-time and defending champion, but he was eliminated from title contention in the revamped Chase for the Sprint Cup format. A 16-driver field JOHNSON was whittled down to four for Sunday’s finale, where Kevin Harvick beat Newman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano to claim his first title.

“I feel like Kevin winning was the right thing when you look at the winners and the dominant cars throughout the year,’’ Johnson said Thursday.

Harvick had to win the race to wrap up the title, and found himself in a late shootout with Newman for the victory. Newman, in his first season for Richard Childress Racing, advanced to the finale through consistency after a winless season.

The Chase format this year was touted by NASCAR chairman Brian France as one that would put an emphasis on winning, and Harvick won three Chase races, including the final two. But, he nearly lost the title to Newman, who finished second in the finale. The highest-finishing driver Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway was guaranteed the title.

“Ryan had every right in the world to be the champion, the rules were laid out that way,’’ said Johnson, who was eliminated after the second round, or the sixth of 10 races. “But if (Newman) wins the championship, I think that would have been tough to swallow for the sport. It’s not taking anything away from Childress or Ryan, they had an awesome year and collected a ton of points. There’s some danger for the sport with this format.’’

Johnson said he discussed the new format with France at the start of the season. He believed, based on performance during the regular season, the finale should have been between Harvick, Team Penske drivers Logano and Brad Keselowski, and Jeff Gordon, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

Those four drivers combined for 12 wins in the first 26 races, and eight wins in the 10 Chase races.

But Gordon and Keselowski were both eliminated after the third round, and Gordon last week called on NASCAR to set a separate points system for the Chase drivers.

to win the game when we played teams that were better than us that night. All that really matters is that you’re better than the other team that night.”

Perhaps no one more than Hammond seniors T.J. Brady and Nick Garrett know the feeling of what it’s like to watch their dreams of winning a title slip away. Both players accounted for some of those turnovers down the stretch in losses to Augusta Christian and Wilson Hall, respectively.

“I definitely realized how much work it takes to win a championship,” Brady said.

“No matter how much work you put in you may not be fully there and you won’t always come out on top.”

The Swampcats boast the best offense in school history, averaging 37.4 points per game. Senior quarterbacks J.T. Eppley and Adam Lowder have combined for 1,717 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns.

Tailback Tyshawn Epps leads the team with 2,087 rushing yards on 160 carries and has accounted for 32 scores on the ground.

“They’re a big, physical football team with the quickest player in the league, Tyshawn Epps,” Kimrey said.

“I think tackling him is a challenge for anybody. They run an unorthodox offense, which no one in the league runs, so it’s a challenge to prepare for.

“They do a lot of misdirection and when you’re not used to seeing an offense, much like teams having to prepare for Georgia Tech in the ACC is similar, it’s not something your kids are familiar with, so you don’t have a routine and that makes it difficult.”

LMA’s defense has been solid as well, just allowing 10.2 points per contest. Tony Cruz leads the team in total tackles (139) and interceptions (8). He also has a quarterback sack, a forced fumble and four pass breakups. Linebacker Tripp Mason leads the team with three sacks, seven forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries while having 136 total tackles.

LMA’s special teams unit has also been solid this season. Epps has 12 returns for 510 yards, including a touchdown. Placekicker/punter Josh Martin is 6 of 8 on his field goal tries with a long of 42 yards. He’s punted 20 times for 831 yards, an average of 41.6, and is 66 of 70 on his extra-point attempts.

“The game is going to come down to turnovers and special teams,” Briggs said. “Any game I’ve been involved with in some way, shape or form has always come down to turnovers and special teams because turnovers and special teams are great momentum shifters and great momentum carriers. We’ve focused this week on special teams and turnovers.”

B6

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OR TO PLACE YOUR AD ONLINE GO TO WWW.THE ITEM.COM/PLACEMYAD Tree Service

ANNOUNCEMENTS Announcements HOLIDAY CRAFT SHOW Sat Nov. 22nd, 9am -3pm First Assembly of God 1151 Alice Dr. Sumter, 773-3817 Venders for Initials Inc., Sentsy Candles, Plexus, It Works, Tupperware, Jamberry Nails, Hand made Christmas deco., wood work items and much more.

In Memory

PETS & ANIMALS

For Sale or Trade 2011 EZ Go Golf cart Fully loaded $3400 OBRO 20 Ft Pontoon Boat 45 HP Merc. with trailer $3800 OBRO Call 803-236-2605 Set of 4 Blk Factory Rims & Clear Top for a Grand Sport Corvette. Call for details and price 803-968-2459

Dogs OBEDIENCE TRAINING Basic Commands, Behavior problem solving, Advanced training. Ask about our vacation package. Call 803-972-0738 or 972-7597

Sofa $135 & armchair $35 or both for $150 Call 803-506-2177

Want to Buy

Easy Come Sweet Potatoes 40lb. box $20 at 435 S. Guignard Easy Go 803-464-6337

Garage, Yard & Estate Sales 309 Burns Dr. Sat. 6:30-2 Huge selection of Christmas galore in garage, wide variety cosmetics, food, fans, new tools, generator, ect.

BUSINESS SERVICES

MERCHANDISE

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

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

In Loving Memory Daniel McGhaney, Sr. It's been 1 year since your soul was set free. Your love and presence are dearly missed, but we know that you are in a better place.

Daniel Jr. and Family

Yard & Porch sale, 20 Bowen Ct. off Bowen Dr off of Hwy 15 S. Fri & Sat. 7 am - 2 pm. New & used collectibles & clothes, kitchen Island, cabinet, fishing rods, other misc.

3780 Broad St. Backyard storage.

Saturday 8 - 5 . Baby - adult clothes, Avon, & misc.

Crafts for a Cure! Relay for Life.

Sat. 9 am - 2 pm. Gamecock Shrine Club, Hwy 15 South.

Moving Sale! 6 Frederick Ct. Sat 8am - ? Kg sz bed w/ matching side tables, sm veggie bin, lg handmade hutch, Christmas decor & misc.

Artificial 9Ft Carolina Fir Christmas Tree. Gorgeous & full $85 ($400 Value) Call 803-720-1896

Full time maintenance position available full benefits, vacation, sick leave, insurance, paid holidays. Call 803-435-4492 Vice President of Lending Sumter, SC SAFE Federal Credit Union For details, please visit our website at: http:/www.safefed.org RN's/LPN's Needed Immediately Tender Care Home Health Care of SC. Pediatric exp. Highly Desired.

Apply with resume at tchhemployment@att.net (888) 669-0104 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.

Moving Sale: 1120 Waterway Dr. Sat. 7am-3pm. Many Items. Quality women's clothes & winter coats.

Bird's Towing

410 Katydid St. Sat. 7 am - 11 am.

Household, Christmas, bikes, and much more!

Billing Clerk min. of 1 year ins. billing exp. req.. FT w benefits. Send resume to Early Autism Project at cbaun@sceap.com

LARGE GARAGE SALE 1st & 3rd Weekend Tables $2

Large grooming operation in Sumter is now hiring experienced groomers. Please email resume to: marylynch0413@gmail.com

Home Improvements

FLEA MARKET BY SHAW AFB

Winter is here, We blow attic insulation. Call Nunnery Roofing & Remodeling 803-968-2459

Lawn Service Four Seasons Lawn Care Serving Sumter for almost 20 yrs!

Free est. 494-9169/468-4008

Roofing All Types of Roofing & Repairs All work guaranteed. 30 yrs exp. SC lic.

Virgil Bickley 803-316-4734.

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

Open every weekend.

905-4242

HVAC Service Tech needed immediately. Experience required.

Call (803) 774-4823.

Large Moving Sale! 204 Haile St. Sat. 7 am - 12 noon. Bed, rocking chair & home decor.

FULL TIME OFFICE ASSISTANT Seeking individual with strong computer knowledge, good communication skills, and attention to detail.

Administrative experience required.

Send resume to julie.sims@treleoni.com or mail to Treleoni 1878 Joe Rogers Jr Blvd, Manning SC 29102.

For Sale or Trade 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 Firewood for Sale Will Deliver. Call 803 651-8672 Expert Tech, New & used heat pumps & A/C. Will install/repair, warranty; Compressor & labor $600.

Call 803-968-9549 or 843-992-2364

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.

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

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

Mobile Home Rentals

$$$ AVON $$$ FREE TRAINING! 803-422-5555

STATEBURG COURTYARD

UniFirst Corporation Tractor Trailer Driver CDL Class A Required ALL APPLICANTS MUST POSSESS AN ACTIVE CDL CLASS A LICENSE. We are a profit sharing company with 401k, health insurance, paid holidays and 5 day work week.

Applications can be submitted online at www.unifirst.com UniFirst Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer

1165 McArthur Dr 2BR/2BA SW $450 Mo/Dep. No section 8 Call 775-2344

ing! v i g s k n a h T y p p a H Have a Safe OanPdROOF DEADLINEoSf is required N

88 Chevrolet Silverado, full pwr, custom hood, new tires & brakes, step side, many new parts. $4500 OBO. 50 cal. black powder Hawken rifle, $550 OBO. 03A3 military rifle, 3006 cal. $600 OBO. 983-1376.

Homes for Sale 24 Carolina Ave. Sumter 2Bd 1Ba, kitchen, Lr c//h//a $20,000 call for details 803-669-2038

Unfurnished Apartments

Manufactured Housing

Oakland Plantation Apts.

5501 Edgehill Rd 499-2157 2 & 3 BR apartments avail.

Applications accepted Mon., Wed. & Fri. 8 am - 4:30 pm.

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

2BR 1BA Apt., Historic neighbor $550 Mo + Sec. Dep. Call 803-773-2557

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.

South Forge Apts 1 BR ($450) and 2 BR ($505), Water, stove and fridge furnished. Christy at 803-494-8443.

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

775-0575 Studio/1 Bedroom apartments available EHO

2004 Trail Blazer LS, 150K miles, new tires, DVD player, one owner, great condition. $4,400.

Call 803-460-8634.

Autos For Sale

Mobile Home with Lots 3BR 2BA MH 1 Acre. Owner Fin. with 5K dwn Call 983-8084

Land & Lots for Sale DALZELL/WALMART 1 AC. PAVED, SEPTIC OPTIONAL! $5990! 888-774-5720

1999 Ford Taurus 3.0 AT, AC, 144K Salvage title, Runs good, $1500 OBO Cash 803-972-0900

Unfurnished Homes 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.

2 & 4 Br S/W & D/W Mobile homes & houses, located in Manning & Sumter. 1 - 3 Br, 2 Ba D/W in Pinewood. No Sect. 8. Rent + dep. req. Call 803-225-0389.

For lease 766 March St. 3 lg. Br, walk in closets, 2Ba, formal dinning, great rm, laundry rm., fenced in yard, close to Sumter High School. $650 mo. Call 803-972-0771

Mobile Home Rentals 2, 3 & 4 Br, all appliances, Section 8 accepted. 469-6978 or 499-1500

Please visit our website at www.brist ol-companies.com to view the full job description and to apply.

Resumes will not be accepted.

r 24 at 11:30pm Mon., Novembe 5 at 9:30am r2 Tues., Novembe 25 at 11:30pm r Tues., Novembe r 26 at 9:30am Wed., Novembe r 26 at 11:30pm Wed., Novembe

ro

earlier if p

mber 1. will reopen Dece e W . th 28 d an ember 27th ill be closed Nov 29150 Business office w t • Sumter, SC ee tr S lia no ag M 20 N. 803-774-1200

24 hours Deadline is

2009 Ford Escape, V6, exc. cond., new tires, 80,700 mi., asking $9995 OBO. Call 803-938-2737

REAL ESTATE

In-Line AdverDEADLINE

r 25 Tues., Novembe r 26 Wed., Novembe 28 Fri., November 29 r Sat., Novembe r 30 Sun., Novembe

Vans / Trucks / Buses

3Bd 2Ba MH near Pinewood New carpet & appliances, no pets $500 mth + dep. Call 843-884-0346

s e n i l d a e D g Thanksgivin tising EDITION

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2 & 3 BRs 803-494-4015

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Help Wanted Part-Time

RENTALS

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& Lock Out 24 Hour Service 803-834-BIRD (2473)

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

LOCAL DRIVERS WANTED

“$2,000 - SIGN ON BONUS”

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CONTACT Pat Joyner at 803-775-1002 Ext. 107 OR visit our website to download a job application and fax to (954) 653-1195 www.sumtertransport.com 170 S. Lafayette Drive Sumter, SC 29150 EOE

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