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Council denies rezoning request near Shaw BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com After a lengthy discussion during its meeting Tuesday, Sumter County Council voted to deny a request to rezone land on Peach Orchard Road because the lot is located in a high noise level zone. The applicant requests that council rezone the 1.4 acres from general commercial to agricultural conservation to place a mobile home on the parcel.
Sumter City and County Planning Department Director George McGregor said the land is located within Shaw Air Force Base’s day and night noise contour, and the county’s zoning ordinance prohibits the placement of mobile homes in that area. McGregor said mobile homes lack the proper insulation to help block out noise from the base. He said if council approved the rezoning request, it would also have to amend the county zoning ordinance to
allow the mobile home to placed on the property. He said some other residential structures, such as stick-built or modular homes, are acceptable in the area and allow for additional insulation if needed. Vice Chairwoman Vivian FlemingMcGhaney said it would be a difficult decision for council to make because what could benefit the base could be a detriment to the property owner. Councilman Eugene Baten said his major concern in the decision was to
protect the base. He said he would also hate for someone to tell him what to do with his property, but the applicant must understand the bigger picture. Rob Sexton, Shaw community relations manager, said the base does not oppose structural development that is compatible with the noise contour because officials at the base are considering bringing in a new aircraft
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Turkey Trot attracts fleet-footed BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com The throng of more than 500 thundered down Miller Drive and around the corner at 9 a.m. Thursday, signaling the start of Sumter’ most tennis-shoe torturing event, the 33rd annual Turkey Trot 5K Run. Sponsored by Sumter Family YMCA, 561 participants signed up for this year’s event, said Denise Lewis, director of social responsibility at the Y. She said medals would be handed out after the run for winners in each age category, as well as for craziest hat, ugliest shoes and most decorative water bottle. Other awards went to the oldest and youngest finisher, first dog and first stroller across finish line, the person that traveled the farthest, and the Stan DuBose Award for oldest finisher. Inside the Y gym, participants registered and signed in to the event, and most received a T-shirt. Aneysa Bengston of Rembert, was entered in the run and was there with her dog, Fit Bit. “I’ve run in the event every year for the last few years,” she said.
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Participants in the 33rd annual Turkey Trot explode from the starting line at the beginning of Thursday’s 5K race. More than 560 runners signed up for the event.
Firefighters BBQ Challenge raises more than $10K Clarendon County firefighters Josh Jordan, Austin Seitz and Anthony Booker pull pork for the Ham Right Barbecue entry at the 6th Annual Capt. Tom Garrity Firefighters BBQ Challenge on Saturday at the Sumter County Civic Center.
BY KONSTANTIN VEGNEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com Fourteen firefighter teams from across the region gathered to compete at a tasty tournament of barbecue on Saturday at the 6th Annual Capt. Tom Garrity Firefighters BBQ Challenge. The event, which attracted between 400 to 500 people, raised more than $10,000 for the Sandhills Chapter of the American Red Cross, with the money going towards the chapter’s disaster relief fund, according to Nancy Cataldo, the chapter’s executive director. Oswego Fire Station 14 won both the Firefighter Pit Master Award and the People’s Choice Award. The team consisted of four local firefighters, Lt. Richard Kirby, Capt. Bassett Ali, David Graham and Tyler Nobles. The men
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used a homemade sauce, a mixture of both ketchup and vinegar base. “We were ecstatic to win and raise money for such a great cause,” Kirby said. Kirby said the recipe for the team’s winning sauce was created by his late father, the late Ricky Kirby. Oswego and Concord Rural Station No. 10 have been rivals at the event for a number of years. Concord took both the Pit Master Award and the People’s Choice Award last year. Oswego took the Pit Master Award in 2013. The event was founded by the late Capt. Tom Garrity, a 25-year volunteer veteran of firefighting who died in 2012. Garrity was founder and president of
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2 SECTIONS, 24 PAGES VOL. 121, NO. 37
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