Election season winds down as residents prepare to vote CONTENTIOUS REFERENDUMS
BY JOE KEPLER joe@theitem.com
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2014
SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894
5 SECTIONS, 42 PAGES | VOL. 120, NO. 17
Annual Book Sale
Political signs dot almost every mile of road in the county. Groups of them congregate around front yards and busy intersections, hoping to stand out and perhaps sway an undecided voter along the way. Those signs will still be standing Wednesday morning, but many of the names they display will have been defeated.
The two most contentious races are not for a seat on a council or at the Statehouse but are two referendums that could shape the course of the city and county for years to come. Perhaps the biggest is the Capital Projects Sales Tax, or penny sales tax. It is a continuation of the original tax that passed in
SEE VOTE, PAGE A13
DON’T FORGET TO VOTE Polls will open Tuesday at 7 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m. For more information about these races and candidates, or to find out what you need in order to vote, pick up the Sunday, Oct. 26, election guide published in The Sumter Item. The stories are also available through the Elections tab on our website, www.theitem.com. Find your poll location on today’s page A4.
HYPE executive director honored
NEW LOCATION!
MAIN LIBRARY MEETING ROOM Friends Night Preview Nov. 6
SALE DATES NOVEMBER 7-8, 13-16 For more details visit www.sumtercountylibrary.org
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Gamecocks battle Vols in SEC East matchup B1 DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME HAS ENDED JADE REYNOLDS / THE SUMTER ITEM
Ferdinand Burns, left, president of the Sumter branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, shakes hands with and congratulates Barney Gadson, executive director of Helping Youth Pursue Excellence, an afterschool and summer program, for receiving the Marvin Scarborough Community Service Award. More than 200 people attended the 31st annual Freedom Fund Celebration held at Morris College on Friday night.
November snow surprises South Carolina BY JEFFREY COLLINS The Associated Press
Did you remember to set your clocks back an hour last night? DEATHS, B6 Stephen W. Mayfield Herbert Mickens Michelle Cunningham Warren M. Williams Alphonso Benjamin
Lambert Green Johnny Williams Marcella R. Poppell James ‘J.B.’ Timmons James B. Lynch
COLUMBIA — A surprise band of snow about 25 miles wide swept across parts of South Carolina on Saturday, falling on pumpkins and power lines. It was the earliest snow on record in the Columbia area by eight days, according to the National Weather Service. Neither Boston nor New York City has had snow yet this fall, and Fargo, North Dakota, has had only a trace of the white stuff. The wet flakes in South
Carolina collected on trees and sent branches still full of leaves crashing down on power lines. Utilities reported a peak of about 20,000 power outages as the snow tapered off before noon Saturday. The weather service said about 2 inches of snow fell in some areas of Greenville, which is in the northwest part of the state. The band continued south, dumping a couple of inches of snow all the way to Lexington County, just west of Columbia. Forecasters expected the snow to mix in with
WEATHER, A16 HIGH 55, LOW 31
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Troopers did close a part of Interstate 20 in western Lexington County for a few minutes because several 18-wheelers got stuck in the slush trying to make it up a small hill. They were pulled to the side until the burst of snow stopped, Highway Patrol Cpl. Sonny Collins said. Most of the snow was gone by the afternoon, leaving behind a cold, windy, bitter day in the 40s. Highs in Columbia will be back in the 70s by midweek, forecasters said.
Swarms of flies pester Bishopville residents
STILL CHILLY Plenty of sun but cool; quite cold tonight
INSIDE
rain as low pressure moved through the state, but the low was more powerful than expected, and the snow fell to the surface before it could melt, weather service meteorologist Chris Liscinsky said. “It was the complete changeover to snow that was quite unusual for this time of year,” Liscinsky said. The snow caused few problems on roads. The high in Columbia was 84 on Wednesday and 69 on Friday, so the pavement was too warm for the snow to stick.
BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com
.com JIM HILLEY / THE SUMTER ITEM
Ronnie Williams sprays for flies outside the South Carolina Cotton Museum and Lee County Veterans Museum in Bishopville on Friday.
Paid for campaign to elect Robert Ridgeway, House of Representatives District 64. 117 North Brooks Street, Manning, SC
• Physician/ Firefighter • Resides in Manning, SC. • Clarendon Memorial Hospital, 1992- Until • United States Army Reserve, 3270th Army Hospital • 2 years Experience House of Rep. • Service Medical Municipal and Military House Committee • Service on Criminal Domestic Violence adhoc Committee
SEE FLIES, PAGE A9
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 64
The latest buzz is that parts of Lee County are facing swarms of annoying house flies. However, Zach Medlin, a volunteer at South Carolina Cotton Museum and Lee County Veterans Museum in Bishopville, says there isn’t a problem. “Until you open the door,” he said. It doesn’t take long when visiting
Bishopville to notice there are an unusual number of flies in the area. Pull into a parking space, and they will quickly speckle the hood of your car and buzz around your windows. Almost every surface is dotted with the pests. “It seems like the flies are getting worse and worse,” said Bishopville resident Lulu Jackson. “We use spray, fly swatters; we’ve complained to pest control. Nothing seems to work,” she said.