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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2013 | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA
FOUNDED OCTOBER 15, 1894
Gyrocopter crashes at Sumter Airport BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com An attempted morning takeoff out of Sumter Airport on Saturday ended with the pilot injured and the aircraft badly damaged. The mishap sent an un-
piloted gyrocopter crashing into a fence at the airport and injured the aircraft’s owner, who ended up being airlifted from the scene. Emergency responders were called to the airport after 9:33 a.m., when a 74-year-old man attempt-
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The remnants of a one-man aircraft known as a gyrocopter lay mangled near a fence at the Sumter Airport on Saturday morning after a 74-year-old man attempted to start the vehicle while the accelerator was stuck at full throttle.
ed to jump start the singleperson aircraft on the runway. But the gyrocopter had apparently been locked in the full-throttle position, and when it jumped, the craft took off, catching its owner in the
PHOTO PROVIDED
SEE CRASH, PAGE A7
‘Like gasoline in an engine’ ...
Bounty hunting is ‘in his blood’ Veteran bondsman bed ridden, faces amputee obstacles
Locals offer answers for health-care questions
BY RANDY BURNS Special to The Item
BY JADE ANDERSON janderson@theitem.com
BISHOPVILLE — After a career chasing bad guys for more than 30 years — not the easiest or safest of jobs — Jack Drawdy is facing an even bigger challenge. At 59, the formerly active bounty hunter and bail bondsman is now confined to his bedroom, receiving hospice care. Five years ago, after a series of heart attacks and a diagnosis of diabetes, he was forced to retire. He’s been in Bishopville since 1996, having moved from Columbia. “I moved here because a lot of my business was in the Sumter-Bishopville area,” he said. About a year ago, Drawdy fell from his bed, causing an infection in one WANT TO HELP? of his legs. Over time, infection Contact: Lynn Daniels spread to his Address: 1305 S. Hotel St., Alcolu, SC 29001 E-mail: danielsm1949@yahoo.com other leg, and Phone: (336) 414-0166 subsequently both legs had to be amputated above the ITEM FILE PHOTO knee. ABOVE: Jack Drawdy places his Carol Drawdy, Jack’s wife .45-caliber Ruger pistol in its of 36 years, had to take a leave of absence from her job holster while suiting up for a bounty hunt in his earlier days. as the deli manager at Food Lion to take care of her husRIGHT: Drawdy, 59, is confined band, who never leaves the to his home in Bishopville. He house unless an ambulance spends most of his time in his takes him to the doctor or bed watching television. hospital, she said. “We can’t transfer him into Drawdy spent more than 30 years as a bounty hunter and SEE DRAWDY, PAGE A5 bail bondsman.
Signing up for the Health Insurance Marketplace has not been a smooth or easily understood process. A couple of women in Sumter are trying to help. Sonya Del Rio is the outreach and enrollment coordinator at Sumter Family Health Center, and Sondra Richardson is the outreach and enrollment specialist. They are both Certified Application Counsel- DEL RIO ors. This means they received more than 20 hours of online training, passed two tests and have registered identificaCHASE tion numbers. “Ask anyone who speaks to you (about the Marketplace) to show you their ID number,” Richardson said. “If they can’t do that, RICHARDSON don’t give them your personal information.” Similarly, the counselors’ services are free. “We don’t charge, and we don’t call people, not even Sumter Family Health patients,” Del Rio said. “If they ask for money, that’s a red flag.” While Del Rio and Richardson
20 N. Magnolia St. Sumter, SC 29150 (USPS 525-900)
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SEE HEALTH CARE, PAGE A7
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