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3 in Clarendon screened for Ebola DHEC confirms patients are not infected with deadly disease BY MATT BRUCE matthew@theitem.com State officials examined multiple Clarendon County patients for Ebola this week, according to local health officials. Clarendon Health System issued a statement Thursday indicating it has contacted S.C.
Department of Health and Environmental Control three times since Saturday regarding possible Ebola cases. DHEC officials deemed all three were not infected. “The safety of our patients, their families and our employees will always be our top priority,” hospital spokesman Jeffrey Black stated in the an-
MORE ON EBOLA Ebola crisis challenges human rights around the world / A6
nouncement. “Our staff has been in multiple trainings daily, and we will always err on the side of caution.”
The three patients were identified as persons of interests by personnel at Clarendon Memorial Hospital, which has upped its protocols in the wake of the worldwide Ebola scare of the past several months. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this year’s outbreak of the highly fatal
virus in West Africa has led to the largest Ebola epidemic in history. As of Wednesday, the World Health Organization had identified nearly 9,000 cases worldwide, accounting for 4,493 deaths. There have been three confirmed cases of Ebola in the
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Candidates talk Common Core EV-D68
virus hits Midlands
Kids most susceptible to respiratory illness BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com
brought together to create a vision for 21st-century education for the state and get the focus of schools back on the schools instead of just testing. “I want to bring all stakeholders together from all walks of life and all parts of the state and create a vision of what a 21st-century education should look like here in South Carolina — and that includes all the different parts of education like funding, transportation, infrastructure, teacher salaries and all the different issues that we’re concerned about because we don’t have that clear vision of what a 21st-century education should look like,” Murray said. “One of the key things we have to do within that plan is we have to reduce the amount of standardized testing we’re doing in our schools because our schools have become too much of a testcentric environment, and we need to get back to a student-centric environment in our schools.” On the matter of teacher evaluations, a topic that has been quite controversial in South Carolina as well as other school districts across the country lately, Murray said he wouldn’t support the current evaluation system although he thinks there should be a system in place. With a 9-5 vote in June, S.C. Board of Education approved an evaluation system that judges teachers partly by their students’ performance. The
While Ebola is on everyone’s minds, parents are worried about another virus that starts with an “E.” Enterovirus 68, often shortened to EV-D68, causes severe respiratory illness and mostly strikes children, especially those who already have breathing problems such as asthma. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 796 cases in 46 states and Washington, D.C., this year as of Thursday. “Children, infants and teenagers are at a higher risk probably because they haven’t built up an immunity,” said Patti Trzcinski, a certified pediatric nurse practitioner with Sumter Family Health Center. “They haven’t been exposed before. Those with asthma are at greater risk.” South Carolina has 21 patients who have tested positive for EV-D68, nine of those in the Midlands, said Jim Beasley, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. Fortunately, Sumter Family Health has not had any confirmed cases, Trzcinski said, but it has seen an increase in respiratory viruses in the last month, which has prompted parents to call and ask. “A lot of kids that have never wheezed before are wheezing,” Trzcinski said. “Those with asthma are wheezing worse. We’ve sent several kids, more kids than normal, to the emergency room, and several have been admitted.” Though the enterovirus is not new, the D68 strain is the most prevalent this year and is causing more problems, she said. It usually hits in late summer and early fall. Mild cases present “flu-like symptoms,” Trzcinski said, such as sneezing, coughing and muscle aches. But if your child starts wheezing, contact your health care provider. If
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PHOTOS BY RAYTEVIA EVANS / THE SUMTER ITEM
S.C. Superintendent of Education candidates Ed Murray (of the American Party), Rut Dingle as proxy for Republican candidate Molly Spearman and Democrat Tom Thompson participate in the Sumter School District Teacher Forum Meet the Candidates event at Crestwood High School on Thursday night.
Education superintendent hopefuls gather for forum BY RAYTEVIA EVANS ray@theitem.com The candidates for state superintendent of education discussed their views on public education in South Carolina and what they think needs to be done to improve it during the Sumter School District Teacher Forum Meet the Candidates Forum on Thursday night. Democratic candidate Tom Thompson, American Party candidate Ed Murray and Rut Dingle as proxy for Republican candidate Molly Spearman answered questions about teacher evaluations, teacher pay, standardized testing and Common Core — some of the more controversial issues in education in South Carolina. Close to 200 teachers, administrators and interested community members attended the event at the Crestwood High School Fine Arts Center. Spearman was unable to participate in the event because of a death in her family but was represented by Dingle, who said he has worked closely with Spearman in previous years. Like a recent forum for candidates for the Sumter School District board of trustees, this week’s event was also sponsored by Palmetto State Teachers Association, SCPTA District 13, South Carolina Education Association and Sumter Schools Education Association. Starting the debate with introductions of each candidate, moderator Kevin Ireland with Sumter Living magazine
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Superintendent of education Democratic candidate Tom Thompson talks to Brian Alston, Area 1 candidate for Sumter School District board of trustees, after the Meet the Candidates event. moved on to the key change the candidates planned to make if elected. While all three candidates agree that S.C. Department of Education needs to revive its service function for teachers, parents and administrators, Murray added that those same stakeholders — along with parents and students — need to be
DEATHS, A7 Betty Jackson James Jones James F. McCray Roosevelt L. Williams Sr. Elsie Fogle William N. Gamble
Leilar Briggs Beatrice J. Lane Ruby Prescott H. Bruce Williamson Walter B. Elmore
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