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10 hurt in 6-car Sunday wreck
‘Dragging you to the arts’
Driver’s medical condition might have contributed to incident, investigators say BY MATT BRUCE matthew@theitem.com A motorist apparently lost control of her car, causing a multi-vehicle wreck that resulted in 10 people being hospitalized Sunday afternoon. The six-vehicle crash occurred near the intersection of Alice Drive and Wesmark Boulevard, amid a two-mile stretch of construction along the road. Sumter Police Department released more details about the pileup Monday via a news release that none of the victims sustained any injuries expected to be life threatening. According to the statement, a 57-year-old was driving a 2014 Dodge Avenger southbound along Alice Drive when she apparently lost control of the car and rearended a vehicle. Investigators think the driver might have had a medical condition that contributed to the crash. After slamming into the first car, the Avenger bounced away
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Patti O’Furniture dances during a performance based on The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Friday. Sumter Little Theatre hosted its first “Dragging you to the arts” drag show for Fall for the Arts. O’Furniture was the host for the event. During the three-day Fall for the Arts, visual and performing artists performed for free at the Sumter County Cultural Complex.
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Apex employees learn more about making Gamecock City home BY JOE KEPLER joe@theitem.com After Apex Tool Group’s August announcement that it would expand its Sumter facility, the company has given employees from the soon-to-beclosed plants in Springdale, Arkansas, and Dallas, Texas, a chance to find a new home in Sumter. Through a coordinated effort with Sumter Economic Development Board, Apex brought an estimated 120 employees and their families to Sumter for tours and a chance to get a feel for the city and all it has to offer. Eliza Buxton, manager for public and investor relations for the development board, said two tours of families visited the area with one coming the weekend of Sept. 19 and another on the weekend of Oct. 24. She said the tour enables the families to look at area schools and work with contracted realtors to start the home-buying process. The groups had dinner with city representatives, schools and leaders of local public and safety services. Along with learning about
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‘The community has given us tremendous support. We couldn’t have asked for any more help in hopefully moving these families to Sumter.’ KELLY BLAZEK Spokeswoman, Apex Tool Group what the city had to offer, the group enjoyed a tour of Shaw Air Force Base, and each group had a community event to attend. The September group spent time at Oktoberfest on Main Street, and the most recent group went to the Fourth Fridays concert with “Terence Lonon and the Untouchables.” Buxton and other city leaders said they have received
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Tyquan Albert, linebacker for the Crestwood High School Knights, signs a contract during a breakfast at the high school on Saturday that says he will never commit an act of domestic violence. The breakfast was held by Crestwood’s head football coach, Roosevelt Nelson, in response to all the domestic violence cases taking place in professional sports lately, he said.
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Law enforcement, court officials work to help victims of violence BY MATT BRUCE matthew@theitem.com Fear. Security. Family. Love. There are many reasons that keep victims of domestic violence from leaving their abusive relationships. According to domestic violence professionals, victims must work up the nerve to leave as many as seven times before they make the final break. Officials said many abusers and victims are raised in abusive households where they witnessed spousal battery, conditioning them to regard abuse as a normal part of relationships. Nickie Rogers, director of domestic violence programs for YWCA, counsels between 35 and 48 victims in Sumter, Lee and Clarendon counties each month. She noted
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many women aren’t aware they are victims, and some confuse the violence they endure with love. “A lot of times in these relationships, they actually lose their identity because they’re so consumed with what everybody else wants or what he wants,” Rogers said. “But they don’t know what they want. So, a lot of times they have to learn how to get themselves back, and that’s one of the hardest things to ask them to do.” For nearly the past decade, South Carolina’s ranked atop of state-by-state standings for domestic violence. Last year, the Palmetto State ranked first in the nation in its level of violence against women. It fell to No. 2 in 2014.
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