Prepare for Hermine Area could get high winds, 6 inches of rain BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016
75 CENTS
SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894 3 SECTIONS, 30 PAGES | VOL. 121, NO. 268
SPECIAL SECTION
LABOR DAY
2016
The Sumter area could see 35 to 45 mph sustained winds and six inches of rain from Tropical Storm Hermine on Friday afternoon and evening, according to Doug Anderson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Columbia. Anderson said a high-pressure ridge strengthening in the Atlantic has convinced forecasters at the National Hurricane Center to move the expected track of the storm farther west than earlier
predictions, putting the Gamecock City squarely in its path. “The biggest changes we are going to see are the strength of the winds and the chance for severe weather out ahead of it,” Anderson said.
He said the possibility of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes ahead of the storm are his main concerns. The storm is expected to briefly become a hurricane before it makes landfall in Florida, Anderson said. “By the time it gets to us, you'll see those winds reduced by 50 to 75 percent, as a general rule,” he said. If the winds are 50 mph at 5,000 feet, he said, there could still be 35 to 45 mph winds at the surface. “That is still very, very healthy
SEE STORM, PAGE A6
‘If you work hard, it will pay off ’
INSIDE: Origins of Labor Day page C2
Delores Green, Serendipity Catering & Café page C2
Mark Ferro, Sumter Cemetery page C4
Balancing life and work page C4
Stephens Byrd, sanitation worker page C6
Need for IT workers continues to rise page C7
KE / THE SUMTER
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KEITH GEDAM rtment Public Works depa City of Sumter answering i g an ad he works ffor the Stephen Byrd trucks and equipment after C6. driving all of it’s See Byrd’s story on page saw 13 years ago.
Tami West, school cafeteria manager page C8
End of summer The Sumter Item celebrates the work we all do C1 THE CLARENDON SUN
Brian Mance fighting neural disorder A7 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Qyamha Joshua spent much of her life in foster care and is now a student at Morris College. She hopes to change children’s lives by being a social worker. The quote next to her hangs in the hall of the Division of Social Sciences where Joshua will be taking classes, and reads: “Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” — Harriet Tubman.
Child of foster care system doing well at Morris College BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Life in the foster care system may not be an easy one, especially for individuals who move to multiple homes during their youth. However, 19-year-old Qyamha Joshua, who has been in foster care since she was 12, has not let
her numerous moves hold her back but instead uses her experiences to propel her forward as she pursues her education at Morris College. Originally from Atlanta, Joshua's experience with the foster care system began one week before her 13th birthday in 2010. She came to South Carolina to live with her
father, who later became ill and unable to take care of her. During her time in foster care, Joshua has stayed in three group homes and three foster homes in Berkeley County. "I thought it was just for one day, but it turned out to be basically the rest of my life," she said, referring to when she arrived
at her first group home. Joshua stayed at the group home with 11 other children and tried her best to get removed while there. "I thought if I got in trouble I would go back to my parents," she said. After six months, her case worker told her to
SEE JOSHUA, PAGE A6
Time to change design ordinance? Muschamp, Gamecocks open at Vanderbilt B1 8 p.m., ESPN
BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com
DEATHS, B5 Willie J. McDuffie Marvin G. Byerly Moses Blanding Jr. Tyrone A. Crowder Bertha C. Tindal
Changes may be in the works for the City of Sumter’s ordinance governing design guidelines in the downtown historic district. The Sumter Historic Preservation Design Review Committee met quickly Wednesday afternoon and approved changes to a four-story hotel planned for Main Street
WEATHER, A8 WARM AND STORMY Mostly cloudy and warm today with slight chance of rain; tonight, good chance of showers and thunderstorms around. HIGH 92, LOW 72
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across from Sumter Opera House, but a motion afterward may be an indication of the committee’s frustration with design guidelines. Senior Planner Claudia Rainey presented new drawings of the hotel provided by applicant Sumter Hotel Ventures LLC which she said differ from an earlier design in the placement of external materials. “Basically it is a reRAINEY versal of the original plan, with brick now at the bottom and stucco at the top,” she said. The brick would be
Hartsville Rose, a color that fits in with the historic colors and textures required by the guidelines. Otherwise, she said, it retains the same overall design, including a slanting element which she said fits with the city’s design guidelines for contemporary buildings. “The design doesn’t change much, and staff recommends approval,” she told the committee before they voted to approve the design changes for the hotel. After that vote, however, Vice Chairman Billy Taylor made a motion to ask city planners to revisit
SEE DESIGN, PAGE A6
Poll: Young black adults less trusting of police WASHINGTON (AP) — Young Americans are about equally likely to say they've had an encounter with police, but young black adults are much more likely than whites to say they've been arrested, harassed or know someone who has been, a new GenForward poll said Wednesday. Twenty-eight percent of blacks say they have been arrested after encounters with law enforcement, 24 percent
ONLINE Full article: www.theitem.com GenForward polls: http://www. genforwardsurvey.com/ Black Youth Project: http:// blackyouthproject.com/
say they've been personally harassed by police, and 53 percent say they know someone who has. The numbers are much lower for whites and Asian-Americans,
while Hispanics fall in between. Breaking it down, 22 percent of Hispanics, 15 percent of whites and 10 percent of Asians-Americans say they have been arrested after encounters with police. Sixteen percent of Hispanics, 8 percent of whites and 4 percent of Asian-Americans say they've experienced harassment, while about a third of Hispanics and about a quarter of Asian-Americans and whites say someone they
know has been harassed by police. That's despite the fact that that the groups aged 18 to 30 are about equally likely to say they've ever been stopped by the police. About three-quarters of young whites and blacks say they've been stopped, as do about 7 in 10 Latinos. Young Asian-Americans are somewhat less likely to say they've been stopped, about 6 in 10. This information