IN SPORTS: Against Vikings, Sumter weighing options for 2nd straight week B1 SCIENCE
NASA embarks on its most ambitious asteroid mission A5 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2016
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A path toward safety Committee looks at damaged dams BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com
also serves as a fire science instructor at the center, said besides firefighting classes, students in the certified nursing assistants, early childhood education, pharmacology and culinary arts programs are receiving the potentially life-saving training. "Statistically, for every minute without CPR, the chances of a person surviving a
All but a few dams identified as being a safety concern after October’s floods are “on a path toward safety,” said South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Senior Director of Legislative Affairs David Wilson on Thursday at a meeting of a House ad-hoc committee on dam safety in Columbia. Wilson said it appears the department may have to take enforcement in three cases, however, which may include going in and breaching the dams. “Most dam owners want to do the right thing,” he said. The ad-hoc committee, formed from members of the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee, was meeting to get an early look at legislation which the General Assembly may consider in the next session. Chairman Steve Moss, RCherokee, said while a lot of discussion had taken place in the past year, it is still a good idea to examine what ideas had been brought forward. Wilson told the committee there are several areas DHEC would like to focus on, including making dam owners responsible for annual registration of state-regulated dams. He said it is important the department have up-to-date information on how to contact owners. “Ownership of dams can change quickly,” he said. “Sometimes the ownership does not realize it is responsible for a dam.” Wilson said DHEC would like to see owners of dams classified as posing a significant hazard or a high hazard and who are required to submit an emergency action plan be required to update those plans annually and include the contact numbers of property
SEE CPR, PAGE A4
SEE DAMS, PAGE A9
RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM
Capt. John Jolly of Sumter Fire Department, above left, explains how electric currents go through a person’s body while Madison Dunton administers CPR to a dummy on Thursday and Victoria King, right, listens to Jolly’s explanation.
Career and Technology Center students learn to save lives through CPR BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com Culinary arts students at Sumter Career and Technology Center learned how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, how to use a defibrillator and first aid and other life-saving skills on Thursday. In April, Gov. Nikki Haley signed into law a measure that would require
CPR education as part of high school health courses, according to a release from the American Heart Association. South Carolina is now the 30th state to mandate the courses. High school students must take a CPR class at least one time during their high school career according to a law that goes into effect in the 2017-18 school year.. Sumter Fire Department Assistant Training Officer Hemby Smith, who
Marines: Recruit killed himself amid culture of abuse COLUMBIA (AP) — A Marine recruit committed suicide in March amid a widespread culture of hazing and abuse in his battalion at Parris Island that could lead to punishments for as many as 20 officers and enlisted leaders, the Marine Corps said Thursday. Some of those 20 commanders and senior enlisted leaders have already been fired, including the three most senior Marines in charge of the recruit's unit. The Marines also ordered that the rest be temporarily relieved, according to a statement sent to The Associated Press. Their punishments could range from administrative punishments, such as counseling, to the most severe action of military charges
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and a court-martial. However, that process could take months, and the leaders would not be identified unless they are formally charged. The findings are the result of three investigations conducted during the past six months by Maj. Gen. James Lukeman from the service's training and education command. They were undertaken after Raheel Siddiqui, 20, of Taylor, Michigan, died after falling nearly 40 feet in a stairwell. An attorney for Siddiqui's family, Nabih Ayad, has said the family has "always suspected hazing of some sort" in connection with his death. He did not return a phone call Thursday. A redacted investigative report did
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not mention Siddiqui by name but appeared to describe his death. It says that on March 18, the day Siddiqui died, an unidentified recruit wrote a note to his drill instructor asking to go to the infirmary for a sore throat. Because he didn't follow proper procedure, the recruit was forced to run back and forth in his barracks, the report said. After several runs, the recruit began to cry and fell to the floor clutching his throat, apparently unresponsive, the report said. He was ordered to get up and was slapped in the face, it said. After he was slapped, the recruit ran out a door and vaulted over a railing on the third floor of the barracks, the report said.
DEATHS, B6 Moses Blanding Jr. Jacquette R. Goodman Wilson Isaac Charlene T. Reid Johnnie Mae L. Huggins Lillie Mae Slater
Margaret Post Lula Mae B. Edmond Louise N. Kind Frances N. Dixon Eleanor F. Parrott Davis L. Reames Jr. Laura Jean Jenkins
The investigation also revealed "recurrent physical and verbal abuse of recruits by drill instructors," with a lack of oversight by officers. Furthermore, even new drill instructors were subjected to abuse by more senior drill instructors, a practice known as "hat hazing" because of the iconic flatbrimmed hats worn by the instructors. About 500 drill instructors are assigned to the Parris Island post. Parris Island is the only site where female Marines go through basic training, but they are trained in units separate from their male counterparts. All recruits from east of the Mississippi River train at the massive installation.
SEE RECRUIT, PAGE A9
WEATHER, A10
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Mostly sunny again and quite warm with no chance of rain; tonight, partly cloudy and humid. HIGH 94, LOW 70
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