IN SPORTS: Sumter High varsity basketball coach Jo Jo English stepping down B1 REVIEWS
A look at the chilling Depp film ‘Black Mass’ A5 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
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S.C. unemployment rate falls sharply and Workforce reported Friday that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 6.4 percent in July to 6 percent in August. It was the third straight month that unemployment has dropped and the largest one-month decline since 1983. The department reported the number of people unemployed dropped by almost 8,000 during August while 2,700 new jobs were created in August. The difference between the two numbers is likely people who dropped out of the workforce or stopped looking for work. Total employment has increased to
CHARLESTON (AP) — South Carolina’s unemployment rate had its largest one-month decline in more than 30 years during August, a sign the state economy is continuing to gain strength, economists say. “This is another sign that the economy in South Carolina is robust,” said Frank Hefner, the director of the Office of Economic Analysis at the College of Charleston. But he said he would prefer that, instead of the biggest drop in unemployment since 1983, the state was reporting the biggest job increase in 32 years. The Department of Employment
CHARLESTON SHOOTING
Indictment
growth rate is the single best gauge we have of the overall economy.” That rate, he said, has been a solid 2.8 percent in 2015, up from about 2 percent last year. While August proved good news for the state’s employment picture, the state’s unemployment rate was still higher than the national jobless rate of 5.1 percent. That’s not unusual, Von Nessen said. “South Carolina is a more rural state, and so we see higher unemployment in rural areas that brings the rate up. It’s normal for us to lag the nation,” he said.
almost 2.1 million people, and during the past year, the state’s labor force has grown by almost 52,000 workers. “These numbers reflect the fact that more South Carolinians are working than any time in history,” Gov. Nikki Haley said in a written statement. The department reported that government jobs led the increase in employment, adding 1,400 new positions during August. “This is a good jobs report, and it’s consistent with what we have been seeing though 2015,” said Joseph Von Nessen, an economist at University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. “But the employment
Fall Feast draws big crowd
Roof ’s friend knew about attack plans COLUMBIA (AP) — Dylann Roof’s friend knew about his plans to shoot black church members during Bible study in Charleston, didn’t report it and lied to the FBI after the massacre of nine people, according to an indictment unsealed Friday. Joey Meek, 21, faces federal charges that, if convicted, could land him in prison for years. But with Roof already in jail facing federal hate crime charges and nine state counts of capital murder, why would there be MEEK a case against Meek? Legal experts say prosecutors likely want him to testify against Roof — testimony that could help show Roof’s alleged acts were premeditated and intentional, which are vital to pursuing a death penalty case. “By having a charge against him (Meek), they have more leverage with him to go ahead and make some sort of plea bargain: You testify. You tell us the truth, and we’ll give consideration on the charges or penalty involved,” long-time criminal defense attorney Jack Swerling said.
SEE MEEK, PAGE A6
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
John Pratt serves Kirk Jeffcoat a helping of crab legs as Julie Jeffcoat looks on during Sumter Green’s Fall Feast on Thursday. The event was attended by 580 people, 100 more than last year’s festival.
Conservation group awards Smith Green Tie BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com A local state legislator was among those honored Wednesday when Conservation Voters of South Carolina held its seventh annual Green Tie Awards luncheon in Columbia. The event honors public servants for conservation leadership in South Carolina, according to the group’s website www.cvsc.org. CVSC said State Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, was given the Green Tie Award for asking “the hard questions about taxpayers’ liability for the Pinewood Hazardous Waste Landfill.” Smith said he is honored to receive the award but has mixed feelings. “I would rather not have the landfill and not receive the accolade,” he said. “It is kind of a double-edged sword. The award recognizes the efforts of more people than just him, Smith said. “(The honor represents) hard work, not only that I have done, but the (Sumter) delegation has done in regards to ensuring that
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State Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, speaks to attendees at the Conservation Voters of South Carolina Green Tie Banquet on Wednesday in Columbia. the landfill is adequately funded and monitored and that there is appropriate oversight to this dump,”
he said. “I and other members of our delegation have made a commitment to make sure that Sumter County and the surrounding areas are safe from this potential time bomb on the shores of Lake Marion. “I always tell people if you go back to the history of Pinewood Landfill, from the time it was GSX all the way to Safety Kleen until its bankruptcy, we were always cognizant of it in Sumter County. I remember being in high school and college and reading about it in The Sumter Item.” He said he took an environmental law class at Wofford and that his paper was on was the landfill and its potential dangers. He credited former state Sen. Phil Leventis for helping him with information on the landfill. “I was elected in 2001, and that is when Safety Kleen started their bankruptcy proceedings” he said “There was obviously a lot of concern with whether the settlement was adequate to monitor the landfill.” Smith said the bankruptcy court
DEATHS, A7 Ray Peebles Sr. John March Craig A. Davis Windell Parker Sr. Carrie Christmas Reginald W. Baker
Tillman E. Cuttino Jr. Fannie B. Times Mary G. McDowell Katherine B. Evans Minnie B. House
First responders take active shooter course BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com More than 150 law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical professionals and military service members from across the state attended a joint active shooter response course at Central Carolina Technical College in Sumter on Friday. Chris Hall, CCTC Criminal Justice Technology-Academic program manager, got the idea to offer the presentation after his students participated in an active shooter scenario with local first-responder agencies. He said all of the different agencies performed their duties well, but he wondered how the scenario would have gone if the groups worked together. After Hall discovered that joint public safety response training courses exist, he invited Threat Suppression, an active shooter response training organization based in North Carolina, to host a class at the college. The main purpose of Friday’s course was to teach the first responders how to use their individual strengths together to
SEE SMITH, PAGE A7
SEE COURSE, PAGE A6
WEATHER, A8
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LATE SUMMER BEAUTY
2 SECTIONS, 16 PAGES VOL. 120, NO. 284
Another warm day, mostly sunny and no chance of rain; clear and cool tonight. HIGH 89, LOW 66
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Lotteries A8 Television A4