Sumterite directs pope’s airplane THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015
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SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894
Hillcrest High graduate helped guide Airbus to final stop BY RICK CARPENTER rick@theitem.com
3 SECTIONS, 26 PAGES | VOL. 120, NO. 288
If you watched a broadcast of Pope Francis landing Tuesday at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, you probably saw a Sumter native and didn’t know it. David Grant, a 1974 graduate of Hillcrest High School, was on the tarmac directing the pilot of the Alitalia Airbus 300 carrying the pope to the plane’s final stopping point. Grant works as an aircraft maintenance technician for DynCorp International, a U.S.-based private military contractor that handles
Sumter native David Grant stands in front of the Alitalia airline that brought Pope Francis to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. PHOTO PROVIDED
aircraft that dignitaries use when flying into Andrews. DynCorp’s highest level of service includes Vice President Joe Biden’s Air Force 2. The U.S. mili-
tary still serves Air Force 1, the president’s aircraft. Ironically, Tuesday was Grant’s
SEE POPE, PAGE A9
Fall means it’s nearly time for the fair Yogi Berra dies at 90 years old Bobby Richardson reflects on the passing of N.Y. legend B1 and B5
See Clarendon County deliquent tax, Master of Equity notices C3-C7 THE CLARENDON SUN
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Jawaun ONeal cleans the Swing Buggy on Wednesday in preparation for the opening of the Sumter County Fair on Sept. 29. The fair will offer a variety of entertainment through Oct. 4. For more information, visit sumterfair.com.
8th-annual Kid’s Day big hit in Manning C1 DEATHS, B6 Windell Parker Sr. Maxine W. DaCosta Rosa Lee Witherspoon
Michelle A. Briningstool Zahmiar N. Williams
Autumn brings porch season, Chamber event BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com
WEATHER, A10 KEEP THE UMBRELLA HANDY Breezy and cooler with periods of rain possible. HIGH 72, LOW 65
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Guests enjoy refreshments on the lawn at the home of Kay and Dusty Rhoads on West Calhoun Street during a past Porches of Sumter event. The couple will participate again this year in the Chamber of Commerce-sponsored event that takes participants on a stroll through the Hampton Park neighborhood.
Fall is newly arrived, and the evenings are significantly cooler. What better time to enjoy a little “porch-sitting” and strolling through a historic Sumter neighborhood? Southern hospitality is definitely a major theme of the Chamber of Commerce’s 5th annual Porches of Sumter event, set for 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1. Tickets are at a premium for this event as it has sold out each year since the very first Porches, so Nicole Milligan, vice president for operations of Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce, advises getting them early. Milligan noted that Porches of Sumter came about a few
years after the Chamber’s “‘Poultry Night,’ which was highly popular, ... ran its course. ... Porches is a great way for some of our Chamber members that are in the food and beverage business to showcase their offerings to the community. “The event has been well received, and has grown each year both in ticket sales and participation. We have sold twice as many tickets as we had last year at this time.” Even though about 350 people attend the event, the fact that there are 12 participating homes this year means there’s virtually no waiting time at each stop. A different dish is served at each of the homes.
SEE PORCHES, PAGE A9
Santee-Lynches launches new mentor program BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments launched a new mentoring program, Wisdom Wednesdays, at Bishopville Primary Annex, by celebrating the 100th birthday of the program’s first special guest speaker. Rosa Frierson celebrated her centennial birthday on Sunday and was
honored this week with balloons, a cake and several gifts while visiting the school. Nena Matthews’ fifth-grade class gave Frierson birthday letters that the students made themselves and a copy of the book, “What a Wonderful World” by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele, signed by the class. Frierson then shared stories of her childhood. She told the students how
different life is now compared to when she was a child. “You had to make your own doll baby,” she said. Frierson described how she and her sisters made their own dolls from cotton that they picked themselves and spare cloth. She also told the students how she used to clean whole chickens for dinner, sweep the yard with branches from bushes and wash
clothes by hand. “We had to boil clothes like you’re cooking food,” she said. “If I could remember all the things when I was coming up, y’all wouldn’t believe it.” Later, Frierson and the students continued their conversation during lunch. Connie Munn, Health and Human
SEE WISDOM, PAGE A9