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Lawmakers: Make road funding fair Local delegation worried Sumter won’t get fair share of money BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com Several groups in South Carolina have been advocating for the South Carolina Legislature to come up with funding sources to better maintain the state’s aging road system, including the possibility of raising the state gasoline tax. A group called South Carolina Alliance to Fix Our Roads launched a web
page in which residents could describe the state’s roads (www.fixscroads.com). “The response was overwhelming,” the group said in a news release. The results included such responses as “dangerous,” “embarrassing” and “like a Third World country,” the group reported. “The list went on with thousands of responses as South Carolinians voiced their concerns about the worsening
state of our roads and bridges,” the release said. The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce recently released a report that calls for “finding a sustainable, recurring funding solution for the state’s roads and bridges.” The report, titled “Road Map for the Future,” says the state needs to spend $6 billion for interstate expansion, bridges and resurfacing.
The chamber also conducted a telephone poll of 800 registered Republican voters on March 31 and April 1, said the chamber’s media contact Julie Scott. The survey found that 45 percent of those voters would support an increase in the Motor Fuel Use Fees (gasoline tax), and an additional 7 percent were not sure.
SEE ROADS, PAGE A7
It’s ‘a small way to say thank you’ Annual picnic shows appreciation of Shaw BY JOE KEPLER joe@theitem.com The Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce held its sixth annual Military Appreciation Picnic on Friday afternoon at Shaw Air Force Base, wheeling out the grills to provide a little home-cooked comfort to the airmen and military leadership in attendance. The event also featured a few dozen local businesses which had giveaways and products to offer the picnic-goers. For Col. Stephen Jost, the first-year wing commander for the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw, the event was a great way for the communities of Shaw and Sumter to interact. “I absolutely love it. This is a testament to the Sumter community’s motto of ‘uncommon patriotism,’” Jost said. “For them to take the time out of their schedules and volunteer is amazing and definitely shows their appreciation for the military. There’s an old saying that people never remember what you do or what you say, but they’ll definitely remember how you made them feel, and I think the Shaw/Sumter community makes them feel welcome and important because they are.” The meal, cooked by volunteer masters of the grill from
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Maj. Gen. Jake Polumbo, commander of the 9th Air Force, serves lunch to his airmen Friday at the sixth-annual Military Appreciation Picnic sponsored by the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce at Shaw Air Force Base. across the city, included hamburgers and hot dogs along with chips and drinks donated from the local Piggly Wiggly. Also participating was New Beginnings Catering Services, who rounded out the meal with baked beans and coleslaw. Members of the community also brought fresh-baked cookies. Steve Creech, who serves as chairman of the Sumter Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee, is grateful for the chance to help out any way he can. “We started six years ago re-
alizing that we needed a way to thank these airmen for what they do for our community,” Creech said. “It’s great to see these young airmen being received by the community. It’s a small way to say thank you for what they’re doing, because they’re a big part of our town.” Fellow volunteer Grier Blackwelder, president of the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce, agreed. “It takes a lot of work, and we have a lot of good volunteers that help make this hap-
pen,” he said. “I love seeing a plan come together and have all the men and women of the military come in here and enjoy what we’ve done and be able to say thank you to them.” The yearly picnic is many times the first opportunity for Team Shaw members, which include the Third Army and 9th Air Force, among others, to meet the community and form an important bond. “I’ve been doing this for 27 years, and in my experience, this is the largest event of its
kind. I’m not aware of any other base that has the community-appreciation picnic of this size,” said Rob Sexton, community relations manager for Shaw. “In military life, you get used to moving from place to place. Each time you move you really don’t know what to expect in your new location. After they start meeting the folks that the Chamber has brought here and the warmth of Sumter’s people, they very quickly catch on that this is a
SEE PICNIC, PAGE A6
James Best, aka ‘Rosco P. Coltrane,’ comes to Sumter Actor will make 3 appearances, including his one-man show roles, but his parts grew along with his talents. The actor, who’s perhaps best known for his role as Sheriff Rosco Actor, director and screenwriter P. Coltrane on the 1979-85 TV comeJames Best has appeared in more dy, “The Dukes of Hazzard,” will than 80 feature films and 600 TV shows, and he’s worked with scores make several appearances in Sumof Hollywood’s top actors. Those ex- ter next weekend, presented by Sumter Opera House. periences figure largely in the oneHis talents as a screenwriter and man show he’ll present here next actor can be seen in Friday night’s weekend. According to his website, Best was showing of his film “Return of the discovered by Hollywood while tour- Killer Shrews.” John Schneider, ing in summer stock, playing main- who starred as Bo Duke in “The ly “Western bad guys ... craven cow- Dukes of Hazzard,” also appears in the movie. ards and country bumpkins.” His In the film, Best reprises his role film career shows several of those
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James Best starred as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane, seen here with his basset hound Flash, on “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Best will make three appearances in Sumter next weekend, including his oneman show, “Best of Hollywood,” Oct. 4 at the Sumter Opera House.
from “Attack of the Killer Shrews” as Thorne Sherman, a ship’s captain who had delivered supplies to a group on a remote island, only to discover that one of the group had been experimenting on shrews, with rather disastrous results. In the 2012 sequel to the original science fiction/horror film, Best’s captain is hired — and accepts — an offer to return to the island with a group that wants to film a reality show there. Best is listed as a writer of the sequel, so he has no one to blame but himself when the mutant
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