Find out who earned Week 1’s Players of the Week honor
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FOOD
Why not have a tastier burger? Try this technique for beef and see what you think C8
SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014
75 CENTS
More jobs coming in metal company’s $4M expansion 2 dozen new positions, equipment, more space to be added to EnerSys BY BRISTOW MARCHANT (803) 774-1272 Lasers, machinery and paint could add up to a multi-million-dollar expansion and some new job opportunities at a local company. EnerSys has announced a $4 million investment at its Sumter plant, an addition that will include two new buildings at its manufacturing facility in Live Oak Industrial Park and two dozen new staff positions to go along with all the new equipment. “It will probably be 23 (positions) over the next year,” said Russell Dixon, the Sumter Metals Division plant manager. The metal company plans to increase production with the addition of a third laser cutter used to slice metal to make battery boxes. EnerSys creates about 10,000 battery boxes a year at its Sumter plant, supplying power to everything from forklifts to trains. With the expansion, the plant will also add a new paint line and other equipment such as a larger washer and oven to handle the materials. That the expanded production is being placed in the Sumter plant is a credit to how productive it’s already been. “We looked around the United States thinking about moving that production somewhere but decided Sumter was the best place for it,” Dixon said. The Sumter location is close to EnerSys’ steel supplier in Charleston, and the area has a strong manufacturing workforce for the company to draw on even after the opening of the Continental Tire the Americas plant, the manager said. “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” Dixon said. Sumter Metals will have to add two new buildings to its site to accommodate the growth. One will house a new oven, while
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MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM
EnerSys welder Bryant Dukes works on a case that will house the battery for a forklift recently. EnerSys announced a multi-million-dollar expansion that will add about 23 jobs in the next year, according to Russell Dixon, the Sumter Metals Division plant manager. The $4 million investment will also include two new buildings, lasers and machinery.
Footage depicts beheading of 2nd American journalist
Caleb Moore and Natalie Roberts prepare peanut butter balls during a Meal Prep Monday class held twice a month at the Sumter Senior Services Activity Center. The program is sponsored by the Sumter Family YMCA.
BY ZEINA KARAM The Associated Press
PHOTO PROVIDED
Now the Y can help you learn to cook healthily BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com (803) 774-1250 If five healthy meals for $30 sounds like a bargain, then the Sumter Family YMCA has a new program fit for you. The nonprofit started Meal Prep Mondays just last month.
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“I think it’s been very successful,” said Daniela Bachmeier, healthy living director. “It’s limited to 10 people, and we’ve had up to eight. They seem to be having a lot of fun, and we have a lot of repeats. Now every time we are doing
BEIRUT — Islamic State extremists released a video Tuesday purportedly showing the beheading of a second American journalist, Steven Sotloff, and warning President Obama that as long as U.S. airstrikes against the militant group continue, “our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people.” The footage — depicting what the U.S. said appeared to be a sickening act of brutality — was posted two SOTLOFF weeks after the release of video showing the killing of James Foley and just days after Sotloff’s mother pleaded for his life. Barak Barfi, a spokesman for the family, said the Sotloffs had seen the video but
SEE MEALS, PAGE A3
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Islamic State militant group that has taken over large parts of Syria and Iraq and declared a self-styled caliphate poses one of the most significant threats to stability in the Middle East in years. But what danger does it immediately pose?
DOES THE ISLAMIC STATE GROUP RUN A DE FACTO COUNTRY? The Islamic State group holds roughly a third of Iraq and Syria, including several strategically important cities such as Fallujah and Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria. It rules over a population of several million people with its strict interpretation of Islamic law. It also controls many of the roads linking
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DEATHS, B7 Sandra H. Sweet Ophelia K. Cousar Alphonza Dow Sr. Vincent J. Degen Janine M. Ferraro
Experts say militant group’s threat is mostly regional
Addie Robinson Betty S. Kelley Dorothy M. Tanner Charline Wright Marvin L. Larrimore
SEE ISLAMIC STATE, PAGE A8
WEATHER, A10
INSIDE
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3 SECTIONS, 26 PAGES VOL. 119, NO. 274
A strong afternoon thunderstorm; a couple of storms tonight too HIGH 91, LOW 72
Classifieds B8 Comics C6 Lotteries A10
Opinion A9 Panorama C1 Television C7