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BELOW: City votes to raise water, sewer rates LOCAL SPORTS: Barons host Panthers in Friday’s home opener B1
VOL. 118, NO. 272 WWW.THEITEM.COM
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA
FOUNDED OCTOBER 15, 1894
60 CENTS
2 teens charged with sex crime Sumter Police Chief Russell Roark speaks Wednesday about the arrests of two teens charged with criminal sexual conduct. BRADEN BUNCH / THE ITEM
BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com Sumter police have arrested two Sumter High School football players on criminal sexual conduct charges after a three-month investigation into an alleged incident last school year in a boy’s locker room. Deonte Lowery and Tiquan Colclough, both juniors at Sumter High, have been charged with
criminal sexual conduct with a minor, second degree, as well as conspiracy charges after an investigation into an incident that allegedly occurred in February. Police said they first learned of the alleged assault in May, when a 14-year-old boy told them two young men had held him down in the locker room while a third sexually assaulted SEE CHARGES, PAGE A6
Opera House getting new windows Graham BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com Replacing the windows at the Sumter Opera House will continue to keep downtown Main Street closed to daytime traffic for about two more weeks, city officials said. Construction crews will block the road between Liberty and Hampton streets as they continue to install 35 new windows into the 120-year-old downtown landmark, said Ray Goodman, director of public services for the city. The specially manufactured windows fabricated to fit the unique dimensions of the 19thcentury concert hall are part of a $450,000 renovation project the Opera House has been undergoing since May. Since the beginning of the project, improvements have also included repairs to the roof as well as structural repairs to the building’s fourthfloor council chamber. In addition to the road being closed during the exterior renovations, the east sidewalk of Main Street will also be closed to through traffic, as are the main doors to the Opera House itself. Access to the Opera House can be made through the City Centre next door. Replacing the Opera House fixtures could be quicker than currently planned, but Goodman said contractors projected the longer timePHOTOS BY BRADEN BUNCH / THE ITEM frame to account for Work crews recently install new windows into the fourth floor of the Sumter Opera House. Replacing the 35 windows in the Opera House will take about another two weeks, blocking Main Street from Liberty Street to SEE WINDOWS, PAGE A8 Hampton Street to daytime through traffic.
stresses military readiness BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com Lindsey Graham wants America’s military to respond forcefully to the use of chemical weapons in Syria, but he worries the effects of sequestration have reduced the country’s readiness to respond quickly to deGRAHAM veloping situations around the globe. “Sequestration will give us the smallest Air Force ever, the smallest Army since 1940 and the smallest Navy since 1915,” Graham said. South INSIDE Carolina’s Obama’s senior U.S. request for senator congressional spoke backing of Wednesday a military strike in Syria after an appearance be- advances / A3 fore the military affairs committee of the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce. He stressed the need to maintain military readiness in an age when Graham admits many Americans are weary after a decade of war. The consequences of a decline in American power around the world could be chaos. “A weak America invites war,” he said. “Sequestration doesn’t just affect the SEE GRAHAM, PAGE A6
City council approves utility rate hike BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com Utility rates for Sumter water and sewer customers will rise incrementally after city council gave final reading approval to the plan Tuesday. 20 N. Magnolia St. Sumter, SC 29150 (USPS 525-900)
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Rates are set to rise gradually over a four-year period, beginning Oct. 1. However, officials stressed that most customers won’t see a great change at the end of the process. “Ninety-five percent of the city’s customers will not see much of an
impact in the amount that they are billed,” said Mayor Joe McElveen. The increase affects rates for both water and sewer customers, both of which break down into separate rates. Both have a minimum monthly charge based on the size of the meter
SEE UTILITIES, PAGE A8
OUTSIDE WARM
DEATHS Dr. Arabella H. Rich Allen Larson Josephine Finn Dorothy Dennis Gamble
and a volumetric rate that rises for every 1,000 gallons used. Sewer rates also include an industrial surcharge. The city estimates 95 percent of its customers use a 5/8-by-3/4-inch
Roy A. Reinhardt Sr. Jack Brown Jr. Lewis Hunter B4
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A blend of sun and clouds today; partly cloudy tonight HIGH: 92 LOW: 69 A8
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