Happening Now
The Lee County School District office is located in downtown Bishopville.
Lee County School District adds to call for proviso repeal; now all tri-county districts want reversal on statewide mask mandate ban
Sumter coroner seeks help identifying man's body found in woods behind Broad Street
Sumter Adult Education student Mary McBride meets Mayor David Merchant on Friday at the Sumter Opera House during a ceremony.
Adult Education marks national awareness week with Sumter mayor
Changing work formats because of tech, virus could put Sumter more on the map
State Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, gives a legislative update to the Sumter-Palmetto Rotary Club last Thursday.
Rep. Murrell Smith keynote speaker at Sumter-Palmetto Rotary Club

AFCENT coalition partners bring Danish tradition to U.S. soil in Sumter

The Ninth Air Force joined the Danish Royal Air Force for the second DANCON March to be held in Sumter and the U.S. on Thursday morning. More than 100 military members marched about 15 miles with 22 pounds of gear.
Strapped head to toe in uniform with weighted vests and packs as an accessory, a crowd of 150 airmen woke early to test their strength. The sun barely peeked over the horizon. These men and women of different ranks, shops and backgrounds …
Sumter's first Purple and Pink Masquerade Ball to bring awareness to domestic violence, breast cancer and lupus
Attend drive-through dinner at Bethesda Church of God to help raise money for 2 Sumter deputies
Bishopville town hall meeting to discuss preserving Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden

Saturday-Monday, Sept. 25-27, 2021

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Studio Sumter

Sumter Today: Shaw's Royal Danish Airforce Detachment Takes Us for a Walk

The Dancon March is a tradtion of Danish detachments around the globe. This is the second to take place on U.S. soil. We were Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina this morning to watch their 4+ …

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Friends to Follow
SPORTS
Ryan McCants looks to pass during Sumter's game against St. James.
Sumter beats St. James 33-14 in coastal matchup
Wilson Hall football remains winless in fall to Cardinal Newman
Crestwood beats football region rival Manning on the road
PHOTO GALLERY: Crestwood football beats Manning 14-8 on the road
Sumter's Keion Brown heads into a mass of St. James defenders.
PHOTO GALLERY: Sumter High Gamecocks earn 33-14 road win at St. James
Poll of the Week

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Eastern Illinois, Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Hakim Wright Sr)

What is your favorite college football team?

Have a question you'd like us to ask? Email editor@theitem.com.

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More local news
HILTON
Sumter school board meets Monday; will Hilton call for another mask vote?
The Sensational Soul Cruisers, featuring a male quartet backed by an 11-piece horn band, will present a matinee concert at the Sumter Opera House on Oct. 24.
Sumter Opera House ends year with 5 concerts; light show, Motown, country-pop, 2 Christmas shows will be featured
Walk Saturday in Sumter to raise money for suicide prevention
Midlands Fatherhood Coalition and Sumter School District held Donuts for Dads and Dudes at Crosswell Park in March 2019 to promote the coalition's free services to local men. The coalition started operations in Sumter in 2016.
Midlands Fatherhood Coalition showcases impact in Sumter since 2016
GILLETTE
Sumter, Lee fallen deputies Cpl. Andrew Gillette, Sgt. Mikkos Newman inducted into S.C. Law Enforcement Hall of Fame

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PHOTO GALLERY: Wilson Hall football falls 27-21 to Cardinal Newman at home
Manning falls to Crestwood in region rivalry during football homecoming
Laurence Manning's Nolan Osteen (5) and the Swampcats travel to Columbia today for a rematch of the last two SCISA 3A state championship games against Hammond.
Laurence Manning football not defining season by matchup with Hammond
Manning quarterback Justin Daniels will lead the Monarchs against Crestwood tonight for a Homecoming matchup. It will be Manning's first game after two weeks off as the school temporarily transitioned to virtual learning.
Manning looking for identity as Crestwood comes to town for football homecoming game
Lakewood's Zayveon Wells (2) scored a late touchdown and punched in the game-winning two-point conversion in the Gators' win over Lake City, earning Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week honors in the process.
Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week: Lakewood's Wells leads Gators to victory with late score

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Panorama
Luciana Benetti, 16, feeds her pet pig Chanchi, given to her as a birthday gift the previous year amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Some Argentines turn to unusual pets for comfort in pandemic

Millions of people have found solace during the pandemic in cuddling a dog or cat. For a few, comfort comes in other forms - those of a horse or a pig, perhaps a possum-like sugar glider or even a tarantula. As the new coronavirus began to …

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Nation & World
Draft of Arizona GOP's vote review finds wider win by President Biden

PHOENIX - A draft report of the election review in Arizona's largest county by supporters of former President Donald Trump found that President Joe Biden did indeed win the 2020 presidential contest there, an embarrassing end to a bizarre quest to …

This undated photo shows fossilized human footprints at the White Sands National Park in New Mexico. According to a report published in the journal Science on Thursday, the impressions indicate that early humans were walking across North America about 23,000 years ago, much earlier than scientists previously thought.
Oldest human footprints in North America discovered in New Mexico WASHINGTON - Fossilized footprints discovered in New Mexico indicate that early humans were walking across North America about 23,000 years ago, researchers reported Thursday. The first footprints were found in a dry lake bed in White Sands …
President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on June 22, 2021, in Washington.
Biden: Budget talks hit 'stalemate,' $3.5 trillion plan may take a while WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden said Friday that talks about his $3.5 trillion rebuilding plan have hit a "stalemate" in Congress as he made the case for his expansive effort to recast the nation's tax and spending programs and make what he sees as …
WALENSKY
CDC leader adds people with risky jobs to COVID booster list The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday endorsed booster shots for millions of older or otherwise vulnerable Americans, opening a major new phase in the U.S vaccination drive …
ROOF
Government: Dylann Roof's death sentence should stand Attorneys for the federal government have opposed Dylann Roof's request for a new appellate hearing, arguing that the South Carolina man was properly convicted and sentenced for the 2015 racist …

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State News
STATE SENATE PRESIDENT HARVEY PEELER
S.C. Senate cancels next month's special session

COLUMBIA - The South Carolina Senate won't meet in special session next month after all. Senate President Harvey Peeler sent a letter Friday to senators canceling the special session set to begin Oct. 12. They were supposed to debate how to spend …

Autopsy finds someone killed S.C. woman, 94, in her home COLUMBIA (AP) - The death of a 94-year-old woman in her South Carolina home this past weekend has been ruled a homicide after evidence found at the victim's autopsy, authorities said Thursday. Officers investigating Robbie Atkinson's death …
Alex Murdaugh walks into his bond hearing Sept. 16 in Varnville.
Lawsuits: Murdaugh used attorney friend to manipulate, then tried to take settlement COLUMBIA - A South Carolina lawyer charged with trying to arrange his own death steered the family of a housekeeper who died in his home to use a longtime friend as their attorney without revealing their friendship and then tried to take a $4 …
S.C. senators hear testimony on COVID-19 treatments COLUMBIA - As South Carolina continues to grapple with thousands of new coronavirus cases that have burdened hospitals and disrupted schools, the panel of lawmakers that oversees medical issues is gathering testimony from people who want greater …
S.C.'s Confederate monument protection law upheld COLUMBIA (AP) - The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a state law preventing anyone from moving a Confederate monument or changing the historical name of a street or building without the Legislature's permission is legal. But in …

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Obituaries
EVELYN LOFTON GREENE

COLUMBIA - Evelyn Lofton Greene, widow of Willie Greene Jr., departed this life on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, at Prisma Health Richland. Born on July 12, 1938, in the Jordan community of Manning, she was a daughter of the late Nathaniel and Beulah …

MARION GILBERT MORELAND

Marion Gilbert "Duke" Moreland, 89, died on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021, at Springdale Healthcare Center in Camden. Born on Aug. 4, 1932, in Winchester, Kentucky, he was a son of the late Jack and Edna Creech Moreland. Mr. Moreland served in the …

CHARLES WAYNE MCMANUS

Charles Wayne McManus, 64, husband of Brenda Nicks McManus, died on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021, at his home in Summerville. Wayne was born in Conway, the middle child of Pearl Elizabeth "Betty" Joyner McManus and the late William Clyde McManus of …

RUTH MADELINE THURMAN HOYT

Ruth Madeline Thurman Hoyt died on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. Arrangements will be announced by Bullock Funeral Home.

BRENDA A. ROSS

Brenda A. Ross was born on Nov. 14, 1961, in Sumter, a daughter of the late Thomas Pringle and Ella Nora Ford. She departed this life on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. Brenda was educated in the public schools of Sumter County. She was a woman of few …

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Faith
LIVINGSTON
Column by Manning Pastor Sam Livingston: The great comeback Everybody loves a great story about a character who lost everything or was written off as a disappointment but somehow made a remarkable return. We see athletes like Michael Jordan, who was removed or cut from his high school varsity basketball …
SMITH
Column by Sumter Pastor Clay Smith: Lining up hope We talk about European explorers "discovering" new lands in the 15th and 16th centuries. Of course, they weren't really discovering anything; they simply became aware of land or oceans that were already there but they had never seen. Europeans …
Church News: Friday, Sept. 24, 2021 A Cry for Revival - Strike the Ground, meeting at Faith Outreach Assembly, 42 Callen Drive, announces: * Saturday - Community-wide conference will meet at 7 p.m. Come gather with us as we reclaim the orphaned wells of past revivals. Evangelist …
KAREEM WILSON / THE SUMTER ITEM Kate Price, marketing and resource development director for Sumter's Habitat for Humanity, reads about how LaKesha Jones, right, applied for a home at Tuesday's ceremony.
Sumter Habitat for Humanity breaks ground on 1st home since the pandemic began The wait is finally over for LaKesha Jones. Jones joined Sumter's Habitat for Humanity and Alice Drive Baptist Church on Tuesday for a groundbreaking ceremony of Jones' new home at 1245 Habitat Drive. This is the local nonprofit's 127th build in …
Celebrations
NEAL
Ruth McFadden Neal celebrates 100th birthday Ruth McFadden Neal celebrated her 100th birthday on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, with a family celebration at her home. She was born on Sept. 2, 1921, in Sardinia, to the late Ulysses and Henryanna Kennedy McFadden. She is the oldest of 12 siblings …
MR., MRS. KENNETH L. BENJAMIN
Benjamins celebrate 50 years of marriage Kenneth L. and Dianne R. Benjamin of Sumter will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Sunday, July 25, 2021. A family cruise will be taken in the summer of 2022 in their honor.The couple has …

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Dear Abby
Pets for adoption
Sumter SPCA's Eva is a spunky girl

LEFT: Eva is a housebroken 3-month-old American shorthair. She is spunky, active and playful. Eva loves to explore her surroundings and play with cat toys. She would make a fun new companion and play buddy. The Sumter SPCA is located at 1140 S. …

Weddings
CAPT. AND MRS. GRAHAM BROOKER STOLTE
Ricciarelli-Stolte ASHEVILLE, North Carolina - Brianna Marie Ricciarelli of Cary, North Carolina, and Graham Brooker Stolte of Mount Pleasant were united in marriage at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, July 3, 2021, at Point Lookout Vineyard. The bride is the daughter of Mr. …
MR., MRS. MATTHEW CONYERS JR.
Goodman-Conyers Nancy Goodman of Dothan, Alabama, and Matthew Conyers Jr. of Sumter and Bronx, New York, were united in marriage on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, in Sumter. The bride is the daughter of Mrs. Eva Rabb and the late Mr. Benjamin Rabb, and the late Mr. …

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Engagements
MR. MAYHEW, MISS ALSBROOKS
Alsbrooks-Mayhew Mr. and Mrs. Michael Steve Alsbrooks Sr. of Sumter announce the engagement of their daughter, Hannah Nicole Alsbrooks of Sumter, to Mr. Jeremy Allin Mayhew of Denver, Colorado, son of the late Mr. Edwin Dean Mayhew of Denver and Shelli Mayhew (nee …
MISS WILSON
Wilson-Chestnut Mr. and Mrs. John Joe Wilson Jr. of Manning announce the engagement of their daughter, Celia Burgess Wilson of Manning, to Mr. Hunter Tyson Chestnut of Conway, son of Mr. and Mrs. Homer Tyson Chestnut Jr. of Conway. The bride-elect is the …
Unhoch- Maccauley Mark Katz of Sumter and Loretta Burkholder of Wytheville, Virginia, announce the engagement of their daughter, Helena Unhoch, to Stephen Maccauley of Mineral, Virginia, son of Richard Maccauley of Louisa, Virginia, and Alvena Tierney of St. …
Reflections
A new, modern retail store was to rise on this site, then covered in rubble from wrecking the former McLellan's Store, Fishel's Jewelry Store and Sibert's Drug Store on June 4, 1953. The small structure at the right rear corner is all that was left of the former buildings, having been added to them.

Reflections by Sammy Way: Freeman Hoyt began one of Sumter's oldest businesses

Reflections revisits an article written by Thomas M. Stubbs, a man described by Cassie Nicholes as a Sumter native "dedicated to the preservation of the historic lore of Sumter." He was born in Sumter on July 21, 1898, and was the great-grandson of …

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Yesteryear
Downtown Sumter merchants held "Old-Fashioned Courtesy Days," an event which included an "old-time" costume competition, in November 1971. The winners from left were: Lib Hilton, Lib's, third prize; Bobby Thomas, Belk-Stroman, third prize; Carol Downes, Edwards, second prize; Ruby Mellette, Belk-Stroman, first prize; and Gustava Scales, Capitol, third prize.
Yesteryear by Sammy Way: Shaw officers judge bicycle parade; 2 Sumter women take on marathon 75 YEARS AGO - 1947 March 3 - 8 - With $1,000 in prize money before them, golfers from the Carolinas, Georgia and Virginia teed off for the Camden Open tournament. The tourney is being held over the 6,400-yard Camden Country Club course, which …
SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO Charles Truluck and his son Bubba survey the damage done by a tornado in September 1996 at the family's farm near Hobbs Crossroads. Seen is the roofless barn Charles' father built more than 100 years before the storm. Behind them and in the tree are pieces of a second shed and the building Charles was in when the storm struck.
Yesteryear by Sammy Way: District 17's cheese rolls win S.C. school baking contest; tennis fans meet to discuss getting courts in Sumter 75 YEARS AGO - 1947 Feb. 27 - March 1 - Three men of the Sumter area were among the 174 Furman University men included on the dean's list for the first semester of this school term. Those from the Sumter area who have maintained a scholastic …
Capt. Michael J. Wagner, navigator, 18th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, briefs ROTC cadets from Clemson University on Oct. 27, 1971. The 40 cadets toured Shaw Air Force Base and were briefed on the RF-4C aircraft and its mission in the role of tactical reconnaissance.
Yesteryear by Sammy Way: Wildcats give coach his 'biggest victory'; new club built on Shaw 75 YEARS AGO - 1947 Feb. 18 - 24 - The chain reaction argument over who wanted the Smyth report published and how much of the atomic bomb's secret it revealed veered today toward the Army. A denial by the atom scientists of Chicago Inc. that …

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From the opinion pages
Columnists
 Editorial cartoon: Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021
MOLLETTE
OPINION: Jesus paid the price for your freedom
HAMILTON
OPINION: What does it mean to be an American?
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