LOCAL: Month of Sundays comes to Chick-fil-A for renovations A2 The Fair’s Here! Rides • Games •Food •Exhibits Helicopter Rides • Pig Races Wristbands every day through Sunday, Oct. 1 $8 Gate Admission $5 Seniors and Military with ID 4 p.m. - midnight $5 “Early Bird” Sat. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894 75 cents sumterfair.com • 700 W. Liberty St., Sumter, SC Group releases SAT scores Area schools score slightly below state average on redesigned test BY BRUCE MILLS lege, but test scores released exam Tuesday. South Caroli- state’s seniors took the SAT [email protected] this week do show the state’s na’s public schools’ average during high school. average score was higher total score of 1058 on the South Carolina seniors’ Judging by the number of than the national average. 1600-point scale bested the average Evidence-based test takers, the SAT is not The College Board, the or- national average of 1044. Reading and Writing score necessarily the test of choice ganization that produces the Score data represents public was 539, compared to the na- SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO anymore for high school stu- SAT, released states’ and high school seniors in the tional average of 527. The Brett Shilling receives a pair of dents in the region or the school districts’ scores on Class of 2017. According to beers from volunteer Lauren Bark- state planning to go to col- the 2017 college entrance the data, 46 percent of the SEE SCORES, PAGE A6 ley at a past Oktoberfest on Main. Oktoberfest Families will be on enjoy Art in the Park tap again Families enjoyed a fun-filled Saturday Saturday at Memorial Park in the Historic Dis- trict during the 11th year of Art in the BY JIM HILLEY Park. More than 60 vendors displayed [email protected] and sold handmade items including paintings, wood carvings, glass works Plenty of German beer is a and upcycled decorations. Children must for Sumter Oktoberfest launched bottle rockets with the Boy on Main, but Danielle Thomp- Scouts of America, learned about the son, co-owner of Hamptons importance of wearing life jackets Restaurant, which presents the event, said it wasn’t like with Safe Kids of Sumter County and that during the first event made their own artwork at various eight years ago. She said they crafting stations set up in the park. ordered kegs of German beer Visitors also listened to musical selec- that year, but attendees didn’t tions performed by the Crestwood seem to have a taste for it. High School Choir and other musical “We got stuck with half of guests. See more photos on A3. it,” she said. In the seven years since ADRIENNE SARVIS / THE SUMTER ITEM then, Sumter Oktoberfest has become one of Sumter’s best- attended events, and the prob- lem has been stocking in enough German brew. “Now, they want more and more,” she said. Sumter Oktoberfest on Main is now in its eighth year, and the festivities will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday. Visitors from near and far will flock to downtown Sumter to dance to polkas, drink beer and feast on schnitzels, wursts and brats. Not to mention pizza, Mexican food, jalapeno pop- pers, Texas-style brisket, ribs and more. Food vendors will in- clude Hamptons Restaurant, Side Bar and the Sidewalk Café. The polkas will be provided by Die Lustigen Musikanten (the Happy Musicians) re- turning for their third year, SEE OKTOBERFEST, PAGE A6 U.S. United Nations Ambassador Nikki S.C. politics shaped Haley’s U.N. success Haley addresses the United Nations BY ANDY SHAIN the governor’s office often communication (from me) Security Council Post and Courier butting heads with the Gener- was harsh. So what I was get- during the U.N. al Assembly because, by her ting was harsh back.” General Assembly COLUMBIA — How Nikki own admission, she was still But in 2013, she used the on Sept. 21 at U.N. Haley won $180 million in new angry about a bitter election communications skills that headquarters. education funding three years in 2010. won her the state’s highest ago while she was South Caro- “(It was difficult) to turn off office while holding 20 meet- AP PHOTO / BEBETO MATTHEWS lina’s governor sheds light on the campaign switch and to ings with teachers, adminis- her success at the United Na- remember to turn to govern- trators, business leaders and tions. ing,” she said in a 2014 inter- She spent her first year in view. “I could just feel the SEE HALEY, PAGE A6 VISIT US ONLINE AT DEATHS, B3 WEATHER, A8 INSIDE Fredrick H. Truesdale Jr. Mary Montgomery MAYBE THIS WILL BE 2 SECTIONS, 14 PAGES the .com Joanne B. Haynes Thomas M. Dabbs OUR LAST DAY IN THE VOL. 122, NO. 248 William J. Carter Roy E. Matthews Jr. Classifieds B6 Sports B1 Robert Davis Tony Owens Jr. 90s THIS FALL Comics B4 Television B5 Timothy Rogers Isaiah Epps Partly sunny; mainly Henry Abraham Leroy Canty clear tonight Opinion A7 HIGH 94, LOW 69 A2 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] LOCAL BRIEFS FROM STAFF REPORTS Sumter native wins top award 2nd chance at Tai Chi lesson at Swan Lake Joseph Whiting, director of health promotion at Phoenix for women’s fiction category Health Education and Well- ness Center, will hold anoth- FROM STAFF REPORTS The WFWA described “The Stone work in progress is a suspense novel er free Tai Chi lesson at Swan Necklace” in a news release: The “book about human trafficking, told from the Lake-Iris Gardens at 5 p.m. Sumter native and Columbia resident ... braids together the stories of a griev- perspectives of a 14-year-old trafficking on Sunday. Carla Damron was named the Star ing widow, a struggling nurse, a young victim and a social worker looking for The location of the previ- Award General Category winner Friday mother and a troubled homeless man, her missing sister. My work on the ous free lesson on Sept. 23 in Albuquerque, New Mex- reminding us of the empowering and Richland County Human Trafficking was incorrectly published. ico, by the Women’s Fiction surprising ways our lives touch one an- task force has taught me that this crime Sunday will be a second Writers Association. The other and how, together, we can recover happens more often than most people chance for locals to try Tai WFWA award is for au- from even the greatest of losses.” think. And it can be prevented.” Chi. The session will take thors of published wom- “This book is a message of recovery The WFWA Star Award was open to place inside Swan Lake near en’s fiction, which the as- and redemption and is something I all women’s fiction authors. Librarians the picnic area by the play- sociation describes as “lay- want people to experience,” Damron with a strong interest in women’s fic- DAMRON ground. ered stories where the plot said. tion chose the winners from a group of is driven by the main char- Damron is also the author of three finalists who were chosen by readers. 5 weeks of Sundays acter’s emotional journey.” Caleb Knowles mystery novels, “Keep- The contest was limited to the first 50 coming to Chick-fil-A Damron’s literary novel, “The Stone ing Silent,” Spider Blue” and “Death in entries that were received by Jan. 31, Necklace,” was published by Story Zooville.” Like Damron, Knowles is a 2017. The winners were announced at Chick-fil-A on Broad Street River Books in January 2016 and was therapist, and her mysteries deal with the 2017 WFWA Retreat Awards Dinner will be closed, starting today, selected as the Midlands’ 2016 One social issues of addiction, homelessness Friday in Albuquerque. for five weeks of renovations. Book, One Community work, an audio and mental illness. She has also pub- For more information, see http://wo- Joy Whitaker, office man- version was been recorded, and the lished several short stories. mensfictionwriters.org/STAR_AWARD, ager at the standalone Broad novel was serialized in The State news- In a January 2016 interview with The www.womenfictionwriters.com and carl- Street location, said custom- paper. Sumter Item, Damron said her “current adamron.com. ers can visit the Sumter Mall location in the meantime. The mall restaurant is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. She said the store will have Active Day of Sumter takes part in national observance a grand re-opening at the be- ginning of November. There will be curbside ser- vice at the mall location for Mobile One app guests dur- ing peak lunch and dinner hours, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. Follow the progress of the renovations at www.facebook. com/chick-fil-a-sumter. Palmetto Health to get patients from Puerto Rico As part of the National Di- saster Medical System, a fed- erally coordinated health care system, Palmetto Health hospitals have been activated to assist people from Puerto Rico who need medical care this hurricane season. Palmetto Health Emergen- cy Management Team mem- bers across the system are evaluating resources and preparing to accept and care for those patients, according to a release from Palmetto PHOTO PROVIDED Health Tuomey. Active Day of Sumter participated in National Adult Day Services Week, Sept. 17-23, with several activities. On Monday, members visited Sum- Palmetto Health hospitals ter County Library for arts and crafts.