USA TODAY: Marijuana may be a miracle for the autistic C1 Trinity choir previews Spoleto performance A2 TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2017 | Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894 75 cents Board votes down the motion to close schools BY BRUCE MILLS nance committee to close two schools Laine Elementary School and RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM [email protected] at the end of this school year. Mayewood Middle School this sum- On Monday night during a work session, Sumter The motion from the finance mer in the wake of the district’s fi- School Board of Trustees Chairman the Rev. Daryl Mc- The Sumter School District Board committee called for supporting fi- nancial crisis. According to Allan, Ghaney expresses passion for keeping schools open of Trustees voted down a motion nancial consultant Scott Allan’s and looking at other alternatives before shuttering F.J. Monday night from the board’s fi- recommendation to close F.J. De- SEE DISTRICT, PAGE A9 DeLaine Elementary and Mayewood Middle schools. A Saturday Meteorologist on the farm says rainfall in Rembert should end by noon today BY BRUCE MILLS [email protected] After most parts of Sumter County received 2 to 4 inches of rainfall within a 24-hour stretch from Sunday evening through Monday afternoon, the skies are expected to clear by noon today, according to the National Weather Service based in Columbia. Sumter was under a Flash Flood Watch until 8 p.m. Monday. NWS Meteorologist Chris Liscinsky said Sumter could expect light isolated to scat- tered showers this morning from an upper-level front that was moving north from eastern Georgia on Monday afternoon. After the front clears out this morning, the Sumter area should expect clear skies until Thursday afternoon or eve- ning. There is a 20 to 30 per- cent chance of scattered show- ers on Thursday, according to Liscinsky. After Thursday night, clear skies are expected to return on Friday and through the weekend, the me- teorologist said. Neither Sumter Police De- partment nor Sumter County Sheriff’s Office had any re- ports of flooding as of Monday afternoon, according to the spokespeople for the agencies. Liscinsky said within the PHOTOS BY MELANIE SMITH / THE SUMTER ITEM same 24-hour period from Sun- Sheep at Old McCaskill’s Farm in Rembert got their yearly shear- day to Monday, most of Clar- ing on Saturday during the farm’s Spring Shearing Day. Farm endon County received 1 to 2½ owners Lee and Kathy McCaskill invited the public to visit the inches of rain, while Lee property to learn how a farm operates. Guests sampled farm- County had 2 to 3½ inches. fresh foods, churned ice cream, watched sheep-shearing and He said residents along the herding dog demonstrations and more. There was spinning, area’s rivers should be cau- weaving and quilting on display, in addition to a working saw tious of flooding. mill, root cellar, grits mill and blacksmith’s forge. The farm’s “With the heavy rainfall that owners were expecting thousands of guests this year and said we have seen the past 24 hours about 2,500 people came for a visit during the spring 2016 across the entire region, any- sheep shearing event. body with interests along the area’s rivers should keep an eye The farm also includes a bed and breakfast, a canning kitchen out for some of the rises that and canning classes, a farm store open to the public and guided may occur along the rivers, es- tours. See more photos from shearing day on A3. pecially along the Wateree and the Congaree,” Liscinsky said. Border wall, health care jeopardize bill are needed to pass the legislation, ernment by midnight Friday or Spending legislation must and they are equally incensed trigger a partial shutdown the next pass to avoid shutdown about Trump’s threat to deprive day, which happens to coincide with former President Obama’s health the 100th day of Trump’s presiden- WASHINGTON (AP) — Partisan care law of key funds to help poor cy. disputes about health care and people. The standoff echoed similar President Trump’s border wall Those were the most pressing un- spending fights during the Obama threw must-pass spending legisla- resolved issues confronting law- administration when Republicans tion into jeopardy Monday days makers as they returned from a would push to “defund” Obama’s THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ahead of a government shutdown two-week spring recess to face a health law over the objections of President Donald Trump, sitting next to U.S. Ambas- deadline. critical deadline. Congress must Democrats. sador to the UN Nikki Haley, speaks during a working The border wall money is fiercely pass a $1 trillion catch-all spending lunch with ambassadors of countries on the United opposed by Democrats, whose votes bill to pay for all agencies of gov- SEE SHUTDOWN, PAGE A9 Nations Security Council on Monday in Washington. VISIT US ONLINE AT DEATHS, B4 WEATHER, A10 INSIDE Robert C. Dougherty Fredrick J. Ehrhardt LESS RAIN TODAY 3 SECTIONS, 20 PAGES the .com VOL. 122, NO. 137 Richard Johnson Sherry A. Washington A morning shower or two; Argire ‘Sandy’ Hodge Dale L. Anderson mainly clear tonight Classifieds B6 Television B5 Rosa M. Hopkins William T. Wright Comics C4 USA Today C1 Kelvin R. Greene Trenton Harry HIGH 72, LOW 58 Mary Lee W. Smith Opinion A8 A2 | TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2017 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] Trinity choir previews Spoleto performance BY IVY MOORE meaning 'pearl of irregular shape.'" [email protected] Today, Haraway said, the word Ba- roque has come to mean ornate. The Trinity United Methodist "Indeed," he said, "the music of the Church Chancel Choir will present a Baroque was ornate with quick se- preview performance of its Spoleto quences of notes that can prove diffi- USA concert at 4 p.m. Sunday in the cult for singers and instrumentalists church sanctuary. Titled "Swell the alike." Full Chorus," the concert of Baroque He gave as an example the "Hallelu- music will feature the music of jah Chorus" by Handel. "In various George Frideric Handel, Giovanni sections of the piece, the melody is Battista Martini and Luigi Cherubini. shared from one voice part to anoth- "Swell the Full Chorus" is from er, sometimes simultaneously in a PHOTO PROVIDED Handel's oratorio "Solomon." Admis- complex imitative style. Compare that The Trinity United Methodist Church Chancel Choir will present a concert of Baroque sion to the concert is free, as it is of- with a composition from the Classical music at 4 p.m. Sunday in the sanctuary at 226 W. Liberty St. The program is a gift to the fered to the community as a gift from Period (1750-1820) — 'Eine Kleine community and a preview of the choir’s performance at Spoleto USA on June 3. Trinity. Nachtmusi' by Mozart — which fea- Charles Haraway, Trinity's director tures a clear melody from higher of music ministries, said the choir voices of the string quartet and far sichord's hammers do not hit the 226 W. Liberty St., is presenting this 4 will be accompanied by an orchestra less ornamentation in the accompani- strings but instead pluck the strings p.m. Sunday concert as a gift to the in performing music from the Ba- ment parts. Even today orchestral with tiny quills, giving the instru- community; "Swell the Full Chorus" roque era, "one of the earliest periods compositions occasionally use the ment a distinctive sound identified is also a prelude concert in prepara- of what most people today consider dense imitative style developed in the strongly with the Baroque period. tion for their Spoleto USA perfor- as 'Classical Music,'" he said, explain- Baroque Period in the form of a Beth Lewallen will play the harpsi- mance in Charleston at 5 p.m. June 3 ing that the "word Baroque comes 'fugue.'" chord during Sunday's concert. at the historic St. Phillip’s Episcopal from the Portuguese word barroco A precursor to the piano, the harp- Trinity United Methodist Church, Church. Racing for a cause County to consider rezoning request FROM STAFF REPORTS Sumter County Council will meet at 6 p.m. today in County Council Cham- bers, Sumter County Ad- ministration Building, 13 E. Canal St., to recognize the Sumter County Parks and Recreation Basketball State Champion team. Council will also consid- er: • Second reading of a re- quest to rezone 4.46 acres at 3815 Broad St. from res- idential-15 to general com- mercial after holding a public hearing on the mat- ter. The applicant intends to build a 10-bay auto-re- pair garage on the proper- ty if the parcel is rezoned; • First reading of an or- dinance to extend the ser- vice area for Oswego Rural Water Co. Inc. fur- MELANIE SMITH / THE SUMTER ITEM ther in Sumter County; Runners competing in the 2017 Recovery 5K/10K Run/Walk make their way down Phelps Street toward Liberty Street on Saturday morn- and ing. Proceeds from the race benefit Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands, and it was sponsored by Young Professionals of Sumter, Gal- • First reading of an or- loway & Moseley Fine Jewelers and Palmetto Health Tuomey. dinance to extend the ser- vice area for the town of Pinewood further in Sum- ter County. Sumter County Fiscal, al-Jones Auditorium. will present a lecture and demonstration Tax and Property Commit- LOCAL BRIEFS For more information, contact Morris by Darrell Linder on snake identification. tee will meet at 5 p.m. in FROM STAFF REPORTS College Office of Institutional Advance- Linder will teach you how to identify County Council Confer- ment at (803) 934-3260.