INSIDE: Governor reflects on U.N. job, state crises and lessons in diplomacy A3 THE CLARENDON SUN Clarendon 1 School Board members are sworn in A6 THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017 | Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894 75 cents APEX tools to lay off 170 at Sumter plant Spokesperson: Production will end by March 31 BY JIM HILLEY have yet received the notification. [email protected] Rhoads was referring to the Worker Adjust- ment and Retraining Notification Act, a federal APEX Tool Group will cease production of labor law that requires companies that are lay- its Armstrong and Allen lines of hand tools, a ing off more than 100 workers to give the work- move that will end employment for 170 work- ers 60-days advance notification. ers at its Sumter plant, said APEX Communi- Rhoads said the positions will be eliminated cations Director Kelly Rhoads. by March 31 as the production of the Arm- “This is a difficult announcement for us and strong and Allen tool lines ramps down. our associates,“ Rhoads said. “We can confirm Full-time associates are being offered sever- we are reducing employment there (in Sumter) ance benefits and employment assistance by 170 positions. counselors have been made available, she She said production of the Allen and Arm- said. strong lines of hand tools will end by March 31. “We are partnering with state and local Rhoads said no reductions are planned at agencies to provide job search resources,” any other of the company’s facilities. Rhoads said. “We are already speaking with “We have given people the WARN notifica- the SC Rapid Response team, which assists SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO tion that gives people 60 days prior to their last with workforce resources.” Production of Apex Tool Group’s Armstrong and Allen lines of hand day of work,” she said. Rhoads said she was tools will end March 31, putting 170 workers at the Sumter plant in unsure if all the employees who will be laid off SEE APEX, PAGE A5 the unemployment line. State of the State address Sen. McElveen Haley bids farewell, thanks citizens for changing S.C.’s image says bipartisan BY SEANNA ADCOX solution needed The Associated Press BY JIM HILLEY COLUMBIA — Gov. Nikki Haley [email protected] used her State of the State address Wednesday to say goodbye to South Sen. Thomas McElveen, D-Sumter, delivered Carolinians and a job she calls “the the Democratic response to Wednesday’s State greatest honor of my life.” of the State Address by Gov. Nikki Haley. Haley thanked residents, who she In his response, McElveen said state lead- called both the state’s strength and ers are aware of the state’s most pressing hers, for changing the way the problems, but he said that partisanship need- world perceives the state she loves. ed to be put aside so solutions can be Her goal was always to better the reached. state’s image from being the punch- “We know all too well what line of late-night jokes, and the needs to be done in South Caroli- “people of South Carolina accom- na to ensure future prosperity and plished the highest aspiration I had competitiveness in a global econo- for our state all on their own.” my,” McElveen said. “We know They did it, she said, through what our responsibilities are.” their response to the 2015 “hate- MCELVEEN However, he said state leaders filled atrocity” of nine people have not worked killed in a Charleston church, an together to turn unarmed motorist killed by a To read Sen. McElveen challenges into op- North Charleston officer, natural and Gov. Haley’s portunities. disasters and other crisis during speeches, go to McElveen her tenure. www.theitem.com. thanked Gov. “They did it by displaying for all Haley for her ser- to see the power of faith, of kind- vice and wished ness, and of forgiveness. They did it her luck in her position as U.S. Ambassador by stepping up to every challenge, to the United Nations. through every tragedy, every time,” He then returned to his call for more coop- she said. “And in so doing, the peo- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS eration in the branches of South Carolina ple of South Carolina changed our South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, with Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster, right, delivers the government. image in a way no piece of legisla- State of the State address Wednesday night at the state Capitol in Columbia. “It’s time for us to do what’s right, and to tion or shift in policy or job an- do it with a sense of urgency that our leaders nouncement could have ever ac- Carolina” for making that happen, of the Southeast,” she said in her have failed to execute for well over a decade,” complished.” saying local leaders stopped think- 27-minute speech. McElveen said. She did cite those job numbers — ing regionally and competing The shorter-than-normal speech McElveen, considered a rising star in the touting 85,613 jobs announced dur- against each other to work with was free of rancor and recommen- South Carolina Democratic Party, said the ing her tenure across each of the state leaders and present a united dations. people of the state deserve honesty and in- state’s 46 counties, helping bring front to lure companies to the state “Gov. Haley has been a great tegrity from public officials. the unemployment rate from 11.1 and expand existing ones. cheerleader for the state,” said Sen- “What they don’t deserve is a cloud of cor- percent in January 2011, her first “Team South Carolina is a very ate Majority Leader Shane Massey, ruption charges and far too many instances month of office, to 4.4 percent. real thing. And it is no wonder they But she thanked “Team South now call us, which I love, the “beast SEE HALEY, PAGE A10 SEE MCELVEEN, PAGE A10 Former Sumter School Board members, area pastors voice frustrations BY BRUCE MILLS ly scheduled board meeting in ending general fund balance spend $6.2 million over bud- spending the past couple of [email protected] December — it was the pub- as of June 30, 2015. get, and a belief that the dis- years. lic’s first opportunity to speak About 60 members of the trict’s students will suffer ed- “Surely, we must know now Two local pastors and two since the 2015-16 audit report general public ucationally as a result of the that our kids are going to suf- former Sumter School Board was presented Dec. 12 by audi- were in atten- crisis. fer because of this and so is members, among others, tor Robin Poston. dance for Mon- Patty Wilson and Keith our community,” Wilson said. voiced their frustrations with The report revealed the dis- day’s night Schultz both previously She questioned whether the the Sumter School District trict had gone over budget by board meeting at served on the Sumter School board’s budget committee had Board of Trustees concerning $6.2 million in the fiscal year Hillcrest Middle Board and explained Monday been doing its job. the district’s debt crisis on ending June 30, 2016. The School in Dal- during their public comments “We used to have somebody Monday at the board’s regu- audit report also revealed the MCGHANEY zell. A couple re- that the district had $4 million looking and checking to see larly scheduled meeting. district had $106,449 in its end- peated com- in its general fund balance as who was doing what,” Wilson The comments were made ing general fund balance at ments from com- late as 2014 while they served said. “Are we going to be during the public participa- the time. The previous annual munity members who spoke on the board. doing that in the future?” tion portion of the meeting, audit report showed the dis- were in reference to asking Wilson said she was disap- and — with only one regular- trict had $4.48 million in its what caused the district to pointed in the district’s over- SEE VOICE, PAGE A10 VISIT US ONLINE AT CONTACT US DEATHS, B4 WEATHER, A12 INSIDE Information: 774-1200 Nancy D. Webster Freddie H. Francis PLENTY OF SUN 2 SECTIONS, 18 PAGES the .com Advertising: 774-1246 Elliott L. Wilder Henry Jeter VOL. 122, NO. 64 Classifieds: 774-1234 Foggy in the morning, break- David Davis Lucille A. Scott ing for sunny skies. Tonight, Classifieds B6 Delivery: 774-1258 Peggy Ann Crim Leroy Woods Jr. cloudy and mild. Comics B5 News and Sports: 774-1226 Louise Sheridan Arthur McCoy Jr. William Pearson HIGH 73, LOW 51 Opinion A11 Television A9 A2 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] Relatives of Police department dismisses false info churchgoers BY ADRIENNE SARVIS officer nor a telecommunications oper- OK, and he is at an age where he should [email protected] ator and gave inaccurate information. be in school at that time of day, she said. He wrote officers later located the When Hallal called the police depart- confront Roof On Wednesday, Sumter Police Depart- boy, who had been upset because of a ment to have someone check on the ment dispelled false information regard- family issue. “The boy was not harmed boy, she was told that her coworkers ing possible gang initiations after an in any way and was not acting with should go back inside. employee gave wrong information dur- malicious intent,” he wrote. Hallal said Tuesday was the first for last time ing a non-emergency call on Tuesday.