SPORTS: Wilson Hall hosts Thomas Sumter in baseball B1 Air Force retiring MQ-1 Predator Replacing the remotely piloted SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894 aircraft with MQ-9 Reaper A3 FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017 75 CENTS Deputies arrest suspect in 2016 murder FROM STAFF REPORTS from Sumter County to have heard gunshots. murder; armed robbery; and posses- Sheriff’s Office. The victim, Dinkins, was found un- sion of a weapon during a violent Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office Sumter County officers responsive with a gunshot wound to crime. He also has two outstanding and Sumter County Sheriff’s Office issued a murder warrant the back. bench warrants for contempt of court. deputies apprehended Asaad Jamal for McNeil after enough In a previous statement, Sumter “We want to thank the news media McNeil, wanted in connection with evidence was gathered to County Sheriff Anthony Dennis said for helping us keep McNeil’s face out the 2016 shooting death of 17-year-old MCNEIL establish probable cause, the house had been under investiga- there,” said Dennis in the release. “We Jaquell Dinkins, on Wednesday after a connecting him to the tion in the past for illegal drug activi- also want to thank the Clarendon five-month investigation. fatal shooting that took ty. County Sheriff’s Office for its assis- Acting on a tip, officials located Mc- place on Sept. 14, 2016. Dennis said a motive for the incident tance in locating and arresting this Neil at a location in Clarendon County According to the release, residents has not been determined. dangerous individual. Both counties about 6 p.m. and took him into custody in the 200 block of Apollo Street in For the incident, McNeil is charged are a lot safer today because of this without incident, states a news release Wedgefield called authorities claiming with murder; two counts of attempted arrest.” READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY Sessions Schoolchildren celebrate the work of Theodor Seuss Geisel, known to us as Dr. Seuss, on his birthday. steps aside New Attorney General TThehe CCatat iinn thethe HatHat recuses himself from Russia-contact probe ccameame bbackack WASHINGTON (AP) — Under growing pressure from Democrats and Republi- cans alike, Attorney General Jeff Sessions agreed Thurs- day to recuse himself from an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. His ac- SESSIONS tion followed revelations he twice met with the Russian ambassador and didn’t say so when pressed by Congress. Sessions rejected any sug- gestion that he tried to mis- lead anyone about his con- tacts with the Russian, say- ing, “That is not my intent. That is not correct.” He did allow, though, that he should have been more careful in his testimony, say- ing, “I should have slowed PHOTOS BY RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM down and said, ‘But I did The Cat in the Hat (Bill Austin, an instructional coach at Oakland Primary School) popped into classes Thursday as part of Read Across meet one Russian official a America Day. Students were given Dr. Seuss hats to wear, but others came dressed as their favorite storybook character. couple of times.’” The attorney general said he made his decision to re- cuse himself after his staff Students celebrate Dr. Seuss work recommended that he step aside from any investigation BY RICK CARPENTER ite storybook character and parading related to the Trump cam- [email protected] with their outfits and books before paign, since he had been in- parents and other students. And pub- volved in that campaign. He he Cat in the Hat did come lic officials read to students during said Acting Deputy Attorney the day. On Thursday morning, fire- General Dana Boente would back Thursday to Sumter fighters from Sumter Fire Depart- handle such matters. T ment were reading to students at Oak- School District and schools Sessions added that his an- land. nouncement “should not be across America. Shannon Knudson, a reading coach interpreted as confirmation Each year schools celebrate Read at Oakland, said teachers even incor- Zykearah Wright and Jahmil Reid, both 7 of the existence of any inves- Across America Day on the birth date, porate Dr. Seuss and storybook char- and in the first grade, taste the green eggs tigation.” March 2, 1904, of Dr. Seuss, whose real acters into their curriculum that day Air Force One landed in name was Theodor Seuss Geisel. each year. and ham at Oakland Primary School on Washington minutes before Some of Dr. Seuss’ most famous The National Education Association Thursday as part of a celebration of Dr. Sessions’ news conference books include “The Cat in the Hat,” has promoted the Read Across Ameri- Seuss’ birthday, which coincides with Read began. President Trump, “Green Eggs and Ham” and “The Cat ca program for 20 years. Across America Day each year. who had spoken earlier in the Hat Comes Back.” And when the cafeteria offered Students at Oakland Primary green eggs and ham for breakfast, Jah- A teacher let him know that food col- School celebrated by eating green mil Reid, 7, told others at his table that oring was added to the eggs that SEE SESSIONS, PAGE A8 eggs and ham, dressing as their favor- someone had “painted” the eggs. turned them green, not paint. 27-year-old Sumter man drowns in pond after fleeing checkpoint FROM STAFF REPORTS According to a news release from While driving through the neighbor- attempt to rescue Horne but was forced Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, depu- hood looking for the subject, deputies back to shore because of the depth and Sumter County Coroner Robbie ties saw a driver stop his vehicle and were stopped by a witness who directed low temperature of the water, states the Baker identified the man who drowned turn quickly onto a side road in an at- them towards his backyard. release. while attempting to elude officers on tempt to avoid the checkpoint. Deputies drove towards the area and Divers from Sumter County Sheriff’s Wednesday night as Mark Gabriel A deputy activated his blue lights and reportedly heard noises in the vicinity. Office and Sumter Fire Department re- Horne, 27, of Sumter County. pursued the vehicle for a short distance While investigating on foot, deputies sponded to the scene and a fire depart- Horne drowned in a private pond through a driveway and into a yard be- spotted Horne in distress in a small ment diver recovered Horne’s body after fleeing a driver’s license check- fore Horne jumped out of his vehicle pond behind the residence, some dis- point on Havenwood Drive, off of U.S. and ran into a wooded area between tance from the shore. 15 South, about 7:25 p.m. on Wednesday. houses, states the release. One deputy entered the water in an SEE DROWNS, PAGE A8 VISIT US ONLINE AT CONTACT US DEATHS, B4, B5 WEATHER, A10 INSIDE Information: 774-1200 Daisy L. 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Morris 774-1226 HIGH 64, LOW 32 Opinion A9 Television A4, A5 A2 | FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] Mosquito season may come early to Midlands BY JIM HILLEY day or Saturday night, but the forecast world, including countries and territo- “Mosquitoes have the ability to [email protected] at that time was for overnight lows in ries in the Caribbean, Central Ameri- spread illnesses other than Zika, such the mid-30s — probably not cold ca, South America, the Pacific Islands as West Nile virus, chikungunya, den- It may be only the first week in enough to have a major effect on mos- and Cape Verde.” gue and eastern equine encephalitis,” March, but Sumter County Vector quitoes. Those planning to travel should con- Bell said. Control is already preparing for its an- The S.C. Department of Health and sult a travel clinic or the Centers for According to DHEC, people infected nual battle against the unwelcome in- Environmental Control is urging resi- Disease Control and Prevention web- with the Zika virus do not have any sects that are already showing up dents to take precautions now to pre- site to see if they are traveling to an symptoms. When symptoms are pres- across the Midlands. vent mosquito-borne illnesses such as area with active Zika transmission. A ent, the most common are fever, rash, “We are not spraying yet,” Director Zika virus. complete list of countries and loca- joint pain and conjunctivitis (red Allen Penland said. “Right now, we are In a news release, DHEC warned tions with active transmission can be eyes). Symptoms of Zika infection are just getting geared up, getting some that South Carolinians traveling found at www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/index. often mild, yet last as long as one trucks ready and that kind of stuff.” abroad should be especially careful. html. week. Zika virus can be passed from a He said the mosquito-control pro- Whether that travel is for spring There have been 61 travel-related pregnant woman to her fetus, and in- gram usually starts in April or May, break, mission trips or just vacations, cases of Zika virus reported in South fection during pregnancy can cause but spraying may begin in a couple of many of those destinations are in Carolina since April 2016, according to serious birth defects including micro- weeks.