FOOD: C4 Amp up spoonbread for your next get-together PANORAMA Do school gardens really help our kids? Activist takes a look at if this trend SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894 C1 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2018 $1.00 educates, leads to better health Repairs at Second Mill Dam flow in steadily SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO The Sumter Mall and standalone Broad Street loca- tions of Chick-fil-A have seen sales jump 15 to 20 percent in a year. Sumter really is enjoying more chicken than last year Chick-fil-A’s 2 locations see increase in revenue from ’17 BY DANNY KELLY [email protected] Sumter’s Chick-fil-A franchise owner Scott Richardson has seen an increase in revenue at both of his locations this year, and customers have seen more faces at the drive-thru window and behind the counter. Sales are up 15 to 20 percent this year from last year, according to general manager Jake Burleson. With a little more than 100 employees total working at both locations, 1170 Broad St. and inside Sumter Mall, Burleson attributes the success to several key components. “The remodel (of the 1170 Broad St. store) has helped,” he said. “Now we have a two-lane drive-thru.” The remodel also added 800 square feet to the kitchen area for more cooking space. This was MICAH GREEN / THE SUMTER ITEM the first major remodeling investment for the A construction crew works on the road behind the dam at Second Mill Pond on Tuesday afternoon. restaurant since it opened in January 2002. “The kitchen is expanded, so there’s more space for (the employees) to work,” Burleson Concrete poured for roadway behind structure at pond said. “We also have more equipment and are BY ADRIENNE SARVIS left Second Mill Pond in bad shape for longer than now able to get orders out quicker.” [email protected] intended. Advances in technology have also helped the Repairs include cleaning and staging the pond by store. Almost three years after the 1,000-year flood in removing trees and placing rocks to direct the flow “People ordering on our iPads makes things October 2015 caused significant damage to the dam of water; reinforcing the bottom of the spillway that faster,” Burleson said. “We use the iPads out- at Second Mill Pond, Sumterites are still waiting for runs under the bridge on Liberty Street; and install- side during peak hours.” the water to rise to previous levels. ing a $281,000 custom automatic spillway gate. Peak hours are from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., 11 a.m. While plans to repair the pond’s dam have been in “Our goal has always been to make sure the dam to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Burleson some- place since the flood, other weather events and gov- times runs orders to cars himself ernment regulations have slowed the process and SEE REPAIRS, PAGE A7 during lunchtime so peo- ple don’t have to wait as long. “We’re guaranteed to have employees outside during peak hours unless it’s Ministry helps after crisis Summer of Caring raining or we’re shorthand- ed,” Burleson said. always a success Burleson also said he with financial help, food is able to use all his for many reasons employees effi- Fundraiser for groups enters its final week ciently. BY MARK CHAMPAGNE Sumter’s Chick- BY ED VENTICINQUE thankful with fil-A restaurants Special to The Sumter Item Special to The Sumter Item the amount of tend to hire a lot of food and fi- The Sumter Item’s Summer of high school and col- Volunteers with nancial assis- Caring campaign is perfectly lege employees part- Sumter United tance they re- named. The summer season time. Ministries’ food ceive from causes us to think “We want to give pantry do not do our ministry about cookouts, swim- them a chance to client interviews that they shed ming, the beach and learn and develop,” unless the person joyful tears and follow with having fun. But equal- Burleson said. “They VENTICINQUE is only in need of exuberant shouts of praise to ly as important, this also get a lot of schol- food, so volun- God. campaign shifts our arship and career op- teers at The Such was the case last week, focus to caring for portunities.” Lord’s Cupboard don’t know when “Kathy” came for assis- CHAMPAGNE people and provides a The local franchise the total impact the ministry tance with an eviction notice. great opportunity to is also flexible when has on a family. As a regular ministry employ- give time and money. it comes to its em- When we bring the wagon ee, I know — sadly — her situ- For weeks, you have read about ployees’ schedules. of food to the client’s car, we ation wasn’t much different people assisted by Sumter United “We work around often hear them say “thank than so many other people in Ministries’ Crisis Relief Ministry sports and school schedules,” you” and how they really ap- our reception area last week. Burleson said. “We schedule preciate the assistance. SEE SUCCESS, PAGE A8 Occasionally, clients are so SEE CARING, PAGE A8 SEE CHICK-FIL-A, PAGE A8 VISIT US ONLINE AT CONTACT US DEATHS, B5 WEATHER, A10 INSIDE Information: 774-1200 Helen Sylvia Corless Seymour SAME OLD, SAME OLD 3 SECTIONS, 20 PAGES the .com Advertising: 774-1246 Ernest Nelson VOL. 123, NO. 223 Classifieds: 774-1200 Clouds and sunshine Latosha Denise McCall today; mainly clear and Classifieds B6 Panorama C1 Delivery: 774-1258 Allison Billups News and Sports: 774-1226 humid tonight Comics C2 Sports B1 HIGH 92, LOW 72 Food C4 Television C3 Opinion A9 A2 | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2018 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] New recruitment strategies help district fill vacancies to Sumter School District’s Monday). Last school year, Ivey said in the past the ademic programs, such as Initiatives bring 173 Board of Trustees at the the district began with 52 district was potentially los- Advancement Via Individual teachers to Sumter board’s regular monthly teacher vacancies. ing out on qualified candi- Determination (AVID), Lead- work session. The district’s human re- dates because it had to wait er in Me, and a math and sci- schools in a year Outside funding from a sources department utilized several days to a week for ence initiative known as statewide rural school dis- funding from The Center for clearance on several check- NMSI, among others, has BY BRUCE MILLS trict recruitment initiative, Educator Recruitment, Re- list items before providing an also helped with teacher re- [email protected] contingency contracts, new tention and Advancement at offer. cruitment, Ivey said. nationally known academic Winthrop University to pay Since the beginning of last The new programs are well Newly implemented re- programming in the district’s for staff to attend out-of-state school year, the district has known throughout the U.S. cruitment strategies and of- schools and new social media job fairs and pay for fees as- issued 115 contingency con- and can help set a school fering new academic pro- recruitment strategies have sociated with hiring interna- tracts. apart for the candidate in the grams helped Sumter School all helped the district’s tional teachers, Kuomus said. “These candidates are ex- interview process, he said. District significantly lower human resources depart- The department also began cited about the contingency The human resources de- its classroom teacher vacan- ment bring 173 new certified using “contingency con- contract because they want partment has also starting cy total for the start of the teachers on board in the last tracts” for the first time to to know that they have an using “Live Chat” on the dis- new school year. year. offer qualified teacher candi- offer and a place in Sumter trict’s social media pages “to Chief Human Resources During the summer, about dates a contract “on the spot” School District,” Ivey said. meet candidates where Officer John Kuomus and Di- 60 new hires were made, ac- — provided they later met “This doesn’t seem extraordi- they’re at,” Ivey said. The rector of Teacher Recruit- cording to Ivey, and the dis- certain contingencies, such nary, but it is something that technology allows a potential ment and Retention Trevor trict started the school year as providing proof of their has really helped to meet job candidate to text in and Ivey presented an updated last week with 29 classroom certification and passing a some of our demands.” chat live with a district re- staffing report Monday night teacher vacancies (28 as of criminal records check. Implementation of new ac- cruiter on the internet. LOCAL BRIEF Forestry Commission supports Sumter district FROM STAFF REPORTS Manning woman dies in wreck with 17-year-old SUMMERTON — A 32-year- old Manning woman died Tuesday morning from inju- ries she sustained in a two-ve- hicle wreck earlier in the day, according to Clarendon Coun- ty Coroner Bucky Mock. “Allison Billups was trans- ported to McLeod Clarendon by ambulance and then trans- ferred to a Florence hospital where she died from a head injury at 9:54 this morning,” Mock said Tuesday afternoon. Lance Cpl. David Jones with the South Carolina Highway Patrol said Billups was driv- ing a 2011 Lexus on Alex Har- vin Highway when a GMC truck driven by a 17-year-old male ran the stop sign on Jack Touchberry Road and struck Billups’ Lexus in the side.