FOOD: Need a crowd-pleasing bread? Use beer, onions C4 Elks celebrate 150 years Sumter group focuses on C1 SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894 helping the community WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2018 $1.00 Sumter sees 2nd-warmest February After frigid January, last month marked 17.7-degree change WARMEST SUMTER FEBRUARY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BY BRUCE MILLS that indicator for the county dating 1. 1957 57.2 [email protected] FEBRUARY 2018 IN SUMTER back to 1930. (It was in 1930 that the service’s record books became 2. 2018 56.3 Average daily temperature: 56.3 After bundling up next to the fire- more comprehensive with signifi- 1976 56.3 Average daily high temperature: 67.2 place with near-record cold temper- cantly fewer missing days’ tempera- 4. 1949 55.8 atures in January, Sumterites al- Average daily low temperature: 45.3 tures and data, Anderson said.) most had to break out the shorts, In the 88 years since 1930, only 5. 1932 55.6 sunglasses and flip-flops during the February of 1957 in Sumter was 6. 1939 55.0 February with near-record high the calendar. warmer than last month’s average temperatures. According to Anderson and Na- daily reading. That year’s February 7. 1944 54.7 National Weather Service Mete- tional Weather Service data, Sum- had an overall average daily tem- 8. 1990 54.5 orologist Doug Anderson, based in ter County’s overall average daily perature of 57.2 degrees, almost one 9. 1956 54.4 Columbia, said Sumter County’s temperature — between the highs full degree warmer than this year’s near “balmy February” featured a and lows — for the 28 days of Feb- 56.3. 1954 54.4 significant average temperature ruary was 56.3 degrees, ranking as Source: National Weather Service, Columbia increase from the first month on the second-warmest February by SEE FEBRUARY, PAGE A7 Pancake Day treats guests, serves kids in need Kiwanis Club of SumterS celebrated its 56th Pancake DayD on Saturday as volunteers poupoured batter and flipped pancakes for hundredsh of hungry guests at Alice Drive Middle School. Volunteers diddidn’t get much of a break as flapjackflapjac lovers from the area filed in line to get their annual treat. The meal was made even sweeter because everyeve plate meant that a local childc would be getting accessac to necessary re- sources with the money collected for each ticket to eat. PHOTOS BY ADRIENNE SARVIS / THE SUMTER ITEM Group gives back after losing mothers to cancer Daughters of Angels helps while tubes and doctors and nurses WATCH MORE pumped her with what they told her was poison that would “destroy women grieve, delivers Go online to www.theitem.com/ everything” in her mother and “re- care packages to others studiosumter to watch an episode of Sumter Today on Daughters of Angels. build it” once the cancer was gone. BY KAYLA ROBINS When the Sumter resident and founder of a new nonprofit called [email protected] Daughters of Angels walked into tients rest their heads. the room at Santee Hematology and MICAH GREEN / THE SUMTER ITEM All the chairs look the same, save Alexis Dickerson’s mother always Oncology on North Lafayette Drive Dr. Billy Clowney is seen with members of Daugh- for a few differences in how worn sat in the third chair on the far wall ters of Angels after the group delivered gift bags to the brown leather was where pa- to the right. Dickerson sat with her SEE DAUGHTERS, PAGE A8 Santee Hematology and Oncology on Friday. VISIT US ONLINE AT DEATHS, B5 WEATHER, A10 INSIDE John W. Johnson Tierney A. Cooper WINDY AGAIN 3 SECTIONS, 20 PAGES the .com Delmar R. Watford Thomas R. Bracey VOL. 123, NO. 99 Mostly sunny and breezy; Nalique Wells-Tate Rickie D. Samuel Classifieds B6 Panorama C1 Richard L. Booth Herbert L. Johnson clear and colder tonight HIGH 60, LOW 32 Comics C2 Sports B1 Opinion A9 Television C3 A2 | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2018 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] Rafting Creek 2nd of 3 in custody for shooting of child Elementary Kimberly Burgess turns self several has not yet been released. shots were Investigators uncovered information in, husband remains at large fired inside pointing to the suspect vehicle being a earns $3K from the resi- 2017 Jeep that was reportedly rented BY KAYLA ROBINS dence near through a fraudulent insurance policy math contest [email protected] Shaw Air under the name of Aireal Johnson. Force Base BURGESS, K. BURGESS, R. Aireal Lakeia Johnson, 24, of White One of the two suspects who had war- in the 5800 Pine Court, was arrested on Monday. FROM STAFF REPORTS rants for their arrest in connection with block of Broad Street She was also charged with discharging a Rafting Creek Elementary the shooting of a 7-year-old Sumter boy about 11:30 p.m., striking firearm into a dwelling and obstruction School took $3,000 home this joined a third suspect in jail. him in the leg, according of justice in addition to the accusations weekend for placing second at Kimberly Denise Burgess, 30, of Sandy to Ken Bell, public infor- handed to Burgess, according to Bell. a math competition. Run Drive in Sumter, turned herself in mation officer for the Bell said Johnson admitted to the con- Matific held the U.S. Matific Tuesday morning without incident after Sumter County Sheriff's spiracy for fraud and implicated Burgess Games, where students com- eluding authorities since the Feb. 1 Office. A cousin he was JOHNSON and her husband, Rodney Jermaine Bur- pleted activities to earn stars shooting inside a home on Broad Street. sleeping next to was not gess, 33. or points. The more activities She has been charged with four counts injured. Authorities are still actively searching they completed and the better of being an accessory after the fact of at- Two other bullet holes were discov- for Rodney Burgess, he said. they scored resulted in more tempted murder, criminal conspiracy ered in the home from bullets that did Anyone who sees him is asked to call stars. and breach of trust, and larceny for fail- not hit anyone, Bell said. 911, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office Every student won at least ure to return a rented object. He said there is no known relation be- at (803) 436-2022 or Crime Stoppers at one star per episode complet- The child was reportedly asleep when tween the child and Burgess. A motive (803) 436-2718 or 1(888)-CRIMESC. ed, with the potential to earn a maximum of five stars per ac- tivity. Each student also had the STATE BRIEFS chance to replay each activity Lee schools celebrate Read Across America up to five times during the FROM WIRE REPORTS course of the competition. "Matific is a company com- Authorities: Prison guard mitted to offering immersive math games to children paid $1,246 in bribes around the world," Kevin COLUMBIA — Authorities say Sherman, CEO, said. "With a South Carolina prison guard this competition, we hope stu- has been arrested after he took dents had the chance to find a $1,246 in bribes from an inmate. new appreciation for math and The Corrections Department learn how excellent math says Joshua Cave was charged skills can help them to accom- Tuesday with accepting a bribe plish larger goals in life." and misconduct in office. The $3,000 second-place Arrest warrants say inmate prize was a congratulations Levi Bing Jr. paid Cave the bribes for competing against thou- from September through Decem- sands of schools from across ber while they were at the Allen- the nation. dale Correctional Institution. The warrants did not specify what Cave did for Bing to get the money. Bing is serving a 40-year prison SCANG fighters sentence for the killing of a man trying to sell a car in Orangeburg honor hero County in November 2003. Governor wants emails with flyover from Santee Cooper SUBMITTED COLUMBIA — South Carolina A pair of F-16 Fighting Fal- Gov. Henry McMaster is asking con fighter jets from the for all of a state-owned utility's South Carolina Air National contracts with lobbyists and all of Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing at their emails for more than a year McEntire Joint National after a pair of nuclear reactors Guard Base provided military were never built. flyover honors for Vietnam McMaster sent a letter to Santee War hero retired Col. Norman Cooper on Tuesday asking for the P. Huggins, USAF, at the Red information from the start of 2017. Hill Cemetery in Mullins on Santee Cooper was the minority March 3. partner with SCANA Corp. for On Oct. 31, 1965 (his wed- building two nuclear reactors. The ding anniversary), Capt. Hug- utilities abandoned construction gins was one of the first 10 last summer after nearly a decade fighter pilots shot down over of planning and work. North Vietnam and the first PHOTO PROVIDED McMaster is trying to sell San- to make it back without being Lee County celebrated Read Across America on Monday with a visit from Arthenius Jack- tee Cooper after the utility fell $4 captured. He was part of what son as "The Singing Cat" to six local schools. billion in debt. is known as a "VooDoo 101 er Tactical Reconnaissance Pilot" flying the RF-101C for low-level Tactical Recon. The tag line for these VooDoo 101 er's has become "Alone, Un- armed and Unafraid." He was Library to offer creative writing for teenagers successfully rescued after a three-hour engagement with BY IVY MOORE them, Smith said she will have every- have plenty of opportunity to free- the Viet Cong in the waters Special to The Sumter Item thing they need on hand, including write at each session as well.” offshore for which he was laptop computers, paper and pencils.