Hurricane Harvey rolls over Texas Gulf Coast A14 PANORAMA Romantic comedy classic opens Sumter Little Theatre Neil Simon’s ‘Barefoot in the Park’ kicks off season A5 SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894 SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 2017 $1.75 SPORTS: Sumter, Lakewood, Wilson Hall, Manning all win B1 ‘It is a thing of beauty’ NASA scientist goes whole hog for traditional barbecue BY JIM HILLEY [email protected] oward Conyers never in- tended to become somewhat of a “cooking celebrity.” H The aerospace engineer at the Stennis Space Center near Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, said he learned to cook whole-hog barbecue growing up in Paxville. “My father was good at it, my uncle was good at it, a lot of different indi- viduals around Paxville were good at whole-hog barbecue,” Conyers said. As Sumter Item readers know, whole-hog barbecue is a time-honored tradition in the Palmetto State. Conyers said he decided to cook up a hog for an event in nearby New Or- leans, promoting brain cancer re- search called “Hogs for a Cause.” He didn’t tell anyone he was a “rock- et scientist.” “Someone Googled and found out I was a NASA rocket scientist then they said ‘We have a NASA rocket scientist who claims to cook whole-hog barbe- cue.’” That promotional hook started Conyers’ celebrity chef career, he said, including an appearance on an epi- sode of the Cooking Channel’s “Man Fire Food” in June. The Clarendon County native grad- uated from Manning High School in 2000. He also graduated from North Caro- lina AT&T University, majoring in en- vironmental engineering, and received a master’s and a doctorate from Duke PHOTO PROVIDED NASA scientist Howard Conyers, a native of Paxville and 2000 graduate of Manning High School, said he thought he would become SEE HOG, PAGE A6 famous for his engineering not his whole-hog barbecue. District’s teacher of year School Board wants to prep students to begin process for the next steps in life of cost-savings BY BRUCE MILLS pal Anita Hunter. blueprint [email protected] It’s largely because of these reasons, Lowe was re- BY BRUCE MILLS Mayewood Middle School cently selected Sumter [email protected] social studies teacher Zach School District’s Teacher of Lowe wants to help his stu- the Year for this school year. Sumter School District’s dents dream and establish Lowe says his mission as a Board of Trustees will meet goals in life. teacher is to help set stu- Monday to begin putting the As a sixth- and eighth- dents up for success in what- BRUCE MILLS / THE SUMTER ITEM pieces together to lay out a grade instructor, Lowe says ever they want to do. Teach- Mayewood Middle School Social Studies teacher Zach Lowe, left, multi-year cost-savings plan to that could be refining and in- ing in the rural portion of reviews students’ test scores with Mayewood Principal Anita Hunt- get the district’s financial sav- creasing a student’s current eastern Sumter County er recently at the school. On Aug. 16, Sumter School District ings back in order, according dream, or it could be helping where poverty is prevalent, named Lowe the district’s teacher of the year for this school year. to the school board’s attorney. them to actually develop a Lowe says he tries to get his William “Bick” Halligan, of dream before high school. students to realize that they are resources out there to federal aid and others,” Halligan, Mahoney and Wil- His students are drawn by can break the poverty cycle. help them succeed. Lowe said. “So, it’s trying to liams of Columbia, made his his ability to make social He, in part, does this by em- “There are a lot of oppor- plant that seed in their mind comments Friday in prepara- studies and history relevant phasizing the importance of tunities for them when they now that whatever starts to tion for Monday’s Sumter to the present day and his their upcoming high school get to high school, including active involvement in their academic performance to Career and Technology Edu- lives, says Mayewood Princi- their future and that there cation, college scholarships, SEE YEAR, PAGE A6 SEE BLUEPRINT, PAGE A15 VISIT US ONLINE AT CONTACT US DEATHS, A14 WEATHER, A16 INSIDE Information: 774-1200 Kenneth E. Clark PLEASANT SUNDAY 4 SECTIONS, 34 PAGES the .com Advertising: 774-1246 Vincent Hilliard VOL. 121, NO. 225 Classifieds: 774-1200 Johnny Thomas Jr. Partly sunny and breezy. Delivery: 774-1258 Carra Ann Scarborough Tonight, turning cloudy. Classifieds C8 News and Sports: 774-1226 Paul A. Graham HIGH 87, LOW 68 Comics D1-D4 Melvin Ritter Smith Opinion A13 Outdoors C7 62 Years Of Mortgage Lending Ready To Work For You. Sumter: 803.469.0156 Manning: 803.433.4451 bankofclarendon.com ."//*/(t46.5&3t4"/5&&t46..&350/t8:#00 A2 | SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 2017 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] First responders recognized at appreciation event BY ADRIENNE SARVIS Swart said he hopes the appreciation [email protected] dinner will become an annual event so that local first responders can be recog- On Thursday, Sumter’s first re- nized for the work they do every day. sponders were recognized during an Battalion Chief Joey Duggan, with appreciation event hosted by Commu- Sumter Fire Department, said the nity Broadcasters Sumter at Universi- event was very well received by all ty of South Carolina Sumter’s Nettles first responders. Auditorium. That just goes to show that Sumter Jack Swart, market manager for is a community that is willing to take Community Broadcasters, said the care of its first responders, he said. company’s representatives thought it Some people do not think of first re- was important to recognize local first sponders until they see them, so the responders, especially during this event was very appreciated, he said. time of year when hurricanes and Duggan said he made sure to thank floods are possible. all of the vendors he spoke with on He said the event, which included Thursday. dinner, honored law enforcement offi- Also during the event, a few first re- cers, emergency medical staff, fire- sponders received awards for their fighters and first responders at Shaw achievements within their departments. Air Force Base. Award winners included: “This is something we’ve talked • Division chief Bud Ivey of Sumter about doing for a while,” Swart said. Fire Department; He said about 400 first responders • Gregory W. Farley, fire protection attended the event, and approximately assistant chief for special operations, $1,000 worth of prizes were given out of Shaw Air Force Base Mission Sup- by sponsors. It was fantastic, he said. port Group; Swart said he received many posi- • Detective Matthew Yates of Sumter tive comments from first responders Police Department; who attended. • Lance Cpl. Orlando T. McCray of “We are Community Broadcasters, South Carolina Highway Patrol; and PHOTO PROVIDED and we like to do things that help our • Capt. Mary Pack of Sumter County First responders visit vendors’ booths during an appreciation event hosted by Commu- community,” Swart said. Emergency Medical Services. nity Broadcasters at University of South Carolina Sumter on Thursday. Donors can Hometown hero help fill SUM’s bare cupboard FROM STAFF REPORTS Sumter United Ministries’ Lord’s Cupboard, a component of its crisis ministry, has an urgent need for food dona- tions, according to Crisis Re- lief In-Kind Coordinator Ed Vinticinque. While the cup- board is not quite bare, he said, “It’s very low.” “From late June through August, we usually get very low,” Vinticinque said. “Then there’s a gap between August and the holidays.” He said requests for help with food are also up at this time, emphasizing that the Lord’s Cupboard “is still a crisis relief ministry, not a food pantry,” so those requesting help must be in a crisis situation. Needs for the cupboard in- clude dry cereals (e.g., oatmeal, grits, farina, cream of wheat); dried beans, any type; macaro- U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO BY STAFF SGT. BENJAMIN GONSIER / SPECIAL TO THE SUMTER ITEM ni and cheese; canned fruit; Master Sgt. Roderick Rembert is a munitions systems specialist assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron, Bagram Air- ramen noodles; canned vegeta- field, Afghanistan. Roderick is deployed out of Aviano Air Base, Italy, and is a native of Sumter. bles; peanut butter; jelly; boxed potatoes; rice mix; canned meat and fish; and “shelf-life milk.” Donations can be dropped off at Sumter United Minis- EMD director: Monetary donations best way to aid storm survivors tries, 36 S. Artillery Drive, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday BY JIM HILLEY tionarmy.org) who are trained to mobi- Friday afternoon. “Monetary donations through Friday. [email protected] lize and respond is the best way to help can go further, faster and help more Venticique suggested that people out,” he said. needs than boxing stuff up and sending donors may wish to arrive be- As Hurricane Harvey inundates a He cautioned against sending money it.” fore 2 p.m., as he and other cri- large area in southeast Texas, Sumter to relief funds targeted only at Hurri- Hayes said as of Friday afternoon sis relief staff will be at the County Emergency Management Direc- cane Harvey. there had not been any call to South ministry until then, and the tor Erik Hayes said the best way people “If they have leftover money, they Carolina Emergency Management to back door will be open. can assist hurricane victims is to make have no way to spend it,” he said.