IN SPORTS: 8 local teams make 1st basketball coaches’ top 10 poll B1 NATION More prisons create cellblocks for veterans THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018 | Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894 75 cents A4 NIGHTS BELOW MQ-9 Reaper Cold temps 20 DEGREES Jan. 1 13 Group will a new record Jan. 2 18 come to Shaw Jan. 11 Unmanned aircraft unit approved after for Sumter 3 an environmental impact assessment Jan. BY KAYLA ROBINS 7 nights below 20 opened year, but longest 4 16 [email protected] run below freezing was 22 days in 2000-01 Shaw Air Force Base was approved as the location for Jan. a new unmanned aircraft unit whose aircraft deploy for 14 combat missions overseas. BY BRUCE MILLS cord last week with seven con- 5 Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said yes to [email protected] secutive days with overnight bringing an MQ-9 Reaper Group, including mission lows under 20 degrees. The Jan. control elements, to Shaw after the results of an Envi- The first week of January weather service’s records date 6 17 ronmental Impact Assessment process. 2018 in Sumter won’t just be re- back to 1901. The group includes personnel who operate the un- membered for New Year’s Eve Overnight low temperatures Jan. manned aircraft, which are deployed at other locations. parties and college football from Jan. 1-7 ranged from 11 to 19 The base was selected as the preferred location last bowl games. 19 degrees in the county, ac- 7 year and had to wait for the the assessment and a pub- According to the National cording to NWS Meteorologist lic comment period from Oct. 10-Nov. 8, 2017. Weather Service in Columbia, Sumter County set a new re- SEE COLD, PAGE A6 SEE REAPER, PAGE A6 City falls behind on fixing its roads Winter weather causes some deterioration BY ADRIENNE SARVIS [email protected] The roads once made treach- erous because of snow and ice remain a hassle because of added deterioration after days of moisture and freezing tem- peratures. Since the snow, county pub- lic works has not been able to keep up with its maintenance of dirt and gravel roads. Karen Hyatt, assistant direc- tor of Sumter County Public Works, said public works has been a little behind schedule on maintenance since about Christmas. The department will contin- ue its regular maintenance of dirt and gravel roads after they thaw and dry, she said. When the temperature drops below freezing, the roads freeze, and a lot of water or ice on the roads can result in extra potholes, she said. Hyatt said the department has not received complaints about potholes getting worse, MICAH GREEN / THE SUMTER ITEM Vehicles pass over potholes on the bridge over Second Mill Pond on Liberty Street after the snow melted this week. SEE POTHOLES, PAGE A6 County gets clean audit, OKs plans for veterans memorial park BY ADRIENNE SARVIS revenues and spent approximately $51 gates, valued at $265,000, to the Second go toward the construction of a veter- [email protected] million, leaving a more than $800,000 Mill Pond dam reconstruction project. ans memorial park on Broad Street difference. The current spillway gates were in- Extension adjoining Shaw Air Force Sumter County received an unmodi- Sumter County Council passed a stalled in the early ’90s, county admin- Base. fied opinion — clean audit — for its balanced budget of $49.39 million in istrator Gary Mixon said. The park will be a joint project be- 2017 financial reporting and was ap- June 2016. Automated spillway gates are a tween the county, city and base, plauded by the auditing company, A detailed look into the county’s much safer system that will hopefully Mixon said. Webster Roger LLP, for turning in its 2017 budget will be included in Fri- prevent flooding such as occurred in Some adjustments have been made financial report months earlier than day’s edition. 2015, he said. to the previous plans for the park, in- in past years. Later, council approved first reading In the same ordinance, county coun- cluding the placement of a Tuskegee According to the audit report, the of an ordinance to amend the 2017 cil approved the transfer of $500,000 county collected about $51.8 million in budget to add automated spillway from the county’s hospitality fund to SEE COUNCIL, PAGE A6 VISIT US ONLINE AT DEATHS, B3 WEATHER, A8 INSIDE Janie G. Adger Nancy K. White AT LEAST IT’S NOT SNOW 2 SECTIONS, 14 PAGES the .com Robert McCloud William C. Jefferson VOL. 123, NO. 60 William Myers Sr. Isaac C. Joe Sr. A few showers in the James Amos Sr. Mable Dukes afternoon; showers Classifieds B6 Sports B1 Ray Dempson Myrtle H. Baker tonight, too Comics B4 Television B5 Robert B. Harrell Bertha Edwards HIGH 71, LOW 59 Opinion A7 Reanell N. Bradley Leon A. Hamblin Sr. Barbara Ann N. Adams A2 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] Deputy coroner tried to kill woman, litter officer COLUMBIA (AP) — A deputy coro- in the area. Leonard Bradley, 62, had Litter control officer Levi Brown The sheriff said Bradley had a rela- ner on personal leave drove up to a been an officer all of his life, starting was talking to the woman around tionship with the woman, who was not woman he knew and began shooting with Columbia police in 1975 and 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when Bradley identified. Lott did not give details. at her and a litter control officer she working for the Richland County coro- drove up and started shooting, Lott Richland County Coroner Gary was talking to before he killed himself, ner's office since 2006, authorities said. said. Watts turned the death investigation a South Carolina sheriff said. "Our careers kind of followed each Brown was hit in the arm and fin- over to Lexington County since Brad- The litter officer was wounded but other. I never had an idea something ger. His bulletproof vest stopped one ley was his employee. is expected to recover. The woman like this would happen," Lott said at a shot to his chest, Lott said. Brown Bradley had been on personal leave was not hurt and fled to a home where news conference. couldn't fire back because one of the for about a week, but gave no indica- she was able to lock herself inside, Lott said it would be impossible to shots hit his gun and broke it during tion he might be experiencing severe Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott know exactly why Bradley started the ambush. problems in his life, Watts said. said. shooting because he killed himself be- Bradley tried to follow the woman "If you ever get to the point that it The shooting Tuesday in Hopkins, a fore anyone could ask. Authorities into the home and fired a number of doesn't bother you doing these things, suburb about 15 miles southeast of have not said why Bradley was on per- random shots before shooting himself you're in the wrong line of work," Columbia, stunned law enforcement sonal leave. in the head, Lott said. Watts said. "And this is a tough one." Local S.C. All-State Chorus students recognized Through competitive auditions, 37 students from Crestwood, Lakewood and Sumter high schools earned spots on the S.C. All-State Chorus. Sumter School District Board of Trustees recognized these outstanding students at its meeting on Monday after hearing them perform. The students were chosen from among thousands of students statewide who auditioned for the limited number of slots. The most competitive choral competition at the high school level, the All- State Chorus is comprised of superior high school singers who also know how to read music. These Sumter School District students will join with the other selected students from across South Carolina to learn and sing together under guest clinicians in March at Winthrop University in Rock Hill. To see individual photos of the students, visit https://www. facebook.com/SumterSCSchools/. PHOTO PROVIDED duced them and McKay is a STATE BRIEFS kind man who gets along ‘Great Halifax Explosion’ is topic FROM WIRE REPORTS with her four grown chil- dren she had with Mark Jenny Sanford is Sanford. of Genealogical Society meeting getting married Mother charged CHARLESTON — Former in infant's death BY IVY MOORE one knows much about it son will set the Halifax explo- South Carolina first lady GREENVILLE — Author- Special to The Sumter Item today, including most Canadi- sion in the context of previous Jenny Sanford is ready to ities say a South Carolina ans.” such events and explain the get married again. woman has been charged in Joseph Angus Matheson Jr. Matheson has a personal causes and effects of the mas- Nearly eight years after connection with the co- of Camden will be the present- connection to the event, as his sive explosion. divorcing then-Gov. Mark sleeping death of her er at Monday’s meeting of the grandfather’s brother Angus The Sumter County Genea- Sanford, who had publicly 7-week-old son. Sumter County Genealogical “missed the explosion by only logical Society meets monthly admitted an affair with a The Greenville News re- Society. His topic for the 7:30 an hour, as he was released from September through May. woman in Argentina, Jenny ported Tuesday that 21-year- p.m. meeting at Swan Lake from the Halifax Naval Hospi- The public is invited to attend Sanford posted a picture old Kendall Reid Bishop was Presbyterian Church, 912 tal that morning to go home to at no charge.