Classifieds B6 Comics B3 Opinion A9 Sports B1 Television B5 2 SECTIONS, 16 PAGES VOL. 122, NO. 231 INSIDE Mary A. Taylor Humzie M. Way Sr. Doshia B. Rogers W. Richard Ardis Glenn E. Kobza Annie L. Damon Marion E. Clark Richard Brown Jr. DEATHS, B4 WEATHER, A10 STAYING HOT Partly sunny today with a shower or thunderstorm in places. Keep an eye on forecasts for Hurricane Irma. HIGH 90, LOW 71 VISIT US ONLINE AT the .com TELEVISION: Politics of 2016 election invade ‘American Horror Story: Cult’ B5 Forecasters warn to be on alert for Hurricane Irma TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 | Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894 75 cents RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM Dr. Tracey Fleming’s vision of The Sidewalk Cafe is taking shape on South Main Street amid a beehive of construction activi- ty. The emergency room physician plans to open the cafe to serve healthy Southern cuisine. Here, she displays her winning trophy from a bodybuilding contest last year. Sumter MD has downtown cafe plans Dr. Tracey Fleming is not your average mom. During the week, she plays the role of full-time mom: tak- ing her three kids to and from school and going to their after- school activities. Her schedule re- volves around what they have going on, she says. But come the weekend, she’s a full-time emergency room physi- cian at Palmetto Health Tuomey, working a 12-hour night shift — 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. — on Friday through Sunday nights. To fill both roles, on weekdays she sleeps at night, but on the weekends she must sleep during the day. Add to that, Fleming took up body building in 2015 and ’16, and now she’s also a local, small-busi- ness entrepreneur about to open a downtown restaurant. This all equates to one super-charged woman, but Fleming says she takes it all in stride. Fleming’s mother was an ER sec- retary at a hospital as Fleming grew up in Chattanooga, Tennes- see, and she says her childhood role models were two female ER doctors who worked with her mom. She says she set her goals then to become a doctor, but she had no in- tention of working in the ER. However, after medical school, she did her residency as an ER doc- tor, and she says she loved it. “I did that rotation in emergency medicine, and I love it,” Fleming said. “I lived to go to work, and I just enjoyed it. I said, ‘This is what I was meant to do, to be an ER doc.’” She describes emergency medi- cine in ER as “fast paced, not know- ing what’s coming next and living on the edge.” She says she works Friday through Sunday nights because it still allows her to be a full-time mom to her three kids: Trenton, 14; Lori, 12; and Bailey, 7. Her husband, Willie, is in the Air Force. She says she met him after moving to Sum- ter in 1999 for a position at Tuomey. She describes her getting into bodybuilding a few years as a “fluke.” One morning in January 2015 while eating breakfast she saw on the newspaper’s front page that Sumter was planning to host its first bodybuilding competition about three months later through the local YMCA. It piqued her inter- est. Lifting weights was a pastime for Fleming — she says she did it throughout medical school but then got away from it. So, at the time in 2015, “feeling like a middle-aged frumpy housewife,” she says, with a body image she just didn’t like, she drove straight to the YMCA to ask if there was any chance she would be able to get in shape before the BY BRUCE MILLS [email protected] IMAGE PROVIDED This artist rendering shows the exterior of The Sidewalk Cafe, which is sched- uled to open in mid- to late October. The 154 S. Main St. location is the site of the historic Watson Drug Store building in downtown Sumter. SEE FLEMING, PAGE A5 Summer of Caring connects a community Connected within six degrees. “We sure have a lot to be grateful for,” Sumter United Ministries Executive Di- rector Mark Champagne said. “We make choices or decisions every day that affect the people and the world around us.” How can you affect the world? Many of you have heard about the theory of “six degrees of separation,” he said. Simply, the theory is that ev- eryone in the world is only separated by an average of six ac- quaintances, he said. Keeping that in mind, how much of an effect does Sum- mer of Caring have? Champagne asked. “It’s hard to say,” he said. But the near- ly $22,000 donated since the project’s in- ception in 2014 and the almost $4,000 col- lected this year has and will help a lot of people, he said. Champagne said although the finan- cial donations have been significant in changing people’s lives, much bigger things have been at work. How many people were moved to vol- unteer, how many people donated direct- ly to the ministry and how many people read the stories and came to the ministry with a need for assistance? he asked. Remember, if six degrees separates ev- eryone, how many people were reached on social media or by print, by an idea or something encouraging? Champagne asked. “My point is that often, more is hap- pening quietly in the background, in the ‘unseen’,” he said. Quietly, one evening last week Cham- pagne received a text that included a pic- ture of a family of three leaving the min- istry’s shelter for their own housing. “They visited the shelter just to tell us,” he said. Quietly the staff at the shelter passed the news on to the shelter director, who quietly told Champagne who not so qui- etly is telling the public. “What will happen next?” Champagne asked. “I sure don’t know, but I’m confi- dent someone will quietly make a deci- sion because of it.” “Often, God works quietly in a still, small voice,” he said. In conclusion, The Sumter Item, a Sumter United Ministries Business Alli- ance partner, is an excellent example of how the people of Sumter can help each other, he said. “We are very thankful that they have chosen us to benefit from their effort,” he said. In June, July and August, the Sumter BY ADRIENNE SARVIS [email protected] SEE CARING, PAGE A8 A2 REGION Haley: Leader ‘begging for war’ NEW YORK — North Korea’s leader is “begging for war,” the U.S. ambassa- dor said Monday at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, as members called for punishing the country with even stronger sanctions for its powerful nuclear test. Ambassador Nikki Haley said the U.S. would look at countries doing business with the North and planned to circulate a resolution this week with the goal of getting it approved Sept. 11. “Enough is enough. War is never something the United States wants. We don’t want it now. But our coun- try’s patience is not unlimited,” Haley said. “The United States will look at every country that does business with North Korea as a country that is giv- ing aid to their reckless and danger- ous nuclear intentions.” The move came as South Korea said it was seeing preparations in the North for an ICBM test and fired mis- siles into the sea to simulate an attack on the North’s main nuclear test site. Also on Monday, President Trump spoke by phone with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and agreed that Sunday’s underground nuclear test by North Korea was an unprece- dented provocation. The two leaders also agreed to remove the limit on the payload of South Korean mis- siles. BY MARIA SANMINIATELLI and JENNIFER PELTZ The Associated Press North Korea’s Kim set off hydrogen bomb on Sunday; trade resolution is new goal SEE NORTH KOREA, PAGE A8 ER doctor, bodybuilder, mom will open healthy restaurant in October
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Classifieds B6
Comics B3
Opinion A9
Sports B1
Television B5
2 SECTIONS, 16 PAGES
VOL. 122, NO. 231
INSIDEMary A. Taylor
Humzie M. Way Sr.Doshia B. RogersW. Richard Ardis
Glenn E. KobzaAnnie L. DamonMarion E. Clark
Richard Brown Jr.
DEATHS, B4 WEATHER, A10STAYING HOT
Partly sunny today with a shower or thunderstorm in places. Keep an eye on
forecasts for Hurricane Irma.HIGH 90, LOW 71
VISIT US ONLINE AT
the .com
TELEVISION: Politics of 2016 election invade ‘American Horror Story: Cult’ B5
Forecasters warn to be on alert for Hurricane Irma
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 | Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894 75 cents
RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM
Dr. Tracey Fleming’s vision of The Sidewalk Cafe is taking shape on South Main Street amid a beehive of construction activi-ty. The emergency room physician plans to open the cafe to serve healthy Southern cuisine. Here, she displays her winning trophy from a bodybuilding contest last year.
Sumter MD has downtown cafe plans
Dr. Tracey Fleming is not your average mom. During the week, she plays the role of full-time mom: tak-ing her three kids to and from school and going to their after-school activities. Her schedule re-volves around what they have going on, she says.
But come the weekend, she’s a full-time emergency room physi-cian at Palmetto Health Tuomey, working a 12-hour night shift — 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. — on Friday through Sunday nights. To fill both roles, on weekdays she sleeps at night, but on the weekends she must sleep during the day.
Add to that, Fleming took up body building in 2015 and ’16, and now she’s also a local, small-busi-ness entrepreneur about to open a downtown restaurant. This all equates to one super-charged woman, but Fleming says she takes it all in stride.
Fleming’s mother was an ER sec-retary at a hospital as Fleming
grew up in Chattanooga, Tennes-see, and she says her childhood role models were two female ER doctors who worked with her mom.
She says she set her goals then to become a doctor, but she had no in-tention of working in the ER.
However, after medical school, she did her residency as an ER doc-tor, and she says she loved it.
“I did that rotation in emergency medicine, and I love it,” Fleming said. “I lived to go to work, and I
just enjoyed it. I said, ‘This is what I was meant to do, to be an ER doc.’”
She describes emergency medi-cine in ER as “fast paced, not know-ing what’s coming next and living on the edge.”
She says she works Friday through Sunday nights because it still allows her to be a full-time mom to her three kids: Trenton, 14; Lori, 12; and Bailey, 7. Her husband, Willie, is in the Air Force. She says she met him after moving to Sum-ter in 1999 for a position at Tuomey.
She describes her getting into bodybuilding a few years as a “fluke.”
One morning in January 2015 while eating breakfast she saw on the newspaper’s front page that Sumter was planning to host its first bodybuilding competition about three months later through the local YMCA. It piqued her inter-est.
Lifting weights was a pastime for Fleming — she says she did it throughout medical school but then got away from it. So, at the time in 2015, “feeling like a middle-aged frumpy housewife,” she says, with a body image she just didn’t like, she drove straight to the YMCA to ask if there was any chance she would be able to get in shape before the
BY BRUCE [email protected]
IMAGE PROVIDED
This artist rendering shows the exterior of The Sidewalk Cafe, which is sched-uled to open in mid- to late October. The 154 S. Main St. location is the site of the historic Watson Drug Store building in downtown Sumter.
SEE FLEMING, PAGE A5
Summer of Caring connects a community
Connected within six degrees.“We sure have a lot to be grateful for,”
Sumter United Ministries Executive Di-rector Mark Champagne said. “We make choices or decisions every day that affect the people and the world around us.”
How can you affect the world? Many of you have heard about the theory of “six degrees of separation,” he said. Simply,
the theory is that ev-eryone in the world is only separated by an average of six ac-quaintances, he said.
Keeping that in mind, how much of an effect does Sum-mer of Caring have? Champagne asked.
“It’s hard to say,” he said. But the near-ly $22,000 donated since the project’s in-ception in 2014 and the almost $4,000 col-lected this year has and will help a lot of people, he said.
Champagne said although the finan-cial donations have been significant in changing people’s lives, much bigger things have been at work.
How many people were moved to vol-unteer, how many people donated direct-ly to the ministry and how many people read the stories and came to the ministry with a need for assistance? he asked.
Remember, if six degrees separates ev-eryone, how many people were reached on social media or by print, by an idea or something encouraging? Champagne asked.
“My point is that often, more is hap-pening quietly in the background, in the ‘unseen’,” he said.
Quietly, one evening last week Cham-pagne received a text that included a pic-ture of a family of three leaving the min-istry’s shelter for their own housing.
“They visited the shelter just to tell us,” he said.
Quietly the staff at the shelter passed the news on to the shelter director, who quietly told Champagne who not so qui-etly is telling the public.
“What will happen next?” Champagne asked. “I sure don’t know, but I’m confi-dent someone will quietly make a deci-sion because of it.”
“Often, God works quietly in a still, small voice,” he said.
In conclusion, The Sumter Item, a Sumter United Ministries Business Alli-ance partner, is an excellent example of how the people of Sumter can help each other, he said.
“We are very thankful that they have chosen us to benefit from their effort,” he said.
In June, July and August, the Sumter
BY ADRIENNE [email protected]
SEE CARING, PAGE A8
A2
REGION
Haley: Leader ‘begging for war’
NEW YORK — North Korea’s leader is “begging for war,” the U.S. ambassa-dor said Monday at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council,
as members called for punishing the country with even stronger sanctions for its powerful nuclear test.
Ambassador Nikki Haley said the U.S. would look at countries doing business with the North and planned to circulate a resolution this week with the goal of getting it
approved Sept. 11.“Enough is enough. War is never
something the United States wants. We don’t want it now. But our coun-try’s patience is not unlimited,” Haley said. “The United States will look at every country that does business with North Korea as a country that is giv-ing aid to their reckless and danger-ous nuclear intentions.”
The move came as South Korea said it was seeing preparations in the North for an ICBM test and fired mis-
siles into the sea to simulate an attack on the North’s main nuclear test site.
Also on Monday, President Trump spoke by phone with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and agreed that Sunday’s underground nuclear test by North Korea was an unprece-dented provocation. The two leaders also agreed to remove the limit on the payload of South Korean mis-siles.
BY MARIA SANMINIATELLI and JENNIFER PELTZThe Associated Press
North Korea’s Kim set off hydrogen bomb on Sunday; trade resolution is new goal
SEE NORTH KOREA, PAGE A8
ER doctor, bodybuilder, mom will open healthy restaurant in October
Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected]
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A2 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 THE SUMTER ITEM
The One Sumter Commu-nity group will meet at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 325 Fulton St., where the Rev. James Blassingame is the pastor.
Debbie Hamm, interim su-perintendent of Sumter School District, will be the guest. In order to further in-troduce her to the communi-ty, One Sumter invites Sum-ter residents, including local church members, school personnel and students and every neighborhood group, to attend Sunday's meeting.
For more information, contact the Rev. Joshua Du-pree at (803) 795-3600.
One Sumter to meet Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
A 38-year-old Manning resident died during a wreck on Panola Road in Claren-don County early on Sunday morning.
Sumter Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. David Jones said the driver, Darrin Lang, was traveling southbound on Pa-nola Road when his vehicle, a 2013 Dodge Journey, went off the right side of the road.
The vehicle struck an em-bankment and rolled multi-ple times, striking multiple trees, he said.
Lang, who was wearing a seatbelt, was entrapped in-side the vehicle and died at the scene, Jones said.
The wreck is still under investigation.
Manning man dies in wreck in Clarendon
BY JORDAN ROOT AND RENEE DUFFMeteorologists for AccuWeather.com
Residents along the Gulf and East coasts need to be on the alert for major Hurricane Irma as she moves across the northern Caribbean and toward the United States.
As Irma hits the northern Caribbe-an with flooding rain, damaging winds and rough surf this week, bringing life-threatening conditions to the islands, AccuWeather warns a similar scenario could play out somewhere along the Gulf or East coasts this weekend or next week, depending on where Irma tracks.
"This hurricane has the potential to be a major event for the East Coast. It also has the potential to sig-nificantly strain FEMA and other governmental resources occurring so quickly on the heels of Harvey," Evan Myers, expert senior meteorol-ogist and chief operating officer, said.
A landfall in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas is all in the realm of possibilities. Irma could also head into the Gulf of Mexico. Another scenario is that Irma could curve
northward and miss the East Coast entirely. This would still generate large surf and rip currents along the East Coast. However, this scenario is the least likely to occur at this point.
The exact path of Irma beyond the end of the week remains uncertain and will depend on a variety of mov-ing parts in the atmosphere.
"A large area of high pressure across the central North Atlantic is helping to steer Irma," AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said.
This feature will be the main driv-
ing force of Irma over the next few days. As the weekend approaches, other factors will come into play.
"The eastward or northeast pro-gression of a non-tropical system pushing across the central and east-ern U.S. this week will highly impact the long-range movement of Irma," Kottlowski said.
How fast or slow this non-tropical system moves will be an important factor on where Irma is steered this weekend into next week. The speed of this feature will determine when and how much Irma gets pulled
northward or whether Irma contin-ues on more of a westward track.
This amount of uncertainty means that the entire southern and eastern U.S. should monitor Irma this week. Residents along the coast are urged to start preparing and making sure plans are in place to deal with the worst-case scenario. This includes plans on how to evacuate and what is important to bring with you and your family.
"As we saw just 10 days ago with Harvey, it is important to be ready to evacuate," Myers said.
Because of Irma following so close-ly on Harvey's heels and because FEMA and other government re-sources will be strained, more prepa-ration and storm aftermath may rest on individuals, Myers said. It may be crucial to evacuate ahead of the storm, so preparation is key.
If Irma were to make landfall as a Category 4 or 5 storm somewhere in the U.S., it would be in historical ter-ritory.
"The U.S. has not sustained a di-rect hit from two Category 4 or above hurricanes in more than 100 years," Myers said.
East Coast urged to pay attention to Irma
COLUMBIA (AP) — Utili-ty companies were warned more than a year ago that a South Carolina nuclear reactor project was doomed, yet failed to heed warnings that could have saved the venture, accord-ing to a summary of a re-port prepared by a major project management com-pany.
The March 2016 summa-ry describes recommended changes Santee Cooper and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. needed to make to the construction of two new reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station, including hiring someone to enforce contractor ac-countability and holding regular meetings with con-tractors.
The Associated Press ob-tained the summary on Sunday.
SCANA, SCE&G's parent company, and Santee Coo-per didn't immediately re-spond to messages seeking comment.
The utilities in 2014 hired Bechtel Corp., a global en-gineering, construction and project management company, to do an indepen-dent analysis of the proj-ect. State lawmakers prob-ing the project's failure have sought the report, which they hope will shed light on why ratepayers have been forced to fund the now-abandoned reac-tors that are only one third complete. Gov. Henry Mc-Master, who has said he's looking for a way to save it, has also requested the re-
port's release.Santee Cooper board
chairman Leighton Lord has said the report led the board to call for an inde-pendent construction mon-itor at V.C. Summer, but that notion was rejected by SCANA, which was pri-marily in charge of build-ing and starting the reac-tors.
The project was already years behind schedule and billions over budget when Westinghouse declared bankruptcy in March, void-ing a fixed-price contract negotiated in 2015 to limit costs to $14 billion. Utility executives, who had al-ready jointly spent nearly $10 billion, said they were forced to give up after de-termining the price tag for completing the project, budgeted at $11 billion in 2008, had soared beyond $20 billion.
SCANA officials have said the company heavily guarded the report's re-lease because the utilities hired Bechtel in anticipa-tion of suing Westing-house, which designed the reactors and was lead con-tractor on the project.
The post-bankruptcy-analysis also concluded both reactors could not be operational until 2024. Util-ity customers have paid more than $2 billion on the failed project through rate hikes since 2009. The com-panies don't expect to re-fund anything, and cus-tomers could end up pay-ing off that debt over de-cades.
While the utility execu-tives blamed Westinghouse, senators said the utilities have known for years that problems existed yet failed to change course.
Last month, Santee Coo-per officials testified the project never had a de-tailed construction sched-ule, with state regulators approving expansions based on "generic" sched-ules not specific to the site. Utility executives said they tried unsuccessfully for years to get a full schedule from Westinghouse, which owns the technology for re-actors not previously built in the United States, but instead were given six months of plans at a time, which would inevitably have to be rescheduled.
State officials have said schedules did exist but were never followed. SCE&G updated its budget and timetable each quar-ter, giving regulators "no lawful way" to deny a rate hike request, Duke Scott of the Office of Regulatory Staff testified last month.
Lonnie Carter, recently retired as Santee Cooper's CEO, told senators his util-ity first "raised concerns" about the project in 2013, causing the utilities to hire Bechtel for the indepen-dent analysis.
At least three lawsuits have been filed over the failed project, with plain-tiffs accusing the utilities of mismanagement and seeking some sort of com-pensation for fronting the failed projects for years.
‘This hurricane has the potential to be a major event for
the East Coast. It also has the potential to significantly
strain FEMA and other governmental resources
occurring so quickly on the heels of Harvey.’
EVAN MYERS
AccuWeather expert senior meteorologist and chief operating officer
Report: Utilities were warned before S.C. nuclear project flop
Sumter City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. today in City Council Chambers, Sumter Opera House, 21 N. Main St., to consider final reading of an ordinance to rezone 1.45 acres of land at 36 and 40 S. Artillery Drive from residen-tial-6 to limited commercial.
Council will also consider an ordinance to rezone 1.34 acres of land at 1750 U.S. 15 S. from agricultural conserva-tion and planned development to general commercial.
Later, city council will con-sider a resolution to authorize a contract for a Crosswell Drive and Yeadon Street sewer line replacement proj-ect.
And, during an executive session, council will discuss and possibly take action re-garding appointments to city boards and commissions.
Sumter City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. today
Drug dealer’s sneaker collection for sale
NEWARK, Ohio — A cen-tral Ohio county is selling off an assortment of collect-ible sneakers seized from a convicted drug dealer.
The Columbus Dispatch re-ports there are 67 boxes of confiscated footwear up for sale by Licking County offi-cials. Bids will be accepted through Sept. 15 on the web-site GovDeals.com. Proceeds will be used to fund drug in-vestigations by the Licking County law enforcement task force that found the sneakers.
The name-brand shoes range in size from 10 to 12.
The 48-year-old Newark man who owned the sneak-ers received 11 years in pris-on last month after being convicted of possessing more than a half-pound of cocaine and 100 pills con-taining the deadly opioid fentanyl.
THE SUMTER ITEM STATE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 | A3
South Carolina bowler still rolling with his league at 99BY CHRIS LAVENDERSpartanburg Herald-Journal
ROEBUCK — Jim McGuffin was at Paradise Lanes to enjoy one of his favorite activities Tues-day when he got a little surprise.
The bowling alley hosted a birthday party for McGuffin, who turned 99 on Aug. 27. Cake, ban-ners and a bowling pin signed by McGuffin’s fel-low bowlers in the Kings and Queens Senior Citi-zens League were all part of the festivities.
McGuffin said he began bowling in the late 1930s, before he joined the U.S. Army and served overseas during World War II. The Roebuck resi-dent said he still enjoys going bowling, which he does every week, all these years later.
“I just like the activity and being with the peo-ple,” he said. “I have always been active my whole life. It’s good exercise.”
During WWII, McGuffin served in North Afri-ca and Austria, working in offices supporting the war effort. When he returned to Spartanburg, he got an office job at Draper on Pine Street.
He said he was thankful to be surrounded by his bowling friends at the party and appreciated
their generosity.Kings and Queens League President Doug
Baldwin said McGuffin is like a father to every-one in the league.
“He’s quiet and peaceful,” Baldwin said. “You don’t hear complaints out of him. He’s a good bowler, and to be 99 and have a 150 average is great. At 96, he bowled a 300 game. He will be here at 100 if he is able to.”
McGuffin has recorded three perfect games in the league, where a strike can be recorded by knocking down nine or 10 pins on your first roll.
Linda Gamble, the owner of Paradise Lanes, said McGuffin has bowled at the business since it opened in 1984. She said she looks forward to seeing him every Tuesday.
“He’s been bowling now for a number of years and still enjoys coming out,” Gamble said. “ It’s something that he can still enjoy at 99.”
Fellow bowler Jack Boozer joined the league in 2015 but met McGuffin while playing in anoth-er league.
“It’s a delight to have him with us,” Boozer said. “He’s always happy and smiling and bowls pretty well, too.”
STATE BRIEFFROM WIRE REPORTS
Agency looks at eclipse for green it generated
CHARLESTON — South Carolina wants to shine a light on about how much money last month’s total solar eclipse
generated for businesses.The Post and Courier of
Charleston reported the state Department of Parks, Recre-ation and Tourism has hired a firm to find out about travel-ers’ planning, preferences and money spent for the eclipse weekend. Agency director Duane Parrish said the re-sults are expected within a
couple weeks.Parrish said the spending
may have been significant with hotels inside the path of totality sold out or nearly sold out be-fore and after the eclipse, in-cluding in lesser-traveled tour-ist destinations such as New-berry and Santee. Admissions revenue for state parks tripled or quadrupled for that Monday.
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A4 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 NATION THE SUMTER ITEM
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mil-lions of people who buy indi-vidual health insurance poli-cies and get no financial help from the Affordable Care Act are bracing for another year of double-digit premium increas-es, and their frustration is boil-ing over.
Some are expecting premi-ums for 2018 to rival a mort-gage payment.
What they pay is tied to the price of coverage on the health insurance markets created by the Obama-era law, but these consumers get no protection from the law's tax credits, which cushion against rising premiums. Instead they pay full freight and bear the brunt of market problems such as high costs and diminished com-petition.
On Capitol Hill, there's a chance that upcoming biparti-san hearings by Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., can produce legislation offering some relief. But it depends on Republicans and Democrats working togeth-er despite a seven-year health care battle that has left raw feelings on both sides.
The most exposed consumers tend to be middle-class people who don't qualify for the law's income-based subsidies. They include early retirees, skilled tradespeople, musicians, self-employed professionals, busi-ness owners and people such as Sharon Thornton, whose small employer doesn't provide health insurance.
"We're caught in the middle-class loophole of no help," said Thornton, a hairdresser from Newark, Delaware. She said she's currently paying about $740 a month in premiums and expects her monthly bill next year to be about $1,000, a 35 percent increase.
"It's like buying two new iPads a month and throwing them in the trash," said Thorn-ton, whose policy carries a de-ductible of $6,000. "To me, $1,000 a month is my beach house that I wanted to have."
A suggestion that she could qualify for financial assistance by earning less only irritates
her more. "My whole beef is that the government is telling me: 'If you work less, we'll give you more,'" said Thornton, who's in her 50s.
If people such as Thornton drop out, they not only gamble with their own health. Their departure also means the group left behind gets costlier to cover as healthier customers bail out. That's counter to the whole idea of insurance, which involves pooling risk.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Buying health insurance has always been a challenge for people getting their own poli-cies outside the workplace. Be-fore "Obamacare," insurers could turn away those with health problems or charge them more. Former President
Obama sold his plan as the long-awaited fix.
It would guarantee coverage regardless of health problems, provide tax credits and other subsidies for people of modest means and generate competi-tion among insurers to keep premiums in check for all. The overhaul sought to create one big insurance pool for individu-al coverage in each state, no matter whether consumers bought plans through Health-Care.gov or traditional middle-men such as insurance bro-kers.
But an influx of sicker-than-expected customers drove up costs for insurers, while many younger, healthier people stayed on the sidelines. Politi-cal opposition from Republi-cans complicated matters by
gumming up the law's internal financial stabilizers for insur-ers.
The result was a 25 percent average increase in the price of a mid-level plan on HealthCare.gov heading into this year. Many states expect a similar scenario for 2018, but this time insurers say uncertainty about the Trump administration's in-tentions is driving up their bids ahead of the Nov. 1 start of open enrollment.
About 17.6 million people buy individual health insurance policies, and half of them get no subsidies under the law, ac-cording to estimates by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. The number of unsubsidized customers with ACA plans outside the health insurance marketplaces
dropped by 20 percent this year, after the big premium increas-es.
"The unsubsidized part of the market outside the ex-changes has shrunk noticeably as premiums have increased," said Kaiser's Larry Levitt. "It's likely that the people dropping out of the market are healthier overall. So the pool has poten-tially deteriorated."
It's time to shift focus in the health care debate, said Sen. Alexander, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Commit-tee, which plans hearings be-ginning this coming week.
"The people who are really getting hammered — they are the ones we need to help," said Alexander, R-Tenn. "We've got a few weeks to come to consen-sus in this seven-year-old parti-san stalemate, and if we don't break it, some people will be priced out and badly hurt."
Alexander envisions limited legislation that guarantees dis-puted subsidies for copayments and deductibles another year, while giving states more leeway to design less-costly plans. Democrats are looking for fi-nancing to help insurers with high-cost cases. Experts say that guaranteeing the subsidies should lead to an immediate cut in premiums in many states.
Thornton, the Delaware hair-dresser, said she doesn't know what to believe anymore. She said she voted for Donald Trump — her first time for a Republican — partly out of frustration with her health care costs.
"I'm ready to stomp on the White House lawn," she said. "I am fuming."
AP FILE PHOTO
There’s a chance that upcoming bipartisan hearings by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., right, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., can produce legislation offering relief in the health care debate.
Millions who buy health insurance brace for sharp increases
20th AnniversaryThe Sumter Sports Hall of Fame
Sponsored by The Salvation ArmyBoys & Girls Club of Sumter
The Sumter Sports Hall of Fame recognizes athletes and coaches who have demonstrated throughout their careers in sports those qualities which clearly identify them as champions. This recognition will be permanent and will be located in a place open to public viewing. This year’s ceremony will be held on November 6, 2017.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTSTo be considered for induction into the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame, the athlete must meet the following criteria: 1. Be a native of Sumter County, or 2. Have attended four years of school in Sumter County, three of
which were at the senior high level, or 3. Be a resident of the Sumter area for a suffi cient period of time to
be considered a permanent resident, or 4. Meet one of the above requirements or have been a coach for a
minimum of 10 years.
NOMINATION FORMNominations must be postmarked by September 6, 2017. Please send to:
The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Sumter630 South Sumter Street • Sumter, SC 29151
*Note: There is no need to nominate someone who has been nominated in the past. The prior form will be considered along with the new ones.
Nominee’s Name: ________________________ Phone: _____________Address _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Is nominee: Male ( ) Female ( ), If deceased please check ( )Give a brief narration about nominee. (Attach to entry): _____________Nominated by: ___________________ Phone: ____________________(This will be kept confi dential)Mailing address: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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THE SUMTER ITEM LOCAL TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 | A5
April competition.Missy Corrigan, who co-
ordinates the YFIT member program at Sumter YMCA, told Fleming that she could certainly do it and set up a diet and exercise regimen for her.
For the next 12 weeks, Fleming explains she was lifting weights in the gym five or six days a week, but she says the change in diet was key to her success. That diet consisted of in-creasing her water intake, cutting out fried foods, sug-ars and salt and increasing vegetables.
Fleming said it worked. She went from 17 percent body fat when she started on Jan. 31, 2015, to 11 per-cent on the day of the com-petition in April.
It has resulted in a life-style change for Fleming. Eating better and more healthily meant living bet-ter, Fleming said.
She has also carried it forward to her patients at the hospital.
“I started incorporating what I learned and just the awareness to my patients,” Fleming says. “So, it kind of carries over into: ‘You treat your body well, and you can decrease the body fat. It’s a lifestyle change, and it de-creases your medical prob-lems.’”
She said at the hospital she sees a lot of patients with hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol. Medi-cation can help those condi-tions, but so can eating healthily and cleaner, she says.
“It’s not all exercise; it’s not starving yourself,” Fleming says. “It’s just making a lifestyle change, so it’s not dieting.”
Last year, Fleming trained and competed in her second
local bodybuilding competi-tion and won the motivation award for her healthy-eat-ing lifestyle concepts.
She says now she’s decid-ed to give up on the body-building, but the diet chang-es she learned from ses-sions with Corrigan spawned the idea for open-ing the new, local restau-rant, which will be named The Sidewalk Cafe.
Currently under construc-tion at 154 S. Main St., the restaurant/coffee house will be in the historic Wat-
son Drug Store building, which is being restored as the cafe’s home. The grand opening will be in mid- to late October.
Fleming describes the new restaurant as “a healthier approach to Southern cuisine.” The menu isn’t complete yet but will feature grilled and sau-teed chicken and braised collards, among other items, according to Fleming.
The upstairs level will be the coffee house with a fire-place and cozy environ-ment, Fleming said. As a former medical student her-self, Fleming says she hopes the coffee house will appeal as a comfortable place to study for students at Cen-tral Carolina Technical Col-lege’s Health Sciences Cen-ter, directly across the street in the downtown area.
However, Fleming says “all bets are off” for healthy eating in the coffee house, which will feature various types of homemade bagels, breakfast bagel sandwiches, a few muffins and Whoopie Pies, which consist of dev-il’s food cake with a butter-cream frosting filling sand-wiched in between. Whoopie Pies will be the size of a large cookie, Fleming said.
A working conference room will also be available upstairs.
She said the cafe is about a $1 million investment and has been about two years in the works. Kristyn Compton is the cafe’s general manag-er, and Fleming said she’s been a huge help to her.
With all she has going on in life, Fleming says she still doesn’t view herself as someone extraordinary but just like any other mom.
“Moms — we do what we need to do for our kids,” Fleming says. “This day and age, most households are two parents working. So, you work and take care of your kids. And, occasional-ly, you find something for yourself to do if there are a couple extra minutes. So, I don’t really think I am dif-ferent than anybody else. Just some of the projects that I have undertaken are a little bit larger.”
THE SIDEWALK CAFE
The cafe will open in October.
WHERE: 154 S. Main St., Sumter, SC 29150
RESTAURANT HOURS: Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
COFFEE HOUSE HOURS: Monday to Saturday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
PHONE: (803) 968-0760
ONLINE: www.thesidewalkcafesumter.com
RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM
Dr. Tracey Fleming is seen recent-ly outside the historic Watson Drug Store building, which is being restored as the home of her new restaurant/coffee house.
FLEMING FROM PAGE A1
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A6 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 NATION THE SUMTER ITEM
Harvey's filthy floodwaters pose significant dangers to human safety and the environ-ment even after water levels drop far enough that Southeast Texas residents no longer fear for their lives, according to ex-perts.
Houston already was notori-ous for sewer overflows follow-ing rainstorms. Now the sys-tem, with 40 wastewater treat-ment plants across the far-flung metropolis, faces an un-precedented challenge.
State officials said several dozen sewer overflows had been reported in areas affected by the hurricane, including Corpus Christi. Private septic systems in rural areas could fail as well.
Also stirred into the noxious brew are spilled fuel, runoff from waste sites, lawn pesti-cides and pollutants from the region's many petroleum refin-eries and chemical plants.
The U.S. Environmental Pro-tection Agency reported Sun-day that of the 2,300 water sys-tems contacted by federal and state regulators, 1,514 were fully operational. More than 160 systems issued notices ad-vising people to boil water be-fore drinking it, and 50 were shut down.
The public works depart-ment in Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city, said its water was safe. The system has not experienced the kind of pressure drop that makes it easier for contaminants to slip into the system and is usually the reason for a boil-water order, spokesman Gary Nor-man said.
In a statement Thursday, federal and state environmen-tal officials said their primary concerns were the availability of healthy drinking water and "ensuring wastewater systems are being monitored, tested for safety and managed appropri-ately."
About 85 percent of Hous-ton's drinking water is drawn from surface sources — rivers and reservoirs, said Robin Autenrieth, head of Texas A&M University's civil engi-neering department. The rest comes from the city's 107 groundwater wells.
"I would be concerned about what's in the water that people will be drinking," she said.
The city met federal and state drinking water standards as well as requirements for monitoring and reporting, said Andrew Keese, spokesman for the Texas Commission on En-vironmental Quality.
Keeping it that way will re-quire stepped-up chemical treatments because of the flooding, Norman said.
It's prudent to pump more chlorine and other disinfec-
tants into drinking water sys-tems in emergencies like this, to prevent outbreaks of diseas-es such as cholera and dysen-tery, said David Andrews, se-nior scientist with the Environ-mental Working Group, an ad-vocacy organization. But doing so poses its own risks, he said.
There's often more organic matter — sewage, plants, farm runoff — in reservoirs or other freshwater sources during heavy rains. When chlorine re-acts with those substances, it forms chemicals called trihalo-methanes, which can boost the risk of cancer and miscarriag-es, Andrews said.
"Right now it's a tough time to deal with that, when you're just trying to clean the water up and make sure it's not pass-ing illnesses through the sys-tem," he said. "But we should do better at keeping contami-nation out of source water in the first place."
Federal and state officials said about two-thirds of ap-proximately 2,400 wastewater treatment plants in counties affected by Harvey were fully operational. They said they were monitoring facilities with reported spills and would send teams to help operators restart systems.
Sewage plants are particu-larly vulnerable during severe storms because they are locat-ed near waterways into which they can discharge treated water, said Autenrieth of Texas A&M. When they are flooded, raw or partially treat-ed sewage can spill from pipes, open-air basins and tanks.
A report by the nonprofit re-search group Climate Central said more than 10 billion gal-lons of sewage was released along the East Coast during Superstorm Sandy.
The Houston Chronicle re-ported last year that Houston averages more than 800 sewage overflows a year and is negoti-ating an agreement with the EPA that would require system improvements.
Norman said Houston didn't have a running tally of over-flows during Harvey.
"Anytime you have wet weather of this magnitude, there's going to be a certain amount of sanitary sewage that escapes the system," he said. "That's one reason why we advise people to stay out of floodwaters."
A Texas A&M analysis of floodwater samples from the Houston area revealed levels of E. coli — bacteria that sig-nal the presence of fecal mat-ter — 125 times higher than is safe for swimming. Even wad-ing through such tainted water could cause infections and sickness, said Terry Gentry, an associate professor and special-ist in detecting tiny disease-producing organisms.
"Precautions should be taken
by anyone involved in cleanup activities or any others who may be exposed to floodwa-ters," said a statement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state environ-mental quality commission.
They said they were develop-ing a plan to sample residential wells.
Hazards will remain as wa-ters gradually recede. Puddles, tires and other spots for stand-ing water will attract mosqui-toes, which can spread viruses such as West Nile and Zika, Autenrieth said.
Much of the dirty water will flow through rivers, creeks and bayous into Galveston Bay, re-nowned for its oyster reefs, abundant wildlife and seagrass meadows. Officials will need to monitor shellfish for signs of bacterial contamination, said Doug Rader, chief ocean scien-tist for the Environmental De-fense Fund.
The waters also may be rich with nitrogen and phosphorus, which feed algae blooms. When algae die and rot, oxy-gen gets sucked from the water, creating "dead zones" where large numbers of fish can suffocate.
"You have a potential for lo-calized dead zones in Galves-ton Bay for months or maybe even longer," Rader said.
Harvey’s floodwaters mix a foul brew of sewage, chemicals
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Steven Hathaway searches for people to help in an apartment complex in Kingwood, Texas, on Aug. 29. Authorities say standing water contains untreated sewage, along with spilled fuel and toxic waste. They’re urging residents to stay out of it when possible.
BY JOHN FLESHERAP Environmental Writer
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THE SUMTER ITEM NATION TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 | A7
BY SADIE GURMANThe Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Jefferson Beaure-gard Sessions, a son of the segregated South who was named after leaders of the Confederacy, faces a tough new test of his commitment to protecting civil rights as he oversees the Justice Depart-ment's investigation of the deadly vio-lence at a rally of white nationalists in Virginia.
Sessions' political career has been dogged by questions about race, includ-ing during his confirmation hearings this year. In his six months as attorney general, he has worked quickly to change how the department enforces civil rights law, particularly in the areas of police reform and voting rights.
Yet Sessions was also quick to force-fully condemn the car attack at the neo-Nazi rally in support of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville. His response stood in contrast to that of President Trump, who drew equivalence between the white nationalists and those protest-ing their beliefs. Sessions denounced racism and bigotry and called the driv-er's actions an "evil" act of domestic ter-rorism worthy of a federal civil rights investigation.
Observers say the real test will be in what Sessions does next, given the legal limitations he faces.
Federal hate crimes law may not cover the killing even if it was motivat-ed by hate. Federal criminal law has no specific, catchall charge for acts of do-mestic terrorism. Sessions may decide that the murder charges already leveled against James Alex Fields Jr. in state
court are sufficient for justice."It's my hope that with the degree of
national and international scrutiny, that this department will do the right thing," said Kristen Clarke, a former hate crimes prosecutor and president of the liberal Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. "This is a case that the world is watching."
For Sessions, a genial 70-year-old with an Alabama drawl and an uncompro-mising conservative ideology, leading the Justice Department is the capstone of a decadeslong political career. He has faced questions about his treatment of minorities along the way.
As a federal prosecutor in the 1980s, Sessions charged black community ac-tivists, who were swiftly acquitted, in a voter fraud case that, along with allega-tions of racially charged comments, cost him a federal judgeship. As a Re-publican senator more than 20 years later, he opposed expanding the federal hate crimes statute to protect people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.
Clarke said Sessions' comments in the days after the Charlottesville attack made her cautiously optimistic, but his history has her concerned.
Sessions promised to "advance the in-vestigation toward the most serious charges that can be brought, because this is an unequivocally unacceptable and evil attack that cannot be accepted in America."
But he also acknowledged that decid-ing whether to bring federal charges won't be quick or easy.
Hate crime cases are often challeng-ing because the government must prove
that a suspect was primarily motivated by hatred of the victims' race or reli-gion, as opposed to their political views. The Charlottesville case could be tricky. The victim, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was white. That means investigators will have to prove Fields was targeting minorities when he plowed into the crowd, not just anti-racism protesters.
Prosecutors can argue that a suspect committed a crime not because of the race of the victim but because of the race of the people on whose behalf she was protesting, said William Yeomans, an American University law fellow and former high-ranking official in the Jus-tice Department's civil rights division. But that interpretation of the hate crimes law has rarely if ever been used, he said.
"It's a challenge, but I don't think it's entirely impossible or shouldn't be ex-plored," Yeomans said. "The real mea-sure of (Sessions') commitment and his success in this case will be the thor-oughness of the investigation" even if the case remains in state court.
Fields already faces a long sentence if he is convicted in Virginia, so a federal charge could be seen as largely symbol-ic. Former Attorney General Loretta
Lynch, for example, said she brought hate crimes charges in a massacre at a black church in Charleston because South Carolina has no hate-crimes law, and federal charges were needed to ade-quately address a motive rooted in ra-cial hate.
The latest case is being investigated by career prosecutors and FBI agents, who will make recommendations to Ses-sions. The FBI would not describe the scope of the resources it has devoted to the investigation, but there are signs it is a priority. Agents were looking for clues in Fields' hometown in Ohio the day of the attack.
Sessions has said prosecuting hate crimes is a priority of his civil rights di-vision. Yet he is reshaping the unit in other ways that make advocates ner-vous.
Under Sessions, the department has expressed support for a strict Texas voter ID that a federal judge last month found discriminates against minorities; backed off court-enforceable improve-ment plans for troubled police agen-cies; and told local school districts they no longer must allow transgender stu-dents to use the bathrooms of their choice.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Attorney General Jeff Sessions removes his glasses as he speaks on Capitol Hill in Wash-ington recently.
Charlottesville poses a new civil rights test for attorney general
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A8 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 LOCAL | WORLD THE SUMTER ITEM
United Ministries Crisis Relief Ministry has provided nearly $39,400 in financial assistance to 209 families and assisted 237 families with food, valued at about $11,580.
The construction ministry repaired eight roofs at approx-imately $14,180 and spent near-ly $1,400 building four access ramps for Sumter residents.
The ministry’s emergency shelter has housed 1,209 men and 520 women this summer — 25 of those shelter residents have since left for their own housing.
And the medical clinic has 108 patients and has filled 179 prescriptions this summer.
Total donations received this year to date: $3,555
Total donations received last year: $3,480
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CARING FROM PAGE A1
Scheduled after North Korea said it detonated the hydrogen bomb, the emergency U.N. session also came six days after the council strongly con-demned what it called Pyongyang’s “outrageous” launch of a ballistic mis-sile over Japan. Less than a month ago, the council imposed its stiffest sanctions yet on the reclusive nation.
But the U.S. resolution faces an un-certain future. Russia and China have both proposed a two-pronged ap-proach: North Korea would suspend its nuclear and missile development, and the United States and South Korea would suspend their joint military ex-ercises.
Washington and Seoul say the ma-neuvers are defensive, but Pyongyang views them as a rehearsal for inva-sion. The North recently requested a Security Council meeting about the war games.
The U.S. says there is no comparison between its openly conducted, interna-tionally monitored military drills and North Korea’s weapons programs, which the international community has banned.
Russian Ambassador Vassily Neben-zia told reporters after Monday’s meeting that sanctions alone will not solve the issue and there need to be negotiations too.
“Resolutions aimed solely at sanc-tioning North Korea have not worked
well before,” Nebenzia said.Speaking one after the other, diplo-
mats from France, Britain and Italy reiterated demands for the Kim re-gime to halt its ballistic missile and
nuclear weapons programs and urged further sanctions.
French Ambassador Francois Delat-tre said France was urging the adop-tion of new U.N. sanctions, swift im-
plementation of existing ones and new, separate sanctions by the Euro-pean Union.
“Pyongyang poses a clear threat to international peace and security and is increasingly and seriously challeng-ing the global nonproliferation re-gime,” said Sebastiano Cardi, the U.N. ambassador from Italy, which heads the North Korea sanctions compliance committee. He noted that North Korea is the only country to have tested a nuclear device in the 21st century.
The North trumpeted that its sixth nuclear test blast since 2006 was a “perfect success.”
“We cannot waste any more time. And in order to do that, we need North Korea to feel the pressure, but if they go down this road there will be consequences,” Japanese Ambassador Koro Bessho told reporters ahead of the council meeting.
The council aimed to take a big bite out of the North Korean economy ear-lier this month by banning the North from exporting coal, iron, lead and seafood. Together, those are worth about a third of the country’s $3 bil-lion in exports last year.
The council could look to sanction other profitable North Korean exports, such as textiles. Another possibility could be tighter limits on North Korean laborers abroad; the recent sanctions barred giving any new permits for such workers. The United States suggested other ideas earlier this summer, includ-ing air and maritime restrictions and restricting oil to North Korea’s military and weapons programs.
NORTH KOREA FROM PAGE A1
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
United Nations U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley addresses a U.N. Security Council meeting on North Korea on Monday at U.N. headquarters.
Eastern Caribbean battens down as Hurricane Irma approaches
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Workers in the north-east Caribbean cleared drains and pruned trees as authorities urged islanders to prepare for Hurricane Irma, a Category 3 storm that grew stronger Monday and was forecast to begin buffeting the region the fol-lowing day.
Emergency officials warned that Irma could dump up to 10 inches of rain, unleash land-slides and dangerous flash floods and generate waves of up to 23 feet as the storm draws closer.
A hurricane warning was issued for Antigua and Barbu-da, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Martin, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and St. Barts.
“We’re looking at Irma as a very significant event,” Ron-ald Jackson, executive direc-tor of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, said by phone. “I can’t recall a tropical cone de-veloping that rapidly into a major hurricane prior to ar-riving in the central Caribbe-an.”
Irma is expected to strengthen in the next couple of days, and its center is fore-cast to move near or over the northern Leeward Islands to-night and early Wednesday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
A hurricane watch was in effect for Puerto Rico, Vi-eques, Culebra, the British and U.S. Virgin islands and Guadeloupe. A tropical storm watch was issued for Domini-ca.
U.S. residents were urged to monitor the storm’s progress
in case it turns northward to-ward Florida, Georgia or the Carolinas.
In the Caribbean, Antigua
and Anguilla shuttered schools on Monday, and gov-ernment office closures were expected to follow.
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COMMENTARY
COMMENTARY
THE SUMTER ITEM TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 | A9
The message in the storm
WASHINGTON — Nobody wants to pick on Texas, or especially Houston, after a 1,000-year weather event that for several days turned the city into a
lake and dispossessed thousands of their homes, belongings and, in some cases, loved ones.
The ultimate effects of the storm blandly named Harvey are yet to be fully understood. What is known is that most of the homes de-stroyed were uninsured for flooding and that U.S. taxpayers will be doing much of the bailing.
Meanwhile, comparisons to Hurricane Katrina 12 years ago are intriguing, if one is fortunate enough to be hugging dry land. Chief among the obvious differences is the death toll. Katrina took close to 2,000 lives. As of Friday, Har-vey’s toll was 46, and the figure wasn’t expected to rise signifi-cantly.
Numbers matter little to those in mourning, but such compari-sons can be instructive. In ex-plaining differences between
Katrina and Harvey, most experts naturally ex-amine the weather itself and topography. During Katrina, New Orleans, which is shaped like a bowl, was hardest hit. Flooding from burst le-vees, as well as the colossal tidal surge driven by winds, essentially filled the bowl.
In Houston during Harvey, the main force of the storm came from the skies, which dropped 9 trillion gallons (nearly 50 inches) of water onto the city, the flat topography of which gave resi-dents an obvious advantage over New Orleans. Although cataclysmic over time, Houston’s flood-ing was less abrupt and gave people more time to find higher ground.
Setting aside weather factors — and postpon-ing for now a critique of human failure — a cou-ple of distinguishing psycho-techno-sociological factors also came into play. First, in 2005 when Katrina hit, there was no widespread use of smartphones — iPhone hadn’t hit the market yet — and social media was in its incipient stages. Facebook was only a year old and still restricted to college students.
A second important factor affecting outcomes was the way people responded to the storm. Many New Orleans residents, given their histori-cal distrust of public officials, disregarded warn-ings and failed to heed evacuation orders. In Houston, there was no call to evacuate.
And though many of the poor in both cities often had no means of personal transportation, nearly every household in sprawling Houston has at least one car, according to the Census Bu-reau. New Orleans in 2005, by contrast, had the fourth-highest rate among 300 metropolitan areas of individuals without access to a house-hold car.
Thus, the storms were very different, as were the people primarily affected. Reaction to the two storms also was initially different, though a com-mon denominator seems to be the God factor. Re-call that when Katrina hit New Orleans, some members of the cloth, including the Rev. Frank-lin Graham, Catholic priest Gerhard Wagner and televangelist John Hagee, opined that God was punishing the city for its legendary indulgences and supposed sins.
But where is the comparable condemnation of Houston given Harvey’s Noah-esque propor-tions? How soon before some looney says that Houston, the epicenter of America’s energy and oil industry, bears responsibility for the flood? Already, one pastor is saying that Harvey was retribution for Houston’s leniency toward the LBGT community. And Ann Coulter suggested that Harvey was more likely God’s punishment for Houston’s lesbian mayor than a result of cli-mate change.
No matter what one’s religious beliefs or com-mercial incentives, it is absurd to blame cities or their residents for natural disasters. When other-wise intelligent people engage in such hyperbolic rhetoric, they encourage the sort of dumbing down that gets people killed. The science behind weather events isn’t that complicated to under-stand.
As a footnote, the Christian God doesn’t single out the poor or the powerless for punishment. Rather, as Jesus said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God,” and also that the meek would inherit the Earth — if they still want it.
But make no mistake: We are being warned. Storms of the Harvey variety will become not one-in-1,000-year events but one-in-100. And then, well, who knows beyond worse-is-coming? The least we can do is exercise our free will — and our reasoning powers — to mitigate the effects of human activities on global warming to the extent possible.
If we don’t, Mr. President, we’re going to need a bigger ark.
Kathleen Parker’s email address is [email protected].
© 2017, Washington Post Writers Group
Kathleen Parker
Time to drop colleges’ quotas, preferences
When a policy has been vigorously followed by venerable institu-tions for more than a
generation without getting any closer to producing the desired results, perhaps there is some problem with the goal.
That thought was prompted by a New York Times story head-lined “Even With Affirmative Ac-tion, Blacks and Hispanics Are More Underrepresented at Top
Colleges Than 35 Years Ago.’’ It presented enroll-ment data from 100 selective col-leges and uni-versities — the eight Ivy League schools, nine University of California cam-puses, 20 “top’’ liberal arts col-
leges, 14 “other top universities’’ and 50 “flagship’’ state universi-ties. (They total 100 because UC Berkeley appears in two catego-ries.)
The numbers showed some variation — as one might expect, given states’ different ethnic compositions — but the bottom line was similar. In 2015 — as in 1980, when these statistics were first gathered — blacks and His-panics were, in the words of the Times headline, “underrepre-sented.’’
In that single awkward word is embedded an important assump-tion: that in a fair society, the ethnic balance in every institu-tion should resemble that of the larger society. This assumption is behind the “affirmative action’’ policies that college and universi-ty admissions offices have been following with something resem-bling religious devotion since well before 1980.
That inevitably means violat-ing the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s ban on racial discrimination. Un-
challengeable data make clear that schools regularly admit blacks and Hispanics with much lower test scores than those clas-sified as whites and, particularly, Asians.
The Supreme Court left an opening for such discrimination in its 1978 Regents of the Univer-sity of California v. Bakke and 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger deci-sions, supposedly to encourage “diversity.’’ But Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote in the Grut-ter decision, “25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary.’’ That’s 11 years from today.
This discrimination is harmful — not least to university admin-istrators, many of whom feel obliged to lie systematically about what they are doing. Its harm to those who are discrimi-nated against is real but not over-whelming; most will find places in other selective schools.
The greatest harm — as Rich-ard Sander and Stuart Taylor’s 2012 book, “Mismatch,’’ makes clear — is to the intended benefi-ciaries. It casts a pall of illegiti-macy over their legitimate achievements. They are dis-missed, as liberals have dis-missed Justice Clarence Thomas, as affirmative action hires.
As Sander and Taylor point out, instruction tends to be aimed at the median student. Students who arrive less pre-pared — and test scores are a good measure of this — will often fall behind. Blacks and Hispanics graduate and pass professional exams at lower rates than their better-prepared schoolmates.
The supposed benefits of diver-sity, which O’Connor identified in Grutter as excusing racial dis-crimination, appear to be dismal-ly small.
None of the 100 colleges and universities cited in the Times ar-ticle has a black student percent-
age at or above that of the col-lege-age population. Only 11 (nine in California, one each in Arizona and Texas) have Hispan-ic percentages above the national percentage; only UC Merced tops its state’s Hispanic percentage.
Why does “underrepresenta-tion’’ persist despite administra-tors’ earnest efforts? The reason is that selective schools, by defi-nition, seek students who are at the right tail of bell curve distri-butions of test scores and, as Brookings Institution scholars Richard Reeves and Dimitrios Halikias report, “race gaps on the SATs are especially pro-nounced at the tails.’’
No one decries the “underrep-resentation’’ of most groups on National Basketball Association teams or the list of Nobel Prize recipients, both drawn from the right tails of particular skills. Se-lective institutions such as the U.S. Army and the New York Po-lice Department have “overrepre-sentation’’ of blacks and Hispan-ics.
Excellence should be celebrat-ed wherever it is found (and looked for in unlikely places). And attention and respect should be paid to those without right-tail skills who work and contribute conscientiously to society — for example, lots of the people who have been rescuing so many in Houston. You don’t have to be elite to earn success.
In the meantime, let’s admit that talents and interests aren’t proportionately distributed in a fair society and that it’s time to drop colleges’ racial quotas and preferences.
Michael Barone is a senior politi-cal analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of The Alma-nac of American Politics.
© 2017 CREATORS.COM
Michael Barone
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO DONATED SUPPLIES FOR HURRICANE VICTIMS
Tuesday, late afternoon, I received a phone call from a woman named Melissa Elmore who works for a company in Manning called Mid State Tooling. She kindly asked if my husband’s business would be interested in donating toward Texas relief. Once we established a few things, I told her that we would be able to put a few donations together for them. She told me that her boss had it in his heart to pack a truck and head toward the devastation and give to those in need. I felt the same way but had no way of knowing exactly what to do or how to give. We made plans for her to pick up our dona-tions at the end of the business day [Aug. 31]. In my mind, our staffing would gather a few items includ-ing blankets, clothing and non-perishables, and we would be happy with our collection. I had no idea that waiting in the wings were so many Sumter folks who felt the same way as I and were ready to give freely from their hearts but had no outlet to do so.
[Aug. 30], at 10:30 a.m., I made a short Facebook post about us, Hudson Veterinary Hospital, collect-ing donations for Texas. In a few short minutes, I had a huge response. Friends shared the post. Hun-dreds of people saw it, replied and responded. We began collecting in our lobby area. That stack be-came so large that we began filling one of our exam rooms. That room filled! We starting using another exam room and filled it! And the stack overflowed
into the lobby area once more! People from Sumter poured into our doors giving food, clothing, pet care items, blankets and toiletries. It was amazing. I, as well as the staff, was in awe at the huge response and love that flowed from Sumter! I had to call Mid State Tooling to let them know that they needed to bring a bigger truck. It was a great call to “have” to make! Mid State Tooling came to collect. We filled two trucks and a van! To say that Sumter stepped up would be an understatement. A quote from Helen Keller came to mind as we witnessed the out-pouring of human kindness, “Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.”
JENNIFER HUDSONSumter
WEATHER
TODAY’S
SOUTH
CAROLINA
WEATHERTemperatures shown on map are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
LOCAL ALMANAC
NATIONAL CITIES REGIONAL CITIES
LAKE LEVELS SUN AND MOON
TIDESRIVER STAGES
Temperature
Precipitation
Full 7 a.m. 24-hrLake pool yest. chg
Flood 7 a.m. 24-hrRiver stage yest. chg AT MYRTLE BEACH
High Ht. Low Ht.
City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/WCity Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
AccuWeather® fi ve-day forecast for Sumter
Spartanburg
Greenville
Gaff ney
Columbia
BishopvilleFlorence
MyrtleBeach
Sumter
Manning
Charleston
Aiken
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017
TODAY
Partial sunshine
90°
SATURDAY
Sunny, breezy and
pleasant
82° / 59°
NE 10-20 mph
Chance of rain: 5%
FRIDAY
Sunny and pleasant
83° / 58°
NE 7-14 mph
Chance of rain: 5%
THURSDAY
Variable cloudiness
82° / 58°
NNW 6-12 mph
Chance of rain: 15%
WEDNESDAY
A shower and
t-storm around
84° / 61°
SW 7-14 mph
Chance of rain: 60%
TONIGHT
A shower or t-storm
in spots
71°
SSW 4-8 mph
Chance of rain: 40%
SSW 7-14 mph
Chance of rain: 25%
High 90°Low 64°Normal high 87°Normal low 66°Record high 97° in 2010Record low 52° in 1967
Yesterday 0.00"Month to date 0.08"Normal month to date 0.39"Year to date 27.65"Last year to date 38.42"Normal year to date 33.78"
SUMTER YESTERDAY
Murray 360 356.53 -0.04Marion 76.8 75.14 -0.06Moultrie 75.5 75.10 -0.01Wateree 100 97.96 +0.05
Black River 12 3.24 +0.07Congaree River 19 1.16 -1.77Lynches River 14 2.72 -0.11Saluda River 14 2.25 +0.02Up. Santee River 80 75.77 +0.03Wateree River 24 8.34 +0.14
Sunrise 6:58 a.m. Sunset 7:42 p.m.Moonrise 7:33 p.m. Moonset 6:10 a.m.
Full Last
Sep. 6 Sep. 13
New First
Sep. 20 Sep. 27
Today 8:57 a.m. 3.1 3:39 a.m. 0.3 9:31 p.m. 3.5 3:45 p.m. 0.2Wed. 9:39 a.m. 3.2 4:20 a.m. 0.1 10:10 p.m. 3.5 4:30 p.m. 0.1
Asheville 81/62/pc 68/50/rAthens 88/66/pc 77/55/tAugusta 91/70/pc 86/62/tBeaufort 88/74/t 88/68/tCape Hatteras 85/76/pc 84/70/tCharleston 88/74/t 88/67/tCharlotte 89/67/pc 75/56/tClemson 88/67/pc 76/56/rColumbia 92/72/pc 86/62/tDarlington 88/71/pc 85/60/tElizabeth City 89/73/s 84/64/tElizabethtown 87/73/pc 84/63/tFayetteville 89/71/pc 85/61/t
Florence 88/71/pc 85/62/tGainesville 88/71/pc 86/71/pcGastonia 88/66/pc 73/54/tGoldsboro 88/72/pc 83/64/tGoose Creek 87/73/t 88/66/tGreensboro 86/65/s 72/53/tGreenville 87/66/pc 73/56/rHickory 85/63/pc 71/52/rHilton Head 86/76/t 87/68/tJacksonville, FL 89/73/t 89/70/tLa Grange 89/68/pc 79/56/tMacon 90/68/pc 81/58/tMarietta 85/65/pc 74/54/sh
Marion 84/63/pc 68/50/rMt. Pleasant 86/75/t 88/68/shMyrtle Beach 87/74/pc 86/66/tOrangeburg 88/70/pc 86/62/tPort Royal 86/73/t 86/66/tRaleigh 89/68/s 79/58/tRock Hill 87/67/pc 78/56/tRockingham 88/69/pc 81/58/tSavannah 88/73/t 89/67/tSpartanburg 87/65/pc 73/53/tSummerville 87/72/t 87/65/tWilmington 88/73/pc 85/66/tWinston-Salem 85/62/s 71/52/t
Tue. Wed. Tue. Wed. Tue. Wed.
Atlanta 86/66/pc 74/57/tChicago 70/50/pc 66/51/pcDallas 95/67/pc 85/63/sDetroit 72/50/c 67/50/pcHouston 92/74/pc 86/63/pcLos Angeles 84/68/pc 86/66/pcNew Orleans 89/74/t 85/69/tNew York 86/66/pc 70/62/rOrlando 91/74/t 91/74/tPhiladelphia 87/66/pc 69/61/rPhoenix 107/83/pc 107/84/pcSan Francisco 80/65/pc 77/65/sWash., DC 87/65/pc 68/59/r
Tue. Wed.
IN THE MOUNTAINS
Today: Partly sunny and pleasant. Winds southwest 6-12 mph.Wednesday: Cooler with periods of rain. Winds northeast 4-8 mph.
ON THE COAST
Today: A thunderstorm on the prowl in the afternoon. High 84 to 88.Wednesday: A shower and thunderstorm around. High 84 to 88.
62/8765/87
61/87
70/92
67/8968/88
73/87
69/90
69/90
72/88
68/88
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PUBLIC AGENDA
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Double-check every piece of information
you acquire. Confusion is likely to set in due to misinformation or making assumptions. Slow down and look at every aspect of each situation you face. Personal gains and self-improvement are featured.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Combine a little charm with team spirit and you will be able to get the help you need to reach your goals. Be honest regarding your motives or someone is likely to leak your true agenda, making you look bad.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Handle requests with caution. Someone may try to trick you into taking on more responsibility than you are ready to handle. Don’t let emotional manipulation cause you to make poor choices. Focus on personal growth.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don’t feel obligated to follow the crowd. Use your imagination and you’ll discover a host of new ways to improve your home environment and your relationships with someone you deal with each day. Don’t limit what you can accomplish.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You can be passionate about doing something, but if you let your emotions take over and your imagination run wild, you are apt to make a mistake you’ll later regret. Live within your means. Make every penny count.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Remain calm and stay focused. Don’t expect others to do things your way. Dig in and do what needs to be done to keep moving forward. Stay in step and be accountable for what transpires. A change will do you good.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Social events, children’s activities and volunteering your time to help others will bring high rewards. Personal gains will be yours if you adjust your lifestyle to ensure you get optimum return on your dollar. Romance is highlighted.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Trust your instincts and use your imagination. Make unique adjustments to the way you live or how you do your job. Put your physical attributes to good use. What you do will make a difference to the way things turn out.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Truth, honesty and fair play will be necessary if you want to solve any pending problems you have with a friend, relative or peer. Listen, take notes and document what has happened. Implement positive change and keep moving forward.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Look for unique solutions to any contractual negotiations or settlements you are facing. The effort you put in will help you block someone trying to take advantage of you. Avoid being impulsive. Time is on your side.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t believe everything you hear. Divulging a secret will be counterproductive. Bide your time and let things unfold naturally. A backup plan should be in place for when the time is right to make your move.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Don’t fool yourself into believing something that isn’t true. Let the chips fall where they may and do your best to acknowledge your contributions to any problem that may surface. It takes two to tango, so don’t put the blame on someone else.
SUMTER CITY COUNCILToday, 5:30 p.m., Sumter Opera House, 21 N. Main St.
BISHOPVILLE CITY COUNCILToday, 6:30 p.m., Colclough Building
TOWN OF LYNCHBURG PLANNING COMMISSIONWednesday, 4 p.m., town hall
A10 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 DAILY PLANNER THE SUMTER ITEM
The last word in astrology
EUGENIA LAST
AROUND TOWN
Donate blood today at the YMCA
Blood and platelet donors of all blood types, especially types O negative and O posi-tive, are urgently needed. Schedule your donation appointment by using the free Blood Donor App, by visiting www.redcross-blood.org or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Those who do-nate blood or platelets Sept. 1-30 will receive a coupon via email for a free haircut from Sport Clips. Help save a life by partici-pating in one of the follow-ing American Red Cross blood donation opportuni-ties: 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. today, YMCA of Sumter, 510 Miller Road; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, Morris College, Neal Jones Auditorium, 100 W. College St.; and 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Fri-day, Sept. 15, Boots & Badges Sumter Police / Fire Departments, 111 N. Harvin St.Carter-Sullivan American Le-gion Post 204 will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6, at 623 Headstart St., Manning.The Sumter Branch NAACP will sponsor a health fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, at Mari-on H. Newton Family Life Center, 415 Manning Ave. The Sumter Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at Shiloh-Ran-dolph Manor, 125 W. Bartlette St. The present-ers are Danielle Driscoll, CRC Region III Director, S.C.
Commission for the Blind, and Karma Marshall. The spotlight is shining on Sarah Bracey and the as-sociate member is Willie Ruth Pressley. Make your gala ticket reservations for Dec. 12. Contact Debra Canty, chapter president, at (803) 775-5792 or [email protected] Sumter County Library’s Forrest Ray 5K will be held on Saturday, Sept. 16, be-ginning at 8 a.m. at the li-brary. Visit www.sumter-countylibrary.org The Sumter Combat Veterans Group will hold its annual golf tournament on Saturday, Sept. 16, at Crystal Lakes Golf Course, 1305 Clara Louise Kellogg Drive. There will be a 9 a.m. shotgun start. Registration fee is $50 per golfer limited to the first 20 teams. Fee in-cludes continental break-fast, lunch, souvenirs, cart, green fees, refreshments during play and door priz-es. Team format will be Captain’s Choice Four-Per-son Team. There will be first and second place prizes for men’s and wom-en’s teams. Call Earnest Roland at (803) 840-0935 or Dutch Holland at (910) 973-3223.The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 11078 of Summerton will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at the VFW Post on Cantey Street, directly behind First Citizens Bank. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m. Call Carl A. Farley at (803) 478-7593 or (803) 460-8910.
FYIThe Sumter County Recreation Department offers free after school programs during the 2017-2018 academic school year at the following loca-tions: Catchall-Shaw Com-munity Center, Cherryvale Community Center, DeLaine Community Center, Eastern Community Center, Ebene-zer Community Center, Pinewood Community Cen-ter, Rembert-Rafting Creek Community Center and Salterstown Community Center. To register or for additional information, call the Recreation Department
at (803) 436-2248.The Rembert Area Community Coalition offers an after school program for students from kindergarten to sixth grade at the youth center in Rem-bert. Children receive assis-tance with homework, school projects, etc. A nutri-tious snack is served daily. There is a small monthly fee. Registrations are ac-cepted 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at 8455 Camden Highway, U.S. 521, Rembert, in front of the car wash. Contact Dr. Juanita Britton at (803) 432-2001.
Look no further than your local newspaper for
The right advertising opportunity!
Call (803) 774-1200 and get started today.
Teresa Oelze comments on her photo submission, “This squirrel visits our deck apparently quite frequent-ly. So far, he has inspected the pool brush, several grill brushes, and sat on a fountain. On this visit, he de-cided to clean the grill.”
Call: (803) 774-1241 | E-mail: [email protected]
BSECTION
TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 5, 2017
AUTO RACING COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Sweeping comeback
DARLINGTON — Denny Hamlin has run for champi-onships before without suc-cess. He’s worked hard this season to make sure his lat-est try for a title the way he and his team want.
Hamlin won for the sec-ond time this season and es-tablished himself a strong contender for his first NAS-
CAR crown when he over-came a bad mistake to take the Southern 500 at Darling-ton Raceway.
Hamlin reeled in Martin Truex Jr. with three laps left, erasing a deficit of some 20 seconds to sweep Darling-ton’s throwback weekend.
After a regular-season fin-ish at Richmond Interna-tional Raceway next week, the playoffs get going and Hamlin again plans to be hot
on the heels of regular-sea-son points champion Truex.
We’ve been at this point before where we had wins going into the playoffs,” Hamlin said. “Luck has kept us from championships in the past and mistakes have kept us from championships in the past. Not many times has it been performance.”
Hamlin said he’s taken a less from team owner — and three-time Super Bowl win-
ner — Joe Gibbs.“Coach is all about having
a game plan,” Hamlin said. “And it’s something I’ve re-ally worked hard on this year is studying notes and coming up with a game plan when I get to the track.
“Hopefully,” he said, “it pays off 11, 12 races from now.”
Gibbs said Hamlin quickly
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Denny Hamlin celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Bojangles’ Southern 500 on Sunday at Darlington Raceway in Darlington.
Hamlin erases 20-second deficit in final laps for Southern 500 victory to take both weekend events at Darlington Raceway
BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press
SEE COMEBACK, PAGE B4
USC FOOTBALL COMMENTARYCLEMSON FOOTBALL
After a low-stress opener, Tigers ready for bigger test
CLEMSON — Clemson line-backer Kendall Joseph was glad for the fifth-ranked Ti-gers’ championship celebra-tion and the easy win over Kent State last Saturday. He knows things will get much tougher in a hurry with No. 12 Auburn headed to Death Val-ley.
Joseph and the Tigers had little trouble dispatching the Golden Flashes 56-3 , a season-opening game that was as much one last party for last season’s national champion-ship.
“That,” Joseph said, “was not our truest test.”
Joseph knows if Clemson hopes to get into the mix for this year’s College Football Playoff, the journey starts in earnest against a Southeast-ern Conference opponent. And he believes his team is ready.
“It’s what we come to col-lege for,” he said Monday. “We don’t come to play low ranked teams. We want the big show-
downs, the prime-time games on TV, everybody watching.”
Clemson has won more than its share of those the past few
years, topped by the 35-31 vic-tory over No. 1 Alabama last
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
After easily topping Kent State 56-3, Clemson’s Milan Richardson (80), Hunter Renfrow (13) and the rest of the fifth-ranked Tigers are ready for a bigger challenge this week when they welcome No. 12 Auburn to Memorial Stadium.
BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press
SEE TIGERS, PAGE B4
Seminoles QB Francois to have knee surgery today
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State quarterback De-ondre Francois will have sea-son-ending knee surgery
today, leaving command of the offense to a true freshman.
Head coach Jimbo Fisher said Monday that Francois faces four to seven
months of rehabilitation after his operation on Tuesday to repair the torn patellar tendon in his left knee.
Francois was hurt during the fourth quarter of last Sat-urday’s 24-7 loss to top-ranked Alabama in Atlanta.
Fisher said he spoke to Francois on Sunday and added that the 6-foot-2, 205-pound sophomore feels disappointed that he will be out for the rest of the season. Fisher added this was the first time that he has had a player suffer this type of injury and that it nor-mally happens to players in their late 20’s.
“You become so connected as a team when you’re a quar-terback, when you go through the work habits and the things you have to do to play at this level, you feel like you let them down,” Fisher said.
Fisher also announced that James Blackman will start for the third-ranked Seminoles when they host Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday. Black-man was in for the final series against Alabama but didn’t at-tempt a pass.
Guard Landon Dickerson said that Blackman has shown a good command in the huddle during practices and in limited game situations.
“He does a great job. As a freshman coming in, it can be challenging sometimes,” Dick-erson said. “But I like that he has confidence in what he says and saying stuff with confi-dence affects the whole team. The way he talks can make ev-eryone else go on with him.”
BY JOE REEDYThe Associated Press
FRANCOIS
SEE FRANCOIS, PAGE B4
Better get ready for wild football season for USC
If watching or listening to the South Carolina Gamecocks’ 35-28 victo-
ry over North Carolina State caused your blood pressure to rise or caused a rapid increase in your
heart rate, you’ve likely got one of two choices: stock up on the medicine to care for those con-ditions or just don’t know the
outcome of USC games until after the fact.
The odds are that the vast majority of Carolina’s 12 regular-season games are going to be like Satur-day in Charlotte: tight and often down to the last min-ute.
Based on most of its pre-season practice being closed to the public and the media, it was next to im-possible to get a read on South Carolina. However, based on what the Game-cocks did against the Wolf-
pack, it is probably what most of Gamecock Nation anticipated.
USC proved to be explosive on offense with a lot of bend-ing and trying not to break very often on defense. There should be improvement as
DennisBrunson
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
If Saturday’s 35-28 victory over N.C. State was any indication, it’s going to be a wild season for quarterback Jake Bentley (19) and the rest of the South Carolina Gamecocks.
SEE USC, PAGE B4
B2 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 SPORTS THE SUMTER ITEM
SCOREBOARD
TV, RADIOTODAYNoon – Professional Tennis: U.S. Open Men’s and Women’s Quarter-final Matches from Flushing, N.Y. (ESPN).2:30 p.m. – International Soccer: UEFA 2018 World Cup Group G Qualifying Match from Reggio Emilia, Italy – Italy vs. Israel (FOX SPORTS 1).2:30 p.m. – International Soccer: UEFA 2018 World Cup Group I Qualifying Match from Reykjavik, Iceland – Ukraine vs. Iceland (FOX SPORTS 2).6:05 p.m. – Talk Show: Sports Talk (WDXY-FM 105.9, WDXY-AM 1240).7 p.m. – Professional Tennis: U.S. Open Men’s and Women’s Quarter-final Matches from Flushing, N.Y. (ESPN).7 p.m. – Major League Baseball: New York Yankees at Baltimore or Toron-to at Boston (MLB NETWORK).7:30 p.m. – Major League Baseball: Texas at Atlanta (FOX SPORTS SOUTHEAST, WWFN-FM 100.1, WPUB-FM 102.7).9 p.m. – Amateur Golf: World Long Drive Championship Mixed Team Fi-nals from Thackerville, Okla. (GOLF).10 p.m. – Major League Baseball: Houston at Seattle or Los Angeles Angels at Oakland (MLB NETWORK).
MLB STANDINGSBy The Associated Press
AMERICAN LEAGUEEAST DIVISION W L Pct GBBoston 77 60 .562 —New York 74 63 .540 3Baltimore 70 68 .507 7½Tampa Bay 68 70 .493 9½Toronto 63 74 .460 14CENTRAL DIVISION W L Pct GBCleveland 81 56 .591 —Minnesota 71 65 .522 9½Kansas City 68 68 .500 12½Detroit 58 79 .423 23Chicago 54 82 .397 26½WEST DIVISION W L Pct GBHouston 83 53 .610 —Los Angeles 70 67 .511 13½Seattle 69 68 .504 14½Texas 68 68 .500 15Oakland 58 78 .426 25
SUNDAY’S GAMESCleveland 11, Detroit 1Baltimore 5, Toronto 4, 12 inningsChicago White Sox 6, Tampa Bay 2Houston 8, N.Y. Mets 6Kansas City 5, Minnesota 4Texas 7, L.A. Angels 6Seattle 10, Oakland 2N.Y. Yankees 9, Boston 2
MONDAY’S GAMESKansas City 7, Detroit 6N.Y. Yankees 7, Baltimore 4Cleveland 5, Chicago White Sox 3L.A. Angels at Oakland, 4:05 p.m.Houston at Seattle, 6:40 p.m.Minnesota at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m.Toronto at Boston, 7:10 p.m.Texas at Atlanta, 7:35 p.m.
TODAY’S GAMESN.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 11-5) at Bal-timore (Hellickson 8-8), 7:05 p.m.Kansas City (Vargas 14-9) at De-troit (Sanchez 3-3), 7:10 p.m.Minnesota (Colon 6-10) at Tampa Bay (Odorizzi 7-7), 7:10 p.m.Toronto (Estrada 7-8) at Boston (Rodriguez 4-5), 7:10 p.m.Texas (Gonzalez 7-10) at Atlanta (Teheran 9-11), 7:35 p.m.Cleveland (Salazar 5-6) at Chicago White Sox (Holmberg 2-3), 8:10 p.m.L.A. Angels (Richards 0-0) at Oak-land (Graveman 4-4), 10:05 p.m.Houston (Verlander 10-8) at Seat-tle (Miranda 8-6), 10:10 p.m.
WEDNESDAY’S GAMESMinnesota at Tampa Bay, 1:10 p.m.L.A. Angels at Oakland, 3:35 p.m.N.Y. Yankees at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.Kansas City at Detroit, 7:10 p.m.Toronto at Boston, 7:10 p.m.Texas at Atlanta, 7:35 p.m.Cleveland at Chicago White Sox, 8:10 p.m.Houston at Seattle, 10:10 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUEBy The Associated Press
EAST DIVISION W L Pct GBWashington 82 54 .603 —Miami 67 69 .493 15Atlanta 60 75 .444 21½New York 59 78 .431 23½Philadelphia 52 85 .380 30½CENTRAL DIVISION W L Pct GBChicago 75 61 .551 —Milwaukee 72 66 .522 4St. Louis 69 67 .507 6Pittsburgh 65 72 .474 10½Cincinnati 59 79 .428 17WEST DIVISION W L Pct GBLos Angeles 92 44 .676 —Arizona 79 58 .577 13½Colorado 73 64 .533 19½San Diego 62 75 .453 30½San Francisco 54 86 .386 40
SUNDAY’S GAMESPhiladelphia 3, Miami 1, 12 inningsPittsburgh 3, Cincinnati 1Houston 8, N.Y. Mets 6
Milwaukee 7, Washington 2Atlanta 5, Chicago Cubs 1Arizona 5, Colorado 1St. Louis 7, San Francisco 3San Diego 6, L.A. Dodgers 4
MONDAY’S GAMESCincinnati 5, Milwaukee 4N.Y. Mets 11, Philadelphia 7Colorado 4, San Francisco 3Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh, 4:05 p.m.St. Louis at San Diego, 4:40 p.m.Washington at Miami, 7:10 p.m.Texas at Atlanta, 7:35 p.m.Arizona at L.A. Dodgers, 8:10 p.m.
TODAY’S GAMESChicago Cubs (Hendricks 6-4) at Pittsburgh (Brault 0-0), 7:05 p.m.Milwaukee (Davies 16-7) at Cincin-nati (Stephenson 3-4), 7:10 p.m.Philadelphia (Lively 2-5) at N.Y. Mets (deGrom 14-8), 7:10 p.m.Washington (Strasburg 11-4) at Miami (Despaigne 0-2), 7:10 p.m.Texas (Gonzalez 7-10) at Atlanta (Teheran 9-11), 7:35 p.m.San Francisco (Blach 8-11) at Colo-rado (Senzatela 10-5), 8:40 p.m.Arizona (Greinke 16-6) at L.A. Dodgers (Ryu 5-7), 10:10 p.m.St. Louis (Wacha 10-7) at San Diego (Wood 3-4), 10:10 p.m.
WEDNESDAY’S GAMESMilwaukee at Cincinnati, 12:35 p.m.Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.Philadelphia at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m.Washington at Miami, 7:10 p.m.Texas at Atlanta, 7:35 p.m.San Francisco at Colorado, 8:40 p.m.Arizona at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.St. Louis at San Diego, 10:10 p.m.
NFL SCHEDULEBy The Associated Press
THURSDAYKansas City at New England, 8:30 p.m.
SUNDAYN.Y. Jets at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Atlanta at Chicago, 1 p.m.Baltimore at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Pittsburgh at Cleveland, 1 p.m.Arizona at Detroit, 1 p.m.Jacksonville at Houston, 1 p.m. Tampa Bay at Miami, 1 p.m. Oakland at Tennessee, 1 p.m.Philadelphia at Washington, 1 p.m. Indianapolis at L.A. Rams, 4:05 p.m. Seattle at Green Bay, 4:25 p.m. Carolina at San Francisco, 4:25 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
MONDAYNew Orleans at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m.L.A. Chargers at Denver, 10:20 p.m.
TRANSACTIONSBy The Associated Press
BASEBALLCOMMISSIONER’S OFFICE — Re-duced the 4-game suspension of N.Y. Yankees C Gary Sanchez to three games.National LeagueATLANTA BRAVES — Assigned RHP Enrique Burgos outright to Gwin-nett (IL).
FOOTBALLNational Football LeagueATLANTA FALCONS — Terminated the contract of DT Ra’Shede Hage-man. Placed LB LaRoy Reynolds on injured reserve. Signed DT Joe Vel-lano, DL Taniela Tupou, RB Jhurell Pressley, TE Josh Perkins, DE J’Terius Jones, S Marcelis Branch, OT Daniel Brunskill and WRs Deante Burton and Marvin Hall to the practice squad. Added TE Alex Gray to the practice squad as an exempt player.DALLAS COWBOYS — Placed TE Rico Gathers injured reserve.DENVER BRONCOS — Placed LB Shane Ray on injured reserve. Signed QB Brock Osweiler to a one-year contract.PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Signed RB Le’Veon Bell to a one-year con-tract.
WNBA STANDINGSBy The Associated Press
EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GBx-New York 22 12 .647 —x-Connecticut 21 13 .618 1x-Washington 18 16 .529 4Atlanta 12 22 .353 10Chicago 12 22 .353 10Indiana 9 25 .265 13
WESTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GBx-Minnesota 27 7 .794 —x-Los Angeles 26 8 .765 1x-Phoenix 18 16 .529 9x-Dallas 16 18 .471 11x-Seattle 15 19 .441 12San Antonio 8 26 .235 19x-clinched playoff spot
SUNDAY’S GAMESNew York 82, Dallas 81Minnesota 86, Washington 72Los Angeles 81, Connecticut 70Phoenix 84, Atlanta 70Seattle 85, Chicago 80
MONDAY’S GAMESNo games scheduled
TODAY’S GAMESNo games scheduled
WEDNESDAY’S GAMESDallas at Washington, 8 p.m.Seattle at Phoenix, 10 p.m.
TODAYVarsity Cross Country
Thomas Sumter at Crestwood, 5 p.m.Varsity Girls Golf
Sumter at West Florence (Oak Dale Country Club), 4:30 p.m.Wilson Hall at Pinewood Prep, 4 p.m.
Varsity Boys SoccerSouth Pointe Christian at Sumter Christian, 5 p.m.
Varsity SwimmingSouth Florence, West Florence, Wil-son at Sumter, TBA
Varsity Girls TennisManning at Sumter, 5 p.m.Thomas Sumter at Wilson Hall, 4 p.m.Carolina at Robert E. Lee, 4 p.m.
Junior Varsity Girls TennisRobert E. Lee at Carolina, 4 p.m.
Varsity VolleyballScott’s Branch at Crestwood, 6 p.m.
Varsity and JV VolleyballLakewood, Wilson Hall at Sumter, 5:30 p.m.Lee Central at Central, 5 p.m.Palmetto Christian at Thomas Sum-ter, 4 p.m.South Pointe Christian at Sumter Christian, 4 p.m.
B Team VolleyballProvidence Athletic Club at Robert E. Lee, 5 p.m.
WEDNESDAYVarsity Cross Country
Sumter at Camden, 5 p.m.Varsity Girls Tennis
Wilson Hall at Pee Dee, 4 p.m.Varsity and JV Girls Tennis
Laurence Manning at Williamsburg, 4 p.m.
Varsity and JV VolleyballLaurence Manning at Williamsburg,
4 p.m.Thomas Sumter at Calhoun Acade-my, 4 p.m.
B Team VolleyballRobert E. Lee, Orangeburg Prep at Wilson Hall (White), 5 p.m.Wilson Hall (Blue) at Holly Hill, 6 p.m.
THURSDAYJunior Varsity Football
Spring Valley at Sumter, 6 p.m.Manning at Crestwood, 6 p.m.Colleton County at Lakewood, 6:30 p.m.Lee Central at Columbia, 6 p.m.Orangeburg Prep at Wilson Hall, 7 p.m.Porter-Gaud at Laurence Manning, 7 p.m.Andrew Jackson Academy at Clar-endon Hall, 6:30 p.m.
B Team FootballOrangeburg Prep at Wilson Hall, 5 p.m.Porter-Gaud at Laurence Manning, 5 p.m.
Middle School FootballThomas Sumter at Carolina, 6 p.m.
Varsity Girls GolfCardinal Newman at Wilson Hall (at Beech Creek Golf Club), 4 p.m.
Varsity Girls TennisSumter at Socastee, 5 p.m.Cardinal Newman at Wilson Hall, 4 p.m.Laurence Manning at Thomas Sum-ter, 4 p.m.
Varsity VolleyballCrestwood at Lower Richland, 6 p.m.
Varsity and JV VolleyballSumter at Socastee, 5:30 p.m.Cheraw at Lee Central, 5 p.m.Thomas Sumter at Carolina, 4 p.m.
Pee Dee at Robert E. Lee, 4 p.m.Andrew Jackson Academy at Clar-endon Hall, 4 p.m.
FRIDAYVarsity Football
Sumter at Spring Valley, 7:30 p.m.Crestwood at Manning, 7:30 p.m.Lakewood at Colleton County, 7:30 p.m.Columbia at Lee Central, 7:30 p.m.Latta at East Clarendon, 7:30 p.m.Scott’s Branch at Bamberg-Eh-rhardt, 7:30 p.m.Wilson Hall at Orangeburg Prep, 7:30 p.m.Cardinal Newman at Laurence Man-ning, 7:30 p.m.Spartanburg Christian at Thomas Sumter, 7:30 p.m.Robert E. Lee at Trinity-Byrnes, 7:30 p.m.Jefferson Davis at Clarendon Hall, 7:30 p.m.
Varsity Boys SoccerEmmanuel Christian at Sumter Christian, 5 p.m.
Varsity VolleyballOrangeburg Christian at Sumter Christian, 5 p.m.
Varsity and JV VolleyballLee Central at Lakewood, 5:30 p.m.
SATURDAYVarsity Cross Country
Lakewood in Coaches Classic (at Sandhills Research Center in Colum-bia), TBA
Varsity SwimmingWilson Hall in Battle of The Mid-lands (Maxcy Gregg Pool in Colum-bia), TBA
Varsity VolleyballSumter, Wilson Hall in Lady Game-cock Spike-Off, TBA
PREP SCHEDULE
SPORTS ITEMS
Nadal crushes Dolgopolov, returns to U.S. Open quarters
NEW YORK — Rafael Nadal easily returned to the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time in four years by routing Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 on Monday.
Nadal turned in his most powerful performance yet on a dominant day for the No. 1 seeds, and moved a victory away from a potential semifi-nal showdown with longtime rival Roger Federer.
Shortly after top-seeded Kar-olina Pliskova overwhelmed American Jennifer Brady 6-1, 6-0 in just 47 minutes, Nadal punished an opponent who had beaten him in two of the previ-ous three meetings.
THOMAS WINS DELL CHAMPIONSHIP
NORTON, Mass. — Justin Thomas added another big title to a season filled with big moments by outlasting Jordan Spieth and Marc Leishman on the back nine of the TPC Bos-ton to win the Dell Technolo-gies Championship.
Two shots behind at the turn, Thomas surged ahead with a short birdie and a 6-foot par save and closed with a 5-under 66 for a 3-shot victo-ry.
WH VOLLEYBALL WINS COPPER BRACKET AT P-G TOURNEY
CHARLESTON — After dropping pool play games to Ashley Hall, Porter-Gaud, Starrs Mill (Ga.), Boiling Springs and Hilton Head, the Wilson Hall varsity volleyball team took Oceanside to three sets and then defeated Mili-tary Magnet and First Baptist to win the Copper Bracket during the Porter-Gaud Invi-tational this past weekend.
For the weekend, Courtney Clark had 60 kills and 14 digs. Cameron Duffy and Becka Noyes combined for 42 kills and 14 blocks. Chandler Cur-
tis had 102 assists and Liza Lowder had 45 digs and five aces. Madison Reaves led the team with 12 aces.
Wilson Hall is now 5-9 over-all will travel to Sumter High today for a trimatch with SHS and Lakewood.
SUNDAY
UCLA 45
TEXAS A&M 44
LOS ANGELES — Josh Rosen faked a spike and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Lasley with 43 seconds remaining and UCLA over-came a 34-point deficit to stun Texas A&M 45-44.
Rosen was 35 of 59 for 491 yards and four touchdowns, and Jalen Starks and Soso Jamabo had touchdown runs for the Bruins in the opener for both teams. (21) VIRGINIA TECH 31
(22)WEST VIRGINIA 24
LANDOVER, Md. — Josh Jackson passed for 235 yards, ran for 101 and accounted for two touchdowns in his first start for Virginia Tech, and the No. 21 Hokies made a last-sec-
ond stand to beat No. 22 West Virginia 31-24.
Jackson was up and down with his passing, but showed off some nifty moves run-ning in the opener for both teams. His 46-yard keeper up the middle set up Travon Mc-Millian’s 3-yard touchdown run that put Virginia Tech up 31-24 with 6:30 left.SOUTHERN 14
S.C. STATE 8
BATON ROUGE, La. — Danny Johnson knocked down a pass at the goalline with 19 seconds left and Southern held on to defeat South Carolina State 14-8.
It was the second time the Bulldogs were turned away late in the fourth quarter.
S.C. State reached the Southern 27 but fumbled a double-reverse on first down and Montavius Gaines recov-ered it on the 36 with 6:07 to go. The Jaguars ran the clock down to 1:59 before turning it over on downs at the Bulldog 25.
From wire reports
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rafael Nadal returns a shot during his 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Alex-andr Dolgopolov on Monday during the fourth round of the U.S. Open in New York.
CHICAGO — Trevor Bauer was sharp again to win his eighth decision in a row, and the Cleveland Indians beat
the Chicago White Sox 5-3 on Monday for their 12th straight victory.
A day after tying the major league record with five extra-
base hits, including two hom-ers, Jose Ramirez homered again for the Indians, his 23rd of the season. Carlos Santana added his 22nd home run.
Bauer (15-8) gave up two runs on three hits with nine strikeouts and one walk over 6 1/3 innings as the Indians allowed more than two runs for just the third time in the 12-game run. It’s the longest winning streak for AL Cen-tral-leading Cleveland since a team-record 14 consecutive
wins last season.YANKEES 7
ORIOLES 4
BALTIMORE — Starlin Castro homered and drove in three runs, Didi Gregorius also went deep and the New York Yankees fueled their playoff push with a 7-4 victo-ry over the Baltimore Ori-oles.REDS 5
BREWERS 4
CINCINNATI — Billy Ham-ilton hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, sending the Cin-cinnati Reds over the Milwau-kee Brewers 5-4.ROYALS 7
TIGERS 6
DETROIT — The Kansas City Royals hit three homers and got two spectacular defen-sive plays in a 7-6 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
METS 11
PHILLIES 7
NEW YORK — Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera each homered and the New York Mets built a big lead and beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-7.ROCKIES 4
GIANTS 3
DENVER — Carlos Gonza-lez drew a 2-out, bases-loaded walk in the ninth, and the Col-orado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants 4-3.
SUNDAY
BRAVES 5
CUBS 1
CHICAGO — Max Fried combined with four relievers on a 5-hitter in his first major league start, and the Atlanta Braves ended the Chicago Cubs’ 6-game winning streak with a 5-1 victory on Sunday.
From wire reports
Bauer sharp again as Indians win 12th straightMLB ROUNDUP
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DOG EAT DOUG
SOUP TO NUTZ
ACROSS1 Hungarian
sheepdog
5 Glasgow native
9 1983 taxi
comedy starring
Mr. T
14 Mideast chieftain
15 Boob __: TV
16 Last Olds model
17 *Fishing gear
holder
19 Old Ford
subcompact
named for
a horse
20 “__ missing
something?”
21 Out on a cruise
22 Pickled-pepper
picker
23 Like Disneyland
at night
25 Public tantrum
27 Snappy dresser
29 ‘60s sci-fi series
created by Gene
Roddenberry
32 Vamoose, to
Shakespeare
35 Long, slippery
fish
36 Suffix with Israel
or Jacob
37 Sch. in
Columbus
38 *Final part
of a chess match
41 Chili __ carne
42 RR depot
43 Common soccer
result
44 Scope
46 Plush teddy with
a heart for a nose
49 Red Seal record
label company
50 Dryly humorous
51 That is, in Latin
55 Like some waves
57 Senate positions
61 “Avatar” actress
Saldana
62 Word with safe
or out
63 In jeopardy ...
and where the
first words of
the answers to
starred clues can
be found
65 Speak
66 Farmland
measure
67 Not yet
eliminated from
the contest
68 Authority
69 Course of action
70 Jacob’s first wife
DOWN1 Petunia part
2 Taste that’s not
sweet, sour,
bitter or salty
3 Allowed by law
4 Irritate
5 Copy editor’s
“Leave it in”
6 Wrigley Field
team
7 Double-reed
woodwind
8 Petroleum
nickname
9 Smartly dressed
10 Customer
11 *Site of many
face-offs
12 Paintings
in the Prado,
por ejemplo
13 Ungentlemanly
sort
18 First track circuit
in a race
24 Sci-fi radar blip
26 More sedate
28 Marker
marketer
29 “Night Moves”
singer Bob
30 Historic British
prep school
31 Superman, as a
reporter
32 Greenish-yellow
pear
33 “¿Cómo __
usted?”
34 *Sentry’s job
39 Shower bar
brand
40 Type of tax
45 Tiny bit
47 Wipes out
48 Ravel classic
used in the film
“10”
52 Online periodical
53 Justice Sotomayor
54 Molars and
incisors
55 Like so
56 Tiny bit
58 SASE, say
59 Razor brand
60 Back in the day
64 “__ Abner”
JEFF MACNELLY’S SHOE DILBERT
MOTHER GOOSE
ZITSBLONDIE
BORN LOSERBEETLE BAILEY
ANDY CAPP
BIZARRO
GARFIELD
JUMBLE THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAMEBy David L Hoyt and Jeff Knurek
SUDOKU HOW TO PLAY:Each row, column and set of 3-by-3 boxes must contain the numbers 1 through 9 without repetition.
By Robert E. Lee Morris 9/5/17
Monday’s Puzzle Solved
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC 9/5/17
THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE
DEAR ABBY — I met my boyfriend, “Matt,” when I was a sophomore in high school. We started dat-ing when I was a senior. By then, he was already active-duty
military. We weren’t seri-
ous at the time (his decision, not mine). We’ve always had a long-distance relationship.
During his first deploy-ment, Matt broke up with me. He told me he didn’t want to see me again when he came home, although I begged him to change his mind. When he came home last year, he felt differently, and we’ve been
together since then. Abby, he once told me after he’d been drinking that “he didn’t think we were soul mates” and that “it wouldn’t be him sitting next to me when we’re 80.” He is, however, very reliable and caring. My family loves him and he has a solid life plan.
Matt is now on his second deployment, and we don’t get to talk more than about once a month. I recently met an-other guy at college, and I have fallen completely in love with him. We get along easily and he makes me laugh. I have never felt this way about any other guy before, but I also haven’t known him very long.
I worked hard to be with Matt, and we have been through a lot together. I won’t see him in person for at least six more months. I don’t
know what to do. Advice? Conflicted in the East
DEAR CONFLICTED — Punt! Real life is more than a bundle of laughs. Do not break up with Matt and do not commit to this new man until Matt is again stateside and sober. Only then will you be in a po-sition to make an informed decision about a future with either one of them.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phil-lips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAb-by.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
To receive a collection of Abby’s most memorable — and most frequently re-quested — poems and essays, send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby -- Keepers Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. Shipping and handling are included in the price.
Woman falls for new man while boyfriend’s deployed
Dear Abby
ABIGAIL VAN BUREN
THE SUMTER ITEM COMICS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 | B3
B4 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 SPORTS THE SUMTER ITEM
MARY A. TAYLORMary Ann Taylor, 84, widow of
Clyde Dean Taylor and daughter of the late Oder and Lurethia Witherspoon Watson, was born on June 5, 1933, in Sumter. She departed this life on Sun-day, Sept. 3, 2017, at Palmetto Health Tuomey, Sumter.
Family will receive friends at the home of her daughter, 660 Sierra St., Sumter.
Job’s Mortuary Inc., 312 S. Main St., Sumter, is in charge of arrangements.
HUMZIE M. WAY SR.
Humzie Miles Way Sr., 91, widower of Flossie Mack Way and son of the late Bubba and Elizabeth Mitchell Way, was born on Feb. 19, 1926, in Sum-ter. He departed this life on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017, at Palmetto Health Tuom-ey, Sumter.
Family will receive friends at the home of his daughter, 169 Hoyt St., Sumter.
Job’s Mortuary Inc., 312 S. Main St., Sumter, is in charge of arrangements.
DOSHIA B. ROGERS
Mrs. Doshia Bell Rogers entered eternal rest on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, at the home of her daughter in Colum-bia.
The family is receiving friends at 101 Lower Lee School Road, Mayesville.
Funeral arrangements are incom-plete and will be announced by Wilson Funeral Home, 403 S. Main St., Bishop-ville.
W. RICHARD ARDIS
William Richard “Ricky” Ardis, 66, husband of Brenda Watford Ardis, died on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017, at his home.
Born Aug. 4, 1951, in Sumter, he was a son of the late Norman Edward and Elizabeth Davis Ardis.
He was a member of Bethesda Church of God. He was formerly em-ployed by Coburg Dairies and retired from Derst Baking.
Ricky loved softball and fishing. He was a very devoted husband.
Survivors include his wife of 31 years; a brother, Norman Ardis (Mar-garet) of Sumter; three sisters, Debbie Ardis of Sumter, Jean Ardis Logan (Michael) of Lynchburg and Betty Ardis Dannhart of Tampa, Florida; a number of nieces and nephews; and several brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law who cared for him very much.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Jimmy Ardis.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. today in Elmore-Cannon-Ste-phens Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Al Sims and the Rev. Howard Owens officiating. Burial will be in the Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Tommy Brewer, Keith Allgood, Dennis Lewis, Steve
Galloway, Keith Hyatt and Robert Wat-ford.
The family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m. today at Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and other times at the home.
Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and Crematorium of Sumter is in charge of the arrangements.
GLENN E. KOBZA
MYRTLE BEACH — Glenn Edward Kobza, age 63, beloved husband of Darrell F. Kobza, died on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017 in Sumter.
Arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by Bullock Funeral Home of Sumter.
ANNIE L. DAMON
Mrs. Annie L. Damon entered eter-nal rest on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2017, at McCoy Memorial Nursing Facility, Bishopville.
The family is receiving friends at 729 Lynchburg Highway, Lynchburg. Visitation will be held from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. today, and Order of Eastern Star Rites will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the funeral home. Funeral service will
be held at noon on Wednesday at the Unionville African Methodist Episco-pal Church, Mayesville, with the pas-tor, the Rev. Alvin Webb, officiating. Interment will follow in the church-yard cemetery.
Wilson Funeral Home, 403 S. Main St., Bishopville, is in charge of ar-rangements.
MARION E. CLARK
Marion E. Clark, age 81, beloved husband of Loretta Clark, died on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2017, at his home in Sumter.
Arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by Bullock Funeral Home.
RICHARD BROWN JR.Richard Brown Jr., 74, was born
Sept. 9, 1942, in Miami, Florida, to the late Richard and Rosa Lee Davis Brown Sr. He was the companion of Ms. Betty Richardson.
He departed this life on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, in Sumter.
The family is receiving friends at 265 E. Newberry Ave., Sumter.
Services are entrusted to Whites Mortuary LLC.
OBITUARIES
took to Darlington when the team brought him here for a test before bringing on board at Joe Gibbs Racing. “Denny had never seen the place and he came over here and finished ninth” in an Xfinity race, Gibbs recalled. “Kind of the rest is history.”
TRUEX OUT FRONT
Martin Truex Jr. took advantage of NASCAR’s revamped playoff system in clinching the regular-season title and No. 1 spot two weeks before the 16-team postseason begins at Chicagoland. Truex is glad that he’s got a cushion to advance even if he has some problems in the early playoff segments.
DARLINGTON SWEEP
Hamlin knows how to sweep races at the track “Too Tough To Tame,” accom-plishing the Darlington double in 2010 and this weekend. Hamlin won his first Cup race here seven year ago after win-ning the Xfinity even. This time, Hamlin survived two dramatic endings to earn his trophies. He drove around Joey Loga-no in the final turn on Saturday for that win, then overcame his miss of pit road and falling 20 seconds behind Martin Truex Jr. to take the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title.
NOT EASY
Kyle Busch, who finished second to teammate Hamlin, said Darlington’s pit road entrance is one of the trickiest and most difficult to manage in NASCAR.
“This one is probably one of the hard-est, especially because of the tire falloff is just so great here,” Busch said. “Dar-lington here is probably the worst.”
ON THE BUBBLE
Logano needs to get a lot faster at Richmond next week if he hopes to make the playoffs. Logano, who was second in the Xfinity race here Satur-day, had hoped to parlay that into a strong, playoff-clinching effort on Sun-day. Instead, he was 18th at Darlington and never a threat for the top.
RESULTS
By The Associated PressSunday
At Darlington RacewayDarlington
Lap length: 1.366 miles(Start position in parentheses)
1. (9) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 367 laps, 0 rating, 57 points.2. (3) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 367, 0, 43.3. (7) Kurt Busch, Ford, 367, 0, 38.4. (13) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 367, 0, 36.5. (10) Erik Jones, Toyota, 367, 0, 37.6. (11) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 367, 0, 32.7. (17) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 367, 0, 30.8. (2) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 367, 0, 49.9. (1) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 366, 0, 43.10. (5) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 366, 0, 34.11. (20) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 366, 0, 26.12. (18) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 366, 0, 25.13. (25) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 366, 0, 24.14. (4) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 366, 0, 39.15. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 366, 0, 33.16. (21) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 366, 0, 21.17. (27) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 366, 0, 20.18. (8) Joey Logano, Ford, 366, 0, 22.19. (30) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 365, 0, 18.20. (15) Aric Almirola, Ford, 365, 0, 17.21. (31) Landon Cassill, Ford, 365, 0, 16.22. (22) Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 365, 0, 15.23. (34) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 364, 0, 14.24. (23) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 364, 0, 13.25. (26) David Ragan, Ford, 363, 0, 12.26. (33) Danica Patrick, Ford, 363, 0, 11.27. (28) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 362, 0, 10.28. (35) Corey Lajoie, Toyota, 360, 0, 9.29. (14) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 358, 0, 8.30. (37) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 356, 0, 7.31. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 356, 0, 6.32. (38) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 351, 0, 5.33. (40) Carl Long, Chevrolet, 350, 0, 0.34. (29) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 340, 0, 3.35. (24) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 336, 0, 2.36. (36) Gray Gaulding, Toyota, accident, 202, 0, 1.37. (39) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, accident, 144, 0, 1.38. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, accident, 125, 0, 1.39. (32) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, clutch, 104, 0, 1.40. (16) Clint Bowyer, Ford, engine, 18, 0, 1.
COMEBACK FROM PAGE B1
January to win its first title since 1981. The Tigers, though, have a mostly new cast of characters on of-fense led by first-year starting quar-terback Kelly Bryant.
Bryant, taking over for two-time Heisman Trophy finalist Deshaun Watson, accounted for two touch-downs and 313 yards of total offense, a Clemson record for an opening game. All four of Clemson’s tail-backs — C.J. Fuller, Adam Choice, Tavien Feaster and Travis Etienne — had touchdowns and helped the Tigers roll up 353 yards on the ground in their first game without two-time 1,000-yard rusher Wayne Gallman.
Receiver Deon Cain had two catches for 70 yards and a score in his first start replacing first-round NFL draft pick Mike Williams. Tight end Milan Richard also tied for the team lead with 70 receiving
yards in place of Jordan Leggett, another of Clemson’s draft picks last spring.
“What you saw is just a team that looked like it had been practicing for 30 practices,” co-offensive coor-dinator Tony Elliott said. “That was pleasing as a coach. You always worry about an opener. Got a new quarterback, got a new center, got a lot of new pieces, but the communi-cation was where it needed to be, the targeting was where it needed to be, the effort was there.”
Elliott said those elements will be severely tested Saturday night against Auburn’s physical, fast de-fense. Kent State did not attempt a pass in the opening half last week.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll see (a pass) Saturday, probably a lot of them,” said Joseph, the junior linebacker.
Auburn (1-0) had a similarly dom-inating opener, blowing past Geor-gia Southern 41-7. The Tigers’ de-fense had six sacks and held the Ea-gles to 78 yards of offense.
“They’ve got good players across the board,” said Kevin Steele, Au-burn’s defensive coordinator who held the same position under head coach Dabo Swinney at Clemson from 2009-11. “The thing about it is, where we are (in the SEC), it will be pretty much like that every week for the rest of the year. It’s just the na-ture of the business.”
Clemson’s Swinney understands that, too. He was happy to rest his starters and build depth with re-serves who may not see much action this week, but might be called on later this season. He was also pleased with the Tigers’ efficiency after a bumpy start to the 2016 sea-son, when they had single-digit wins at Auburn and against Troy.
“We were a little sloppy,” Swinney said of last year’s early games. “So it was good to see us play a clean game and get a lot of guys some good, valuable experience. Hopeful-ly, it will help us grow our team a little bit more as we move forward.”
TIGERS FROM PAGE B1
The last time Fisher had to start a true freshman was 1998 when he was the offensive coordinator at Au-burn. Gabe Gross started nine games for the Tigers, who went 3-8.
The only other time a FSU quar-terback started as a true freshman was Chip Ferguson in 1985. The pre-vious seven freshmen to start under center — including Francois and 2013 Heisman winner Jameis Win-ston — were redshirts.
Francois’ injury also means that Florida State becomes the least expe-rienced Power Five school at quarter-back. The four remaining QB’s have no starts and a combined six appear-ances, easily eclipsing Minnesota (10 appearances, one start) and South Carolina (nine appearances, eight starts). Junior J.J. Cosentino has played in five games the past two sea-sons. Also on the roster are true freshman Bailey Hockman and walk-on freshman Jake Rizzo.
Blackman showed a strong arm and ability to quickly grasp the playbook during preseason practic-es, but at 6-5 and 185 pounds there are some questions about durability.
“You have to do what your team can do and how he fits into the team concept. You can’t play around him you play around your team,” Fisher said. “He was going against our
first-team defense in every scrim-mage. He produced and made a lot of good plays against a very good defense.”
Fisher should have a good chance to evaluate all of his options this week before the schedule gets more difficult. Following Louisiana-Mon-roe, the Seminoles host No. 18 Miami (Sept. 16) and North Carolina State (Sept. 23).
Florida State does have experience
in dealing with season-ending inju-ries to team leaders. Last season it lost safety Derwin James after he in-jured his knee in the second game against Charleston Southern. FSU is hoping history doesn’t repeat itself since it proceeded to lose two of its next three games after James’ injury.
James, who played well against Alabama, said he expects to make things difficult on Blackman this week in practices.
FRANCOIS FROM PAGE B1
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alabama defensive back Ronnie Harrison’s (15) hit on Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois (12) resulted in the Seminole signal caller tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee. He will have season-ending surgery today.
the season goes along, but the competi-tion will get better and improve as well. Carolina should be in most of its games, but when you’re playing games like that on a week-in, week-out basis, getting a W every time will be very dif-ficult.
Offensively, quarterback Jake Bentley looked good the vast majori-ty of his time on the field. He made very few physical mistakes and just a few mental mistakes. The most glaring came late in the fourth quarter when he ran out of bounds instead of falling down and forcing N.C. State to use its final timeout. While he was playing in just his eighth collegiate game, the bio on Bentley tells us how heady he is. He wasn’t in that case.
Deebo Samuel again proved when he is healthy, he is a special player.
He will be the leader of a talented receiving corps.
The running game was a bit of a disappointment. Not only did Rico Dowdle not run the ball particularly well, Crestwood High School prod-uct Ty’Son Williams barely got on the field and didn’t get a carry. After hearing most of the preseason that those two along with A.J. Turner would all be seeing time. Perhaps there was some ingenious reason for Williams not playing much, but here’s hoping his opportunity comes.
As far as the offensive line goes, Bentley was only sacked twice while South Carolina came up with four sacks. Based on all of the accolades thrown the way of the Wolfpack de-fensive front, that was a grand achievement.
On defense, it appears South Car-olina took the approach of making N.C. State work its way down the
field and hoping it made some mis-take before scoring. The strategy worked good enough for a victory.
It did appear the coaching staff made adjustments at halftime. After hardly being able to slow down N.C. State in the first half, the Game-cocks shut them down on the first two series of the second half.
Still, Carolina can’t have its de-fense on the field for 99 plays each game and be outgained twice as much in total offense and expect to come out victorious on a regular basis.
With Missouri on deck on Satur-day, there will again be uncertainty. The Tigers did score 72 points, albeit against Missouri State. However, they allowed 43 points, again to Mis-souri State.
A score of 56-55 or thereabout? Don’t be surprised. If you’re going to watch, get the necessary medica-tion and hold on tight.
USC FROM PAGE B1
SP FT 7 PM 7:30 8 PM 8:30 9 PM 9:30 10 PM 10:30 11 PM 11:30 12 AMLOCAL CHANNELS
WIS * 3 10WIS News 10 at 7 (N)
Entertainment Tonight (N)
America’s Got Talent “Live Show 4” The semifinals begin in Los Angeles. (N) (Live) (:01) Hollywood Game Night “A RuPaul Awakening” Nancy Grace; Tyson Beckford; RuPaul. (N)
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WLTX 3 9 9News 19 at 7pm (N) Inside Edition (N) NCIS “Beastmaster” A Marine sergeant is
found murdered. (DVS)Bull “How to Dodge a Bullet” J.P. Nunnelly acts as Benny’s attorney.
NCIS: New Orleans “Knockout” A Navy chaplain and pastor is murdered. (DVS)
News 19 at 11pm (N)
(:35) The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
WOLO 9 5 12Wheel of Fortune “Big Money”
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Bachelor in Paradise A new arrival doubles her odds. (N)
(:01) blackish Jack and Diane get career test results.
blackish “One Angry Man” Dre has jury duty.
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WACH FOX News at 10 (N) (Live) Sports Zone 2 Broke Girls Find-ing winter lodging for Chestnut.
Mike & Molly Mike and Molly want a weekend alone.
WKTC Ø 4 22Last Man Standing Vanessa sets Eve up with a student.
Last Man Standing Ryan’s dad reveals his true motives.
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A&E 46 130Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath
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AMC 48 180 (5:30) ››› “Rocky II” (1979, Drama) Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire.
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ANPL 41 100 I Was Prey “Blood in the Water” I Was Prey “Silent Scream” Yeti or Not: Dr. Mark Evans explains the “Yeti.” I Was Prey “Wicked Bite” Russian Yeti
BET 61 162 (6:05) ›› “Madea’s Family Reunion” (2006, Comedy) Tyler Perry, Blair Underwood, Lynn Whitfield. A matriarch must keep the peace through family strife.
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Being Mary Jane “Feeling Destined” Paul and Helen plan to divorce. (N)
Being Mary Jane “Feeling Destined” Paul and Helen plan to divorce.
Martin “Three Men and a Mouse”
BRAVO 47 181Below Deck Sierra and Kelley exchange heated words.
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Watch What Hap-pens Live
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CNBC 35 84 Shark Tank Shark Tank Shark Tank The Filthy Rich Shark Tank Guest shark Chris Sacca. Shark Tank An unprecedented deal. CNN 3 80 Erin Burnett OutFront (N) Anderson Cooper 360 (N) Anderson Cooper 360 (N) CNN Tonight With Don Lemon (N) CNN Tonight With Don Lemon (N) Anderson Cooper
COM 57 136(6:50) Futurama (:25) South Park South Park South Park “Ass
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The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
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DISN 18 200K.C. Undercover K.C. Undercover Raven’s Home Stuck in the Middle Bizaardvark Bizaardvark Liv and Maddie K.C. Undercover Bizaardvark Raven’s Home Stuck in the Middle
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MSNBC 36 92 Hardball With Chris Matthews (N) All In With Chris Hayes (N) The Rachel Maddow Show (N) The Last Word The 11th Hour With Brian Williams (N) Rachel Maddow NICK 16 210 Henry Danger Henry Danger The Thundermans Henry Danger Full House (:33) Full House (:03) Full House (:36) Full House (:09) Friends (:42) Friends (12:15) Friends SPIKE 64 153 Ink Master “Drill Baby, Drill” Ink Master “Grim Inker” Ink Master “Pit Fall” Ink Master “Sell Out” (N) Ink Master Tattoo Nightmares Tattoo Nightmares
SYFY 58 152 ›› “Jeepers Creepers” (2001, Horror) Gina Philips, Justin Long, Jonathan Breck. A flesh-eating entity pursues sibling college students.
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TBS 24 156Seinfeld Alcoholic resumes drinking.
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TCM 49 186 (6:00) ››› “How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life” (1968, Comedy)
›››› “The Song of Bernadette” (1943, Drama) Jennifer Jones, Charles Bickford, Gladys Cooper. A young peasant experiences a miracle near Lourdes.
››› “Love Letters” (1945, Drama) Jennifer Jones. An amnesi-ac is accused of murdering a soldier she loved.
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(:01) Law & Order: Special Victims Unit A diplomat is charged with assault.
Law & Order: Spe-cial Victims Unit
WE 68 166 Law & Order “Coma” Law & Order “Blue Bamboo” Law & Order “Family Values” Law & Order “White Rabbit” Law & Order “Competence” Law & Order WGNA 8 172 Cops Cops Cops Cops Cops Cops Cops Cops Cops Cops Rules/Engagement
THE SUMTER ITEM TELEVISION TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 | B5
Politics invade ‘American Horror Story: Cult’BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH
Mingling politics and horror is a tricky business, best done with a light touch. The late George Romero’s zombie clas-sic “Night of the Living Dead” was shot through with the horrors of Vietnam and social anxieties of the civil rights era, but neither subject was mentioned in his film. The bi-zarre 2001 feature “Donnie Darko” used the Bush-Dukak-is election of 1988 as a back-drop to its peculiar fantasy.
“American Horror Story: Cult” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA) begins with characters reacting to the results of the 2016 election. Sarah Paulson and Alison Pill play Ally and Ivy, married gay parents and owners of a res-taurant. They find the tri-umph of the “Make America Great Again” campaign to be a personal affront and an exis-tential threat. First seen watching television alone, Kai (Evan Peters) explodes with delight, happy that his world-view has been vindicated.
“Cult” is about the election and the current president, ex-cept when it’s not. Which is quite often. The news seems to shatter Ally, whose rela-tionship to reality seemed al-ready tenuous. She begins seeing killer clowns every-where. Her visions include the monstrous clown from “American Horror Story: Freak Show,” several seasons back. Are these figments of her imagination? If so, why does her son see them as well?
Neither side of our elector-al divide comes off terribly well here. Representing Trump supporters, Kai spouts faux-Nietzschean rants about power and fear. Others, Ally in particular, seem almost parodies of lib-eral “snowflakes,” in need of “trigger warnings” and other buffers against harsh reality.
Ultimately, the injection of real-life politics into this lurid anthology series seems distracting and unnecessary.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
• Jane must profile a contro-versial activist on the season fi-nale of “The Bold Type” (9 p.m., Freeform, TV-14).
• “Below Deck” (9 p.m., Bravo, TV-14) embarks on a fifth sea-son.
• The new series “Killer In-
stincts With Chris Hansen” (9 p.m. ID, TV-14) recalls tales of mur-der.
• The 39th season of “Inside
the NFL” (9 p.m., Showtime) be-gins.
• “Hard Knocks: Training Camp
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers” (10 p.m., HBO, TV-MA) con-cludes.
• “A Season With Navy Football” (10 p.m., Showtime, TV-14) fol-lows the Navy Midshipmen squad.
LATE NIGHT
Halle Berry, Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Pedro Pascal, Taron Egerton and Colin Firth on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS, r) * Jimmy Fallon
welcomes Sarah Paulson, Tig Notaro and Luis Fonsi on “The
Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) * Jake Tapper, Gwen-doline Christie and Gary Clark Jr. visit “Late Night With
Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC)
* Kathy Bates and Ed Helms appear on “The Late Late Show
With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
Copyright 2017United Feature Syndicate
FRANK OCKENFELS / FX
Alison Pill stars as Ivy Mayfair-Richards in “American Horror Story: Cult,” premiering at 10 p.m. today on FX.
Did ‘Thelma & Louise’ move the needle for female-led films?BY JOCELYN NOVECKAP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — When Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon clasped hands, stepped on the gas and flew over the canyon ridge in that memorable ending to “Thelma & Louise,” many in Hollywood believed they were launch-ing more than that turquoise Thunder-bird.
It was 1991, and the expectation — or at least the hope — was that they were also launching a new era for women in movies, an era in which it would be easier to get films made with meaty fe-male lead roles, and in which female filmmakers would find it easier to get work.
It didn’t happen, says Thelma herself.“It hasn’t changed at all,” says Davis,
who in the intervening quarter-century has become an activist for diversity in Hollywood, focusing especially on gen-der bias. “We never seem to get any momentum going.”
In fact, she says, things actually haven’t gotten better since the 1940s. “Our research shows the ratio of male to female characters in film has not changed since 1946,” Davis said in an interview, referring to studies by the nonprofit research group she launched, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.
So what about “Wonder Woman,” the mega-hit that has shattered glass ceil-ings, turned Gal Gadot into a superstar and earned the top global haul for a live-action film directed by a woman? Davis remains skeptical. “Look, there was ‘Hunger Games,’ there was ‘Fro-zen,’ even ‘Star Wars’ with a female lead... and now ‘Wonder Woman.’ You figure, ‘We’re done!’” she says. “But we have to wait for the data. It’s been a quarter-century since ‘Thelma & Lou-ise’ and nothing’s changed. I know it WILL change, but to say this is the exact moment — well, you’ll have to prove it to me.”
Also in the skeptical camp: screen-writer Callie Khouri. Her tale of that fateful journey from Arkansas to the Grand Canyon by Thelma, a timid housewife with a chauvinist husband, and Louise, a hard-bitten waitress with a painful secret, was Khouri’s debut screenplay. And she won the Oscar — the first solo screenwriting Oscar awarded to a woman for an original work in 60 years.
But a turning point for women? “Yeah, that didn’t happen,” says Khou-ri, with bitter humor. “I’m still wait-ing.” The rise of “Wonder Woman,” she says, feels like a “tiny little crack” in the ceiling. But, she adds: “You know, it’s been a little daunting to see how slowly things actually do change. I can
tell you that I, for one, am so sick of the conversation. Why haven’t things changed for women? I mean, don’t ask US!”
Twenty-six years after “Thelma & Louise” landed on the cover of Time because of the gender conversation it launched — was it feminist or fascist, inspiring or outrageous? — the film still resonates, and remarkably so, says author Becky Aikman, whose “Off The Cliff,” released this summer, takes a deep dive into the unlikely story of a film that defied the odds merely by get-ting made. But it was clearly an anoma-ly, not a launching point, the author says.
“I wanted to see how this one made it through the wormhole, in part because it hasn’t happened before or since,” Ai-kman says. “A lot of people thought at the time, ‘Wow, this movie is so suc-cessful, we’ve got to have more movies like this!’ And then no one did it, which is wildly frustrating, and just shows how entrenched the point of view of Hollywood is ... that even a very suc-cessful movie didn’t seem to get people in positions of power to say we should do more like it.”
The uphill struggle for women in Hollywood — onscreen and behind the camera — has been the subject of nu-merous studies, including several in re-cent weeks. Most research has been
about films for adults, but the Geena Davis Institute has lately been looking at family oriented films.
In a yet-unreleased report, the insti-tute analyzed, using technology devel-oped in partnership with the Universi-ty of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering, the 50 top-gross-ing 2016 family films. It found, among other things, that male characters out-numbered females by 2 to 1, and male characters had twice the screen time and speaking time.
In another recent study, the Viterbi School’s SAIL Lab (Signal Analysis and Interpretation) analyzed language of 7,000 characters and 53,000 character interactions in 1,000 film scripts. It found that women had about 15,000 in-teractions, or “dialogues,” while men had more than 37,000. Women por-trayed more than 2,000 characters, while men portrayed almost 4,900.
Yet another study, from USC’s An-nenberg School for Communication and Journalism, found that behind the camera, women directors are still a rarity: In the top 100 films of 2016 there were only five female directors out of 120, including co-directors.
In a statistic that remains ever strik-ing, only one woman has won the Oscar for directing in the awards’ 89-year history: Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker.”
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