POLITICS:
Iowa caucuses kick off 2016 election
A5
Britain gives OK for gene editing Some afraid technique could lead to ‘designer babies’ A4
SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016
75 CENTS
Kensington collection will move Students literally giving a to Seneca Elma Strong, library media specialist and group adviser, fits a prosthetic hand as a demonstration on Mary Katherine Geddings, a seventhgrade student at Alice Drive Middle School, on Friday.
helping hand to children
BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com Scarborough-Hamer Foundation announced Monday that its collection of 19thand early 20th-century decorative arts, which for 19 years comprised the furnishings of Kensington Mansion at Eastover, will be transferred to the City of Seneca. The mansion, owned by International Paper, was badly damaged in the ice storm of February 2014, and repairs have not been completed. International Paper asked the foundation in March 2015 to move the collection to prevent damage; it was moved shortly after that and has been in storage since. Rickie Good, former curator at Sumter
SEE KENSINGTON, PAGE A5
PHOTOS BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY / THE SUMTER ITEM
Sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students at Alice Drive Middle School assemble prosthetic hands at the school on Friday as part of the “Hearts to Hands” club that will give 3-D printed hands to children in need around the world.
Middle-schoolers use 3-D printer to make limbs for needy worldwide JIM HILLEY / THE ITEM
Chris Sumpter announces his candidacy for Sumter County Council District 1 at the O’Donnell House on Saturday afternoon.
BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com
Sumpter says he will run for District 1 seat BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com
L
ocal students are making prosthetic hands for children with disabilities in
developing nations. A group of Alice Drive Middle School students, called “Hearts to Hands” club, are working on a project involving a three-dimensional printer that molds shapes of a hand and fingers into a hard
An enthusiastic crowd of more than 40 supporters gathered to hear Chris Sumpter announce his candidacy for Sumter County Council District 1 on Saturday at the O’Donnell House. The 23-year-old Crestwood High School graduate was born and raised in Sumter County. He was student body president of Crestwood and University of South Carolina Sumter, he said. In high school, he was active in 4-H and FFA. Sumpter said he also
SEE SUMPTER, PAGE A7
plastic-type material. The group is doing the project through e-NABLE, an organization that brings together individuals from around the world who are using their 3-D printers to create free 3-D printed hands and arms for those in need of an upper limb assistive device, according to its website, www.enablingthefuture. org. The prosthetic hands will go to children who are born missing fin-
‘This will make a difference in the life of a child who wants nothing more than to do regular activities, such as being able to ride their bike and hold onto both of their handlebars at the same time.’ ELMA STRONG “Hearts to Hands” club adviser at Alice Drive Middle School gers or who have lost them because of war, disease or natural disaster, said Elma Strong, library media specialist and the group’s adviser. “This will make a difference in
the life of a child who wants nothing more than to do regular activities, such as being able to ride their bike and hold onto both of their handlebars at the same time,” Strong said. Strong said she discovered the project online. A computer prototype for the prosthetic hands was already developed on www.thingverse.com and then downloaded onto the 3-D printer. The printing program uses various processes to synthesize a 3-D object. The objects are made from a plastic-type wire, which the printer molds into models. Once the hand and fingers are printed, separately, students assemble the models with pins, plastic strings and fishing lines. Some of the tools students use, such as hard plastic hammers, were also made on the printer. With the prosthetic hand, a child who is missing fingers will be able to make fingers move by flicking his or her wrist. Lance Gould, a seventh-grade student, said assembly is not a
SEE HANDS, PAGE A7
Fireside sees its busiest week yet for assisting families BY JACK OSTEEN jack@theitem.com Fireside Fund had its busiest week to date, assisting more than 60 clients this past week, Salvation Army social worker Christy Lamb said. According to Lamb, the type of client she helps doesn’t fit into any kind of profile either. They range from senior
VISIT US ONLINE AT
the
.com
citizens to single parents to those out of work or struggling with health issues. This past week alone she had a grand-
mother who took in five of her young grandchildren. She felt like she was starting all over again, and instead of heating just half her home for herself, she must try to heat her entire home to keep the grandchildren warm at night. Another young man was raising two kids by himself, lost his job in November and is struggling to find steady work in the area.
DEATHS, B5 Wallace R. Jackson Dwayne Dawson Jessie Mae Mozingo David Clea Christopher R. Freeman Elizabeth A. Richardson L.J. Brown
Ida Mae B. Ceasar Ada Rhea P. Baker Ernest W. Ledbetter Sr. Frizel H. Briggs Jewel Thompson Cleveland McBride Sr.
And an elderly woman Fireside Fund assisted with propane last year hasn’t been able to fill her tank again until this year, thanks to the fund. These are just a few of the people Fireside Fund helps week after week here in the Sumter community. Lamb encourages families to keep
SEE FIRESIDE, PAGE A7
WEATHER, A10
INSIDE
STAYING WARM
2 SECTIONS, 18 PAGES VOL. 120, NO. 92
Very warm with periods of sun; a shower tonight is possible HIGH 73, LOW 58
Sports B1 Classifieds B7 Comics B6
Lotteries A10 Opinion A8 Television A9