June 18, 2013

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CAMDEN CREEPING ON SUMTER P-15’s fight to hold 1st place in League III

Ohio city’s police chief ridicules offenders on Facebook A7

See photos from the weekend’s Double Dutch competition A6

B1 VOL. 118, NO. 205 WWW.THEITEM.COM

TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2013 | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA

FOUNDED OCTOBER 15, 1894

Grenade discovered at Sumter Goodwill

60 CENTS

ROBERT J. BAKER / THE ITEM

Third Circuit Family Court Judge George M. McFaddin Jr. presides over Adoption Day at the Sumter Judicial Center on Monday.

Adoption Day kicks off opening of judicial center EDITOR’S NOTE: Third Circuit Family Court Judge George M. McFadden invited The Item to sit in on a morning session of the court’s bi-annual Adoption Day on Monday at the new Sumter Judicial Center. Some names in this story have been withheld to protect the children adopted and the parents who now call them their own. BY ROBERT J. BAKER bbaker@theitem.com Sarah and Joseph Beltz wanted children even before they

PHOTOS BY BRADEN BUNCH / THE ITEM

A member of the 20th Civil Engineer Squadron stationed at Shaw Air Force Base closely examines a grenade Monday before attempting to disarm it at Goodwill on Broad Street. A worker found the potential explosive while sorting items in a box donated to the store.

Shaw crew disarms potential explosive BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com A training grenade, originally thought to potentially be a live grenade, was found inside a box of donations at the Goodwill store on Broad Street, forcing the evacuation of the business for several hours Monday afternoon. Officers with the Sumter Police Department and Sumter Fire Department arrived on the scene shortly after 2 p.m., finding the

‘Even if it’s a training grenade, it has the potential to be dangerous.’ Charlie McBride potential explosive on a small cinder block wall outside the store. The public safety personnel immediately blocked off the

parking lot of the store while awaiting airmen with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit of the 20th Civil Engineer Squadron stationed at Shaw Air Force Base to come dispose of the grenade. After carefully examining the potential ordnance, the Shaw airmen appeared to disarm the triggering mechanism about 3:10 p.m. and departed back to the base with the apparently disarmed device SEE GRENADE, PAGE A10

Officers of Sumter Police Department and Sumter Fire Department firefighters explain where the grenade is located to the ordnance team from Shaw on Monday outside Goodwill on Broad Street.

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BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com The federal government has been granted extra time to respond to recent motions by Tuomey Healthcare System in the civil lawsuit between the two. Last month, Tuomey was found guilty by a 10-person jury of violating both Stark Law and the False Claims Act by collecting more than $39.3 million in fraudulent Medicare claims between 2005 and 2009. As a result of the verdict, the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking more than $237.4 million in damages from the local hospital. Tuomey has since responded to the verdict and the federal government’s request by filing a series of briefs. In one, the local hospital said it should not have to pay the financial penalty because such

an exorbitant amount would be unconstitutional violating both their Fifth Amendment right to due process and their Eighth Amendment protection from cruel and unusual punishment. In another, Tuomey claimed the federal government willingly misled the jury and requested U.S. District Judge Margaret Seymour either reverse the jury’s decision or grant a new trial. With the government’s deadline to respond to Tuomey’s legal motions approaching, federal prosecutors requested an extension from Seymour. They now have until June 24 to SEE TUOMEY, PAGE A10

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Cloudy, with intermittent thunderstorms throughout the day and night. B6

SEE ADOPTIONS, PAGE A4

Feds get more time to reply to Tuomey

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married in 2004. Their own would have been nice, but Sarah said God gave them another route. The couple added Azariah “Azzy” James, 2, to their family on Monday morning at the Sumter Judicial Center during 3rd Circuit Family Court Adoption Day. “We’ve wanted kids of our own, but God had a different plan,” said Sarah, a former teacher who plans to be a stay-athome mom with Azzy. “We wouldn’t

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