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Church hosts fundraiser to help feed starving children A4
Sumter judge says case of suspect in chicken deaths lacks evidence Preliminary hearing on Clarendon charges will be May 12 KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com A Sumter County magistrate judge ruled Tuesday there was not enough probable cause to send the case of James Laverne Lowery to a general sessions court. Lowery has been charged in a series of chicken farm vandalism cases in
which law enforcement thinks he is responsible for the death of 2,000 chickens at a farm in Sumter County and nearly 300,000 chickens in eight farms in Clarendon LOWERY County in February. Third Circuit Solicitor Ernest “Chip” Finney III said his of-
fice will decide in the next 10 days whether to appeal the judge’s decision by pursuing a direct presentment to a grand jury. Lowery will have a preliminary hearing on May 12 in Clarendon County, where he faces eight counts of second-degree burglary and four counts of malicious damage to property. Lowery was arrested on April 7 at
his home in Gable, Sumter County. He was granted a $30,000 cash or $60,000 surety bond in Clarendon County on April 8. Conditions from that hearing required him to wear a GPS monitoring device on his ankle for the next 90 days. On April 10, Lowery was granted a
SEE CHARGES, PAGE A8
Voodoo Squadron reunites Long-range reconnaissance pilots reminisce about 1950s, ’60s BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com A lot of air has flown under the jet wings of the Voodoo Squadron pilots who gathered this week at Quality Inn in Sumter to reminisce about flying the RF-101 long-range reconnaissance jets during the Korean War, the Vietnam War and even during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During the 1950s and ’60s, these now elderly gentlemen risked their lives on a daily basis. That doesn’t mean their reunion was a somber affair. “Talk to that gentleman over there,” one said. “He will tell you all kinds of lies.” “What’s the difference between the Boy Scouts and the Air Force?” one asked, retelling a joke from decades ago. “The Boy Scouts had adult supervision.” The dangerous missions they flew in the odd-looking RF-101 jets were no laughing matter, however. Quinn Born said he flew nearly 3,000 hours on 220 missions over Vietnam in 1965 and ’66. What was his most memorable flight? “When my flight commander, Dan Dowdy, got shot down
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Former Voodoo Squadron members and their families tour Sumter Military Museum on Friday afternoon. The group is in Sumter for a reunion. on the side of a mountain, he was a POW for a long time,” he said. “I knew where he was, and I circled for as long as I could.” He looked around the room. “I see all these guys, and they used to be young,” he said. All of the pilots served at Shaw Air Force Base, George Edwards said. He met his wife, Jho Stewart, there. “My first tour at Shaw I met
a beautiful lady downtown,” he said. “We’ve been married 61 years last August.” “All the guys here served a full tour,” he said. “Lots of combat experience. We’ve all been shot at many times. Everybody here is a hero in my book — the wives, too.” Jake Sorenson said he flew the RF-101 in Iceland and F-4s in Vietnam, where he was shot down. In friendly territory?
“There was no friendly territory,” he said. “An Army patrol had been ambushed, and I had six boxes of unused rockets,” he recalled. “I had to explode the rockets, but I was running out of gas.” He said he flew about 10 more miles after the engine light came on. “A very gallant helicopter pilot saw me on fire and was able to pick us up,” he said. “I had so much fun they had
to send me back with the Navy,” he laughed. Chuck Lustig, who lives in Sumter, recalled his time at Shaw during the Cuban Missile Crisis. “I think it was 5 a.m. when the phone rang,” he said. “The call wasn’t unusual, but they said ‘Go home and pack your bags for 30 days,’ and we launched for Fort McDill, Florida.”
SEE VOODOO, PAGE A8
S.C. ROADS
S.C. Senate refuses to prioritize roads bill; end of session looms BY SEANNA ADCOX The Associated Press COLUMBIA — The South Carolina Senate refused Thursday to give priority status to a bill funding road and bridge construction. The 26-19 vote failed to gain the necessary two-thirds majority to give special debate status to an issue that both lawmakers and business leaders have
called their top priority this year. The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Alliance are among those calling on legislators to address South Carolina’s roads now. Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler urged senators to give him more time to work toward a compromise with Republican senators who won’t support the proposal as written.
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The bill raises an additional $800 million annually for roads through increasing gas taxes and sales taxes on vehicles, as well as fees on drivers’ licenses and alternative-fuel vehicles. “We’ve got to take time on this and do it right,” said Peeler, R-Gaffney. Sen. Kevin Johnson, D-Manning, said he was disappointed the vote to give the roads bill priority status was voted down.
Martin L. Holman Jr. Marol K. Harvin Ernest W. Baker Jr. Ruby M. Butler Jannie Mae W. Wilson
Richard D. McFadden Hazel Johnson Lelia Mae T. Canty William C. Anderson Jr. Marion Alston
Evelyn Legare Di-Quon Jabar Morgan James Prince Deloris F. Vaughn Helen Charlene D. Mathis
“We tried to put it on special order to make it a priority because it is a priority,” he said. “I don’t understand how the residents can tell us all year JOHNSON that this is a priority but apparently the majority party doesn’t think so.”
SEE ROADS, PAGE A8
WEATHER, A12
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2 SECTIONS, 24 PAGES VOL. 120, NO. 167
Clearing today with 40 percent chance of rain early. Cool, especially tonight. HIGH 72, LOW 49
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