September 14, 2013

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SAFE Presents: Forrest Ray 5k

Sumter routs Lakewood 45-0 B1

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Support Your Library! For more information visit www.sumtercountylibrary.org SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2013 | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA

VOL. 118, NO. 280 WWW.THEITEM.COM

FOUNDED OCTOBER 15, 1894

60 CENTS

Duke rates won’t increase Man gets 5 years for tri-county customers FROM STAFF REPORTS Duke Energy customers in Sumter, Lee and Clarendon counties will not see their rates go up 10 percent as reported Friday. The Associated Press erroneously reported this week the company was given permission to raise its

rates. Duke Energy Carolinas, which is a subsidiary of Duke Energy, has been given permission to raise its rates. A second subsidiary, Duke Energy Progress, serves customers in the eastern part of the state and was not affected by the increase. Duke Energy Carolinas owns nuclear, coal-fired,

natural gas and hydroelectric generation thus providing power to portions of South Carolina and North Carolina. In South Carolina, Duke Energy Carolinas serves about 540,000 customers located primarily in the Upstate. Duke Energy Progress, a subsidiary of Duke Energy

servicing the same territory as the former Progress Energy Carolinas, provides electricity and related services to nearly 1.5 million customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. That includes about 26,300 residential customers in Sumter County,

in Ponzi scheme

Sumter executive was swindled out of $500,000

SEE RATES, PAGE A8

BY ROBERT J. BAKER bbaker@theitem.com

‘The star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave’ National Anthem Day in Sumter

A Florida man who pleaded guilty in May to swindling a Sumter industrial construction company’s chief executive officer out of $500,000 has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison. Paul D. Pomfret, 49, for- POMFRET merly of Palm Beach, Fla., was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,631,090 to various victims, including a Sumter man identified solely by his initials in court documents. U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles announced in a release on Friday that Pomfret met the CEO during a 2010 trip to the Cayman Islands, where SEE POMFRET, PAGE A7

PHOTOS BY IVY MOORE / THE ITEM

Stretch of Broad will be repaved

ABOVE: Sumter School District Interim Superintendent Frank Baker addresses the crowd gathered to observe National Anthem Day with the chorus comprising choirs from five district schools. The hourlong program at Patriot Hall featured proclamations from the city and county, speakers from the Army and Air Force, a salute to the military, special vocal performances by community members and more. BELOW LEFT: Furman Middle School student Rory Higgins watches as Mayor Joseph T. McElveen presents the document proclaiming Sept. 13 National Anthem Day in Sumter to Linda Beck, the Furman Middle School music teacher who started the local observance and has coordinated it for eight years.

BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com

portunities for investment in the new communities that we now serve,� said Theo Lane, Duke Energy’s district manager for government and

Nearly a mile of Broad Street will soon be getting a major facelift after a vote by the SUATS committee Friday. Members of the committee overseeing the Sumter Urban Area Transportation Study approved a plan to repave a 0.82-mile stretch of Broad Street between Bultman Drive and Market Street, which will include changes to two of the city’s busiest and most dangerous intersections. The proposal is part of the federally funded Transportation Improvement Program, which requires the approval of the municipal committee that oversees the long-range transportation

SEE GRANT, PAGE A8

SEE REPAVING, PAGE A7

ABOVE: Sadiq Jenkins, 2nd lieutenant of the Lakewood High School Junior ROTC, salutes as the combined honor guards of Crestwood, Lakewood and Sumter high schools present the colors for the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.� Deborah Horton conducts the combined choruses of five Sumter School District schools as they sing the national anthem. LEFT: Retired Master Sgt. John F. Kennedy sings “God Bless America.�

Grant revives mechatronics program BY JADE ANDERSON janderson@theitem.com A Sumter County Career Center program officials say is vital to industry is making a comeback thanks to a

$40,000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation. Duke Energy awarded the money to Central Carolina Technical College last month. In turn, Central Carolina passed the money along

20 N. Magnolia St. Sumter, SC 29150 (USPS 525-900)

www.theitem.com

to restart its mechatronics program at the career center. “After Duke acquired Progress Energy in August of 2012, one of the first things I wanted to do was meet with community leaders to discuss op-

DEATHS Camya M. China Joseph B. Roberts Gary L. Turbeville Hirtrell Halley Deloris Green Joanna T. Keels

Ralston L. Miles Jannie Bell P. Gibson Gloria Johnson James A. Smith A7

OUTSIDE NOT AS WARM

INSIDE 2 SECTIONS, 16 PAGES

Clouds and sunshine today; mainly clear tonight HIGH: 81 LOW: 61 A8

Church Directory Classifieds Comics Daily Planner Television

A6 B6 A5 A8 A4


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