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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2014
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Annual Turkey Trot continues to grow
City gets clean audit BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com
Last year, 450 people participated in the run. This was the first year organizers offered early registration, and about 200 entrants pre-registered. The run drew folks from West Virginia, Philadelphia and as far away as Indianapolis. Hobi and Rita Guido, a Swiss couple who have been married 37 years, participated in their 15th run Thursday. The
The City of Sumter got a clean bill of financial health Wednesday. The financial department and accountants from Sheheen, Hancock & Godwin LLP CPAs presented a comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30 during a special meeting. “You received an unmodified audit,” said Marc Wood with the outside firm. “That’s the highest favorable opinion we can give. Congratulations.” Highlights of the general fund budget included revenues exceeding budgeted amounts by more than $1.4 million, expenditures being under budget by about $95,000 and transfers in and out being under budget by about $202,000. Mayor Joe McElveen asked if there were any red flags or bad trends in the audit. “No, we didn’t see anything,” Wood said. “Any time you can increase the fund balance on a yearly basis, you’re doing something right. When things come up, you have money in reserve. You do not have to go up in taxes and fees.” In his line of work, Wood said it’s recommended that an entity have enough money held back to fully fund it for three to six months in the case of something catastrophic happening. This amount allows the entity time to address what went wrong.
SEE TURKEY TROT, PAGE A5
SEE AUDIT, PAGE A5
JIM HILLEY / THE SUMTER ITEM
Participants in Sumter Family YMCA’s 32nd-annual Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk make their way down Willow Drive on Thanksgiving morning. More than 600 people participated in the annual event. See a list of winners on page A5.
For many, annual 5K is Thanksgiving tradition BY MATT BRUCE matthew@theitem.com
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t’s a staple that has become a Thanksgiving-morning tradition for many families in and
out of the state. And it continues to grow. More than 600 people spent their preturkey hours running a five-kilometer course Thursday during the Sumter Family YMCA’s 32nd-annual Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk and Gobbler Dash. “I think that’s true — this is actually a family tradition,” said Denise Lewis, a Y representative. “The ones who are coming in from other towns, they’re actually coming here because it’s a family tradition for them to do the Turkey Trot. We see the same ones come with added family members. And that’s amazing.” Y officials said the pool of participants has steadily grown since it became a nationally certified run in 2010. Back then, the yearly outing
MATT BRUCE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Turkey Trot runners prepare to cross the finish line. drew between 150 and 200 people. “I think that really added to it as well. So you get the competitive who like to come and run the 5Ks, and then you get the families as well,” Y Marketing Coordinator Missy Reese said of the certification. “We think it’s great because Thanksgiving is normally such a busy day anyway. And we just appreciate the people taking time out of their day to make this part of their traditions.”
More delays could be in store for Alice Drive project BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com The Alice Drive road-widening project has run into some snags, but the Department of Transportation is in the process of resolving those, said Jeffrey Wilkes, resident construction engineer for Sumter. When crews were installing grates to tie Alice Drive to
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Wesmark Boulevard, they came across unexpected conditions that will lead to new construction that does not fit into the original plans. “We want to make sure it ties in properly to the existing roadway and forms a smooth transition,” Wilkes said. He and his staff will be meeting with headquarters, the design office and the con-
tractor in the next couple of weeks to make revisions. Then he will know if they need to revise the completion date, Wilkes said, but he still thinks the project will be in budget. Crews are in Phase 3 of the project, working in the area between Haile Drive and Wesmark. They’ve installed new drainage and sidewalks, and the next step is to lay asphalt.
DEATHS, B6 and B7 Hudson D. Shuey Hendley Morris Sr. Riley A. Bradham Jr. Mary Ann Pringle Robert W. Smalls Sr. Isabella H. Weston David R. Yarbrough
Milton Dow Hortensia Montgomery Sandra L. Barnes Emma L. Dargan Johnny M. Adger Amos Benjamin Tallis T. Yates
“You’ll be seeing some base go down in the next week or so,” Wilkes said. So please continue to be patient during this busy time of year, he said. “With the holiday season, there will be a lot more traffic, and we encourage all citizens to use caution not only on Alice Drive, but at all the other construction areas as well,” Wilkes said.
The S.C. Department of Transportation is overseeing the $9.3 million widening of Alice Drive, and the project was originally supposed to be finished by last July. The first two phases of the project converted Alice Drive to five lanes with a permanent turn lane, new sidewalks, lighting and underground utilities between U.S. 521 and Wesmark Boulevard.
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INSIDE
A BIT CHILLIER
2 SECTIONS, 24 PAGES VOL. 120, NO. 38
Mostly sunny and chilly today; clear to partly cloudy and cold tonight HIGH 49, LOW 29
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