Compre una casa a un precio razonable con un préstamo VA in Sumter, SC

The days of getting free rides are over for one South Carolina man.

James Mack, a 35-year-old Sumter resident, was recently arrested for calling 911 on multiple occasions to get ambulances to take him to an area hospital, which he would leave without seeking medical treatment, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday in a news release.

Over a two-week period, Mack called 911 several times for minor medical complaints, the sheriff’s office said. After being taken to Prisma Health Tuomey hospital by Sumter County EMS, Mack would routinely leave without being seen by medical staff or receiving any treatment, according to the release.

On Monday, deputies were dispatched to the hospital to investigate if anyone was using emergency medical services under false pretenses, according to the release. Deputies saw Mack leave the hospital shortly after arriving by ambulance, the sheriff’s office said.

When approached by law enforcement officers, Mack ran away and tried hiding, less than 200 feet away, at First Presbyterian Church, according to the release.

Mack was quickly located and detained by the deputies, the sheriff’s office said. After confirming Mack did not receive medical care during his visit, deputies arrested him for unlawful use of 911 by intentionally making false reports, according to the release.

Mack was booked into the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center and his bond was set at $1,500, according to the release. The sheriff’s office said Mack remains in custody, and Sumter County court records show the bond has not been posted.

If convicted on the misdemeanor charge, Mack faces a maximum punishment of 6 months behind bars and a $200 fine, according to South Carolina law.

The person who bought a Mega Millions ticket prior to Tuesday night’s drawing was one number away from winning the game’s grand prize.

Although the ticket buyer didn’t capture more than $300,000, they will be rewarded with a $30,000 consolation prize for coming so close, South Carolina Education Lottery officials said Wednesday in a news release.

Now a search is underway for the winner.

The five-figure winning ticket was sold at the Sportman gas station/convenience store at 2810 U.S. 15 in Sumter.

The winning numbers from Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing were 27, 28, 31, 32, 33 and Megaball: 24.

The winning ticket matched four white ball numbers and the gold Megaball number, lottery officials said. The Megaplier number was 3, and because the player purchased that additional option their prize was tripled from $10,000 to $30,000, officials said.

The odds of matching four white balls and the gold Megaball are 1-in-931,001, according to the release.

The winner has 180 days to claim the prize, according to lottery officials.

The winner will be allowed to retain some privacy, as South Carolina is one of 11 states — along with Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Virginia — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.

“Sign the back of your ticket and put it in a safe location until you’re ready to come forward to claim the prize,” lottery officials said.

For complete information on claiming prizes, go to sceducationlottery.com.

The convenience store will receive a commission for selling the winning ticket, when it is turned into lottery officials.

Overall, there was no grand prize winner Tuesday, and the jackpot for Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing has risen to $324 million.

Tickets are $2, and could cost more with additional options.

The odds of winning Mega Million’s grand prize are 1-in-302,575,350.

ALAYSHA MAPLE / THE SUMTER ITEM

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Posted Wednesday, February 19, 2025 6:00 am

BY ALAYSHA MAPLE alaysha@theitem.com

At 23, most people are still figuring out how to command a room. How to shake hands with certainty, how to navigate conversations with people twice their age who have spent decades in the very spaces they're only just stepping into.

But for Tayvian Gass, the learning curve wasn't optional - it was a given.

As a constituent and community relations manager for South Carolina Speaker Rep. Murrell Smith's office, he is the youngest person in the room oftentimes - a detail that was at first an unspoken elephant in the room but has now become one of his greatest assets.

"I like it; I bring some spunk to the crowd. I crack jokes, I'm the big smile, I'm the ball of energy," Gass explained. "My job is to break the ice a little bit. It's a serious time, but we don't have to be so serious. There are growing pains. You're in that area, and you got to prove why you're there as well. It comes with a big responsibility."

One he's learned to handle, crediting his time as a youngster in South Sumter.

Growing up, Gass was surrounded by well-rounded men and women who poured into him the knowledge, skills, dignity and humility it takes to be a leader. That led Gass to try his hand in extracurriculars, like football and saxophone in high school band and joining community organizations where he created lifelong connections. These experiences served him well as he headed off to Wofford College in Spartanburg to double major in government and religion.

His curiosity about whether there is a true separation of church and state, comparing apples to oranges, as he described, led him to discover both entities, or fruits, are quite similar in how they serve our community and our country. So, with this newfound knowledge, he ran for student body vice president and won. In this role, Gass communicated and related to students of different backgrounds. The doors this role opened for him led him to meet Speaker Smith. The pair were impressed by each other's leadership skills and love for Sumter. Smith offered Gass an internship, which turned into a full-time job as a constituent and community relations manager, reporting to Smith all the happenings in Sumter.

His day to day involves being on the House floor, staying up to date on what's happening in his hometown and speaking with Smith on how to best address certain issues.

"I believe that it takes great responsibility to be in the limelight," Gass expressed. "People have real, real deep concerns out here. Growing up in South Sumter, I know what we dealt with growing up, and I know what people still deal with to this day. I'm glad to be in a position where I can help solve some of those questions as well as in South Carolina all over."

He carries his responsibilities with grace and pride, knowing that he's pouring back into the well - Sumter - he's drawn bucket after bucket of its resources from. But, as he ages, his dream of one day becoming a lawyer and potentially running for a government office is not lost on him. It's all in due timing, and Gass is willing to wait for it. For now, he continues to be a resource to his hometown, more specifically its youth.

One issue that has weighed on Gass is the perception young people have of their hometown and of themselves. In comparison to some cities and opportunities they offer, Sumter may seem small, and there is a wide world out there that is worth exploring. But Sumter is beautiful, and through its people, places and programs, there is much knowledge to gain from and much to give back - but it's up to youth to see it and believe it for themselves. He hopes to be the catalyst for them to do so.

"No one can define you because nobody designed you. Don't allow other people's expectations to put you in a cookie cutter box that you can't achieve what you set out to achieve," Gass expressed. "At the end of the day, you got to be you. You were made, you were designed, you were born to be who you are."

This is the third column in a series commemorating Sunshine Week.

Last October, reporters Tony Bartelme and Seth Taylor teamed up on a project that pulled back the camouflage on a taxpayer-funded welcome center in Sumter that essentially doubled as a hunting retreat for local officials and their friends.

The city built the center as part of an ongoing effort to preserve land around Shaw Air Force Base. But public records obtained by the reporters revealed how the property also served as a hunting hideaway.

To contribute, please go to postandcourierfund.com.

You can also send a check to the Spartanburg County Foundation, 424 E Kennedy Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302, and write “Post and Courier Investigative Fund” in the subject line.

The Post and Courier worked for months to obtain the records and had to pay more than $1,000 before the city of Sumter would comply with our request under the state's Freedom of Information Act request. The city maintained that retrieving the documents was expensive and time-consuming.

To build the $3.4 million lodge-like complex, the city relied significantly on state grants. The construction costs included $14,218 for a security camera system at the gate and a $10,301 conference room table made from 3.5-inch thick cypress. The city also built a three-bedroom house for a property manager to use on site, and planned to spend an additional $4.7 million — from a state Veterans Affairs grant — to renovate an old barn to accommodate larger groups.

Below, Tony and Seth take us through the investigation and their use of the public records law, FOIA, to obtain key documents.

What led you to this story?

Tony: As with so many of our Uncovered stories, this one began with a tip. A resident in Sumter with knowledge of what was going on told the gist of the story. If the source was correct, the story highlighted how public officials were using their positions of privilege to make their lives a little more privileged.

That's my North Star when it comes to choosing to investigate a tip. But we also keep firmly in mind that tips are not evidence. It's just the beginning of an investigation, and documents are key.

What obstacles, if any, did you encounter?

Tony: Our biggest obstacles were, in no particular order, the city of Sumter and its officials; the county of Sumter and its officials; and the Air Force, which wasn't as obstructionist as the local officials but was still slow to respond.

Our first goal was to get a handle on the project and its chronology. I prefer to talk to people rather than hit them with FOIA requests. We tried that route, and city and county officials ignored us or declined to answer our questions in any kind of depth.

Note to officials: If you want to add some fuel to a reporter's furnace, ignore them.

What records did you pursue?

We sought records describing the project's construction and spending from the city and county of Sumter, including emails about it. We sought hunting records from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. We requested grant records from the S.C. Department of Veterans' Affairs, and we requested usage records from the U.S. Air Force.

Were the records easy or difficult to obtain?

The state agencies were very easy to work with, and I have no real complaint about the Air Force. Sumter County eventually coughed up its records, but the city of Sumter delayed responding until the last day of the FOIA law's deadlines, and when we tried to narrow our request to speed up the process, they slow-walked their responses, adding even more delays.

When we finally agreed on a narrower selection of documents, they demanded $1,098 to get them. They cited the cost of searching for the documents, using a very highly paid employee, which we believe violated the law. The law mandates that fees be based on the lowest-paid employee capable of fulfilling the request. Five months passed from the time we asked for the documents and the time we finally got them.

What did the documents reveal?

Seth: The records revealed the extent to which taxpayer dollars were used to fund the hideaway used almost exclusively by local officials. Despite millions of state and local dollars being used to construct the welcome center, public access was severely limited.

Hidden in the pile of documents we received were little details that hinted at how the property was being used. DNR records showed that local officials and base personnel used the site for hunting. Purchase records showed how the building was furnished — a $10,301 table made of ancient cypress, for example.

Also notable is what the lack of records revealed: little oversite or recordkeeping. The center doesn't keep rosters of who hunted there or liability waivers. A calendar of events contained little to no detailed information. With these records, we could begin to piece together what truly happens at the Shaw-Sumter Farm.

Would the story have come to light without pressing for open government and/or records?

Seth: There's no way we could have produced this story without the records requests we filed. Asking for information — repeatedly — proved fruitless. City leaders ignored our calls or declined to speak with us. They refused to provide us with basic information or even open the facility for a tour. Only with the help of the law and a hefty dose of perseverance could we begin to gain a peek, albeit a small one, behind the curtain.

Read Monday's column: After we dug into a North Charleston program, the FBI swept in

Read Sunday's column: Join The Post and Courier in celebrating journalism dedicated to the public interest

Robert Briggs // Shutterstock

Highest-rated Mexican restaurants in the Sumter area by diners

Just like cuisine from any country, Mexican food is not monolithic. It isn't just combo plates and tacos. (Not that there's anything wrong with that style of food; it's delicious and is responsible for popularizing Mexican food in the United States.) But Mexican food means more than that.

It reflects Mexico's diverse population—shaped by waves of immigration—and has proliferated throughout the U.S., showcasing the cuisine in all its complexity and regionality. Mexico has 32 distinct regional styles of cooking, and thanks to immigrant chefs and the rise of promising culinarians of Mexican descent looking to share their signature dishes, Indigenous foodways, and ingredients from various regions, diners are reframing their idea of "Mexican food."

According to a 2024 Pew Research Center analysis of SafeGraph data, 1 in 10 restaurants in the U.S. serve Mexican food, and nearly 9 out of 10 U.S. counties have at least one Mexican restaurant. The analysis also reveals that California and Texas are home to a majority of the Mexican American population and together host 2 out of 5 Mexican restaurants in the country.

These findings serve as a testament to the influence Mexican cuisine has had and continues to have in America. Which begs the question: Where does one go for the best old-school Mexican restaurants, loncheras slinging tacos out of a half-window, and innovative modern Mexican food pushing culinary boundaries?

To help you out, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated Mexican restaurants in the Sumter area based on diners' reviews on Yelp as of February 2025. Restaurants with at least 20 reviews tagged as "Mexican" on Yelp within a 10-kilometer radius of Sumter were included. As a result, some restaurants featured may serve other food items besides Mexican food. Also, in an effort to highlight independent businesses and local chains, those with more than 50 locations nationally, based on the Yelp data, were not included.

Keep reading to see if your favorite Mexican spot made the list or to discover a new restaurant to try!

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