The Item from Sumter, South Carolina • 1

3 3 FOUNDED OCTOBER 15 1894 SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10 2005 Volume 110 Number 329 WEATHER FOR TODAY Partly sunny High 90 Low 66 See page 4A for details SIMTER SC j0(EY1S White House repeals debit card program for displaced hurricane survivors latest attempt to assert leader- ship in the wake of I the devastating storm I and its aftermath m- eluding the weakest public opinion polls of time in office Still there was fresh evidence of raggedness the effort when FEMA an- INSIDE SC cities help evacuees differently 2A Katrina aftermath photo gallery 8A Relief supplies needed 7A Economic impact still unknown IB Keep an eye on theitemcom for more pictures from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina By LARA JAKES JORDAN Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON The Bush administration dumped FEMA Director Michael Brown as commander of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts Friday then abruptly scrapped plans to give $2000 debit cards to displaced storm victims as it struggled to get a grip on the recovery operation Buffeted by criticism President Bush stirred memories of the 2001 terror at debit cards worth up to $2000 to displaced families Evacuees who have relocated to Texas many of whom began receiving cards on Friday will continue get ting them officials said Hurricane victims at other locations will have to apply for expedited aid through the traditional route -filling out information on Web site to receive direct bank deposits FEMA spokeswoman Natalie Rule said St WHITE HOUSE PAGE 7A tacks as he hailed the of great compassion and extraordinary bravery from then as now Brown who had come to personify a relief operation widely panned as bumbling will be replaced by Coast Guard Vice Adm Thad Allen Allen had been in charge of relief recovery and rescue efforts for New Orleans The decision to order Brown back to Washington from Louisiana he remains director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency marked the adminis nounced late the day that it would discontinue a two-day-old program to issue Charity keeps feeding needy Volunteers from Sumter area assist Salvation Army efforts By DAVE CRUZ Item Staff Writer Thirteen Sumter County residents went with Maj Newton Brown of The Salvation Sumter Corps to Hattiesburg Miss last week to help feed the thousands there who lost everything when Hurricane Katrina tore through that city And the Sumter Corps is looking for more able-bodied people to help with its relief efforts in Mississippi A crew of eight people is needed to work at Salvation Army feeding sites and shelters said spokeswoman Joy Ingram The crew will leave Sunday and be gone between 10 and 12 days Prospective volunteers should go to the Sumter office on Kendrick Street The office will be open from 9am to 6 today Stacy Truett said she and her parents Tim and Sharon Truett of Sumter drove a Salvation Army truck loaded with supplies to Hattiesburg last Saturday and returned the next evening Being able to help the people there was a rewarding experience she said SEE RELIEF PAGE 7A Chris Moore The Item About 75 airmen rush off a Jet to waiting family and friends after returning Thursday evening from deployment in Iraq i Chns Moore The Item Staff Sgt Jeremy Belt left his wife Angela right and sons from left Steven 6 Jonathan 10 and Brendan 8 embrace after Jeremy Balt stepped off a Jet carrying about 75 airmen who returned home Thursday evening from serving overseas Ii Shaw airmen return' from Iraq deployment By LESLIE CANTU gela eyes as she and her three boys jumped Item Staff Writer up and down barely able to wait for the plane to taxi 1 close enough to allow Staff Sgt Jeremy Belt and his After four days of on-again offagain reports that 70 or so co-workers to disembark the 20th Civil Engineering Squadron would be rei other half of my heart is coming home turning from Iraq anarudous crowd of about 150 tonight" Angela Belt said family members on the flight line at Shaw Air Force Belt's mother Brenda Ashcraft take Base burst into joyous celebration when the plane her eyes off the enormous plane carrying their airmen finally landed safely at 11:20 God that's so beautiful I think them pm Thursday planes looked so good" she said The sight of the huge World Airways jet touching 1 down within shouting distance brought tears to An-! PAGE 7A Chris Moore The Item Airman Kenneth Doan embraces his wife da aftar returning to Shaw Air Force Base Weather-watchers keep eye on Ophelia Chris Moore The Item A group of volunteers loads packages of water and clothing into a truck Thursday afternoon outside The Salvation Army on Kendrick Street Body count lower than many feared Ry ERIN McCLAM Associated Press Writer NEW ORLEANS -Alarming predictions of as many as 10000 dead New Orleans might have been greatly exaggerated with authorities saying Friday that the first street-by-street sweep of the swamped city revealed far fewer corpses than feared of the catastrophic deaths that some people predicted may not have said Col Terry Ebbert the homeland security chief He declined to give a revised estimate But he added so far are relatively minor as compared to the dire projections of The encouraging news came as workers repairing New system of levees and water pumps projected Friday that it will take a month to dry out the city ravaged by Hurricane Katrina Authorities officially shifted most of their attention to counting and removing the dead after spending days cajoling persuading and all but strong-arming the living into leaving the city because of the danger of fires and disease from the fetid floodwaters I see NEW ORLEANS page 7a northwestward track for Rep- cane-force winds to extend far inland Ophelia upgrades Tropical Storm Ophelia regained hurricane strenght and may threaten the southeast coast Hurricane Ophelia LOCATION MOVEMENT MAX SUST 30 0 NE 7 mph 75 mph 78 2 As of 5 EOT Proiected path Window of movement By RANDY BURNS Item Staff Writer Weather forecasters with the National Hurricane Center the National Weather Service and AccuWeather agree that Hurricane Ophelia is likely to strike the East Coast somewhere between Georgia and the South Carolina-North Carolina border on Tuesday or Wednesday AccuWeather meteorologist Alan Rep-pert said people should not be fooled by gradual northeast movement away from Florida appears now fairly clear that a strong high-pressure ridge is going to develop over the eastern United States and this is going to force a westward and then it does make landfall near Charleston I expect there will be hurricane-force winds when it gets close to Sumter" he said there could be gusts of hurricane force Forecasters believe Ophelia will slow down once it makes landfall which is likely to increase the risk of heavy rain and thunderstorms At 5 Friday Ophelia was located 220 miles south southeast of Charleston and was moving northeast at about 7 mph Ophelia was upgraded to a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center with the 5 advisory see OPHELIA page 7 pert said it looks like South Carolina is the most likely track The center of the track right now is just north of Charleston The National Hurricane official track at 5 had the eye making landfall south of Charleston on Tuesday evening as a Category 1 hurricane Reppert said Ophelia could possibly be a Category 2 hurricane with winds from 96 to 110 mph when it makes landfall now it look like going to be a major he said is still not going to be a picnic We think going to be anything like Reppert said he expect hurri- SOURCES AccuWeather USGS SIDE ITEM ii li it "iTl SPORTS Manning holds off Crestwood on gridiron ID IB 2B 5C 4t 4A Dnersions Obituaries Opinion Panorama Teles lsion Business Church News Classifieds omics Daily Planner wwriHEiitttcew To contact 3Utenu call CENLRAL 774 1200 I SSIFIIPS 774-1234 DHlER 774-12ri8 M-WS SPORTS 774 1226 2C 7A 6A 1C 5A PUBffSHING COMPANY Etiablultd 1894 20 North Magnolia Street Sumter South Carolina 29150 (USPS 525-900) 00001 90534 2005 Ostpen Publ sh ng Co i iSiiijfriurr'iiiiyT inWurtSniitiiiiifriiiTbidhuAii ihiV tv itimirf -nsr-.