The Item from Sumter, South Carolina • 4

STATE SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 8 2012 A4 THE ITEM FCC commissioner: Ending digital divide essential small business or even finish 'your homework without broadband" she said "Shrinking that divide is essential not only for individuals economically but also important to a robust civic Clyburn added She said that news and information available on the Internet helps ensure that the public is informed about national issues Cohen presented a $25000 check to the Carolina Youth Development Center for technology programs The nonprofit helps children who have been abandoned or experienced abuse or CHARLESTON (AP) -Closing America's digital divide is essential both for the economy and for its civic life Mignon Clyburn a commissioner with the Federal Communications Commission said Friday Clyburn was in her native Charleston joining state and local officials as Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen presented a foundation grant to help close the divide in the city The digital divide refers to the gulf between those who have access to computers and broadband Internet service and those who Many of those who don't are in rural areas or in families with lower incomes Clyburn said that 18 million Americans have no physical access to broadband while a third of Americans lack Internet connections everywhere the service is available Many of them she said say they afford it "Children parents grandparents and the community as a whole are significantly disadvantaged without highspeed internet access whether you are in an urban or a rural she said She is a daughter of US Rep Jim Clyburn D-SC a Sumter native For many jobs you have to apply online she said hard to find a job complete a job application operate a THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Mignon Clyburn a South Carolina native and member of the Federal Communications Commission speaks in Charleston on Friday SLED agency back under sanctions THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Zinah Jennings faces Judge Knox McMahon for sentencing Friday in Columbia Nearly 1 0 months after her 1 8-month-old son was last seen Jennings was convicted Friday of unlawful conduct for refusing to tell authorities where he might be just insisting to police that he is safe Mother gets 10 years in prison COLUMBIA South law enforcement agency is back under sanctions for not properly monitoring the exchange of criminal records shared between states but Chief Mark Keel said Friday he's hiring people to fix the problem While the sanctions carry no fines they ultimately threaten ability to access data and therefore their safety and the public's If sanctions continue and a state decides to stop sharing information with South Carolina an officer may not know for example that the vehicle stopped contains a vio- lent felon Keel is confident that won't happen as he works to correct problems he discovered after taking the helm of the State Law Enforcement Division last summer SLED fell out of compliance with data-sharing guidelines after recession-era budget cuts slashed its data division in half Primarily SLED had stopped auditing local law enforcement agencies to ensure they used the national crime database properly Keel said The two groups that govern the exchanges gave SLED the OK earlier this year after Keel laid out his compliance plans to FBI officials and pledged to make it happen "I went up there with my hat in hand" Keel said about his trip last September to the Criminal Justice Information Services Division headquarters in Clarksburg WVa He then worked with lawmakers to get the money necessary to put the agency back together while working to correct what could be done without funding such as updating policies "We had to have more dollars for hardware dollars to fix these things and for personnel said "It was not something we could fix overnight They understood that and knew we were working But the FBI's Advispry Policy Board which sets standards for the exchange of data between law enforcement agencies resumed sanctions Aug 24 on three remaining issues found in a June review are the issues that we have to have the budget and personnel on board to resolve" Keel said Legislators did not finalize the 2012-13 1 budget until July 18 Jennings convicted in case of her missing son Amir even mentioned throwing the boy out the window of a moving car Other prosecution witnesses testified that they saw Jennings kick Amir when he misbehaved or squeeze his hand when he say "mama" Employees at the bank where the video came from testified that Amir was often not in a car seat when his mother pulled up at la drive-thru window Jennings' mother though said that while she and her strong-willed daughter butted heads when it came to parenting styles she doesn't think her daughter would have ever harmed Amir Before sentencing Jocelyn Jennings Nelson also said she thought her daughter had suffered from post-partum depression and that she tried to find counseling for her after birth "She understand what her body was going through and the impact motherhood was having on Nelson told the judge "At this point Amir could be anywhere I will never stop looking for him" It was unclear exactly who would care for baby girl though her mother has said be willing to do that Judge Knox McMahon said that Jennings would get the needed medical care In pronouncing sentence McMahon made it clear that his thoughts were with the boy "I also do not know where Amir Jennings is I know where his blanket is I know where his blood is" McMahon said one innocent person one blameless person one person that cannot fend fbr himself in the world we live in and Amir everyday! SILVER OLD JEWELRY DIAMONDS MORE Free Estimates Immediate Payment People You Know Jrust lUeieleti I Fme Jeweleis Since 1 935" 444 GUIGNARD DR PH803 775 1209 led them to search places from Atlanta to Charlotte Jennings who did not testify in her defense has said she left the boy somewhere safe but give details when questioned by police Prosecutors played a lengthy police interview in which Jennings cried as she said her son was safe but that she prove to detectives that the boy was alive Investigators have found Amir's blood on baby blankets retrieved from Jennings' car but no other trace of him Some of the dozens of prosecution witnesses testified during the two-week trial that Jennings who gave birth to a second child last week said she was overwhelmed by the stresses of parenting an active energetic boy and needed a break One friend said Jennings told her she pondered selling or giving away Amir qnd BY MEG KINNARD Associated Press Writer COLUMBIA Nearly 10 months after her 18-month-old son was last seen a South Carolina woman was convicted Friday of unlaw-fill conduct for refusing to tell authorities where he might be just insisting that he is safe Zinah Jennings 23 showed no emotion as the verdict was read The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for about 2 lh hours before issuing its decision and a judge sentenced Jennings to the maximum of 10 years in prison Jennings has been jailed on no bail since her arrest The last time Jennings' son Amir was seen was in November when a security video at a Columbia bank recorded them both Police say Jennings repeatedly lied to them about where the boy is telling false tales that Display Advertising Network You can run a 2-column by 2-inch ad in more than 110 newspapers across SC at a fraction' of the normal cost! 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