Three hurt in six-vehicle pileup Wednesday — Page 3 Sports Back in the City The Cavaliers returned to Forest City to play their first home game of the 2009 season Wednesday
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Thursday, December 10, 2009, Forest City, N.C.
NATION
Mayor learned early how to help By JEAN GORDON Daily Courier Staff Writer
South Carolina governor won’t be impeached
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50¢
RUTHERFORDTON — Jimmy Dancy’s parents instilled a sense of belonging to community and public service to he and his brother David while they grew up in Alleghany County. The new mayor of Rutherfordton has never forgotten his childhood lessons and has lived his life trying to help his fellowman. Dancy looks at his new role as mayor as a way to serve the public, his reason for seeking public office more than eight years ago. Although Dancy never had a thought of becoming a mayor, he believes his eight years as town
councilman prepared him for his new role. Judge Laura Powell administered the oath last Wednesday. “I think politics should be and is a part of service to the community,” he said in his first interview as mayor. When Dancy was growing up his parents, Odell and Wretha Dancy, taught him the value of helping community. “I lived in a community of very close-knit families and although my family was never into politics at all, they instilled in me a sense of belonging to a community and working with the community. I have never gotten far from that.’
In the mountains near his childhood home of Sparta, snow was common and when the Dept. of Transportation couldn’t get to all the state roads in a timely fashion, Dancy’s family and the other community folks got together and cleaned the roads. “The whole community was practically paralyzed and the families knew it would be a long time before the county could clear the roads,” Dancy said. “I always wondered why they were doing all this, but it was the community working together to help others, even my
Jimmy Dancy: New
Please see Dancy, Page 6 mayor in Rutherfordton
Operation Christmas Child
SPORTS
Panthers ask, “Who’s on the D, this week?” Page 7
GAS PRICES
Low: High: Avg.:
$2.50 $2.61 $2.55
DEATHS Rutherfordton
Jock Dale Charles Camby Forest City Amy Proctor Bostic Jerry Annas Elsewhere Eva Bowman Page 5
WEATHER
High
Low
51 24 Today, sunny. Tonight, clear. Complete forecast, Page 10
INSIDE Classifieds . . . 18-19 Sports . . . . . . . . 7-9 County scene . . . . 6 Opinion . . . . . . . . 4 Vol. 41, No. 294
Contributed Photo
Standing in as one of Santa’s elves, third grader Morgan Hill helps sort brightly wrapped Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes donated during RS Central’s annual November collection drive. This year, members of the Hilltopper family collected 66 boxes and over $400, all of which will be used to spread the true joy of Christmas to children all over the world. Headquartered in Boone, Samaritan’s Purse impacts the lives of vulnerable children through educational, feeding, clothing, and shelter programs that let them know they are not forgotten. For more information or to make donations to assist in covering shipping costs, go to www.samaritanspurse.org.
Defendant doesn’t testify; no witnesses for defense By LARRY DALE Daily Courier Staff Writer
RUTHERFORDTON — After an on-again, off-again decision Wednesday on whether he would take the stand in his own defense, Kelvin Jerome Rippy opted against testifying in his trial. Rippy is charged with firstdegree murder in the 2007 death of Heather Lowery. He is being tried in Rutherford County Superior Court. With Rippy’s decision not to testify, the defense rested without offering any witnesses or any further evidence in the case. The action means that the jury will return today to hear closing arguments from both sides and to receive instructions on the law from Judge Bradley Letts before retiring to make their decision. In a charge conference after the jury had been dismissed for the day Wednesday, it was decided that jurors may find Rippy guilty of firstdegree murder, second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter, or they can find him not guilty. First-degree murder requires premeditation. Second-degree murder is intentional but lacks premeditation. Both the prosecution and the defense spent some time Wednesday afternoon going over a statement Rippy made to Forest City Police Department Detective Sgt. Tommy
Turner on Nov. 3, 2007. Lowery was choked and stabbed in the neck on that date after she brought her son to see Rippy, the boy’s father, at his Wells Drive, Forest City, apartment. The violence occurred in the bedroom of his mother, where the two had gone to talk about their relationship. Lowery was taken to Rutherford Hospital, was almost immediately airlifted to Mission Hospital in Asheville and was later returned to Hospice of Rutherford County, where she died on Dec. 24, 2007. Rippy was read his Miranda rights and waived having an attorney present for his statement to the police. The statement indicates he wanted to get back together with Lowery, from whom he was estranged. But Lowery was living with another man, and she said she was pregnant, and did not want to return to Rippy. After it appeared that the two would not reconcile, Rippy said he wanted custody of their son, especially because Lowery and the other man would be having a child. According to the statement, Rippy said since Lowery wanted to be with another man, “I should get my son out of this deal.” But Lowery reportedly told Rippy she would not let him have custody.
Now on the Web: www.thedigitalcourier.com
Please seeDefendant, Page 6
Hospital joins national effort By SCOTT BAUGHMAN Daily Courier Staff Writer
RUTHERFORDTON — As the health care debate rages across the country, hospitals like Rutherford County’s own are looking at ways to help curb readmissions — the sometimes revolving door of mostly Medicare patients who keep returning. “One of the priorities of care is timely delivery of information from the hospital stay to community-based physicians, such as the primary care physicians that patients frequently see for follow-up care,” said Jim Bross, chief operating officer for Rutherford Hospital. Nationwide, one in five Medicare patients winds up back in the hospital within a month — even worse, one in four patients with heart failure. Physicians around the country are tackling the problem by trying to educate patients more about taking care of themselves when they get home. “The goal of appropriate discharge instructions, related education and transfer of care to an appropriate setting — home, nursing facility, home health or other residential care facility — are a priority of the care team throughout a hospital stay,” Bross said. “Evaluating family or other outside resources for follow-up care of patients is a key function of Case Management at Rutherford Hospital.” Rehospitalizations ought to be handled with the same urgency as an epidemic, said Dr. Harlan Krumholz of Yale University. He helped the American College of Cardiology begin a Please see Hospital, Page 5
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— The
Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009
local Three hurt in 6-vehicle pileup
David Roach to play for Chase Band event By ALLISON FLYNN Daily Courier Staff Writer
FOREST CITY – The Chase High School Marching Trojans will be letting someone else provide the entertainment in a series of concerts aimed at raising money to purchase new uniforms for the band. The Trojan Concert Series kicks off Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Chase High School Auditorium with David Roach and Friends Christmas Celebration. Admission is $10 per person. Other concerts planned for the series include a gospel showcase of local artists in February and a youth rally in March that will feature the Restoration Praise Band. Band Director Michael Henderson said the band boosters came up with the series because it could be a recurring Jean Gordon/Daily Courier fundraiser. “It is not something that has been Three people were transported to Rutherford Hospital Wednesday at about 2:30 p.m. as a result of a six-vehicle collision on U.S. 221A, Forest City, in front of Quality overdone,” he said. “It doesn’t require Plus. The driver of a Parker Lawn Care truck, Michael Hunt, hauling a trailer and my students to go door to door sellequipment, was traveling toward Forest City when he apparently couldn’t stop and ing items.” struck a Morrow Motors Ford pick-up driven by Michael Mosley in front of him. The first concert will feature pianist The pick-up truck then struck a Toyota XL 5 with New York license plates; and the David Roach, who has been playing Toyota struck a Honda Accord driven by Chrissy Smith of Forest City. A Chevrolet since age 5. driven by Jeannette Beck of Chase was struck next and it apparently hit a 1994 Roach has recorded five CDs and Ford Thunderbird driven by Vickie Sturgill of Ellenboro. Transported to the hospiis also a member of the Southern tal were Smith, Mosley and an unidentified driver of the Toyota. Sandy Mush and Gospel group In His Glory as well Forest City firefighters, Forest City police, Rutherford County EMS, Rutherford as being conductor of the Foot Hills County Rescue and Crime Control responded. A reconstruction team from the Forest City Police Department was also dispatched to the scene for investigative Community Band. purposes. Additionally, Roach serves as accompanist for the Chase High School chorus and teaches 30-plus private piano students. Roach’s daughter, Ashley, is a member of the Chase High School colorguard. The concert will primarily feature FOREST CITY — Rutherford Whitaker. Roach on piano, Roach said, but County’s Hometown Holidays will “This is a show that gets statewide there will also be vocal performances be featured today at 9 p.m. on UNCviewership and draws visitors to the by Henderson and Doreen Waycaster. TV’s NC Weekend. places it features,” Whitaker said. East High School Band Director The segment will focus on Forest “We feel certain it will do the same City’s holiday lights and events. for Hometown Holidays, and are very Patrick Smith will also be performing as well as the Chase High School Reporter Deborah Holt Noel shot the excited about this piece.” piece last year in order to run it durHometown Holidays has been gar- drum line. “It’s definitely a Christmas coning this year’s holiday season. nering a growing media interest. cert,” Roach said. “It will be a blend NC Weekend has run features on Last year, several television stations of traditional Christmas music, both Bennett Car Museum, M Squared aired stories on the lights – and sevRestaurant, KidSenses InterActive eral magazines are now interested in sacred and secular, a little bit of classical and we’re hoping to throw in childen’s museum and other local the story, Whitaker continued. some whimsical.” attractions. Buying new uniforms, Roach said, After each of these features, local NC Weekend is a weekly travel is now a necessity. The uniforms the venues have seen a large increase show airing each Thursday, with band currently wear on Friday nights in visitors, all naming the show repeats throughout each weekend. and to competitions were purchased as the place where they heard NC Weekend, as its name suggests, in the mid-90s, Henderson said. about the attraction, says TDA features the best of travel and tourThe typical life of a band uniform is Acting Executive Director Michelle ism in the state of North Carolina.
County is featured on TV tonight
Musician and recording artist David Roach will perform Dec. 19
around 7 years, Roach said. “They have been patched and hemmed and worked on so much,” he said. “And every competition they’ve marched in this year it has rained, which has been a detriment.” And although the band has its usual fundraisers throughout the year – like fruit and pork shoulder sales – those fundraisers serve to keep the band simply operating. “It will take about $36,000 just to keep the band operating this year,” Henderson said. “Then add the cost of the uniforms on top of that and you can see what we are up against.” New uniforms, he said, will cost between $25,000 and $30,000. Roach said by attending the concert Dec. 19, people can enjoy music and help a worthy cause. If you can’t attend but would still like to help the band, Henderson said donations will be accepted. Checks should be made out to the Chase High School Band; sponsors will be listed on the band’s Web site, www.trojanmarchingband. org. For more information on the concert series or how you can help, contact Michael Henderson at Chase High School at 245-1716 or by e-mail at mhenderson@rcsnc.org. Contact Flynn via e-mail at aflynn@thedigitalcourier.com.
Baby’s 1st Christmas
2009
Miles Matthew Adkinson Parents: Rebecca & Mat Adkinson Birthdate: February 13, 2009
Only $15 Please print clearly! The following information will appear with the photo.
Baby’s Name: Parent’s Name: Birthdate:
For Our Records We Need: Your Name: Mailing Address: Home #:
Daytime #:
Photos will be Published in a Special Advertisement on Thursday, December 24th. Deadline is 5pm, on Wednesday, December 16th. Please bring by or mail to:
The Daily Courier Attn: Baby’s 1st Christmas 601 Oak St. • Forest City, NC 28043
The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009 — 3
carolinas/TENNESSEE
Impeachment bid dropped; censure is ordered
SC lawmakers nix impeachment, recommend rebuke COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina lawmakers recommended a formal rebuke on Wednesday for Gov. Mark Sanford for his summertime tryst and travel, opting to censure the Republican after nixing an impeachment measure. A panel considering impeachment called his trip to see his Argentine mistress embarrassing and said his use of state planes was poor judgment, but they mostly agreed it was not serious misconduct that merited removal from office. Instead, the seven lawmakers unanimously sent a full legislative committee a measure that would censure Sanford. Sanford has been under scrutiny since June when he tearfully revealed the affair. Ensuing probes of his travel and campaign spending led to more than three dozen state ethics charges
and the potential for $74,000 in fines. His second and final term ends in January 2011. “We can’t impeach for hypocrisy. We can’t impeach for arrogance. We can’t impeach an officeholder for his lack of leadership skills,” said Rep. James Harrison, the Columbia Republican who headed the panel. Only eight U.S. governors have been removed by impeachment, and the only two removed in the last 80 years each faced criminal charges. Technically, the outcome of Wednesday’s vote will be sent as a recommendation to a full House Judiciary panel, which could revive an impeachment effort. However, that is unlikely given the margin of the vote. Sanford also is the subject of a State Ethics Commission hearing on more than three dozen civil charges involving his use
Carolinas Today Sen. Hoyle won’t seek re-election
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Democratic state Sen. David Hoyle announced Wednesday that he will not seek a 10th term, making him the second high-powered lawmaker in as many months to announce plans to forgo a return to the General Assembly. Hoyle, 70, of Gaston County, is considered an ally of business and tax overhaul as longtime co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He said it was time to retire after nearly two decades in the Legislature. He’ll serve out the remainder of his term. “Having had the honor and privilege to serve my community and state in every way that has been asked of me, beginning 45 years ago as mayor of Dallas, it is now the time and the season to welcome the next phase of my life,” Hoyle said in a statement. “Public service has always been a central part of my life and my commitment to our community and our state remains strong,” he said. Hoyle’s decision opens up a potential seat for the GOP to win next year. His district is considered to be leaning toward Republicans.
Senators push camp water study
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s two senators are again pushing the Navy to fund a critical study on contaminated drinking water at a Marine base. Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan are among four senators urging the Navy Wednesday to fund a $1.8 million mortality study. The study will determine if there are higher mortality rates for active duty Marines who served at the base during the years that the water was contaminated. Water supplied to Camp Lejeune’s main family housing areas was contaminated by dry cleaning solvents and other sources.
Attack by bear is investigated
CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP) — Federal officials are investigating a bear attack that left the manager of a North Carolina zoo with serious injuries. The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is sending inspectors to the Chief Saunooke Bear Park. Mary Clapsaddle was airlifted to the hospital Monday after a bear bit her while she was giving the animal water. Her son says the 75-year-old Clapsaddle broke safety rules when she stepped into a pen with a bear. Kole Clapsaddle says handlers are supposed to place food and water in one part of the pen while the bear is secured in another part.
Soldier demoted in death case
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina-based paratrooper who helped subdue a fellow soldier who later died has been demoted. The Fayetteville Observer reported Wednesday that Joseph Misuraca of Harper Woods, Mich., was demoted from specialist to private first class. Misuraca has agreed to a plea bargain that could give him 30 days in jail and dock his pay. Seven soldiers were originally charged with involuntary manslaughter following the death of Pfc. Luke Brown last year. The 27-year-old from Fredericksburg, Va., died after a night of drinking with men from his 82nd Airborne Division unit.
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of state planes, pricey commercial airlines seats and campaign money. The state attorney general is considering whether those accusations will lead to criminal charges. The lawmakers have honed in on Sanford’s trip to Argentina in June, debating how seriously to consider the governor’s fiveday absence during which his staff was led to believe he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Legislators pushing for impeachment sought to punish Sanford for bringing “extreme dishonor and shame” and contended he was derelict in his duty. “We have a governor forsaking, abandoning, deserting his office. We have a premeditated, intentional act where he abandoned his office in the state,” said state Rep. Greg Delleney, a Republican who was the lone vote for impeachment. “He has lost all moral authority to lead this state.”
Gov. Mark Sanford appears to have avoided impeachment for his travels to meet with his mistress.
Associated Press
Inmate release battle continues By MIKE BAKER Associated Press Writer
GOLDSBORO, N.C. — Attorneys debated Wednesday whether a group of North Carolina inmates sentenced in the 1970s should be considered “lifers,” setting the stage for a contentious court battle as a group of convicted murderers and rapists push for their freedom. Dozens of prisoners were sentenced to “life” under a law that limited the length of their prison terms to 80 years. State attorneys argued Wednesday that the inmates do not automatically qualify for sentence-reduction credits and that correction officials don’t apply such discounts to those with life sentences. “The lifers don’t get credit for purposes of reducing — because you can’t reduce a life sentence,” said Tiare B. Smiley, a special deputy attorney general. “You do give them credits for other purposes.” But an attorney for one inmate, Alford Jones, said the prison-
ers have never had life sentences because the law has always defined their terms as 80 years long. He said the inmates have been accruing credits over the years that can now be subtracted from that term limit. “They are not lifers,” said attorney Glenn Barfield. “There were no life sentences in that period of time.” The hours-long debate in the Wayne County courtroom may just be one in a series of legal battles spanning the state. Another inmate, William Folston, went before a judge in Shelby last week. A third, Faye Brown, is scheduled to appear in a Raleigh court on Friday. Superior Court Judge Ripley Rand declined to rule until he hears arguments Friday in Brown’s similar case. He said he would expedite his decision. Wednesday’s arguments brought in both the chief of North Carolina’s prison system and Jones, a convicted murderer who was already on track to get out on parole next year.
Water around coal ash spill testing acceptable WASHINGTON (AP) — A top EPA official told a congressional panel Wednesday that pollutants remain at elevated but acceptable levels in treated drinking water around the site of a massive TVA coal ash spill in Tennessee last year. However, two recent samples of untreated river water found arsenic amounts that exceed accepted drinking standards, said Stan Meiburg, the Environmental Protection Agency’s acting administrator for the region. Meiburg said that heavy rainfall has probably helped dilute the contamination, but “the longer it sits there the more opportunity you have for something to happen. We really need to get the stuff out of the river,” Meiburg said. The comments came at a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee hearing as the one-year anniversary of the Kingston Fossil Plant accident approaches. The Dec. 22, 2008, spill is considered one of the largest environmental disasters in Tennessee Valley Authority history. About 5.4 million cubic yards of metals-laden coal ash spilled when an earthen dike failed at the plant some 40 miles west of Knoxville. Tom Kilgore, TVA’s chief executive and president, told the committee that the utility understands the urgency of the clean-up and has increased dredging operations so that it is now shipping out 105 rail cars of the waste per day versus about 65 rail cars initially. He said the utility has removed about two-thirds of the toxic ash that spilled into the Emory River and is on schedule to complete the river clean-up by next spring. It will probably take until 2013 to clean up the remaining ash on nearby land, he said. “Our commitment is to restore the area to its natural state as it was before the spill,” Kilgore said. The TVA’s inspector general’s office, which has been sharply critical of the utility for not heeding warning signs before the spill and for its response to the accident, backed up Kilgore’s assurances.
Attorneys for Jones tried to show that the state itself initially believed the inmates qualified for sentence-reduction credits. Alvin Keller, the state’s secretary of correction, testified that a couple months ago he believed there was a possibility the inmates might be released after state courts agreed that the sentences would not last a person’s entire life. But he contended that he never said that it would happen for sure. “I never ordered the release of anybody,” Keller said. Gov. Beverly Perdue initially said in October that the state was being “forced” to release the prisoners, and she released a list of inmates who knocked enough time off their sentences to earn immediate freedom. Correction officials meanwhile scrambled to find community connections and identify places for the prisoners to live. Jones testified that correction officials initially told him, without qualification, that he would be going home in October.
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— The
Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009
■ A daily forum for opinion, commentary and editorials on the news that affects us all.
James R. Brown/ publisher Steven E. Parham/ executive editor 601 Oak Street, P.O. Box 1149, Forest City, N.C. 28043 Phone: 245-6431 Fax: 248-2790
E-mail: dailycourier@thedigitalcourier.com
Our Views Vote on airport was right move
C
ounty Commissioners heard several comments Monday night, condemning the possibility of spending more than $80,000 in county funds to qualify for an $800,000 federal grant for the airport. Criticism ranged from taking any federal money at all because of the nation’s huge debt, to the county’s employee furlough to make up sales tax shortfalls. Fortunately, the commission approved the expenditure, which will clear the way for the expansion project. We say fortunately because the county spent a tenth of what it would cost to do the project with local money alone. Second, because, according to Commissioner Paul McIntosh, the expansion has the potential to result in from $218,000 to $618,000 in more tax revenue — each year. Investing $80,000-plus to achieve a minimum of a 2.75 times return sounds like a very sound business decision to us. And that’s just in the first year. Once the initial investment is covered, it will all flow to county coffers. There is no question this is a time to be frugal, but this decision, in our minds, is made for our county’s future because the airport is truly an economic development tool, not a rich many’s toy.
Our readers’ views Must remember who is commander-in-chief To the editor: Just so Mr. Harry Hallman will know the relationship between our military and the civilian government, I need to let him know that the President has always been in charge and made the decisions; the military then carries out the orders. Harry Truman fired perhaps the most popular general in our history, Douglas MacArthur and brought him home when he questioned Truman’s orders. Gen Westmoreland met the same fate. The Constitution provides that the Commander-in-Chief is in charge. If a President wishes to use the military politically, i.e. Bush in Iraq, it shows a weakness of the President. Ray Crawford Rutherfordton
Deplores specifying end date in Afghan To the editor: President Obama’s recent speech announcing his “new” policy on Afghanistan was just marvelous; a soaring, lyrical presentation which made almost everyone happy. It made the people in the Pentagon happy because he approved their plan for Afghanistan and provided almost enough troops to execute it. There are concerns over the announced end date; however, Robert Gates is an excellent and resourceful Secretary of Defense. He will find a way to carry out his plan to a successful conclusion if afforded the opportunity. The Republicans in Congress are almost happy for some of the same reasons, despite the end date; which will nevertheless give them good reason to criticize the President and the Democrats. The Democrats in Congress are almost happy because the new
policy will allow them to appear “tough” on our enemies during the 2010 elections, while taking credit for the return of many of our troops from Afghanistan during the 2012 elections. Although they will verbally “abhor” the cost of sending 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, they will seize upon the “savings” of sending 10,000 less troops than requested by spending it on such pet projects as their dubious healthcare bill which raises prices, but somehow lowers costs and creates other miracles. Mr Obama’s liberal base will be almost happy because the end date will bring the troops home sooner and reduce the chances of a victory of the “war mongers”. The Afghan people will be mostly happy because the new policy will afford them the possibility of ousting al Qaeda and turning back the Taliban. Al Qaeda and the Taliban will be happy to learn of the announced withdrawal date in that it will give them an opportunity to either wait us out or increase their attacks during the shortened time of the presence of “infidels” in Islam. What of the American people? I really don’t know. If you believe the earlier polls, more will be angry over the new policy than not. However, new polls I am reading as I write this letter, tell me that a majority now approve the deployment of more troops to Afghanistan. I believe that much of this prior disapproval of the war was based on frustration over the lack of progress and a lack of a firm policy to achieve aims or solve problems. Possibly, even probably, Americans welcome strong action. I, for one ... and I believe many others ... are pleased that we are sending a large number of troops, which when reinforced with some 5.000 NATO troops, will enable us to progress toward our goals.
I deplore the announced withdrawal date, not only because it makes no sense to arm your enemy with information of your plans; but, also because the additional 30,000 troops will not have the full 18 months to achieve their mission for the simple reason that it takes time to deploy that many troops, especially when it is necessary to fly them, their equipment, and supplies into a land-locked, mountainous country with no seaports and bordered on one side by an implacable enemy. Nevertheless, we have solved such problems before and will do so again. I am also encouraged to hear Mr. Gates quickly assert that 1 July 2011 is not truly an end date, but only a beginning date for an unspecified withdrawal of a nonspecific number of troops over a period of time consistent with the military situation rather than a purely political motivation. I also have faith in the devotion to duty, courage, and the excellence of our fighting men and women during seven long, hard years of war. We can only hope that President Obama will stand firm and not bend to political expediency. Chuck Ross Lake Lure
Letter Policy The Daily Courier would like to publish letters from readers on any subject of timely interest. All letters must be signed. Writers should try to limit their submissions to 300 words. All letters must include a day and evening telephone number. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for libelous content. All submissions should be sent to The Editor, P.O. Box 1149, Forest City, NC, 28043. Letters may also be submitted via e-mail at dailycourier@thedigitalcourier.com or via our website at thedigitalcourier.com
Finding the real meaning of Christmas holiday Have you gotten holly jolly yet? Everywhere you go, there are Christmas lights, tinsel, ornaments, Santas, snowmen ... even here in The Daily Courier newsroom a string of sparkling lights is dangling from the ceiling. But as you are starting to celebrate the season, now is also a good time to step back and be thankful for all the blessings you have. I had a reminder of just how blessed I am Tuesday morning as I sat waiting for a hot chai tea at Village Coffee. I really don’t go get coffee that often (I don’t really drink it that often), but since it was cool and damp, I
Total momsense Allison Flynn
thought tea might be good. As “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” finished up, the morning DJ on 106.9 began talking about helping others this holiday season, telling that there were children and women who would not be having their normal holiday celebrations this year because they were in shelters, escaping from violent relationships. If you’ve been reading
The Daily Courier in recent weeks, you know those women and those children could easily be your neighbors, children’s classmates – even your own family and friends. Domestic violence is a blight that affects every race and every demographic you can imagine. Growing up, my mama always told me before hurling an insult back at a classmate to put myself in their shoes, that I didn’t know where they’d been or what they faced when they left school each day. As an adult, I’ve tried to keep that perspective (which sometimes isn’t easy), and I’ve also been trying to instill it in my son as he starts to
learn what it means to be a friend. My eyes started to fill with tears and I realized the $5 I spent on a hot tea could’ve been far better used to help someone else. The thought of a child not having something under the tree for Christmas tears me up inside. I can imagine the disappointment my son, Nathan, would have on Christmas morning, and knowing what those children have already faced ... the image in my head is not one that is pretty. What can you do to make a difference? First, you could donate any spare money you do have to the PATH Shelter to help
make Christmas brighter for those who live there. If you know your children have classmates who may need help this Christmas, contact the school to see if there’s a way to provide Christmas to a family in need. And most importantly, if you know someone is in a dangerous situation and needs help, please, please pick up the phone and call the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department. Your phone call could save a life. Flynn is editor/reporter for The Daily Courier. Contact her via e-mail at aflynn@thedigitalcourier.com.
The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009
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OBITUARIES/POLICE NOTES Auxiliary buys $16,000 microscope Patric Ferguson, M.D., of Rutherford Ear, Nose and Throat, PA, shows Bobbie Bridges, president of the Rutherford Hospital Auxiliary the new $16,000 Global G6 Microscope, purchased for the hospital by the Auxiliary. Because of its design, magnification and powerful illumination capabilities, the microscope will allow Dr. Ferguson to operate on more severe and serious cases, previously been sent outside the county to hospitals such as Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, say officials at Rutherford Ear, Nose and Throat.
RUTHERFORDTON — Police are looking for a person who robbed the Medicine Box, Charlotte Road, at about 5:51 p.m. The man is described as being a white male, 5 feet 6 inches, with blue eye, He had painted his face, police were told. Det. Sgt. Rick Gilbert said the man pulled a handgun from his belt loop and demanded a certain drug from pharamacist Laura Hodge. Gilbert said Hodge gave him a portion of the drug he wanted, and before he left, he demanded she remain behind the counter until he could exit. Gilbert said there were four to six people in the pharmacy. There were no injuries. If anyone has information regarding the armed robbery, call the Rutherfordton Police Department at 287-5062 or call 911.
Hospital Continued from Page 1
Obituaries Jock Dale
Milford Gale “Jock” Dale, 96, of 153 Dale Summey Road, Rutherfordton, died Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009, at Hospice House in Forest City. A native of Burke County, he was a son of the late Walter J. and Mary Magdalene Lowery Dale, and also preceded in death by his wife, Lula Mae Tomblin Dale, who died Sept. 30, 2009. He was retired from Reeves Brothers in Chesnee, S.C., and a member of Holly Springs Baptist Church. He is survived by three sons, Rex Dale, Gene Dale and Henry Dale, all of Rutherfordton; three daughters, Faith Brown of Greenville, S.C., Judy Hayes of Elizabethtown, Ky., and Audrey Epley of Rutherfordton; 13 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren, and three great-greatgrandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Holly Springs Baptist Church with the Rev. Wade Huntley officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Visitation will be held Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at McKinney-Landreth Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Rutherford County, P.O. Box 336, Forest City, NC 28043. Online condolences www.mckinneylandrethfuneralhome.com.
Amy Proctor Amy Proctor, 80 of Forest
City, died Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009 at Hospice House in Forest City. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by The Padgett and King Mortuary.
Charles Camby Charles Grover Camby, 84, of Rutherfordton, died Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009, at Hospice House in Forest City. A native of Rutherford County, he was a son of the late J.L. and Mary Connor Camby. He was a retired textile employee and attended Full Gospel Revival Church. In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by his wife, Alice Louise Davis Camby. He is survived by two sons, Eddie Camby of Huntersville, and Mike Camby of Rutherfordton; one brother, Edwin Camby of Hartville, Mo.; two sisters, Barbara Smart of Forest City, and Pauline Lewis of Lake Wylie, S.C.; three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Mountain Creek Baptist Church with the Revs. Tommy Hutchins and Jerry McCall officiating. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. Visitation will be held at the church one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of Rutherford County, P.O. Box 336, Forest City, NC 28043. Crowe’s Mortuary and Crematory is in charge of
Police Notes Sheriff’s Reports
n The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department responded to 136 E-911 calls Tuesday. n Richard Driggers reported larceny of a Pepsi Machine from a convenience store. n Brad Causby reported a breaking and entering and larceny of two football jerseys from the Chase High School Field House. n Sara Spicer reported damage to property by driving away with a nozzle in a vehicle gas tank. n Delores Boone reported a breaking and entering and larceny.
Rutherfordton
n The Rutherfordton Police Department responded to 41 E-911 calls Tuesday.
Spindale
n The Spindale Police Department responded to 27 E-911 calls Tuesday.
Lake Lure
n The Lake Lure Police Department responded to eight E-911 calls Tuesday.
Forest City
n The Forest City Police Department responded to 41 E-911 calls Tuesday.
Man paints face, then robs local pharmacy
“Hospital to Home” program this fall, signing up hundreds Reasons patients of hospitals to share solutions with the goal of cutting heart return to hospital patients’ readmissions by 20 The top risks that percent within three years. might mean a return “Somehow this idea of one trip to the hospital: in four people landing back in the hospital in a month is arrangements. n Medication problems. treated as business as usual, Patients on a dozen or that it’s part of being sick in Online condolences www. more drugs forget which America. It doesn’t have to be crowemortuary.com. ones they’re supposed that way,” he said. to toss when given new But Bross said he and his Jerry Annas ones in the hospital, staff are looking to shut that Jerry Douglas Annas, 70, revolving door. or can’t afford the new of 168 Eastwood Village Dr., Another goal is to reduce ones, or have no way to Bostic, died Wednesday, Dec. overall readmissions as a pick them up. 9, 2009. percent of total admissions, n Not getting a followArrangements are incomwithin 31 days of original hosplete and will be announced pital discharge, Bross added. up doctor’s visit within by Cleveland Funeral a week of discharge. “This is closely monitored Services of Shelby by hospital leadership on a Waiting longer is proven monthly basis and is tracked to increase rehospifor both the medical staff and Eva Bowman talization. Yet even if our hospital board through Eva Smith Bowman, 71, of patients have a primary routine quality indicator Spruce Pine, died Tuesday, care doctor, getting a reports. Dec. 8, 2009, at Blue Ridge rapid appointment can Rutherford Hospital data Regional Hospital. be tough. is then compared to national She worked as a CNA trends or norms for simiand was a member of n Not realizing early Minneapolis Baptist Church. lar readmission data, and signs of trouble and any variances or trends are Survivors include her husknowing what to do researched to ensure improveband, Greg Bowman of the about them. ment or reduction in overall home; three sons, Dewey Vance of Oklahoma, Norman readmissions.” Vance of Forest City, and James Anderson of Altmore, Contact Baughman via e-mail at sbaughman@thedigitalcourier.com. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Ala.; four brothers, Wayne Saylend of Maysville, David Smith of Jacksonville, Fla., Frank Smith of Richmond, Va., and Harry Smith of Conway; a foster sister Carolyn Atchley of Gilkey, and four grandchildren. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday at DENTON, N.C. (AP) — A Minneapolis Baptist Church North Carolina man was with the Rev. Brian Griffith killed when high winds officiating. The family will brought down a tree on top of receive friends Thursday his pickup truck. from 5 to 7 p.m. at Webb The state Highway Patrol Funeral Home in Spruce said Wednesday that 44-yearPine. old Johnnie Jernigan of Denton was killed around Online condolences www.webbfh. 4:15 p.m. when the tree fell on his truck as he drove on com. Jimmy Lee Bailey, age 73, of N.C. 109.
Wind blows tree down, kills man inside pickup
Jimmy Lee Bailey
n Leon Dotson reported an incident of breaking and entering and larceny. n Ronnie Roberts reported an incident of armed robbery that occurred on West Main Street. n Gwynne King reported an incident of unlawful tattooing of a minor. n Johnnie Wilson reported an incident of larceny. n An employee of Sally’s Beauty Supply, located on Plaza Drive in Forest City, reported an incident of larceny. n Wanda Downey reported an incident of larceny.
State Trooper Perry Buie said heavy rains early Wednesday morning saturated the ground, and the possession of drug parapher- high winds helped bring the nalia and maintain a vehicle/ tree down. dwelling for a controlled Gusty winds whipped substance; placed under through North Carolina a $26,000 secured bond. Wednesday, with one report(RCSD) ed gust reaching 47 mph in n Cyrus Lee Beheler, 25, the central part of the state. of 241 Jonestown Road; charged with posession of The National Weather drug paraphernalia; placed Service issued a wind adviunder a $12,000 secured sory and a high wind warning bond. (RCSD) for parts of North Carolina n Kiara Franchel Jackson, through Thursday morning. 20, of Rutherford Manor; charged with assault with THE DAILY COURIER a deadly weapon and communicating threats; placed Published Tuesday through Sunday under a $6,000 secured mornings by Paxton Media Group bond. (RCSD) LLC dba The Daily Courier USPS
Arrests
EMS/Rescue
n Tavon Jerome McDowell, 17, of Kanaan Drive; charged with two counts of injury to real property; placed under a $3,000 secured bond. (FCPD) n James Daniel Ramsey, 29, of 329 South Pink St.; charged with obtaining property by false pretense; placed under a $2,000 secured bond. (RCSD) n Thomas Anthony Brown, 47, of 214 Alabama St.; charged with failure to comply-driving while impaired; placed under a $1,000 secured bond. (SPD) n Julie Thomas Walker, 38, of 180 Parris Drive; charged with possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana,
n Rutherford County EMS responded to 23 E-911 calls Tuesday. n The Volunteer Life Saving and Rescue, Hickory Nut Gorge EMS and Rutherford County Rescue responded to seven E-911 calls Tuesday.
Fire Calls n Bills Creek responded to a powerline fire, assisted by Lake Lure n Ellenboro responded to a motor vehicle collision. n S-D-O responded to a motor vehicle collision. n Spindale responded to a motor vehicle collision and a smoke report.
204-920 Periodical Postage paid in Forest City, NC. Company Address: 601 Oak St., P.O. Box 1149, Forest City, NC 28043. Phone: (828) 245-6431 Fax: (828) 248-2790 Subscription rates: Single copy, daily 50¢ / Sunday $1.50. Home delivery $11.75 per month, $35.25 for three months, $70.50 for six months, $129 per year. In county rates by mail payable in advance are: $13.38 for one month, $40.14 for three months, $80.27 for six months, $160.54 per year. Outside county: $14.55 for one month, $43.64 for three months, $87.28 for six months, $174.56 per year. College students for school year subscription, $75. The Digital Courier, $6.50 a month for non-subscribers to The Daily Courier. Payment may be made at the website: www.thedigitalcourier. com The Daily Courier is not responsible for advance subscription payments made to carriers, all of who are independent contractors.
Fairfax, Va., died Sunday, November 29, 2009, at Inova Fairfax Hospital. He was the son of the late J. Paul Bailey and the late Edna Owens Bailey and a native of Rutherford County and formerly of Rutherfordton. Jimmy received his BA in Biology in 1958 from Berea College, Berea, Kentucky and his MS in 1970 from George Washington University. Jimmy retired as Senior Vice President of Laboratory Operations at Quest Diagnostics nee American Medical Laboratories. Jimmy is survived by his long time friend, John Corbin of Fairfax, VA.; two sisters, Margie Bailey Andrews and Genell Bailey Clements of Rutherfordton, NC; three nephews, Stan Clements of Rutherfordton, Keith Andrews of Bushnell, FL and Bill Andrews of Raleigh, NC; two nieces; Karen Andrews of Rutherfordton and Susan Clements Hardy of Laurinburg, NC. Also surviving are two great nieces; two great nephews and one great-great niece and a number of cousins. The family will receive friends following the service Saturday. A memorial service will be at McMahan's Funeral Home Chapel at 2:00 PM Saturday, December 12, 2009, with Dr. Don Scofield and Rev. Dean Baughn officiating. Interment will be private. Funeral services were held in Fairfax, Virginia Saturday, December 5, 2009. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the National Parkinson Foundation at: www.parkinson.org. An online guest register at: www.mcmahansfuneralhome.com
McMahan's Funeral Home and Cremation Services in charge of arrangements. Paid obit
6
— The
Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009
Calendar/Local Dancy Continued from Page 1
Meetings/other Photographers Association: Carolina Nature Photographers Association, Foothills Region, Rutherford County, will meet Monday, Dec. 14, at the county annex building. Meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Prospective members welcome. Contact Rickey Green at 828-429-5096. Meeting, Christmas party: Piedmont-Pleasant Hill Community Club; Saturday, Dec. 12, 7 p.m., at the clubhouse; covered dish meal, games and Santa.
Holidays Annual Holiday Tour: Sponsored by Family Resources; Dec. 12 and 13, from 1 to 5 p.m., this year’s tour features the home of Blue and Julie Pittman; tickets are $8 in advance or $10 at the door; the reception center will be at the new Rutherfordton Elementary; for more information or advance tickets call 247-1440, ext. 105. Christmas Concert: David Roach will present a Christmas Concert on Saturday, Dec. 19, at Chase High School auditorium. The program begins at 7 p.m. Admission will be $10 at the door with all proceeds going to the Chase Trojan Marching Band Uniform Fund. Christmas Boutique: Through Dec. 24, at the Visual Arts Center, 173 N. Main St., Rutherfordton; hours 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday; handmade art and fine craft items on display and available for purchase; paintings in all mediums, ceramics, wood crafts, sculpture, fused and stained glass and much more.
Miscellaneous Yokefellow Service Center will hold a half-price Christmas sale Thursday, Dec. 10, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Includes toys and other items for Christmas gifts. Located at 102 Blanton St., Spindale. Low-cost rabies clinic: Saturday, Dec. 12, noon to 1 p.m.; Thunder Road Animal Hospital; $9 cash, one-year rabies; $10 cash, threeyear rabies; other discounted vaccines available; call 286-0033. Toy run: 10th Annual Moose Lodge Toy Run; Sunday, Dec. 13, meet in the old K-Mart parking lot to begin lining up at 1 p.m.; depart at 1:45 p.m.; bring a new, unwrapped toy; the ride ends around 2:15 p.m. at the Moose Lodge, where a barbecue meal will be served. Food truck: A mobile food truck will be at Providence United Methodist Church, 161 Providence Church Road, Forest City, on Tuesday, Dec. 15, from 10:30 to 1 p.m. The food is free and will be given to those in need (no credentials necessary). Bring box or laundry basket to carry food. Sponsored by the church. Toys for Tots drop off: Bennett Classics Auto Museum in Forest City is a designated Toys for Tots drop off. Bring a new unwrapped toy and receive $2 off admission into the museum. For more information call 247-1767 or visit www. bennettclassics.com.
Fundraisers Yard sale: Dec. 10 and 11, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., National Guard Armory, 890 Withrow Road; furniture, clothes, knickknacks, and much more; sponsored by DAV Chapter 25; all proceeds for local veterans aid program. Bike ride, car show: Benefit for Jessica Henderson Sanney; Saturday, Dec. 12, registration starts at noon, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Mooresboro; ride from 1 to 3 p.m., ending at Lattimore Fire Department; $10 per bike; car show vehicles, registration $15; door prizes; hot dog sale; call (704) 434-5262 for more information.
Music/concerts SheDances benefit concert: Friday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m., at Father’s Vineyard, 724 Oakland Road, Spindale; featuring Thalon and LP (Like Paul), with special guest David Coffin; admission $10; for more information call (828) 243-3445 or visit www.shedances. org. Concert: The Christian group Celestial Praise will perform Saturday, Dec. 12, during the 11 a.m. worship service at the Seventhday Adventist Church in Tryon. Choir anniversary: New Bethel All Male Choir; Sunday, Dec. 13, 4 p.m., New Bethel AME Zion Church, 263 Forest City; the program includes the following all male choirs from St. John, Green Creek, New Bethel Independent and Oak Grove; Clarence Quarles, master of ceremonies; Rev. Leroy Staley, pastor.
ICC classes Auto Dealers Continuing Education: Fulfills the annual six hours of required continuing education; Wednesday, Dec. 16, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; fee $75; course #14551; call ICC 286-3636, ext. 346 to preregister.
own family.” His parents also raised two large vegetable gardens for their small family of four, “I look back on that now and remember how my parents would take the produce from the gardens to those people without gardens. I grew up in a world where my parents taught us to help other people,” he said. When Dancy and his wife, Ginger, moved to Rutherfordton about 34 years ago, he arrived in the county with a desire to be a part of community, as his parents taught him. He immediately became involved with Habitat for Humanity as a charter member, and became involved with United Way, Kiwanis Club, and has been a volunteer with Relay for Life since its inception. Dancy also served as a charter member of the Rutherfordton Recreation Trust Fund. It was his good friend, Rick Furse, who encouraged Dancy to run for town council more than eight years ago. Furse, who attends church with Dancy, was stepping down from the board after his term, and after encouragement from Furse, Sally Lesher and Christy Bare, Dancy threw his hat into the political ring. In his first run for a public office, Dancy was the top vote getter and
Defendant Continued from Page 1
Rippy said, “She was going to raise her son and another kid on the way.” Detective Turner asked Rippy if it got to the point where he felt like if he couldn’t raise their son, neither could she. Rippy responded, “Yeah, at the time. Yes, I did.” The two were sitting on the bed, and Rippy told Turner, “I grabbed her by the throat.” They went down onto the floor, and when Turner asked if Rippy “choked her out,” Rippy said he did. In other parts of the statement, though, he said, “I didn’t choke her out. She was conscious the whole time. I knew she was alive.” The statement indicates Lowery did not try to fight Rippy. While Lowery was on the floor, Rippy also stabbed her in the neck at least three times with what was described as a steak knife around six inches long. Rippy said he carried a knife around if he was out walking because he had been “scared a lot lately.” He said he happened to have the knife on him when he was talking with Lowery. Rippy told the detective he didn’t know how many times he stabbed Lowery, and he said he stabbed her in the chest or around there. Rippy said, “I wanted her to see how precious life is.” Defense attorney Sparrow pointed to parts of the statement to the police that included comments apparently indicating no intent to kill Lowery. At one point Rippy said, “Maybe I was going insane. I feel like I’ve been going insane the last couple of weeks.” And he said, “I never tried to kill her. I didn’t want her to die.” Also, Rippy said, “You know, I just snapped.” The knife used in the stabbings was found by police in the apartment bedroom. Medical experts testified in the case Wednesday morning. Dr. Michael Buechler, acknowledged as an expert in the field of surgery, said he was the trauma surgeon who saw Lowery when she came to Mission. He said Lowery had six small
was named Mayor Pro-Tem. The Dancys came to Rutherfordton from Hickory with Jimmy’s company, CitiFinancial, where he has been employed nearly 40 years. “This is the only job I’ve ever had,” he said. Before he joined the finance company, Dancy and Ginger lived in Okinawa when he was in the Army. The couple has a daughter, Suzanne Dancy Holtzclaw, who lives in Kure Beach with her husband, Shane Holtclaw, a law enforcement officer. Suzanne is director of volunteers with the NC Aquarium at Ft. Fisher. Her mother is director of volunteers at Rutherford Hospital. “The strength of the family is so important. It is what got me here,” he said. As Dancy views his new service to the town of Rutherfordton as its mayor, the outlook at the town is changing with the economic times. “We have to react to whatever the time is,” Dancy said. “My high priority is to continue to give the kind of service our citizens need and expect from their government in Rutherfordton. “We do not want to take any of the services away if possible. “And my high priority is also to continue employment for all of our people,” Dancy continued. “I have had eight years experience working with those people and I am extremely proud of the staff, department heads and all of our employees who do such a wonderful job for our
citizens. It is quite remarkable the dedication they have for the town and we want to keep the people working in their jobs.” Dancy said he also hopes to build relationships with other personnel in municipal and county government. With the state of the economy it is more important than ever to work together, Dancy said. “It is too expensive to try to go it alone any more. We obviously have to help each other in as many ways as we can.” Dancy plans to sit down at the table with County Commission Chair Brent Washburn, Forest City Mayor Dennis Tarlton, Lake Lure Mayor Bob Keith and Spindale Mayor Mickey Bland in January for the first of such relationship-building meetings. “It is a high priority to keep our citizens involved in moving the town in the positive direction,” he added. “I am very excited about the job and I am very comfortable because I know all the people I am working with,” Dancy said. “I know them and they know me. They know my dedication to them,” he added. “I feel as though I am one of them. “I want to do as much as I can for as long as I can. I realize there are fewer opportunities for me than there were in the past, but I want to take every opportunity I have to help those who need our assistance in any way I can,” Dancy concluded.
“Maybe I was going insane. I feel like I’ve been going insane the last couple of weeks.” ... “I never tried to kill her. I didn’t want her to die.” ... “You know, I just snapped.”
She was acknowledged as an expert in forensic pathology. The external examination found such things as eyes sunken in and evidence of dehydration, which would be typical of a decision to withhold hydration. But the internal examination showed that the most “profound finding” was severe pneumonia in the lungs, brain damage due to the lack of oxygen to the brain, and infection and gangrene in the uterus. She said the brain stem was not damaged, but there was necrosis (the death of cells) in the cortex of the brain, due to ischemia, or a lack of blood flow. Schoppe also said an x-ray of the neck was taken that showed a fracture to a bone. Such a fracture, she said, is consistent with strangling. She said the cause of death was complications from brain injuries due to lack of oxygen to the brain. The doctor was questioned by the defense about why there were two autopsy reports. She replied that the second was prepared to elaborate and provide a better description on the findings for forensic purposes, but said there were no changes from the first autopsy report. Near the close of the trial day, Rippy was asked if he wanted to testify. He said he did want to testify. But when jurors were brought back into the courtroom, Sparrow asked if he could have another five minutes with his client. Shortly thereafter, Rippy said he did not want to testify. “The testimony has presented itself,” he said. “The jury will make the right decision. I really don’t believe I need to say anything.” Judge Letts sought to make sure that the decision by Rippy was made of his own free will, and he was not threatened. After some further comments, Rippy agreed that he made the decision of his own free will. Twice during the afternoon the defense made a motion to dismiss, saying the state had not made its case. Both motions were denied. District Attorney Brad Greenway is prosecuting the case. The eight-man, four-woman jury returns at 9:30 a.m. today.
— Kelvin Rippy in statements to police wounds, but they were not life-threatening. The doctor said a tracheostomy, a surgical procedure, was performed at the hospital to help keep Lowery’s lungs clear. Buechler was asked how long choking would have to occur before the person lost consciousness. He responded, “In two or three minutes, the brain suffers.” On Nov. 5, 2007, an MRI, a radiology technique, was performed to check for brain damage. That MRI, he said, “looked pretty good.” But when another was taken on Nov. 7, he noted, widespread damage to the brain’s cortex showed up, and cells were dying. He said a rule of thumb is that if you are going to see improvement, you will see it in three days. Otherwise, he said, there is not likely to be a good neurological recovery. The doctor was asked if he disagreed with the family’s decision to remove Lowery from nutrition and hydration on Dec. 3, and he said he did not disagree. “I personally agree,” he said, noting that such a patient would have complication after complication and “nothing is going to change.” When Sparrow pointed out that no wording in the discharge papers from Mission indicated Lowery’s condition was irreversible, Buechler noted that it was a matter of semantics, since “poor prognosis means no improvement.” Dr. Candace Schoppe, who performed the autopsy on Lowery at Wake Forest University Medical Hospital, testified Wednesday morning as well.
Contact Gordon via email: jgordon@thedigitalcourier.com
Contact Dale via e-mail at ldale@thedigitalcourier.com
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The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009 — 7
Inside Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 MLB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 9
Owls to host open house Tuesday FOREST CITY — The Forest City Owls will host an open house on Tuesday, December 15, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., at their new offices located at 353 West Main Street in Forest City. All are invited to see the Owls’ new home as refreshments will be served. Tuesday will also kick off a merchandise sale which features new fleece jackets, new Mizuno pullovers, and $5 off all headwear and select t-shirts. The merchandise sale will run through December 23. “We hope all of our fans and supporters will be able to stop by our new office, if not on Tuesday, at least before Christmas,” said Owls general manager James Wolfe. “We have some terrific new items in our line of souvenirs, as well as a great sale. We have a limited number of box seats available as well as Bonus Books for the upcoming season for sale. You’ll certainly find something for the Owls fan on your shopping list.” The Owls office is located at 353 West Main Street, just across from A-1 Vacuum and Sewing. The office will be closed December 24 through January 3 for the holidays.
Williams returns; Delhomme sidelined CHARLOTTE (AP) — Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams has returned to practice after missing a game with an ankle injury. Quarterback Jake Delhomme remained sidelined Wednesday, meaning Matt Moore is expected to make his second straight start at New England. Williams sat out Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay and backup Jonathan Stewart rushed for 120 yards. Stewart missed practice Wednesday, but that has become routine so he can rest his sore left Achilles’ tendon. Delhomme hasn’t practiced or played since breaking a finger on his throwing hand on Nov. 29. Defensive end Tyler Brayton didn’t practice, and the team said he sustained a concussion against the Buccaneers. Linebacker Na’il Diggs and receiver Muhsin Muhammad also sat out.
Scott Bowers/Daily Courier
East’s Devince Boykins, far left, leads the Cavaliers’ offensive attack during the 1st quarter of the basketball game against Polk County, Wednesday.
East sweeps Polk By KEVIN CARVER Sports Correspondent
FOREST CITY — Rob Gray did everything asked of him in a 30-point effort and iced the game with late free throws to preserve a 51-42 East Rutherford victory over Polk County, Wednesday night. Gray swished a 3-pointer with under four minutes to go to take a 45-40 lead and then connected on six straight freebies to improve East Rutherford to 5-0 on the year.
Scott Bowers/Daily Courier
East’s Shanay Watkins (42) watches her shot fall during the game against Polk County Wednesday.
“We were our own worst enemy tonight with 23 unforced turnovers,” East Rutherford coach Brad Levine said. “Offensively, we were out of sync, but I was proud of the defensive effort and that was enough to get the win.” Polk jumped out to a 9-4 lead, but East came to life in the final couple of minutes in the first quarter.
A Devince Boykins’ wraparound pass for the assist to Ricky Wilkerson started a 6-2 run that left the Cavaliers trailing 11-10 after the first period. A 1-3-1 zone look then began to take its toll on the visitors from Polk County and so did Boykins and Rob Gray as well. On three separate occasions, following steals by the Cavs, Boykins made a smooth assist to Chris Petty. Petty made his shot plus a bonus allowing East a 16-14 lead early in the second quarter. Gray added three more points and a bonus, plus Gray dished over to Boykins on the ale-hoop to end the 19-10 run. East led 29-20 at the half. Gray blocked Fidal Wilkins, of Polk, and that led to an early fast break chance, which Zach Price capitalized on with a Please see East, Page 8
Unlucky 13: Panthers could have another new lineup CHARLOTTE (AP) — The first player went down less than 30 minutes into the opening practice of training camp. And the injuries haven’t stopped for the Panthers. Defensive end Tyler Brayton, one of only five defensive players to start every game this season, sat out practice Wednesday after sustaining a concussion. If he doesn’t play Sunday at New England, Carolina will trot out its 13th different starting defensive lineup in 13 games. “Every time we look in our D-line room, it’s like we’ve got a revolving chair over there. It’s pretty funny,”
defensive tackle Damione Lewis said. “Each year it’s a certain team that goes through this. This year it just happened to bite us.” A year ago the Panthers were a model of consistency and good fortune in their 12-4 season. The same 11 players started on defense for the first 14 games before defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu hurt his ankle and missed the last two weeks of the regular season. But when Kemoeatu fell in a heap with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon while running by himself in one of the first drills of camp, it was only the begin-
ning of a rash of debilitating injuries that have played a part in Carolina’s disappointing 5-7 season. “A couple of our tackles weren’t even at camp with us,” coach John Fox said. “I’m still getting their names down.” Perhaps the most surprising element of Carolina’s plight is that the defense is not the team’s biggest concern. The offense, also hit hard by injuries, has managed one touchdown in two games and has been plagued by turnovers. The defense has allowed only one Please see Panthers, Page 8
Talon Challenge For Jimmy V Foundation
Speilman among HOF inductees NEW YORK (AP) — Former Ohio State linebacker Chris Spielman was one of a group of 16 players and two coaches to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Among the others were Heisman Trophy winners Gino Torretta of Miami and Tim Brown of Notre Dame and coaches Dick MacPherson and John Robinson.
On TV 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2) College Basketball DePaul vs. Mississippi State. 8 p.m. (TNT) NBA Basketball Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards. 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2) College Basketball Miami (Ohio) at Cincinnati. 9 p.m. (ESPN) College Basketball SEC/Big East Invitational — Florida vs. Syracuse. 10 p.m. (TS) NHL Hockey Atlanta Thrashers at Vancouver Canucks. 10:30 p.m. (TNT) NBA Basketball Orlando Magic at Utah Jazz.
Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy and Lincoln Charter kicked off the first annual “Talon Challenge to benefit the Valvano Cancer Research Foundation.” The Challenge is a joint effort between the two schools to help raise money and awareness for the cancer foundation, which was inspired by friends and family of N.C. State coach Jim Valvano. The two schools will run the game ball 70 miles from the TJCA gym to the Lincoln Charter gym. The ball will arrive ahead of Friday night’s basketball game between the Gryphons of TJCA and the Eagles of Lincoln. On Wednesday, TJCA’s Hannah Saucier (left) and Lincoln Charter’s Caitlyn Harrill began the 70 mile run. Students and teachers will take turns by running sponsored 1 to 3 mile portions of the route. Above, TJCA and Lincoln Charter students meet. Contributed Photo
8
— The
Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009
sports
Scoreboard FOOTBALL National Football League
Scott Bowers/Daily Courier
East Rutherford’s Basketball Coach Brad Levine, center, huddles with his charges inbetween quarters of the game against Polk County Wednesday.
East Continued from Page 7
3-pointer. Polk went on to get back-to-back 3’s by Chandler Miller and Andre Overholt, plus Bryant Twitty’s putback at the buzzer cut the East lead to 33-32 at the end of the third. Price assisted Boykins on an explosive baseline jam with a bonus attached to go up 36-32, which led to an 18-10 fourth quarter for East and that was enough for the win. Boykins ended up with nine for the contest.
East Rutherford 47, Polk County 42
FOREST CITY— No matter how sloppy the game, a win is a win. East Rutherford girls trailed much of the way, but found a way to string up a 47-42 win on Wednesday night over Polk County. Shanay Watkins, Kiziah Miller and Shaquisha Dawkins (21 points) were the main catalysts in the come-from-behind win. Watkins nailed a late top of the key 3 to give the Lady Cavs the lead with three minutes to go and added two free throws moments later. Miller connected on a freebie and came up with two key blocks in the last minute of play, while Dawkins made a number of second half steals to move their record to 5-0 on the season. East found the opening bucket on their first possession as Miller earned a rebound on Polk’s first possession. Miller raced down to the other end and fed Dawkins, who delivered with a layup. From there, Polk County went on a 7-0 run and led for much of the way. East’s Tamara El-Amoor (11 points) tied the game back at 7-7 with a 3-pointer and a 10-foot jumper to end the first period. Polk made the most of second chance opportunities and a lethargic Cavs’ defense. Melinda Morgan (18 points) was East Rutherford’s biggest problem as she had three second chance opportunities for putback, which she used to push Polk to a 24-17 halftime lead. Polk held a slim 34-31 lead at the end of the third, but East finally collected the lead for good with three minutes remaining on a Watkins’ 3-ball to make it 42-40, East. “It was my fault. We opened the game in zone defense instead of man, like we are used to lately. It slowed the game and the girls down,” Coach Larry Ross said. “I was proud of the effort, especially, once we changed defense after the half. We picked it up and got the win.”
Devils silence Hurricanes
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Andy Greene scored consecutive goals, the first two-goal game of the defenseman’s career, and the surging New Jersey Devils beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Wednesday night. Patrik Elias and Rob Niedemayer also scored for the Devils, who have won four straight and seven of eight. Martin Brodeur made 21 saves. Greene scored the second and third goals of the game, giving New Jersey (21-7-1) a 3-0 lead before Carolina scored twice in a span of 1:58 to cut it to 3-2 in the second period. Brandon Sutter, the son of former Devils coach Brent Sutter, had the first goal for the Hurricanes (7-18-5). Tuomo Ruutu added a power-play goal. Niedemayer’s empty-netter sealed it with 5 seconds left.
WIDESPREAD USE OF STATINS URGED Based on a previous major study that found a cholesterol-lowering drug (Crestor) decreased the incidence of deaths, heart attacks, strokes, and arteryclearing procedures in apparently healthy patients, more recent research suggests that individuals with normal (or low) cholesterol levels should start taking “statin’’ drugs. This recent study looked at people with normal cholesterol readings but high levels of ‘C-reactive protein’ an inflammation marker. While most people are not routinely screened for C-reactive protein, researchers are now suggesting that they should be in hopes of preventing heart attacks in people who would ordinarily go untreated. Researchers found that statins reduced the risk of heart attacks and clogged arteries in people with high C-reactive protein levels as much as people with high cholesterol. When you have questions about your prescription or over the counter medication, you can depend on our professional pharmacists to answer your questions. Our staff stay current on new finds, studies and information that are relevant to the safety and good health of our customers. At Smith’s Drugs of Forest City, 139 E. Main Street, we want to be your good health partner. HINT: Chronic inflammation, which a C-reactive protein (CRP) test can indicate, plays a major role in heart disease.
AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF New England 7 5 0 .583 328 Miami 6 6 0 .500 278 N.Y. Jets 6 6 0 .500 249 Buffalo 4 8 0 .333 199 South W L T Pct PF x-Indianapolis 12 0 0 1.000 331 Jacksonville 7 5 0 .583 225 Tennessee 5 7 0 .417 246 Houston 5 7 0 .417 277 North W L T Pct PF Cincinnati 9 3 0 .750 254 Baltimore 6 6 0 .500 271 Pittsburgh 6 6 0 .500 272 Cleveland 1 11 0 .083 145 West W L T Pct PF San Diego 9 3 0 .750 342 Denver 8 4 0 .667 240 Oakland 4 8 0 .333 142 Kansas City 3 9 0 .250 196 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF Dallas 8 4 0 .667 279 Philadelphia 8 4 0 .667 327 N.Y. Giants 7 5 0 .583 303 Washington 3 9 0 .250 200 South W L T Pct PF x-New Orleans 12 0 0 1.000 440 Atlanta 6 6 0 .500 279 Carolina 5 7 0 .417 215 Tampa Bay 1 11 0 .083 187 North W L T Pct PF Minnesota 10 2 0 .833 359 Green Bay 8 4 0 .667 323 Chicago 5 7 0 .417 233 Detroit 2 10 0 .167 206 West W L T Pct PF Arizona 8 4 0 .667 297 San Francisco 5 7 0 .417 245 Seattle 5 7 0 .417 243 St. Louis 1 11 0 .083 139
PA 224 296 208 261 PA 201 273 316 266 PA 187 215 231 309 PA 242 202 282 326 PA 213 235 285 238 PA 251 279 262 330 PA 233 229 270 358 PA 234 233 267 314
x-clinched division Thursday’s Game Pittsburgh at Cleveland, 8:20 p.m. Sunday’s Games Seattle at Houston, 1 p.m. Green Bay at Chicago, 1 p.m. Detroit at Baltimore, 1 p.m. New Orleans at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Buffalo at Kansas City, 1 p.m. Denver at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Carolina at New England, 1 p.m. N.Y. Jets at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Miami at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Cincinnati at Minnesota, 1 p.m. St. Louis at Tennessee, 4:05 p.m. Washington at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. San Diego at Dallas, 4:15 p.m. Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants, 8:20 p.m. Monday’s Game Arizona at San Francisco, 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17 Indianapolis at Jacksonville, 8:20 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 Dallas at New Orleans, 8:20 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20 Miami at Tennessee, 1 p.m. Arizona at Detroit, 1 p.m. Atlanta at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. Houston at St. Louis, 1 p.m. Chicago at Baltimore, 1 p.m. New England at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Cleveland at Kansas City, 1 p.m. San Francisco at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Oakland at Denver, 4:05 p.m. Cincinnati at San Diego, 4:05 p.m. Tampa Bay at Seattle, 4:15 p.m. Green Bay at Pittsburgh, 4:15 p.m. Minnesota at Carolina, 8:20 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21 N.Y. Giants at Washington, 8:30 p.m. Bowl Glance Saturday, Dec. 19 New Mexico Bowl At Albuquerque Wyoming (6-6) vs. Fresno State (8-4), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) St. Petersburg (Fla.) Bowl Rutgers (8-4) vs. UCF (8-4), 8 p.m. (ESPN) Sunday, Dec. 20 New Orleans Bowl Southern Miss. (7-5) vs. Middle Tennessee (9-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN) Tuesday, Dec. 22 Las Vegas Bowl BYU (10-2) vs. Oregon State (8-4), 8 p.m. (ESPN) Wednesday, Dec. 23 Poinsettia Bowl At San Diego Utah (9-3) vs. California (8-4), 8 p.m. (ESPN) Thursday, Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl At Honolulu SMU (7-5) vs. Nevada (8-4), 8 p.m. (ESPN) Saturday, Dec. 26 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl At Detroit Ohio (9-4) vs. Marshall (6-6), 1 p.m. (ESPN) Meineke Bowl At Charlotte North Carolina (8-4) vs. Pittsburgh (9-3), 4 p.m. (ESPN) Emerald Bowl At San Francisco Southern Cal (8-4) vs. Boston College (8-4), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN) Sunday, Dec. 27 Music City Bowl At Nashville, Tenn. Clemson (8-5) vs. Kentucky (7-5), 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Monday, Dec. 28 Independence Bowl At Shreveport, La. Texas A&M (6-6) vs. Georgia (7-5), 5 p.m. (ESPN) Tuesday, Dec. 29 EagleBank Bowl At Washington Temple (9-3) vs. UCLA (6-6) or Army (5-6), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) Champs Sports Bowl At Orlando, Fla. Miami (9-3) vs. Wisconsin (9-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN) Wednesday, Dec. 30 Humanitarian Bowl At Boise, Idaho Bowling Green (7-5) vs. Idaho (7-5), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) Holiday Bowl At San Diego Nebraska (9-4) vs. Arizona (8-4), 8 p.m. (ESPN) Thursday, Dec. 31 Sun Bowl At El Paso, Texas Stanford (8-4) vs. Oklahoma (7-5), Noon (CBS) Armed Forces Bowl At Fort Worth, Texas Air Force (7-5) vs. Houston (10-3), Noon (ESPN) Texas Bowl At Houston Missouri (8-4) vs. Navy (8-4), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN) Insight Bowl At Tempe, Ariz. Minnesota (6-6) vs. Iowa State (6-6), 6 p.m. (NFL) Chick-fil-A Bowl At Atlanta Virginia Tech (9-3) vs. Tennessee (7-5), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Friday, Jan. 1 Outback Bowl At Tampa, Fla. Northwestern (8-4) vs. Auburn (7-5), 11 a.m. (ESPN) Capital One Bowl At Orlando, Fla. Penn State (10-2) vs. LSU (9-3), 1 p.m. (ABC) Gator Bowl At Jacksonville, Fla. Florida State (6-6) vs. West Virginia (9-3), 1 p.m. (CBS) Rose Bowl At Pasadena, Calif. Ohio State (10-2) vs. Oregon (10-2), 5 p.m. (ABC) Sugar Bowl At New Orleans Florida (12-1) vs. Cincinnati (12-0), 8:30 p.m. (FOX) Saturday, Jan. 2 International Bowl At Toronto South Florida (7-5) vs. Northern Illinois (7-5), Noon (ESPN2) Cotton Bowl At Dallas Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Mississippi (8-4), 2 p.m. (FOX) PapaJohns.com Bowl At Birmingham, Ala. Connecticut (7-5) vs. South Carolina (7-5), 2 p.m. (ESPN) Liberty Bowl At Memphis, Tenn. East Carolina (9-4) vs. Arkansas (7-5), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN) Alamo Bowl At San Antonio Michigan State (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (8-4), 9 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Jan. 4 Fiesta Bowl At Glendale, Ariz. Boise State (13-0) vs. TCU (12-0), 8 p.m. (FOX) Tuesday, Jan. 5 Orange Bowl At Miami Iowa (10-2) vs. Georgia Tech (11-2), 8 p.m. (FOX) Wednesday, Jan. 6 GMAC Bowl Mobile, Ala. Central Michigan (11-2) vs. Troy (9-3), 7 p.m. (ESPN) Thursday, Jan. 7 BCS National Championship At Pasadena, Calif. Alabama (13-0) vs. Texas (13-0), 8 p.m. (ABC) Saturday, Jan. 23 East-West Shrine Classic At Orlando, Fla. East vs. West, 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30 Senior Bowl At Mobile, Ala. North vs. South, 4 p.m. (NFL) Saturday, Feb. 6 Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Challenge At El Paso, Texas Texas vs. Nation, 3 p.m. (CBSC)
BASKETBALL National Basketball Association EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct 17 4 .810 10 13 .435 7 15 .318 5 16 .238 2 19 .095 Southeast Division W L Pct Orlando 17 4 .810 Atlanta 14 6 .700 Miami 11 9 .550 Charlotte 9 11 .450 Washington 7 12 .368 Central Division W L Pct Cleveland 15 6 .714 Milwaukee 9 11 .450 Detroit 8 12 .400 Chicago 7 12 .368 Boston Toronto New York Philadelphia New Jersey
GB — 8 10 1/2 12 15 GB — 2 1/2 5 1/2 7 1/2 9 GB — 5 1/2 6 1/2 7
Indiana
6 12 .333 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct Dallas 15 7 .682 Houston 11 9 .550 San Antonio 9 9 .500 New Orleans 9 11 .450 Memphis 9 12 .429 Northwest Division W L Pct Denver 16 6 .727 Utah 12 8 .600 Portland 13 9 .591 Oklahoma City 11 9 .550 Minnesota 3 18 .143 Pacific Division W L Pct L.A. Lakers 16 3 .842 Phoenix 15 7 .682 Sacramento 9 11 .450 L.A. Clippers 9 12 .429 Golden State 6 14 .300
7 1/2 GB — 3 4 5 5 1/2 GB — 3 3 4 12 1/2 GB — 2 1/2 7 1/2 8 10 1/2
Monday’s Games Denver 93, Philadelphia 83 New York 93, Portland 84 Oklahoma City 104, Golden State 88 Utah 104, San Antonio 101 Tuesday’s Games Charlotte 107, Denver 95 Toronto 94, Minnesota 88 Boston 98, Milwaukee 89 Memphis 111, Cleveland 109, OT New Orleans 96, Sacramento 94 New Jersey 103, Chicago 101 Dallas 102, Phoenix 101 Orlando 97, L.A. Clippers 86 Wednesday’s Games Atlanta 118, Chicago 83 Portland 102, Indiana 91 Detroit 90, Philadelphia 86 Golden State at New Jersey, late Toronto at Milwaukee, late New Orleans at Minnesota, late Sacramento at San Antonio, late Cleveland at Houston, late Utah at L.A. Lakers, late Thursday’s Games Denver at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Boston at Washington, 8 p.m. Orlando at Utah, 10:30 p.m.
HOCKEY National Hockey League EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF New Jersey 28 20 7 1 41 81 Pittsburgh 31 20 10 1 41 99 Philadelphia 28 14 13 1 29 86 N.Y. Rangers 29 14 14 1 29 83 N.Y. Islanders 30 11 12 7 29 78 Northeast Division GP W L OT Pts GF Boston 29 15 9 5 35 76 Buffalo 27 16 9 2 34 73 Montreal 31 15 14 2 32 80 Ottawa 29 14 11 4 32 84 Toronto 29 9 13 7 25 83 Southeast Division GP W L OT Pts GF Washington 30 19 5 6 44 111 Atlanta 27 15 9 3 33 89 Tampa Bay 29 11 10 8 30 74 Florida 30 11 13 6 28 82 Carolina 29 7 17 5 19 70 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts GF Chicago 28 18 7 3 39 85 Nashville 30 17 11 2 36 77 Detroit 29 14 10 5 33 83 Columbus 29 13 11 5 31 89 St. Louis 28 12 11 5 29 70 Northwest Division GP W L OT Pts GF Colorado 32 17 9 6 40 98 Calgary 29 18 8 3 39 87 Vancouver 30 16 14 0 32 93 Edmonton 30 13 13 4 30 90 Minnesota 29 13 13 3 29 78 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts GF San Jose 31 19 7 5 43 104 Los Angeles 31 18 10 3 39 95 Phoenix 30 18 11 1 37 75 Dallas 30 13 8 9 35 88 Anaheim 30 11 13 6 28 86
GA 61 83 81 88 95 GA 72 62 88 91 104 GA 82 78 85 103 105 GA 64 82 82 105 77 GA 95 71 79 95 88 GA 82 93 68 89 99
Monday’s Games Toronto 5, Atlanta 2 New Jersey 3, Buffalo 0 Edmonton 3, Florida 2, SO Carolina 3, Pittsburgh 2 Washington 3, Tampa Bay 0 Montreal 3, Philadelphia 1 Colorado 4, St. Louis 0 Phoenix 2, Minnesota 0 Los Angeles 2, Calgary 1 Tuesday’s Games Philadelphia 6, N.Y. Islanders 2 Montreal 4, Ottawa 1 Nashville 4, Vancouver 2 Anaheim 4, Dallas 3, OT Wednesday’s Games Columbus 3, Florida 0 New Jersey 4, Carolina 2 Buffalo 3, Washington 0 Toronto 3, N.Y. Islanders 2 Edmonton at Tampa Bay, late St. Louis at Detroit, late N.Y. Rangers at Chicago, late Minnesota at Colorado, late Atlanta at Calgary, late Los Angeles at San Jose, late Thursday’s Games Toronto at Boston, 7 p.m. Ottawa at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Pittsburgh at Montreal, 7:30 p.m. Columbus at Nashville, 8 p.m. Atlanta at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Phoenix at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
D’backs, Tigers, Yanks make a deal INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The World Series champion New York Yankees landed yet another All-Star, getting center fielder Curtis Granderson from Detroit in a three-team trade Wednesday that included Arizona. A day after the teams reached a tentative agreement on the seven-player swap, they checked all the medical records and completed the first major trade of the winter meetings. Arizona acquired All-Star pitcher Edwin Jackson from Detroit and right-hander Ian Kennedy from the Yankees. The Tigers came to Indianapolis looking to shed payroll and did exactly that — they got lefty reliever Phil Coke and outfield prospect Austin Jackson from the Yankees, plus touted young pitchers Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from Arizona. “The Granderson piece is something we’re really happy about,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. The speedy Granderson takes over for Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner in center for the Yankees. Cashman said the trade doesn’t necessarily preclude them from re-signing free agents Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui.
Granderson was a first-time All-Star last season when he had 30 home runs, 71 RBIs and 20 steals. The lefty’s batting average has fallen from .302 in 2007 to .280 in 2008 to .249 last year. Tigers manger Jim Leyland gushed about Granderson earlier in the day. “I think, in my opinion, Curtis Granderson is one of the things that’s all good about baseball in today’s baseball world. He is one heck of a player. He has a great face. He’s very bright. He’s very articulate. He’s everything that’s good about baseball,” Leyland said. “He’s the total package.” Detroit missed the playoffs after a late collapse and hoped to cut costs after a big attendance drop at Comerica Park. Granderson is owed $25.75 million through 2012. “It was a business decision,” Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said. Edwin Jackson, a 26-year-old righty who is eligible for salary arbitration, was 13-9 with a 3.62 ERA in 33 starts for the Tigers. He held opponents to a .247 batting average in 214 innings. Kennedy, who turns 25 on Dec. 19, impressed when he came up from the minors at the end of the 2007 season, going 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA in three starts. He’s
been slowed by injuries the past two seasons. Kennedy strained a muscle near his right ribcage and had bursitis in his right shoulder blade in 2008, when he was 0-4 with an 8.17 ERA. He pitched in only one big league game this year, when he was sidelined by surgery May 12 to remove an aneurysm from beneath his right biceps. “We feel the addition of two starters will solidify our rotation,” Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes said. Coke was 4-3 with a 4.50 ERA in 72 relief appearances. He gave up two runs in 1 1-3 innings in the World Series. Austin Jackson, 22, was regarded as one of the Yankees’ top prospects. He hit .300 last season at Triple-A Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre with 23 doubles, four homers, 65 RBIs and 24 steals. Scherzer, the 11th overall pick in the 2006 amateur draft, is a 25-year-old righty who went 9-11 with a 4.12 ERA in 30 starts for Arizona last season, striking out 174 in 170 1-3 innings. Schlereth, a 23-year-old lefty, was the 26th pick in the 2008 amateur draft. He is the son of former NFL offensive lineman and current ESPN football analyst Mark Schlereth.
The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009 — 9
sports
Steelers are running out of time
Associated Press
Marion Jones, left, celebrating as she crosses the finish line to win the women’s 100 meters at Olympic Park, during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, in this is a Sept. 23, 2000, file photo.
IOC withholds Jones’ 100-meter gold from Greek runner Thanou
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — It’s time to rewrite the Olympic record books: There was no gold medal winner in the women’s 100 meters at the 2000 Sydney Games. The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday reallocated two individual medals stripped from Marion Jones for doping, but in an unprecedented move withheld her 100-meter prize from Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou because of her “disgraceful� behavior in evading drug tests at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The decision means the first two runners across the line in Sydney have both been denied the winner’s medal for doping violations, and the gold in sprinting’s marquee event will remain without an owner — believed to be a first in the 113-year history of the modern Olympics. “The IOC feels we have a strong moral and a good legal case for that,� spokesman Mark Adams said. “We are not legally bound to give medals. This is a case of taking no action. We have decided not to give her (Thanou) an honor that we don’t think she deserves.� While the IOC executive board awarded Jones’ gold in the 200 meters and bronze in the long jump to the next place finishers, it refused Thanou the 100 gold because of her involvement in a drug scandal at the Athens Games. “It was disgraceful behavior by her and this is a unique situation,� Adams said. Thanou never tested positive and was not linked to doping in Sydney, but was accused along with fellow Greek sprinter Kostas Kenteris of dodging drug-testers in Athens and faking a motorcycle crash as a cover-up. While the race results and rankings are up to the International Association of Athletics Federations, the IOC controls who gets Olympic medals. “The actual awarding of a gold medal is not a right,� Adams said. “Therefore, in this case it will not happen. It’s felt that by her conduct she didn’t deserve to be honored with this recognition.� Adams said it’s believed to be the first time the IOC has decided not to award a gold medal. The IAAF deleted Jones’ name from its list of Sydney results on Wednesday, but did not immediately move other athletes into her medal spots. Thanou’s lawyers have indicated they could sue or appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if she isn’t awarded the gold. Thanou and Kenteris missed drug tests on the eve of the Athens opening ceremony, said they were injured in a motorcycle accident and spent several days in a hospital. They pulled out of the games and were later banned for two years by the IAAF. Thanou and Kenteris — the men’s 200-meter winner in Sydney — are still awaiting trial in Greece on misdemeanor charges of staging the crash. “You must remember the circumstances surrounding Thanou in 2004,� Adams said. “She disgraced herself and the Olympic movement by avoiding three doping tests and, according to Greek authorities, she faked a motorcycle accident ... and she admitted anti-doping rules violations when she accepted a two-year ban from the IAAF.� The IOC barred Thanou from last year’s Beijing Games, saying she caused a “scandalous saga� in Athens that brought the Olympics into disrepute. Tanya Lawrence of Jamaica, who finished third in the 100 in Sydney, moved up to second and became the duplicate silver medalist with Thanou. Merlene Ottey, who competed for Jamaica but is now a Slovenian citizen, went from fourth to third and will get her sixth career bronze medal to go with two silvers in seven Olympics. The IOC stripped Jones of her five medals, which also included gold in the 4x400 relay and bronze in the 4x100 relay, in December 2007, but put off any decision on redistributing the medals.
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CLEVELAND (AP) — Their calling-card swagger has been replaced by a sudden shakiness that’s unbecoming. Reputed bullies, they’ve grown quiet, unsteady and seemingly vulnerable. That’s what happens when you lose four straight games, two against supposed pushovers Kansas City and Oakland. The Pittsburgh Steelers are a shell of themselves. Strapped with their longest losing streak since 2003 and with a weakening playoff pulse, the Super Bowl champions are in some serious trouble. For the first time in a long time, the Steelers (6-6) aren’t so special. “It’s tough because we haven’t gone through this,� quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said earlier this week. “Most of the guys have never had this situation before, so it’s tough and it’s frustrating. But we can’t sit around here and pout and worry about things because that’s not going to change the outcome of the games we just played.� Missing at least one star playmaker and perhaps two, Pittsburgh will try to end a four-game slide and improve its postseason chances on Thursday night when it visits the Cleveland Browns (1-11), who have lost seven straight, 10 in a row at home, 12 consecutive to the Steelers and 18 of 19 to their neighbors from down the Ohio/ Pennsylvania turnpikes. Following last week’s 27-24 loss to the Raiders, the Steelers’ fifth defeat by three points this season, coach Mike Tomlin, who had predicted his team would “unleash hell� in December, instead unleashed on his team by lamenting “a pattern of behavior that’s unacceptable.� Perhaps thinking his team needed a scare, he promised lineup changes against the Browns, but has since backed off a bit. Tomlin still believes in his squad, which hit the season’s midway point at 6-2 and in first place, but he’s troubled by the Steelers’ inability to close out opponents. Pittsburgh’s defense has been unable to protect a lead in five of the six losses. “Good teams find ways to win,� he said. “Teams that are not good don’t.�
Associated Press
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward (86) scores a touchdown after beating Oakland Raiders cornerback Chris Johnson (37) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game Sunday Dec. 6, 2009 in Pittsburgh.
Tomlin has issued a challenge to his players and they intend to accept it. “You’ve got to respond to it,� nose tackle Casey Hampton said. “As a man, you’re paid to do your job and you’ve got to respond to it. I think that’s the right move (Tomlin threatening changes). We’re not getting it done out there. Guys definitely need to be challenged. We got to get out there, get a victory and get out of this slump. “If guys as a whole just do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll be OK.� The Steelers may have to do it short-handed. Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu will miss his fourth straight game with a knee injury. Wide receiver Hines Ward, who leads the club with 72 catches and six TDs, is questionable with an injured hamstring and cornerback William Gay has been limited in practice by a concussion suffered against the Raiders. Just two weeks ago, Ward’s cross-examining of Roethlisberger for sitting out with a concussion caused an uproar that may still be reverberating in Pittsburgh’s locker room. The Steelers insist they’re united. “All we’ve got to do is stay together, that’s what’s most important,� offensive tackle
Willie Colon said. “We can’t do the finger-pointing thing. We gotta find a way to get through the foxhole. It can happen if you start listening to outsiders and you start getting frustrated. We’re not going to point fingers or blame anybody, we’re going to stay strong, stay as the Steelers and play through it.� After Cleveland, the Steelers will face Green Bay and Baltimore at home before finishing the regular-season in Miami. It’s a favorable schedule for a team looking for a break. “Last year things went our way, we had some balls bounce for us, and we went on to win the Super Bowl,� Roethlisberger said. “This year it’s not bouncing our way, not getting those lucky breaks that sometimes are involved in a football game. It doesn’t mean that good things still can’t come, we just have to fight through anything.� Think the Steelers have problems? It’s worse, so much worse, for the Browns. To this point, coach Eric Mangini’s first season has been the ugliest in Cleveland football annals. The Browns’ offense and defense are each ranked dead last statistically and there’s little tangible evidence the team has improved under Mangini, who is 2-15 in his last 17 games as the coach of the New York Jets and the Browns.
Tiger’s Swedish in-laws used to media spotlight STOCKHOLM (AP) — When images of Barbro Holmberg being rushed to the hospital were broadcast around the world, it was the first glimpse many had ever had of Tiger Woods’ mother-in-law. Back home in Sweden, however, Elin Nordegren’s parents are quite used to the spotlight. Holmberg is a well-known politician in Sweden and the Scandinavian country’s former migration minister — and was formerly married to a prominent journalist and author. As such, an ambulance trip from Wood’s Orlando-area mansion — or from anywhere else — would have made headlines in Sweden even without the media frenzy surrounding the world’s No. 1 golfer after a late-night crash and reports of infidelity. “I think she’s used to it,� said Olov Rydberg, who serves as Holmberg’s deputy in her current job as county governor in Gavleborg in central Sweden. Of course, the rather unusual circumstances meant it was a top story in nearly every Swedish media outlet — some of which
have flown their own reporters to Florida to report on the ongoing saga. But Rydberg said Holmberg has other things to worry about rather than her newfound global fame. While she was in the hospital, Swedish wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson said it was closing a plant in the Gavleborg region that employs 856 people. Rydberg said he spoke to Holmberg on the phone, and that her concerns were focused on the plant workers. “I haven’t really noticed anything (concerning the media attention),� he said. “We’ve just talked about work.� Holmberg was treated for stomach pains and was released 11 hours later. Nordegren’s father, Thomas Nordegren, is a radio talk show host and spent nearly a decade working as a foreign correspondent for radio and TV. He has been hounded for comments about his daughter’s marriage ever since the early-morning car crash on Nov. 27, but has refused
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to divulge any details. Meanwhile, the globally broadcast images of Holmberg on a stretcher and the details published from the 911 call from Woods’ house has caused Swedish media to debate to the ethics of digging into someone’s private life. “With what right do you publish each word of a phone call where a panicking daughter is calling for ambulance after her mom collapsed in the bathroom?� Jan Helin, the editorin-chief of Sweden’s largest newspaper Aftonbladet, wrote Wednesday on the tabloid’s Web site. He added, however, that Swedes have an added interest in the Woods story that goes beyond the worldwide fascination with a superstar athlete. “The normal interest in gossip and curiosity is partly enough of an explanation. That’s human behavior,� he wrote. “But it’s not the entire explanation in this case. In this story, there’s something deeper that I think can be most easily expressed like this: We’re rooting for Elin.�
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10
— The
Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009
weather/nation Weather The Daily Courier Weather Today
Tonight
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Shooter’s gun jammed, may have saved many at Kravchuk. He missed with the first shot, at which point she dropped WOODBRIDGE, Va. behind a desk and told — A community college students to leave the student was upset about room, Colgan said. his grades when he Hamilton fired again walked into a classroom and missed again, then and fired two shots at dropped the gun on the his professor before his floor after it jammed, new rifle jammed, police Colgan said. He left the said Wednesday. room, sat in a chair and Jason M. Hamilton, waited for police. When 20, was unable to conofficers arrived, he surtinue shooting at matherendered peacefully and matics professor Tatyana Jason Hamilton: confessed to the shooting, Suspect in community Kravchuk, who ducked Colgan said. college shooting behind a desk and was Colgan praised the not hit, Prince William quick response of campus County police Maj. Ray police, who had particiColgan said. No one was pated in a training exercise Sunday injured. on how to deal with a school shooter. “Probably what prevented a further Kravchuk, 58, an assistant profestragedy was that the gun jammed,” sor, could not be reached for comColgan said. ment. She received her Ph.D. from Hamilton bought the Marlin the Altai Polytechnic Institute in .30-06 bolt-action rifle Monday at a Russia, according to the college’s Dick’s Sporting Goods store near the Web site. campus, police said. The large house where Hamilton Hamilton was arraigned lives with his parents is in a new Wednesday on charges of attempted development in Prince William murder and discharging a firearm County, an outer suburb of in a school zone. He was being held Washington, and appeared empty without bond, and a preliminary Wednesday. An Audi sedan sat in hearing was scheduled for Jan. 11. the driveway, and whimsical holiday David R. Daugherty, Hamilton’s attorney, declined to comment on the decorations, including a reindeer and a penguin, dotted the lawn. charges and said his client’s family is Jarrod Zong, a former classmate asking for privacy. of Hamilton’s at C.D. Hylton High “He has two parents that love him, School in Woodbridge, rang the bell and obviously they’re going through a and left a poinsettia for the famtremendous ordeal,” said Daugherty, ily on the front stoop. Zong, 19, said who was hired by the family. he was on the cross-country team Tuesday afternoon’s shooting with Hamilton, and that Hamilton caused students and professors appeared to have few friends apart to scramble for cover at Northern from the team. Virginia Community College’s “He was definitely one of the nicest Woodbridge campus, about 25 miles people,” Zong said. “Other than the south of Washington. No one was cross-country team, a lot of people injured in the attack. didn’t talk to him. The team was like According to police, Hamilton his family.” walked into the classroom, pulled Zong said he hadn’t been in touch the rifle out of a bag and pointed it with Hamilton since they graduated. By SARAH KARUSH Associated Press Writer
Sunny
Clear
Mostly Sunny
Rain Likely
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Precip Chance: 0%
Precip Chance: 0%
Precip Chance: 5%
Precip Chance: 60%
Precip Chance: 10%
Precip Chance: 10%
51º
24º
44º 30º
39º 34º
51º 32º
50º 32º
Almanac
Local UV Index
Around Our State Today
Statistics provided by Broad River Water Authority through 7 a.m. yesterday.
0 - 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11+
Temperatures
0-2: Low, 3-5: Moderate, 6-7: High, 8-10: Very High, 11+: Extreme Exposure
High . . . . . . Low . . . . . . . Normal High Normal Low .
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.44 .35 .54 .29
Precipitation 24 hrs through 7 a.m. yest. .1.75" Month to date . . . . . . . . .4.72" Year to date . . . . . . . . .55.30"
Barometric Pressure
City
Asheville . . . . . . .44/20 Cape Hatteras . . .55/36 Charlotte . . . . . . .53/26 Fayetteville . . . . .53/28 Greensboro . . . . .45/25 Greenville . . . . . .55/31 Hickory . . . . . . . . . .49/24 Jacksonville . . . .57/29 Kitty Hawk . . . . . .54/38 New Bern . . . . . .56/30 Raleigh . . . . . . . .49/28 Southern Pines . .51/27 Wilmington . . . . .58/33 Winston-Salem . .45/24
Sun and Moon Sunrise today . Sunset tonight . Moonrise today Moonset today .
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.7:25 .5:16 .1:38 .1:15
a.m. p.m. a.m. p.m.
Moon Phases
High yesterday . . . . . . .30.30"
Relative Humidity High yesterday . . . . . . . . .87%
New 12/16
Full 12/31
First 12/24
Friday
Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx s pc s pc s s s s s s s pc s s
43/30 50/40 45/32 48/31 42/28 48/30 43/29 50/32 48/39 49/32 44/29 48/31 50/36 42/27
s s s s s s s s s s s s s s
Weather (Wx): cl/cloudy; pc/partly cloudy; ra/rain; rs/rain & snow; s/sunny; sh/showers; sn/snow; t/thunderstorms; w/windy
Last 1/7
North Carolina Forecast
Greensboro 45/25
Asheville 44/20
Forest City 51/24 Charlotte 53/26
Today
Wilmington 58/33
Friday
Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx
Atlanta . . . . . . . . Baltimore . . . . . . Chicago . . . . . . . Detroit . . . . . . . . Indianapolis . . . Los Angeles . . . Miami . . . . . . . . . New York . . . . . . Philadelphia . . . Sacramento . . . . San Francisco . . Seattle . . . . . . . . Tampa . . . . . . . . Washington, DC
.48/25 .40/25 .16/10 .22/15 .25/14 .61/47 .84/69 .38/22 .36/17 .49/39 .55/44 .34/22 .70/51 .38/24
49/34 36/22 25/20 22/15 31/23 63/50 80/71 31/25 32/20 49/47 54/46 38/24 68/60 38/22
Kinston 56/30
Today’s National Map
City
s s s sn s cl mc s s ra ra pc ra s
Greenville 55/31
Raleigh 49/28
Fayetteville 53/28
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Across Our Nation
Elizabeth City 52/28
Durham 48/27
Winston-Salem 45/24
pc s s sn s ra mc s s sh ra mc cl s
0s
30s 10s
30s
20s
50s
20s 30s
60s
H
40s
40s
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60s 60s
This map shows high temperatures, type of precipitation expected and location of frontal systems at noon. Cold Front
Stationary Front
Warm Front
50s 70s 80s
L
Low Pressure
H
High Pressure
Nation Today Alabama AG highest paid, gets $184,000
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama is neither the richest nor the biggest state in the U.S., but it now has the highest paid state attorney general. The former No. 1, California Attorney General Jerry Brown, took a pay cut that moved Alabama’s Troy King into first place. Brown dropped from slightly more than $184,000 to $151,000 on Monday. A national ranking of pay for attorneys general shows King’s is highest, at $168,000. His chief of staff said King doesn’t control his own pay. A 1969 state law makes the attorney general’s pay equal to that of the associate justices on the Alabama Supreme Court.
New York City to enact ‘green’ laws
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City has passed legislation intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, which are the city’s largest source of heat-trapping gases. The City Council voted to pass a package of bills Wednesday. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says it will help achieve his goal of reducing the city’s carbon count by 30 percent by 2030. The bills include a requirement that owners of buildings larger than 50,000 square feet conduct energy audits once every 10 years and make environmental “tuneups.”
Flap over flag ends
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A 90-year-old Medal of Honor winner says he plans to fly Old Glory “without interference” for the rest
Storm slides across Midwest, is followed by intense cold -By LUKE MEREDITH
of his life, now that his homeowners’ association has dropped a demand to take down a 21-foot flagpole in his front yard. Retired Army Col. Van T. Barfoot read a statement Wednesday thanking people nationwide who backed his efforts to fly the American flag at his home. Barfoot’s comments came a day after the Sussex Square homeowners’ association dropped threats of legal action. He had erected the flagpole in September, despite being denied permission to do so because it violated the neighborhood’s aesthetic guidelines. Barfoot received the Medal of Honor after standing up to three German tanks with a bazooka during World War II.
Legislator drops bid to honor Tiger Woods WASHINGTON (AP) — A California congressman is dropping his effort to honor Tiger Woods with a Congressional Gold Medal. Democratic Rep. Joe Baca proposed legislation in March that called for the golfer to be recognized for promoting good sportsmanship and breaking down barriers in the sport. Baca said in a statement Wednesday that “in light of the recent developments surrounding Tiger Woods and his family,” he won’t pursue legislation this session to give him the award. Woods’ recent car accident has led to a media firestorm surrounding his personal life. The world’s No. 1 golfer hit a hydrant and a tree on Nov. 27, and he was cited for careless driving and fined $164. The accident — and Woods’ refusal to answer questions about it — fueled speculation about a possible dispute between him and his wife, Elin.
Associated Press Writer
DES MOINES, Iowa — A gigantic storm dumped more than a foot of snow across much of the Midwest and New England as it marched eastward Wednesday, creating blizzard conditions, burying cars under huge drifts and providing ammunition for a massive campus snowball fight in Wisconsin. Even more snow fell in some areas, with 16 inches reported in Des Moines and nearly 19 inches just south of Madison, Wis. Gusts of up to 50 mph created snow drifts between 8 and 15 feet tall and even knocked down a two-story Christmas tree in downtown Champaign, Ill. The storm was blamed for at least 16 deaths, most in traffic accidents. Hundreds of schools canceled classes, power was knocked out to thousands of people from Missouri to New York and hundreds of flights were canceled. In the Twin Cities, where about 6 inches of snow fell and the wind chill dipped to minus 9 degrees, Kent Barnard eased a massive orange snowplow into traffic in the suburb of Arden Hills on Wednesday morning. He dropped the right wing of the plow down onto the shoulder, making a grinding sound as the wing sent out a spray of snow. “You gotta watch it because some people try to sneak up around you,” Barnard said. “They’ll see that big orange flashing truck coming and go, ’I don’t want to get caught behind that thing.”’ The storm felt like a rude surprise after an unseasonably warm and dry November in parts of the region. The massive system is the first major blast of wintry weather for many parts of the Midwest. “I’ve been dreading this day,” said Kim Brust, shoveling the sidewalk in front of his Minneapolis home before
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sunrise Wednesday. “I was starting to enjoy the global warming.” While an inconvenience for many, others took an opportunity to play. At least 3,000 University of Wisconsin-Madison students took advantage of an unplanned day off and hurled snowballs at each other in a massive melee. Classes had been canceled for the first time in 19 years due to more than a foot of snow and blizzard-like conditions. Some came holding trays as shields. Others were bundled up to protect themselves from the below-freezing temperatures and winds that gusted to more than 20 mph. Several went shirtless, though, while at least one had on pajamas. “I figured with the day off, there was no better way to spend it than with a snowball fight,” said Matt Moerel, 19, of Vadnais Heights, Minn. Many New England residents braced for bone-chilling winds after digging out from a foot or more of snow. But Gavin Graham, 8, of Concord, N.H., spent two hours sledding. “It was really good sledding. The snow was puffy, and that was really good because we had little jumps already made,” he said. “It was awesome having the day off from school.” Up to 7 inches of snow fell in northeast Pennsylvania and 50 mph winds were recorded near Pittsburgh.
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The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009 — 11
business/finance
THE MARKET IN REVIEW
STOCK EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHTS
u
NYSE
7,067.62 +11.36
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)
Name Last Valassis 19.48 JacksnHew 4.88 FstBcpPR 2.44 NYMAGC 18.73 Sparton 4.78 GabUt pfA 25.04 PanhO&G 23.02 W Hld rs lf 20.18 FtBcp pfA 9.99 GenSteel 4.72
Chg +3.17 +.75 +.36 +2.29 +.55 +2.76 +2.23 +1.92 +.89 +.39
%Chg +19.4 +18.2 +17.3 +13.9 +13.0 +12.4 +10.7 +10.5 +9.8 +9.0
LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)
u
AMEX
1,767.88 +8.56
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)
Name Last SL Ind 8.01 DocuSec 2.45 SoCTBcp 2.60 ReadyMix 3.02 Chrmcft 2.19 ComndSec 2.03 MetroHlth 2.08 NDynMn g 8.30 UtdCap 22.95 HawkCorp 16.55
Chg +1.61 +.29 +.28 +.28 +.15 +.14 +.14 +.55 +1.45 +.97
%Chg +25.2 +13.4 +12.1 +10.1 +7.4 +7.4 +7.2 +7.1 +6.7 +6.2
LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)
Name Last Chg %Chg Movado 9.45 -1.40 -12.9 Colfax 12.31 -1.08 -8.1 Prime pfB 5.80 -.50 -7.9 PMI Grp 2.16 -.18 -7.7 NBkGreece 5.05 -.40 -7.3 MensW 20.26 -1.58 -7.2 IDT Cp rs 4.16 -.27 -6.1 ProUltCrude10.85 -.67 -5.8 Hersha 2.65 -.15 -5.4 Raythn wt 14.19 -.76 -5.1
Name Last Aerosonic 4.35 IncOpR 5.80 AmDGEn n 2.60 Geokinetics11.60 BioTime wt 2.70 ChMda wt 4.91 VirnetX 3.68 HMG 3.48 MtnPDia g 2.06 CmtyBkTr 2.60
MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE) Name Vol (00) Last Chg Citigrp 3199952 3.86 -.05 BkofAm 1934855 15.39 -.02 SprintNex 1416940 4.13 +.22 SPDR 1367963 110.02 +.41 Pfizer 724685 18.24 +.48 SPDR Fncl 664920 14.31 +.05 iShEMkts 611029 40.96 +.25 DirFBear rs 595752 20.55 -.18 GenElec 578780 15.66 -.06 FordM 517195 8.86 +.04
MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE) Name Vol (00) Last Chg BPW Acq 71016 10.45 +.13 CelSci 49752 1.23 +.12 GoldStr g 47113 3.58 +.19 Rentech 41080 1.72 +.06 NovaGld g 34593 5.70 +.25 Taseko 30711 3.70 -.01 RELM 27927 4.00 +.10 NwGold g 23827 3.45 -.05 CFCda g 19812 13.98 -.05 NthgtM g 19701 3.20 +.08
Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume
DIARY
1,687 1,362 113 3,162 110 6 4,187,948,588
Chg %Chg -.30 -6.5 -.40 -6.5 -.16 -5.9 -.70 -5.7 -.15 -5.3 -.27 -5.3 -.21 -5.3 -.19 -5.2 -.11 -5.1 -.13 -4.8
DIARY
Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume
279 223 55 557 11 2 116,455,140
u
NASDAQ 2,183.73 +10.74
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)
Name ReadgIntB SptChalA SptChalB DixieGrp CybrOpt ADA-ES RealNwk Netlist JazzPhrm YadkinVFn
Last 8.19 2.45 4.61 2.78 5.85 3.87 3.99 6.11 8.26 4.39
Chg +2.68 +.49 +.91 +.43 +.90 +.57 +.54 +.82 +1.07 +.55
%Chg +48.6 +25.0 +24.6 +18.3 +18.2 +17.3 +15.7 +15.5 +14.9 +14.3
LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)
Name Last ZionO&G wt 3.02 Comarco 2.56 VillBk&Tr 2.50 NaugatVly 5.65 Replgn 3.91 TownSports 2.13 IndiCmtyB 6.94 Amriana 2.45 SkystarB s 10.20 WstptInn g 10.52
Chg -1.28 -.57 -.49 -1.10 -.76 -.40 -1.24 -.34 -1.23 -1.20
%Chg -29.8 -18.2 -16.4 -16.3 -16.3 -15.8 -15.2 -12.2 -10.8 -10.2
MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)
Name Vol (00) PwShs QQQ712197 Intel 530423 BrcdeCm 518467 EngyXXI 496046 Microsoft 434528 Dell Inc 413706 Cisco 376674 Comcast 354010 ETrade 301019 Oracle 280026
Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume
Last Chg 44.08 +.44 20.01 +.02 7.67 +.30 1.89 -.09 29.71 +.14 13.11 +.30 23.86 +.05 17.54 +.18 1.65 ... 21.95 +.04
DIARY
1,344 1,328 160 2,832 56 26 1,880,683,474
DAILY DOW JONES
ASK ABOUT AN INSURANCE HAVE YOU REVIEWED YOUR
52-Week High Low
Dow Jones industrials ANAlySIS. NEEdS LIFE INSURANCE LATELY? Close: 10,337.05 10,360 10,520
Change: 51.08 (0.5%)
10,200
11,200
10,516.70 4,122.43 397.29 7,285.67 1,887.23 2,214.39 1,119.13 717.75 11,480.36 625.30
10 DAYS
10,400 9,600
6,469.95 2,134.21 288.66 4,181.75 1,130.47 1,265.52 666.79 397.97 6,772.29 342.59
STOCK MARKET INDEXES Name
Dow Industrials 10,337.05 Dow Transportation 4,059.54 Dow Utilities 393.50 NYSE Composite 7,067.62 Amex Market Value 1,767.88 Nasdaq Composite 2,183.73 S&P 500 1,095.95 S&P MidCap 696.14 Wilshire 5000 11,260.06 Russell 2000 598.03
YTD %Chg %Chg
+51.08 +4.43 +2.22 +11.36 +8.56 +10.74 +4.01 +.41 +35.24 +.33
+.50 +.11 +.57 +.16 +.49 +.49 +.37 +.06 +.31 +.06
+17.78 +14.77 +6.13 +22.76 +26.50 +38.47 +21.33 +29.33 +23.91 +19.74
12-mo %Chg
+17.98 +17.87 +7.58 +25.51 +33.32 +39.49 +21.88 +34.59 +25.25 +25.53
MUTUAL FUNDS
8,800 8,000
Net Chg
Last
J
J
A
S
O
N
Name
D
PIMCO TotRetIs American Funds GrthAmA m American Funds CapIncBuA m Vanguard TotStIdx TOCKS OF OCAL NTEREST American Funds CpWldGrIA m Fidelity Contra YTD YTD American Funds IncAmerA m Name Div Yld PE Last Chg%Chg Name Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg American Funds InvCoAmA m AT&T Inc 1.64 6.0 14 27.56 -.05 -3.3 LeggPlat 1.04 5.2 74 19.97 +.14 +31.5 Vanguard 500Inv Vanguard InstIdx Amazon ... ... 77 131.31 -2.80+156.1 Lowes .36 1.6 19 22.81 +.10 +6.0 American Funds EurPacGrA m ArvMerit ... ... ... 8.77 +.21+207.7 Microsoft .52 1.8 19 29.71 +.14 +52.8 Dodge & Cox Stock American Funds WAMutInvA m BB&T Cp .60 2.3 18 25.84 -.02 -5.9 PPG 2.16 3.6 27 59.44 +.60 +40.1 Dodge & Cox IntlStk BkofAm .04 .3 ... 15.39 -.02 +9.3 ParkerHan 1.00 1.9 26 53.92 -.17 +26.8 American Funds NewPerspA m BerkHa A ... ... 3098500.00-1248.00 +2.0 Fidelity DivrIntl d Cisco ... ... 24 23.86 +.05 +46.4 ProgrssEn 2.48 6.0 14 41.18 +.35 +3.3 American Funds FnInvA m ... ... 60 27.13 -.60+105.2 PIMCO TotRetAdm b Delhaize 2.01 2.6 ... 76.30 -.60 +21.1 RedHat Dell Inc ... ... 18 13.11 +.30 +28.0 RoyalBk g 2.00 ... ... 51.93 +.05 +75.1 American Funds BalA m DukeEngy .96 5.5 15 17.45 ... +16.3 SaraLee .44 3.6 20 12.13 -.01 +23.9 FrankTemp-Franklin Income A m Vanguard Welltn ExxonMbl 1.68 2.3 17 72.79 -.16 -8.8 SonicAut ... ... ... 9.61 -.06+141.5 Vanguard 500Adml FamilyDlr .54 1.9 14 28.03 -.27 +7.5 SonocoP 1.08 3.7 21 29.52 +.18 +27.5 American Funds BondA m Fidelity GrowCo FifthThird .04 .4 ... 10.29 +.10 +24.6 SpectraEn 1.00 5.1 15 19.68 +.14 +25.0 Vanguard TotStIAdm FCtzBA 1.20 .8 15 155.04 -2.56 +1.5 SpeedM .36 2.3 ... 15.78 -.05 -2.0 Vanguard TotIntl GenElec .40 2.6 14 15.66 -.06 -3.3 .36 1.5 ... 24.64 -.01 +25.5 Vanguard InstPlus GoldmanS 1.40 .8 20 166.44 +4.60 +97.2 Timken Fidelity LowPriStk d 1.80 3.1 34 57.76 +.02 +4.7 T Rowe Price EqtyInc Google ... ... 38 589.02 +1.97 +91.5 UPS B KrispKrm ... ... ... 3.03 +.08 +80.4 WalMart 1.09 2.0 16 54.07 -.06 -3.5 Hartford CapAprA m Pioneer PioneerA m Goldman Sachs ShDuGovA m Stock Footnotes: g = Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars. h = Does not meet continued-listing standards. lf = Late filing with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 Alliance Bernstein GrowIncA m percent within the past year. rt = Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the DWS-Scudder REstA m Hartford GrowthL m last year. un = Units. vj = In bankruptcy or receivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants.
S
L
I
Mutual Fund Footnotes: b = Fee covering market costs is paid from fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemption fee. f = front load (sales charges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = not available. p = previous day’s net asset value. s = fund split shares during the week. x = fund paid a distribution during the week.Gainers and Losers must be worth at least $2 to be listed in tables at left. Most Actives must be worth at least $1. Volume in hundreds of shares. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial.
Total Assets Obj ($Mlns) NAV
Total Return/Rank Pct Min Init 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Load Invt
CI 114,653 LG 65,022 IH 58,268 LB 56,221 WS 56,060 LG 55,503 MA 49,018 LB 48,458 LB 47,844 LB 43,018 FB 40,409 LV 39,492 LV 38,894 FV 35,777 WS 32,502 FG 31,850 LB 30,369 CI 30,253 MA 29,744 CA 28,628 MA 28,113 LB 27,983 CI 27,836 LG 27,285 LB 26,873 FB 25,417 LB 24,423 MB 23,633 LV 15,231 LB 9,646 LB 4,251 GS 1,416 LV 1,228 SR 415 LG 185
-0.1 +17.2/C 0.0 +34.1/C 0.0 +24.1/D +0.5 +29.2/C -1.3 +36.8/C -0.5 +28.8/D +1.3 +28.1/C +0.9 +28.1/C +0.5 +26.4/C +0.5 +26.6/C -1.7 +45.8/A -0.1 +33.3/A +1.9 +19.5/D -2.5 +53.2/A -0.1 +41.8/B -1.6 +41.5/D +0.2 +34.0/B -0.2 +16.9/C +1.0 +22.6/D +2.6 +43.6/A +0.8 +26.7/C +0.5 +26.6/C +1.0 +19.2/B +0.3 +39.9/B +0.5 +29.3/B -1.5 +46.6/A +0.5 +26.6/C -1.0 +44.4/B +0.1 +24.9/C +0.1 +43.8/A 0.0 +24.5/D +0.5 +6.0/B 0.0 +28.4/B +4.4 +38.0/B -1.1 +35.4/C
10.89 26.87 48.04 26.98 33.74 56.62 15.48 25.66 101.43 100.80 38.41 94.84 24.56 31.72 25.48 27.53 32.12 10.89 16.21 2.03 28.94 101.46 11.91 66.31 26.99 14.58 100.81 30.81 20.70 29.85 35.04 10.55 2.93 13.54 14.62
+6.8/A +2.9/A +4.2/C +0.9/B +6.5/A +4.7/A +3.2/B +1.8/B +0.4/C +0.5/C +8.3/A -0.4/C +0.4/C +6.2/A +5.9/A +4.3/D +4.1/A +6.5/A +2.2/C +3.9/A +5.1/A +0.5/C +2.6/E +4.0/A +1.0/B +6.1/A +0.5/C +3.3/A +0.9/B +3.8/A +1.1/B +4.8/A -1.5/E +0.1/B -0.4/D
NL 5,000,000 5.75 250 5.75 250 NL 3,000 5.75 250 NL 2,500 5.75 250 5.75 250 NL 3,000 NL 5,000,000 5.75 250 NL 2,500 5.75 250 NL 2,500 5.75 250 NL 2,500 5.75 250 NL 5,000,000 5.75 250 4.25 1,000 NL 10,000 NL 100,000 3.75 250 NL 2,500 NL 100,000 NL 3,000 NL200,000,000 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 5.50 1,000 5.75 1,000 1.50 1,000 4.25 2,500 5.75 1,000 4.75 0
CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -Foreign LargeGrowth, FV -Foreign Large Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA -Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV Mid-Cap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.
Bid for bargains fuels stock climb By SARA LEPRO and TIM PARADIS AP Business Writers
NEW YORK — Investors set aside some of their concerns about mounting debt levels around the world and looked for bargains after a two-day slide in stocks. Stocks turned higher late Wednesday after a day of back-and-forth trading. Investors have been cautious about rising government debt levels in Spain, Greece and other countries. Investors spent much of the day looking for safety following a decision by credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s to reduce the outlook on Spain’s debt rating. S&P’s move came a day after another agency lowered its credit rating on Greece’s government. Investors have been watchful for other signs of problems with global debt ever since a state-run company in Dubai shocked investors two weeks ago by asking its creditors for a debt reprieve. The dollar has steadied this week against other major currencies, interrupting a steady drop since March. The greenback has fallen as investors take advantage of cheap financing to invest in riskier, higher-yielding assets like stocks and commodities. Signs that the economy is improving have cut into demand for safe-haven investments. Tom Phillips, president of TS Phillips Investments in Oklahoma City, said he expects the dollar will lose its pull over the stock market because so many traders have placed bets that the currency will fall and boost stocks. “When everybody understands the game the game doesn’t work as well,” he said. “I think it will just fray and start to erode.” According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 51.08, or 0.5 percent, to 10,337.05 after falling 104 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 index rose 4.01, or 0.4 percent, to 1,095.95, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 10.74, or 0.5 percent, to 2,183.73. The ICE Futures US dollar index, which tracks the dollar against other major currencies, fell 0.3 percent. In other trading, Treasurys fell, sending yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.44 percent from 3.39 percent late Tuesday.
Gold slid to $1,121, while oil fell $1.95 to settle at $70.67 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.33, or 0.1 percent, to 598.03. Advancing stocks narrowly outpaced those that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume to 1.1 billion shares compared with 1.2 billion Tuesday.
White House Press Secretary Roberts Gibbs speaks with reporters about the economy prior to President Barack Obama’s departure to Europe, Wednesday, at the White House in Washington. Associated Press
Bailout program to be extended By JEANNINE AVERSA and DANIEL WAGNER AP Economics Writers
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress Wednesday that the administration will extend the government’s financial bailout program until next fall, saying it’s needed to protect against fresh economic shocks. In a letter to House and Senate leaders, Geithner said the extension is “necessary to assist American families and stabilize financial markets.” Money from the $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout program has helped rescue big Wall Street firms, auto companies and others. That’s angered many Americans, who feel the government hasn’t provided them with relief from high unemployment and rising home foreclosures. The Troubled Asset Relief Program that Congress passed during the height of the financial crisis in October 2008 was scheduled to expire at the end of
the year. Geithner said it will be extended until Oct. 3, 2010. He has the authority to extend the TARP simply by notifying lawmakers. “The recovery of our financial system remains incomplete,” Geithner told lawmakers. “And, near-term shocks to that system could undermine the economic recovery we have seen to date.” Geithner said he doesn’t expect to use more than $550 billion of the funds. The Treasury secretary said new commitments bankrolled by the bailout fund will be limited to three areas next year. One focus is stepping up efforts to curb record-high home foreclosures, a move necessary to stabilize the housing market and support a lasting economic recovery. Another will be providing capital to small banks, which play a crucial role in providing credit to small businesses — normally a leading engine of job creation. Small banks have been weighed down by problem commercial
real estate loans, which has made them reluctant to lend and hurt the ability of small businesses to expand and hire. In a third area, Geithner said the government may boost its commitment to a program aimed at sparking lending to consumers and small businesses. Run by Treasury and the Federal Reserve, the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility started in March. Republicans have criticized Treasury for using the TARP as a slush fund to support programs that Congress never intended — including bailouts of automakers and failing insurance giant American International Group Inc. “American taxpayers have had enough of open-ended bailouts that have left them stuck with trillions of dollars in new debt,” House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Wednesday. “TARP should be shut down by the end of the year. It’s time to get the government out of the bailout business.”
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Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009
nation/WASHINGTON
Leaders praise health care compromise n Compromise
on opening Medicare to those 55 to 64 and dropping public option may clear the way for a vote By DAVID ESPO
be run by the same agency that oversees the system that lawmakers use for themselves and their families. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., described the agreement as a significant step in the struggle to round up the votes needed to pass the broader overhaul legislation. The House has already passed its version, and Democrats are driving for a Senate vote before Christmas. That would leave only a final compromise between the houses before legislation could go to Obama for his signature. Congress has spent months trying to deliver a bill to the White House that would expand coverage to millions who now lack it, ban insurance companies from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions and generally reduce the skyrocketing growth of medical spending nationwide. Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut who has vowed to fight any governmentrun insurance option, issued a statement saying he was “encouraged by the progress toward a consensus.” Lieberman’s vote is one of 60 that Democrats would need to enact the legislation over unanimous Republican opposition, and he and Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., are viewed as among the shakiest supporters of the bill. Nelson met with Reid on the issue of abortion, a day after the Nebraskan’s amendment to tighten funding restrictions in the bill was rejected. They agreed to keep talking. Roman Catholic bishops, meanwhile, put the Senate on notice they would oppose the bill unless it includes stricter curbs. “Failure to exclude abortion funding will turn allies into adversaries and require us
AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama as well as Democratic liberals and moderates all found something to like Wednesday in an emerging compromise to expand the role of government in the nation’s health care system, raising hopes inside the party that passage of overhaul legislation might be within reach after a struggle lasting decades. The same plan drew critics, though — and the threat of more opponents once closely held details become widely known. Obama hailed “a creative new framework that I believe will help pave the way for final passage of legislation and a historic achievement for the American people.” He said, “I support this effort, especially since it’s aimed at increasing choice and competition and lowering cost.” A provision opening Medicare to uninsured Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 drew praise from some liberals. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., called it “an unvarnished, complete victory for people like me who have been arguing for a singlepayer system.” Howard Dean, the former party chairman and an advocate of a government-run insurance option, told CBS, “Using Medicare makes more sense than reinventing more bureaucracy.” The idea of a full-blown government-run insurance option, heatedly debated for months, would be jettisoned under the tentative agreement reached by Senate Democratic liberals and moderates and announced Tuesday night. In its place would be the expansion of Medicare, as well as new nationwide private plans to
Associated Press
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., accompanied by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., right, and Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill., talks with reporters outside the White House in Washington, Wednesday following a meeting with President Barack Obama.
and others to oppose this bill because it abandons both principle and precedent,” said Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Two other senators considered to be wavering praised different parts of the latest proposal. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said the Medicare expansion could help small business. “There are a lot of small business people who are between the ages of 55 and 64,” she said. “If that were done (it) would provide some real relief to them.” Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said she approved of the suggested national plans to be administered by the Office of Personnel Management. “OPM being the negotiator will help, I think, be able to bring the best product forward,” she said. According to several officials, the deal would
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$7,600 annually until federal subsidies became available in 2014. That translated into more than $600 a month, far higher than the $96.40 paid by beneficiaries age 65 and up. Despite the praise from Obama and others, there were critics across the political spectrum. They included MoveOn. org., the liberal group, which issued a statement saying Democrats had “bargained away the heart of health care reform allowing conservative senators like Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson to hold the process hostage and protect Big Insurance.” The Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center sent notices to lawmakers criticizing the emerging plan. Expanding Medicare to individuals 55 to 64 years old, it said, “would ultimately hurt patients by accelerating the financial ruin of hospitals and doctors across the country.”
Pell Grants see huge shortfall WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pell Grant program for needy college students is facing a massive shortfall as the country’s bleak job market drives people back to school. An administration official told The Associated Press the program will cost $18 billion more than Congress and the White House had anticipated over the next three years. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the budget, spoke on condition of anonymity. “The administration is working with Congress to fill the gap, and we are committed to making sure the U.S. has an educated work force able to fill the jobs of the 21st century,” said the official, who is not authorized to speak publicly about the budget. Shortfalls and surpluses are common in the Pell Grant program, which forms the foundation for federal college aid. Anyone who is eligible gets a grant, making it difficult for the government to anticipate how many people will apply.
Pell Grants typically go to families earning less than $40,000. Yet the looming shortfall is the largest in the 36-year history of the program, whose entire budget was about $18 billion last year. Lawmakers had approved a 13 percent increase in the maximum grant as part of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus law. That boosted this year’s Pell Grant by $500 to $5,350. It was a huge increase; the maximum grant has grown on average by less than 6 percent a year. The chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, California Democratic Rep. George Miller, said lawmakers will work together to make sure the program is funded, “as we do every year.” Miller sees a silver lining in the shortfall. “In this difficult economy, it is good news that more people are going back to school to get the skills they need for in-demand jobs,” he said. “We want to make sure we are doing everything we can to help them in this effort.”
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maintain an existing federal health care program for children until 2015, when it would be folded into socalled national exchanges where consumers would purchase coverage. Insurance companies would be required to spend 90 percent of their income from premiums on providing benefits. Many officials declined to discuss details, heeding an admonition that if they did, the Congressional Budget office would feel compelled to release preliminary cost estimates that lawmakers prefer to receive secretly. Thus, there was no word on the cost of purchasing Medicare coverage, as an example, in the years before 2014, when federal subsidies would become available for lower- and some middleincome individuals and families. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, told reporters premiums would total about
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The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009 — 13
WASHINGTON
House committee floats law governing college playoffs By FREDERIC J. FROMMER Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — A House subcommittee approved legislation Wednesday aimed at forcing college football to switch to a playoff system to determine its national champion, over the objections of some lawmakers who said Congress has meatier targets to tackle. The bill, which faces steep odds, would ban the promotion of a postseason NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision game as a national championship unless it results from a play-
off. The measure passed by voice vote in a House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee, with one audible “no,” from Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga. “With all due respect, I really think we have more important things to spend our time on,” Barrow said before the vote, although he stressed he didn’t like the current Bowl Championship Series, either. The BCS selections announced last weekend pit two unbeaten teams, No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Texas, in the Jan. 7 national title game. Three other undefeated teams — TCU, Cincinnati
and Boise State — will play in a BCS bowl game, but not for the championship. “What can we say — it’s December and the BCS is in chaos again,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He said the BCS system is unfair and won’t change unless prompted by Congress. The legislation, which goes to the full committee, would make it illegal to promote a national championship game “or make a similar representation,” unless it results from a playoff. There is no Senate version,
although Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has pressed for a Justice Department antitrust investigation into the BCS. Shortly after his election last year, Barack Obama said there should be a playoff system. In a statement before the vote, BCS executive director Bill Hancock said, “With all the serious matters facing our country, surely Congress has more important issues than spending taxpayer money to dictate how college football is played.” The subcommittee chairman, Rep. Bobby Rush, an Illinois Democrat who cosponsored the bill, said, “We
can walk and chew gum at the same time.” Yet Barrow wasn’t alone in criticizing his colleagues’ priorities; Reps. Zach Space, D-Ohio, and Bart Stupak, D-Mich., made similar arguments. Space said that with people facing tough times, the decision to focus on college football sends the “wrong message.” The bill has a tough road ahead, given the wide geographic representation and political clout of schools in the six conferences — the ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-10 and SEC — that get automatic BCS bowl bids
OFFICIAL BALLOT FOR THE 2009 “BEST OF RUTHERFORD COUNTY”
THE
BEST
People
1. Best Contractor Name 2. Best Electrician Name
4. Best Doctor Name Location
6. Best Dentist Name 7. Best Optometrist Name
Rutherford County 2009
8. Best Insurance Agent Name Business 9. Best Waiter/Waitress Name Restaurant 10. Best Car Salesperson Name 11. Best Hair Stylist Name Salon 12. Best Sales Team Business 13. Best Auto Mechanic Name Business 14. Best Attorney Name 15. Best Service Team Business 16. Best Real Estate Team Business 17. Best Real Estate Agent Name 18. Best Dental Hygienist Name Office 19. Best CPA Name
Dining
OF
3. Best Pharmacist Name
5. Best Nurse Name
Your ballot automatically enters you in the 2009 “BEST OF RUTHERFORD COUNTY” SWEEPSTAKES!
Firm
20. Best Chiropractor Name 21. Best Physical Therapist Name
Goods & Services 22. Best Bank Bank 23. Best Tires Business 24. Best Department Store Business 25. Best Funeral Home Business 26. Best Jewelry Store Business 27. Best Used Cars Business
28. Best Assited Care/Nursing Facility Business
47. Best Nail Salon Business
29. Best Fitness Center Business
48. Best Barber Shop Business
30. Best Computer Sales/Service Business
49. Best Carpet Dealer Business
31. Best Car Rental Business
50. Best Drug Store Business
32. Best Dry Cleaner Business 33. Best Hair Salon Business 34. Best Furniture Store Business 35. Best Video Rental Store Business 36. Best Gas/Service Station Business 37. Best New Cars Business 38. Best Dance Studio Business 39. Best Garage (Automotive) Business 40. Best Florist Business 41. Best Home Improvement Company Business 42. Best Nursery/Garden Center Business 43. Best Kennel Boarding Business 44. Best Tattoo Parlor Business 45. Best Gift Shop Business
1. At least 50% of the questions must be answered on your ballot. 2. When voting on names, please put the first and last names and put “Jr.”, “III”, etc. when applicable. 3. When voting the name of a chain (for example: Hardee’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King, McDonalds, etc.) be sure to specify which location.
Name (Please Print) Phone (Home)
70. Best Quick Food Restaurant
74. Best Coffee Shop Restaurant or Store 75. Best Pancake and Waffles Restaurant 76. Best Deli Subs Restaurant or Deli 77. Best Hot Dogs Restaurant or Grill 78. Best Hamburgers Restaurant or Grill
53. Best Appliance Store Business
79. Best Barbeque Restaurant
54. Best Pawn Shop Business
80. Best Fried Chicken Restaurant
55. Best Mattress Dealer Business 56. Best Heating & Cooling CO. Business 57. Best Preschool or Day Care Center 58. Best Book Store 59. Best Hotel/Bed & Breakfast Business 60. Best Photography Business
81. Best Hushpuppies Restaurant 82. Best Soups Restaurant or Grill 83. Best Salad Bar Restaurant or Grill 84. Best Mexican Restaurant Restaurant or Deli 85. Best Pizza Restaurant or Delivery Service 86. Best Steaks Restaurant
61. Best Golf Course Business
87. Best Seafood Restaurant
62. Best Veterinarian Business
88. Best Iced Tea Restaurant or Grill
63. Best Massage Therapist Name
89. Best Ice Cream/Milkshakes Location
65. Best Interior Designer/Decorator Name
(Day)
69. Best “Southern Style” Meal Restaurant
73. Best Chinese Food Restaurant
52. Best Plumbing Company Business
RULES FOR ENTRY
68. Best Value Meal Restaurant
72. Best Italian Food Restaurant
51. Best Manufactured Homes Business
4. No mechanical reproductions (copies) of “answered ballots” will be accepted. 5. All answers must be applicable to Rutherford County for eligibility.
67. Best Home-Cooked Breakfast Business
71. Best French Fries Restaurant
64. Best Insurance Company Name
46. Best Groomer Business
66. Best Restaurant Restaurant
90. Best Desserts Restaurant, Deli or Bakery
6. Send your completed entries to “The Best of Rutherford County” 601 Oak Street, Forest City, NC 28043 7. Ballots must be received by December 29, 2009 8. One entry per person. 9. Must be 18 years or older to participate.
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14
— The
Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009
WASHINGTON
At the White House, Christmas not for ‘sissies’ By NANCY BENAC
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — Christmas at the White House isn’t for sissies. Take quantities that might work in a private home — guests, cookies, parties, cards, whatever — and add some extra zeros to get a feel for a White House-sized holiday season. As in 50,000 guests, 28 parties and open houses, a couple hundred thousand holiday cards and untold quantities of cookies, cakes, brownies, truffles and the like to feed the Obamas’ holiday throng. “They eat like crazy,” says former White House executive chef Walter Scheib, who cooked for the masses under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. “Christmas at the White House is the single most mentally and physically challenging thing that you can do.” Scheib said the staff used to joke during the holidays about “White House flextime” — when “you can work any 100 hours you want this week.” As far back as October, pastry chef Bill Yosses’ team was plotting strategy and going over drawings for this year’s gingerbread house — a 390-pound behemoth whose construction required the use of a band saw. Before Halloween, Yosses already was joking about doing “mental push-ups” to prepare for the coming holiday season. Yosses’ shop stockpiles mounds of cookie dough in the freezer to keep up with day-to-day demand for holiday sweets. His rule of thumb for receptions: four bite-size dessert items per guest. (Some of which are discreetly slipped into purses and go home as souvenirs.) This year’s menu for the White House dessert buffet table: lemon layer cake,
Associated Press
Trees are decorated in the Cross Hall during the first Christmas of President Barack Obama and the first family at the White House in Washington. This year’s trees feature “recycled” ornaments from presidents past that were shipped all over the country to community groups, which redecorated them with scenes of local landmarks.
brownies, assorted cookies, pecan pralines, pumpkin pie, chocolate truffles, and more. Roland Mesnier, one of Yosses’ predecessors, says he always tried to sock away enough dough for 120,000 cookies and sweets by Dec. 1. “If I did not have that, I would be in trouble,” Mesnier said. Michelle and Barack Obama, meanwhile, might want to stockpile hand sanitizer: There’s a whole lot of handshaking going on at all those parties and receptions — although White House aides say the Obamas are doing away with formal receiving lines and posed photos with each guest at some events to accommodate more people. The jockeying for a White House invite is intense
enough to sorely test any host’s holiday spirit. Speculation over who’ll get to attend the president’s Hanukkah party, for example, has been swirling in Jewish publications since mid-November, along with grousing that the party’s size is down from last year’s 800 guests. About 500 will attend this year, about the same number as in earlier years in the Bush administration, according to White House aides. Overall, about the same number of guests will visit the White House this holiday season as in years past, although there will be a slightly smaller number of parties and receptions, according to White House aides. One complicating factor
this season is tighter scrutiny of who’s getting in the door. Washington still is abuzz over how a couple of aspiring reality TV stars managed to talk their way into the first state dinner of the Obama White House last month. After investigating what went wrong, the White House promised to station its own staff at checkpoints to help the Secret Service determine who is cleared for entry. Also new: This year’s party schedule has been adjusted to accommodate a first family with young children. There are fewer weekend parties and more daytime receptions during the week, when 8-year-old Sasha and 11-year-old Malia are off at school. And, in tight economic
times, it wouldn’t do to look too extravagant. So this year’s trees feature “recycled” ornaments from presidents past that were shipped all over the country to community groups, which redecorated them with scenes of local landmarks. It was part of what staff described as an effort by the Obamas to ensure a frugal and environmentally friendly holiday season. Overall, there appear to be fewer trees and decorations this time than in some overthe-top years past, and the same is true of the Christmas card list. Several hundred thousand have been mailed out, paid for by the Democratic National Committee. That compares with 1.5 million sent out by George W. Bush in 2003, paid for by the Republicans. Mrs. Obama’s office did not reveal the cost of this year’s holiday festivities, but said a standard amount for holiday entertaining is set aside in the White House budget. And each year, costs are held down by a host of volunteers clamoring to help dress up the White House. This year’s volunteers included Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys New York. He helped design the displays. Like the Obamas, past presidents and first ladies have set a thrifty tone in austere times. Betty Ford went with a patchworktrimmed tree for 1974, and distributed instructions so families around the country could make their own decorations. Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961 began the tradition of establishing a decorating theme for White House Christmases, selecting “The Nutcracker Suite.” This year’s theme is “reflect, rejoice, renew,” which is embroidered on the blue ribbons used to hang ornaments.
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The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009 — 15
WASHINGTON/WORLD
Obama to note irony of war at Peace Prize By BEN FELLER Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will accept the world’s best-known peace award by explaining what it means to wage war, an incongruity that has weighed on him and that he will take on directly when he receives the Nobel Peace Prize, White House officials say. The president is dashing to Oslo in an overnight flight, in time to be there for today’s award ceremony and banquet, and not much more. His minimalist approach reflects a White House that sees little value in touting an honor for peace just nine days after Obama announced he was sending 30,000 more troops to the war in Afghanistan. The contrast has been stark for weeks. Obama won the award in early October, just as his review of a revamped war plan was intensifying. He and two speechwriters pivoted attention to the Nobel address the very day after Obama announced he was escalating the U.S. forces in Afghanistan to their highest levels. So Obama, honored for strengthening international diplomacy, will use his speech to discuss what goes into the decision to expand a war. Asked if Obama was excited about the award, national security aide and speechwriter Ben Rhodes responded: “I think he feels as if it places a responsibility upon him.” “It’s the company that you keep as a Nobel laureate that I think makes the deepest impression upon him,”
said Rhodes, who is helping craft the president’s speech. “That kind of adds an extra obligation to essentially extend the legacy.” The president is expected to outline his vision of American leadership and emphasize the responsibilities of all nations to advance the cause of peace. He was considering lots of ideas for the speech and was likely to winnow them and hash out a final draft aboard Air Force One on the flight to Norway, where the peace-award-inwartime irony hasn’t gone unnoticed. Peace activists in the Norwegian capital plan a 5,000-person anti-war protest on Thursday. Protesters have plastered posters around Oslo featuring the image of Obama from his iconic campaign poster, altered with skepticism to say, “Change?” Demonstrators plan to gather in sight of Obama’s hotel room balcony, where he is expected to wave to a torch-lit procession in his honor, and chant slogans playing on Obama’s own slogans, foremost among them: “Change: Stop the War in Afghanistan.” Obama’s selection for the award by the Norwegian Nobel Committee was such a stunner that even the White House had no idea it was coming. Obama quickly said he didn’t think he deserved it, and that it was really meant to boost a new U.S. approach to world affairs. The list of Nobel peace laureates over the last 100 years includes transformative figures and giants on the world stage. They include heroes
Associated Press
President Barack Obama announces funding of nearly $600 million from the Recovery Act that will benefit community health centers nationwide, Wednesday in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House in Washington. He left for Oslo, Norway, last night to attend the Nobel Peace Prize presentation.
of the president, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, and others he has long admired, such as George Marshall, who launched a postwar recovery plan for Europe. Obama is writing much of the speech himself. He has been reading the Nobel speeches by past winners to help shape his thinking. Amid the enormous worldwide reaction to Obama’s win, the prevailing response was almost confusion: He won for what, exactly? The Nobel panel cited Obama’s work toward freeing the world of nuclear weapons, combatting global warming, embracing international institutions and leading based on values shared by most of the people around the world. On that front, he was deemed nothing less than “the world’s leading spokesman.” But back home in a nation strug-
Ireland makes major cuts DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland slashed pay for state workers, cut welfare benefits and imposed new environmental taxes on fuel Wednesday as it unveiled a record euro4 billion ($6 billion) in budget cuts to combat a runaway deficit. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said about 400,000 state workers — a fifth of the country’s work force — would suffer pay cuts ranging from 5 percent to 15 percent and Prime Minister Brian Cowen will cut his salary a full 20 percent. The plan — Ireland’s biggest budget cut in history — aims to save more than euro1 billion ($1.47 billion) in salary expenses alone next year. “By taking the difficult but necessary measures now, we will rebuild our nation’s self-confidence here at home and our reputation abroad,” Lenihan said. Lenihan said the drastic measures were needed to put a dent in a deficit projected to top euro22 billion ($32 billion) this year, to restore Ireland’s lost competitiveness as a base for foreign investment in the 16-nation euro currency zone and to stop a rise in unemployment that has reached 12.5 percent. “Our prices are still among the highest in Europe. Over the last decade, wages have gone up 70 percent, well above the euro-area average. Put simply, we have priced our-
selves out of the market,” he told lawmakers. “We will not be able to stem the hemorrhage of jobs until our prices and the costs of doing business here move down in line with those of our main trading partners.” The finance chief also unveiled euro760 million ($1.1 billion) in annual cuts for Ireland’s relatively generous welfare system, while the struggling health service also suffered a euro400 million ($588 million) cut in services. He also unveiled a new regime of “carbon taxes” on various fuels to generate an additional euro500 million ($735 million) annually. The new taxes will immediately raise the price of all fossil fuels, including gasoline, diesel, coal and even Ireland’s bogcut turf bricks, a major source for generating electricity here. “Changing behavior takes time, but a start has to be made,” he said. Lenihan sought to offer one boost to public morale by cutting taxes on beer, wine and liquor. Ireland has the highest rate of alcohol consumption among major European nations, and sales in pubs and liquor stores represent an exceptionally high percentage of its economic activity. Lenihan said he would restore Ireland’s national sales tax to 21 percent, starting Jan. 1. Earlier this year he raised it to 21.5 percent.
gling with war and recession, the White House is respectfully but quietly viewing this as a one-speech trip, in and out. Obama will not do a full-scale news conference or a traditional post-ceremony interview with CNN. As part of the festivities, Obama will be treated to a torchlit procession and offer remarks at a formal dinner banquet, where he will be joined by Norwegian royalty. Yet Obama leaves Oslo on Friday and will be long gone by the time an elaborate concert featuring celebrity musicians takes place in his honor. The president will travel with his wife, Michelle, but likely not their two daughters. The Nobel honor comes with a $1.4 million prize. The White House says Obama will give that to charities but that he has not yet decided which ones.
Matt Hill
1
#
Sales
In November Congratulations Matt Hill on your continued hard work at Watkins Automobiles. Your dedication to your customers automotive needs has earned you Top Honors for the month of November!
GREAT JOB!
WATKINS AUTOMOTIVE GROUP
269 W. Main St., Forest City (828)245-0128
HOLIDAY
GIFT IDEAS
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16
— The
Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009
WORLD
General predicts Afghan surge to move slowly By ROBERT BURNS and PAULINE JELINEK Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON — Progress against the insurgency in Afghanistan probably will be slower than during the buildup of U.S. forces in Iraq two years ago, and the war will be “harder before it gets easier,” a top U.S. general said Wednesday. Gen. David Petraeus, who executed the Iraq surge in 2007, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he supports the upcoming escalation of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. “While certainly different and, in some ways tougher than Iraq, Afghanistan is no more hopeless than Iraq was when I took command there in February 2007,” Petraeus said. Indeed, he said, the level of violence and number of violent civilian deaths in Iraq were vastly higher than what has been seen in Afghanistan. Petraeus is commanding general of U.S. Central Command, which has responsibility for overseeing US military activities in Central Asia, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as the Middle East. He appeared with Ambassador to Kabul Karl Eikenberry and Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew to answer questions about President Barack Obama’s new plan to send 30,000 more U.S. forces to Afghanistan and begin drawing down by July 2011. Petraeus said he believes that the new policy “will over the next 18 months enable us to make important progress.” Petraeus would not give an estimate of how many years it would take for Afghan security forces to fully assume responsibility for the country’s security. “It is going to be years before they can handle the bulk,” of security duties, Petraeus said. Sen. Dick Lugar, ranking Republican on the committee, said he’s confident allied forces will improve security in Afghanistan, but that the biggest question is whether that will help root out Taliban and al-Qaida havens across the border in Pakistan. “The president has said that the United States did not choose this war, and he is correct,” said Lugar of Indiana. “But with these troop
deployments to Afghanistan, we are choosing the battlefield where we will concentrate most of our available military resources.” “The risk is that we will expend tens of billions of dollars fighting in a strategically less important Afghanistan, while Taliban and alQaida leaders become increasingly secure in Pakistan,” Lugar said. Committee Chairman John Kerry agreed. “Pakistan is in many ways the core of our challenge,” said the Massachusetts Democrat. He praised Pakistan’s military for taking on Pakistani insurgents in offensives of recent months. “Now we are looking for Pakistan to also take on the Afghan Taliban,” al-Qaida and other insurgents in their territory, Kerry added. Petraeus said efforts made by Pakistan over the past year have been the largest and most effective Islamabad has undertaken against internal extremists. That, he said, is “an important step forward” and does help U.S. efforts to degrade extremist groups in the border region Associated Press and to defeat al-Qaida. U.S. Central Command commanding Gen. David Petraeus testifies on Capitol Hill The commander in Afghanistan, in Washington, Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Gen. Stanley McChrystal told the on Afghanistan. Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he believes the Taliban can be defeated; he defined that as weakening the militants to a point that they no longer are capable of threatening the Afghan government. His first objective, though, is to reverse the momentum the Taliban have acquired in recent years. McChrystal cautioned against expecting immediate results, but he said progress should be evident within a year. “Ultimate success will be the cumulative effect of sustained pressure,” he said. While endorsing the president’s plan, the general said he had not recommended Obama’s 18-month building the credibility of the central intervention,” he said. deadline for beginning a pullout and government. In Afghanistan on Wednesday, had preferred that more fresh forces The ambassador said with the Defense Secretary Robert Gates be sent in. right strategy in place the United toured NATO’s new joint command Eikenberry, who had privately States can succeed in Afghanistan, center at the Kabul airport. expressed doubts about sending a but he sounded less absolute than “Getting this place gives us new large number of additional troops, McChrystal. opportunities, especially now that stressed the importance of widen“Our forces and our civilians are there are new forces coming,” he ing the anti-Taliban effort to include trying to help a society that simulsaid. “We’ve got all the pieces coming more U.S. and NATO civilian contritogether to be successful here.” butions to stabilizing the country and taneously wants and rejects outside
‘The risk is that we will expend tens of billions of dollars fighting in a strategically less important Afghanistan, while Taliban and al-Qaida leaders become increasingly secure in Pakistan.’ —Sen. Dick Lugar
Man, dog survive bombing, are reunited
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BAGHDAD (AP) — The owner of a dog that miraculously survived a massive bombing returned to his collapsed home Wednesday to be reunited with his pet, stunning neighbors who thought he was dead. The ginger-colored dog was spotted chained to a roof railing and standing on a wall ledge over the collapsed home after Tuesday’s huge blast near Iraq’s Finance Ministry leveled shops and houses. The attack was part of coordinated bombings around Baghdad that claimed at least 127 lives. “Lots of neighbors thought I was dead,” said Farouq Omar Muhei after his dog, Liza, was carried down to the street and began lapping at a puddle. Iraqi police and rescue officials initially said Muhei and his family were among the victims. But he surprised neighbors when he returned with his 14-year-old son, Omar, after being treated for cuts and other injuries. They were the only family members home at the time of the attack and all his family survived. Only a few portions of the home remained standing. The dog’s water bucket also remained by her side, but was empty when Muhei’s brother, Fuad, climbed over the rubble to unchain the dog and carry her down. The dog was waiting calmly and even yawned as he approached. But Liza appeared to be shaking with joy as she was reunited with Muhei, 46, whose face was laced with cuts.
The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009 — 17 SHOE by Chris Cassat and Gary Brookins
THE GRIZZWELLS by Bill Schoor
BROOM-HILDA by Russell Myers
DILBERT by Scott Adams
GIL THORP by Jerry Jenkins, Ray Burns and Frank McLaughlin
THE BORN LOSER by Art and Chip Sansom
ARLO AND JANIS by Jimmy Johnson
FRANK AND ERNEST by Bob Thaves
EVENING
DECEMBER 10 DSH DTV 7:00
7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30
BROADCAST STATIONS
# WBTV $ WYFF _ WSPA ) WSOC ` WLOS 0 WGGS 5 WHNS A WUNF H WMYA Q WRET Æ WYCW
3 4 7 13 2 12 6 8 97 10
3 4 7 9 13 16 21 33 40 62
News Chro News Inside For Vic Two Busi Payne Euro Fam
265 329 249 202 278 206 209 360 248 258 312 229 269 252 299 241 244 247 256 280 245 296 649 242 307
Criminal The First 48 The First 48 The First 48 Sea Sea The First 48 106 & Park } ››› Coming to America (‘88) Wel Mo’Nique W. Williams Daily Col Ralphie May Dun Dun Tosh. Dun Daily Col Tosh. Dun CNN Tonight Camp. Brown Larry King Anderson Cooper 360 Å Larry King De De De De Ripper Interrogation De De Ripper College Football Awards College Basketball SportsCenter NFL Base College Basketball College Basketball College Football Awards Sport FOX Report O’Reilly Hannity On Record O’Reilly Hannity SEC Gridiron Basketball Basketball ACC Final Poker Final Top 50 } ›› Spider-Man 3 (‘07) Tobey Maguire. Sunny Leag Sunny Leag Groundhog Robin Hood } The Princess Bride (‘87) } ››› My Cousin Vinny Princess A Grandpa } Fallen Angel (‘03) Å } ›› Silver Bells (‘05) Gold Gold House House First First House House House Estate Prop First House House Gangland Gangland Gangland (N) Discoveries Weapons Gangland Grey’s Anat. Grey’s Anat. Recipe for Christmas Will Will Fra Me Odd Spon Mal Mal Chris Chris Lopez Lopez Nanny Nanny Nanny Nanny Unleashed Unleashed TNA Wrestling (N) Å Action MAN Game Game 6:30 } ››› Total Recall } ›› Men in Black II (‘02) } ››› Identity (‘03) Å Name Name } ›› Old School (‘03) Fam Fam Lopez Funny Sein More-Merrier It Happened on 5th Avenue } ››› Fitzwilly (‘67) Love Andy BBQ Pit Chopper Chopper BBQ Pit Chopper BBQ Pit Bones Å NBA Basketball: Celtics at Wizards NBA Basketball: Magic at Jazz John John Chow Flap Total John King King Fam Fam Chick Aqua Spotlight My My My Lights NHL Hockey: Thrashers at Canucks Post NCIS Å House Å House Å House Å Law & Order White Collar Home Videos WWE Stars Home Videos WGN News Scru Scru WWE Stars
8651 8182 8181 8650 8180 8192 8183 8190 8184 8185
Mil Inside Scene Enter Jeop Faith Sein NC My Big Office
Survivor CSI: Crime The Mentalist Com Parks Office Rock Jay Leno Survivor CSI: Crime The Mentalist FlashForward Grey’s Anat. Practice FlashForward Grey’s Anat. Practice Niteline P. Praise the Lord Bones (N) Fringe (N) News Our Ex North Brain Fitness Hollywood Christmas News Holly Best of Pledge Vampire Supernatural News Office
News News News News News Sein BBC TMZ Smi Fam
Letterman Late Tonight Show Late Letterman Late Night Kimmel Night Kimmel Something Frien Frien Jim Charlie Rose Smi Dr. Oz Show Chea BBC Charlie Rose 70s Name Lopez
CABLE CHANNELS
A&E BET COM CNN DISC ESPN ESPN2 FNC FSS FX FXM HALL HGTV HIST LIFE NICK SPIKE SYFY TBS TCM TLC TNT TOON TS USA WGN-A
23 17 46 27 24 25 37 15 20 36 38 16 29 43 35 40 44 45 30 42 28 19 14 33 32 -
118 124 107 200 182 140 144 205 137 133 187 112 120 108 170 168 122 139 132 183 138 176 437 105 239
PREMIUM CHANNELS
MAX ENC HBO SHO STARZ
510 520 500 540 530
310 340 300 318 350
512 526 501 537 520
Plnet Ape } ››› Crimson Tide (‘95) } ›› Street Kings (‘08) Max Payne Bird-Wire } ›› Desperado :45 } ›› Toy Soldiers :40 } › Redline The Time Machine Sher } › Fool’s Gold (‘08) Å Real Sex (N) Joe Buck Transsiberian Dexter Expelled: No Intelligence } ››› 3:10 to Yuma (‘07) :05 } ›› The International You Don’t Mess Crash Å } Quarantine
Be smart, but don’t show-off Dear Abby: Your advice to “Smart Seventh-Grader” (Sept. 26) was supportive, but did not address the heart of her problem. Many years ago I was that little girl. No one had explained to me there is a difference between knowing the answer to the teacher’s questions and knowing how to THINK. Her teachers and friends already know she knows all the answers. She has nothing to prove, so you should have told her to set herself an intellectual goal of asking questions in class that will spark the imaginations of other students and deepen the discussion. When she can’t do that, she can sit quietly and let the teacher interact with others who don’t already know all the material. If she does, her teachers will bless her today, and she will bless you for the rest of her life. No one likes to be around a knowit-all, and the sooner she learns that lesson the happier she’ll be. — Barbara Dear Barbara: While I hate to see any child hide his or her light under a barrel, you are right about the importance of children developing social and coping skills. I received a blitz of e-mail from teachers and parents who echoed your sentiments. Read on: Dear Abby: Does she raise her hand to answer every question the
Dear Abby Abigail van Buren
teacher asks? Some kids are intimidated by it, so she should limit herself so others also have a chance to answer. They need a chance to shine, too. — Teacher Dear Abby: As a child, grades came easily to me, and sometimes other kids made fun of me for being so smart. I purposely missed answers on tests at times to avoid getting a perfect score and being teased. I wanted to fit in. I began hiding the gifts and talents God had blessed me with. I was granted another gift — a daughter who was blessed with a beautifully intelligent mind and reminded me of myself as a child. I saw her watch my every step and try to be like me. It was then that I realized I had to own and embrace my intelligence or she would hide hers and allow others to steal it away piece by piece. NEVER hide your God-given talents to make someone else feel better. When people tease you about being smart, they’re showing their own insecurity. — Older and Wiser
Elderly woman faces polycythemiavera Dear Dr. Gott: A friend of mine has been diagnosed with polycythemia vera. She is 71 years old and in good health. Fifteen years ago, she had deep vein thrombosis and took warfarin for three months. She now takes an 81-mg aspirin every day, and she took quinine until it was removed from the market. What is polycythemia vera? Dear Reader: This is a disorder in which there is an overproduction of red blood cells in the blood and bone marrow. The result is, thicker blood that can’t flow as freely as it should through small blood vessels. The liver and spleen can also produce excess blood cells, resulting in bleeding problems, possible clot formation and an enlarged spleen and liver. A person may not experience any symptoms for years and may be unaware of the condition unless routine laboratory testing is performed. Weakness, fatigue, night sweats, headache and shortness of breath
PUZZLE
Ask Dr. Gott Dr. Peter M. Gott
may be present. There may be bleeding from the gums and more profuse bleeding from small cuts than that experienced previously. Vision may be affected, resulting in flashes of light or blind spots. A blood clot may form. A sense of fullness of the abdomen may be apparent. The additional red blood cells also have a connection with kidney stones, gout and stomach ulcers. Diagnosis can generally be made through laboratory testing. When polycythemia vera is present, the level of protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells and the percentage of red blood cells in the blood will be abnormally high.
IN THE STARS
Your birthday, Dec. 10;
The year ahead could hold more significant changes for you. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) - Set your mind on an objective you desire to achieve and act. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) - Focus only on teaming up with those associates who are pertinent. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) - Do not reduce or modify your material aspirations. PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) - Anything to which you put your mind should work out quite well for you. ARIES (March 21-April 19) - Once you’ve settled on a plan of action, you’re not likely to waste any time. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) - You’re in a brief cycle where change of any kind isn’t likely to disrupt. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) - There will be a competent ally who possesses information you don’t to assist you. CANCER (June 21-July 22) - Because of your positive mindset, those ambitious objectives of yours can be gratified. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) - Now is the time to take stock of all those many projects that you’ve considered doing. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) - One or more financial situations you’re in could rake in some cheddar. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) - Whether you succeed or fail at anything is determined in you own mind. Today the aspects are working in your favor, so see yourself as a winner and you will be. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) - This is one of your better days for being able to apply extra effort toward achieving a meaningful goal you have. Get on board and don’t let any frivolous endeavor sidetrack you.
18— The — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009 18 Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, THURSDAY, December 10, 2009
NATION
Chicago man says he’s not part of deadly attack By MIKE ROBINSON AP Legal Affairs Writer
CHICAGO — A Chicago man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he conspired in the November 2008 terrorist attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai that left 166 people dead. At an arraignment that lasted about three minutes, 49-year-old David Coleman Headley pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts against him, including charges that he also planned a terrorist attack on a Danish newspaper. He could get the death penalty if convicted of the most serious charge. Headley told U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber that he understood the charges and was waiving any indictment in the case.
He was charged Monday in a legal document called a criminal information, which typically signals a plea deal. After entering his plea, Headley was led away by a phalanx of marshals. Headley is accused of making five trips to Mumbai and conducting surveillance on the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, a landmark called Nariman House and a large train station, all of which were struck by terrorists. Prosecutors say he answered to the Pakistanbased militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, whose operations are mainly focused on the long-running friction between Pakistan and India over the disputed territory of Kashmir. Authorities in Washington say Headley is cooperating with the government. But his
attorneys, John Theis and Robert Seeder, told reporters after the hearing that they would not comment on a possible defense strategy. “We will not be adding anything to what the government has said,” Theis said. He said the defense would review the evidence but would not comment on the substance of the case. It is the second time in recent years that Theis is representing a witness who is cooperating with the government in a high-profile case. He was the defense counsel for Nicholas Calabrese, described by federal prosecutors as the only “made” member of the Chicago mob to become a witness. Testimony from Calabrese was instrumental in the government’s success in the 2007 Operation Family
Secrets trial, the city’s biggest mob trial in decades. Seeder told reporters he was added to Headley’s defense team because federal law calls for a second attorney in cases that could result in capital punishment. Leinenweber gave prosecutors until Jan. 8 to turn over key evidence to the defense attorneys. He set a status hearing for Jan. 12. Headley was arrested by FBI agents at O’Hare International Airport on Oct. 3 as he was about to board a plane for Philadelphia. The government says he was believed to be headed to Pakistan afterward to confer with collaborators. Two other men have been charged in the case. Chicago businessman Tahawwur Hussain
Rana, 48, a Pakistaniborn Canadian national, is charged with providing material support to terrorists in the planned attack on the Danish newspaper. The paper, Jyllands-Posten, published a dozen cartoons in 2005 that depicted the Prophet Muhammad and set off protests in the Muslim world. Prosecutors say Rana, the owner of an immigration service, made travel arrangements for Headley as he moved around the world to plan the Denmark attack. Rana and Headley were once schoolmates. A retired major in the Pakistani military, Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, is charged separately with coordinating surveillance on the Danish newspaper. His whereabouts are uncertain.
CLASSIFIEDS Contact Erika Meyer to place your ad! Call: 828-245-6431 Fax: 828-248-2790 Email: emeyer@thedigitalcourier.com In person: 601 Oak St., Forest City 1 WEEK SPECIAL
DEADLINES: New Ads, Cancellations & Changes Tuesday Edition.............Monday, 12pm Wednesday Edition......Tuesday, 2pm Thursday Edition......Wednesday, 2pm Friday Edition...............Thursday, 2pm Saturday Edition................Friday, 2pm Sunday Edition......................Friday, 2pm
Please check your ad on the first day that it runs. Call us before the deadline for the next edition with corrections. We will rerun the ad or credit your account for no more than one day.
Apartments
Apartments
Apartments
Richmond Hill Senior Apts. in Rfdtn 1BR Units w/handicap accessible units avail. Sec 8 assistance avail. 287-2578 Hours: Mon., Tues., & Thurs. 7-3. TDD Relay 1-800-735-2962 Equal Housing Opportunity. Income Based Rent.
Classic & charming
2 & 3BR Close to downtown Rfdtn. D/w, stove, refrig., w/d hook up. No pets! 287-0733
at 433 E. Main St., Forest City $475/mo.
Call 828-447-3233
SUBSCRIBE
ROSEDALE PHASE I APARTMENTS 121 Holly Lane Forest City, NC 28043 Family Households
1 BEDROOM APARTMENTS Units for Persons with Disabilities Available Section 8 Accepted
Please Call (1) 828-245-3417 TDD/TYY # (1) 800-735-2962 “This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer”
1 & 2 BEDROOM APARTMENTS Some with free utilities! Ask about NO DEPOSIT! Call 245-0016 leave message Special $100 dep.! 1, 2 & 3BR Nice, large Townhomes Priv. decks, w/d hook up. Water incld.! Starting at $375/mo. 1-888-684-5072
Nice 2 Bedroom Townhouse Apt & 1 Bedroom Apt across from Super 8 Motel in Spindale $385/mo. & $515/mo. Call 828-447-1989
Homes For Sale
NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having qualified as Administrator of the estate of FRANCES JEANETTE LAUGHTER of Rutherford County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the estate of the said FRANCES JEANETTE LAUGHTER to present them to the undersigned on or before the 10th day of March 2010 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment. This is the 10th day of December, 2009. Wallace Ronald Laughter, Administrator 147 Union Road Rutherfordton, NC 28139
1BR/1BA Owner financing with down payment! Central heat & air, 2 out buildings. $32,000 Call 657-4430
SELL OR RENT YOUR PROPERTY IN THE CLASSIFIEDS!
CALL TODAY
TELLER SPECIALIST Premier Federal Credit Union is seeking an individual with financial and or retail sales experience to join our team as Teller Services Specialist. Candidate must have strong verbal and communication skills, one who is comfortable and confident in cross-selling products and services. Be proactive in communicating the benefits of the services we offer our members. Qualified candidates should be self-motivated, energetic, work with a sense of urgency and be passionate about helping our members.
All candidates will be required to complete an on-line application at www.premeirfcu.org under Career Opportunities.
2 WEEK SPECIAL
Run ad 12 consecutive days and only pay for 9 days*
3 DAY WEEKEND SPECIAL
YARD SALE SPECIAL
Run a 20 word yard sale ad Thurs., Fri., & Sat. for ONLY $20.
*4 line minimum on all ads
Apt. with storage garage. Clean 2 Bedroom Brick
Run ad 6 consecutive days and only pay for 5 days*
Additional words are only 75¢ each. Deadline: Wed. at 2 p.m.
Homes
Mobile Homes
For Sale
For Rent 2 & 3BR in quiet park Convenient location in FC. Background check req. 287-0053
GREAT STARTER in Cleveland County! 3BR/1BA Brick ranch w/great features - brick fireplace in family room, large eat-in kitchen, hardwoods, in-ground pool, large fenced backyard, swing set and 2 storage sheds remain. $94,900 #45277 Coldwell Banker Mountain View Real Estate Contact Marsha Brown 704-284-0137
Homes For Rent 4BR/1.5BA 2,600 sqft., full basement w/out bldg. Sandy Mush area $700/mo. 429-7408 Large 3BR/1BA w/lg. yard in Rfdtn. $550/mo. 2BR/1BA w/laundry in Rfdtn. $400/mo. 625-5554 3BR/1BA on Arlington St. in FC. $500/mo. + $300 sec. dep. No pets! 1-877-629-7042
Mobile Homes For Rent MUST SEE! Like new
3BR/2BA in Rfdtn. $650/mo. + securities. 748-0658 or 286-1982
2BR/2BA on large lot in Rfdtn area. Refrig. & stove. $375/mo. + $300 dep. 286-4333 2BR/2BA in nice area Stove, refrig. No Pets! $380/mo. + deposit Call 287-7043 2BR in Chase area $325/mo. + deposit. No pets! 828-223-1030 or 657-1828 after 6pm (2) Small 2BR in Pinewood Village. 1st months rent. No dep., no outside animals. $250/mo. 980-5288
2BR & 3BR Stove, refrig., cable, lawn service & trash incld. $260-$350/mo. + dep. No cats! Long term only! Call 453-0078
or 429-8822 Single wide Shiloh: 2BR/2BA No Pets! $425/mo. + $300 dep. 245-5703 or 286-8665
Help Wanted Mountain Creek Baptist Church in Gilkey, NC is searching for a part time Youth Pastor. Send resume to: 710 Mountain Creek Rd., Rutherfordton, NC 28139 by 01/15/2010.
*Private party customers only! This special must be mentioned at the time of ad placement. Valid 12/7/09 - 12/11/09
Help Wanted
Autos
Lost
Immediate openings in Rutherford Co. for Substance Abuse Counselors & Mental Health Therapists. LCSW,
Buying JUNK CARS at reasonable rates! Will pay the best that can be paid based on current junk price. Call 828-447-4944
Male Gray/silver Weimaraner 6mo. old, 30 lbs., red collar Lost 12/3 in Ellenboro, Soco Gap Rd. 429-0176
LPC, CCS, LCAS or CSAC preferred.
Fax resumes to: 828-245-2548 Local Advertising Sales Commissions from $40-$100 per sale plus residuals. Call 286-0741 lv. msg.
For Sale King size bedroom suite, Kenmore washer/dryer, white baby crib. All like new. 248-1041 or 289-5980
Want To Buy
WILL BUY YOUR JUNK
Pets Adorable Pit Bull/ Terrier pups 4 female, 1 male $50 ea. Good home only! 429-9176 Free to a good home Pit Bull/Boxer mix Black & white, 7 wks. old. 828-980-4496 or 828-248-3057 Free to good homes 4 Kittens 8 wks. old, very sweet, cuddly & playful. Litter box trained. 828-582-6884 Free: Adorable Kittens Male & female May be able to provide spay, neutering and shots. 828-202-5760
Cars & Trucks
Lost
Call 223-0277
M German Shepherd/ chow mix Brown/black, long hair, has collar. Lost 11/12 FC/Caroleen area. Call 429-5103
Pick up at your convenience! I PAY CASH FOR DIABETIC TEST STRIPS Up to $10 per 100 ct. Call Frank 828-577-4197
Autos
Black & tan med. size dog Lost 12/3 in Rfdtn on 108 & Pleasant Hill Church Rd. If found please call 288-8155
18” chrome Pasatti rims & tires, 5 lug Universal pattern. Like new! $600 Call 748-0174 or 248-1662
HEARING AID in Forest City. Lost Saturday, Dec. 5th. Reward! 245-6979
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Lake Structure Appeals Board Town of Lake Lure The Lake Lure Lake Structure Appeals Board will hold its monthly meeting at the Town of Lake Lure Municipal Center, 2948 Memorial Highway, Lake Lure, North Carolina on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 1:30 p.m., or shortly thereafter, to consider the following: (1) LSA-2009002, a request by Eric Kunath, agent for Lemuel and Sandra Oates, to exceed the maximum projection into the water as required in section 94.05 (B) of the Lake Structure Regulations. The property (Tax PIN 1645292) is located at 216 Pier Point Drive, Lake Lure, North Carolina.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having qualified as Executor of the estate of VERA G. BIGGERSTAFF of Rutherford County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the estate of the said VERA G. BIGGERSTAFF to present them to the undersigned on or before the 10th day of March 2010 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment. This is the 10th day of December, 2009. Delores G. Hanser, Executor PO Box 698 Bostic, NC 28018
Found 2 female dogs, Bostic area, 1 gray poodle mix, 1 black/tan terrier mix, blue bandana collars. 245-9303
Miscellaneous I WILL TAKE YOUR JUNK OR SCRAP METAL Call 287-5517
Yard Sales BIG Forest City 157 Hazelwood Dr. (off Butler Rd.) Saturday 7A-until Christmas, clothes, printer. Too much to mention! CHRISTMAS SALE Local Pottery by Diane Holland Fri. & Sat. 9A-5P Miller Rd. (off Hwy 108, 1 mi. from Hospital) CRAFT SHOW & YARD SALE Rfdtn: 280 Debby Lane (off Poors Ford Rd.) Fri. & Sat. 7A-2P 289-1967 MOVING Mooresboro: 135 Olive Drive (intersection of Hwy 120 and Business 74) Sat. 7A-until Baby, children, adult clothes, maternity, toys INDOOR CHRISTMAS/YARD SALE Boiling Springs 407 N. Main St. in the shop bldg. (near Hamrick O’Shields, across from mexican restaurant, look for sale sign) Sat. 7A-til Christmas wreaths/ arrangements (great gifts) $20 & under, 2 cherry sitting chairs w/floral pattern $20 ea., Christmas dishes (set of 4, new in box) $5, boys clothes 3-4T .50 ea., h/h, plum colored formal dress sz 7/8 only $15, more!
The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, THURSDAY, December 10, 2009 — 19
WEB DIRECTORY Visit the advertisers below by entering their Web address
AUTO DEALERSHIPS
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(828) 245-6431 www.thedigitalcourier.com
(828) 286-1311 www.keeverrealestate.com
To List Your Website In This Directory, Contact The Daily Courier Classified Department at (828) 245-6431 Erika Meyer, Ext. 205
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20
— The
Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, Thursday, December 10, 2009
world Atom smasher creates collisions
GENEVA (AP) — The world’s largest atom smasher has recorded its first high-energy collisions of protons, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. Physicists hope those collisions will help them understand suspected phenomena such as dark matter, antimatter and ultimately the creation of the universe billions of years ago, which many theorize occurred
as a massive explosion known as the Big Bang. Two beams of circulating particles traveling in opposite directions at 1.18 trillion electron volts produced the collisions, she said. The Atlas “experiment,” one of four major detectors in cathedral-sized rooms in the collider’s underground tunnel at Geneva, had part of its equipment turned on and could register collisions.
‘Tear down this wall’
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BIrTHDay CalenDar to be published the first of January. Submit birthdays for January by December 28th
A Palestinian demonstrator hurls a stone from the top of the separation barrier at Israeli soldiers, not seen, during a demonstration against the barrier in the West Bank village of Nilin near Ramallah Wednesday.
Settlers mass in protest against housing freeze By ARON HELLER Associated Press Writer
Send to: The Daily Courier Attn: Birthday Calendar 601 Oak Street Forest City, NC 28043
JERUSALEM — About 10,000 Jewish settlers and backers staged a protest in downtown Jerusalem on Wednesday night in what they said would be the largest show of resistance to the government’s freeze on new housing construction in the West Bank. The protesters gathered outside the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The relatively large turnout on a rainy night reflected support for increasingly fierce settler resistance to the government building ban. Settlers held signs and banners that read, “We will continue to build” and “Stop Iran’s nukes, not our homes.” Settler leader Dani Dayan called the freeze unreasonable. “Not one Jewish home can be built now,” he said. “We are not an obstacle to peace. We make peace more possible.” An area was set aside for those who
Name: Birth Date: your Name: Full address: Phone:
preferred a separation between men and women for religious reasons. Most of the demonstrators were Orthodox Jews, many of them teenagers. Netanyahu announced the 10-month halt in most new West Bank construction late last month in an attempt to restart peace talks, which broke down a year ago. The restrictions infuriated Jewish settlers and their backers in Netanyahu’s hard-line coalition. Government inspectors have been harassed while trying to enforce the ban. The settlers have been struggling to regain their strength since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, uprooting all 8,000 Israelis who were living there. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, himself a settler, said the Jerusalem protest was legitimate. “If someone came to you and froze construction on your house while you were building it, you would also object,” he told Israel Radio
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2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA 4 DOOR 3200 ........$11,995
1999 CADILLAC DEVILLE 4 DOOR 2522A ........ .$6,995
2002 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER 4 DOOR 2654........ $5,890
1998 CADILLAC ELDORADO 2 DOOR 3109 .....$3,995
2006 DODGE MAGNUM 4 DOOR 3330 ......... $10,995
2000 CADILLAC ELDORADO 2 DOOR 3114 ....$7,995
2003 DODGE STRATUS 2 DOOR 1168 ............. . $5,995
1995 CADILLAC FLEETWOOD 4WS 6208 .........$4,995
1999 FORD CROWN VICTORIA 4 DOOR 2821A $4,688
2000 CADILLAC SEVILLE 4 DOOR 3349 ............$4,995
2006 FORD FIVE HUNDRED 4 DOOR 3013A.............$8,995
2007 CHEVROLET IMPALA 4 DOOR 3364......... $11,995
2007 FORD FIVE HUNDRED 4 DOOR 2777 .........$11,760
2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA 4 DOOR 3202 .......$11,995
2000 FORD FOCUS 4 DR SW 2963 ................... $4,995
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2002 FORD EXPEDITION 4 DOOR 2877C .......... $4,995
1999 GMC DENALI 4 DOOR 1322 ................. $7,995
2007 CHRYSLER PACIFICA 4 DOOR 3069 ..... $11,995
2006 DODGE DAKOTA 4 DOOR 2870 ............. $11,995
2003 FORD EXPEDITION 4 DOOR 2806 .......... $12,995
2004 GMC YUKON 4 DOOR 8143 ................ $11,995
1999 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTR 4 DOOR 3012 .$6,995
2007 DODGE NITRO 4 DOOR 3365 ................ $12,995
2005 FORD F 150 EXT CAB 2929 ................... $11,480
2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE 4 DOOR 1030 .... $7,995
2007 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTR 4 DOOR 3086 . $10,995
2006 DODGE RAM TK 3360 .............................. $9,785
2004 FORD FREESTAR VAN 9603A ................... $6,995
2003 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR 4 DOOR 2807 ... $13,995
2005 DODGE CARAVAN 4 DOOR 3308 ............ $7,995
2006 DODGE RAM 1500 4 DOOR 3400 ........... $12,995
2007 FORD FREESTYLE 4 DOOR 3113 ........... $10,995
2006 NISSAN MURANO 4 DOOR 3362 .......... $17,995
2006 DODGE CARAVAN 4 DOOR 3410 ............. $8,995
2005 FORD E-4S0 2 DOOR 2388 ...................... $11,995
2002 FORD RANGER TK 2052 .......................... $7,995
2007 NISSAN TITAN EXT CAB 3306A1 ........... $16,995
2006 DODGE CARAVAN 4 DOOR 2952 ............ $5,995
2006 FORD ESCAPE 4 DOOR 3201 .................. $8,995
2006 FORD RANGER TK 3079 ........................ $8,995
2003 TOYOTA 4 RUNNER 4 DOOR 2171 ....... $13,995
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