CMYK Winter system chills the South
Resolutions, Fed-style
Victory boys and girls fall
Nation, Page 8A
Opinion, Page 6A
Sports, Page 1B TUESDAY, January 5, 2010
Volume XCVI, No. 4
(252) 436-2700
www.hendersondispatch.com
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Currin joins two in sheriff race Draft of 48-year-old said drugs will be No. 1 priority By AL WHELESS Daily Dispatch Writer
Three people, including the incumbent, are now seeking the star worn by Vance County Sheriff Peter White. Billy Currin — an unsuccessful candidate for Vance County sheriff in the May 2 Democratic Primary of 2006
— said Monday that he plans to try again in the same type of party contest on May 4 in 2010. White defeated Sheriff R. Thomas Breedlove by more than 1,000 votes in the May 30 primary run-off more than three years ago. The winner of the new primary will compete in the No-
vember general election against Charles Pulley. The Henderson Police lieutenant announced last week that he Currin will be an unaffiliated candidate because of his ineligibility to file with the Board of Elections this February. “Being a city employee, I
can’t run for any office,” said Pulley, who isn’t scheduled to retire from the department until the end of March. Currin, 48, has worked for the past 16 years in Durham as a driver and salesman for FedEx. Describing himself as the father of a 17-year-old, Currin said his No. 1 priority as sheriff will be reducing the drug Please see SHERIFF, page 3A
WELCOME TO THE WORLD
Boy born Sunday is Vance County’s first baby of the new year
Daily Dispatch/ASHLEY STEVEN AYSCUE
Ana Laura Morales Bolanes, of Henderson, holds her son Joseph Yahir Martinez Morales at Maria Parham Medical Center Monday afternoon. Martinez Morales is Vance County’s New Year’s baby after being born Sunday, Jan. 3 at 1:07 p.m. The baby weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces. Jose Efrain Martinez Cruz is the father of the baby. Joseph is the couple’s first child.
Index Our Hometown . . . . . 2A Business & Farm. . . . 5A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . 6A Light Side . . . . . . . . . 7A Sports. . . . . . . . . . 1-4B Comics . . . . . . . . . . . 5B Classifieds. . . . . . . 6-8B
Weather Today Clouds
High: 35 Low: 20
Wednesday Sunny
$2.9M in stimulus to rehab U.S. 15 By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
OXFORD — That jawrattling U.S. 15 from just north of Industry Drive to Sanders Road will be transformed into a smoother ride in the coming months. The N.C. Department of Transportation said Monday that $2.9 million in stimulus funding will be spent to mill and resurface and to do shoulder reconstruction on 8.4
Details, 3A
Deaths Henderson Percella Campbell, 92 Durham Julia Elizabeth Walker, 86
Obituaries, 4A
side and provides a link with Sanders, which is a serpentine route to Granville Central High School. The school is inaccessible to I-85. The stimulus refers to the Obama administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which is massive federal spending in an attempt to boost the weak national economy. Contact the writer at bwest@ hendersondispatch.com.
Papa gets the OK from Warren Commissioners By DAVID IRVINE Daily Dispatch Writer
High: 38 Low: 21
miles of the two-lane route. The contract was awarded to S.T. Wooten Corp. of Wilson. NCDOT officials said the work could start as early as April 12 and is set to be complete by Oct. 15. The section of U.S. 15 to be targeted passes by the Shoppes at Oxford, which is the home of the new Wal-Mart Supercenter, and provides an interchange with Interstate 85. U.S. 15, after going under I-85, winds into the country-
WARRENTON — In their first meeting of 2010, the Warren County Commissioners authorized the employment of Alfred Papa as Economic Development director for the county. Papa’s appointment was recommended by the Economic Development Commission. With an annual salary of $65,000, Papa will assume his duties Jan. 19. Commissioner Ulysses Ross voted against the appointment. He said that the county has been hiring economic develop-
ment directors at high salaries through the years with no results. A proposed amendment to the Warren County Zoning Ordinance received an unusual amount of attention in a public hearing on the issue prior to the commissioner’s regular meeting. The amendment had been requested by Youth Camps for Christ, an organization that operates Camp Willow Run on Lake Gaston. County Planner/Zoning Administrator Ken Krulik said the result was a collaborative effort to update the ordinance to
make it consistent with current needs of the county. The amendment increased the design capacity of a camp from a maximum of 125 campers to 500 campers and spelled out requirements for parking, clustering of utilities, building height and signage, among other concerns. The amendment was passed unanimously by the commissioners. The commissioners also approved two installment financing packets: 1) for $669,000 for building renovations to the former library building, the Please see WARREN, page 4A
city’s plan goes to board By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
A draft of a comprehensive plan for Henderson through 2030 was placed in the hands of the Planning Board members for them to review and decide next month whether to recommend a final document for approval by the full City Council. Planning Director Erris Dunston handed copies of the draft to the Planning Board members present shortly before the scheduled start of Monday’s Planning Board meeting. Dunston said that a City Councilappointed steering committee spent nearly two years preparing the details, which, if approved by the council, would replace a land use plan dating back to 1974. Dunston, when asked whether the draft is Henderson’s blueprint for the future, said, “It’s the start of that.” Dunston noted the draft is based on 2000 Census data and would have to be updated to reflect 2010 data. The Planning Board quickly approved the lone item on the agenda, which was a request by Gary Lee Jones, of Cary, to subdivide two lots totaling nearly five acres at 2563 N.C. 39 S. Jones said that there is a contract pending and that the reason the property was subdivided was because the buyer could not afford the nearly five acres and instead is buying one of the two lots. No one spoke in opposition. Planning Board member Jimmie Ayscue made the motion, which was seconded by Planning Board member Horace Bullock. Voting yes were Planning Board Vice Chairwoman Marchita Vann and Planning Board members Cornell Manning and Phil Walters. Planning Board Chairman Michael Rainey and Planning Board members Linda Allen, Ricky Easter and Michael Inscoe were absent. The Planning Board meets the first Monday of each month in the City Council Chambers of City Hall, 134 Rose Ave. Contact the writer at bwest@hendersondispatch.com.
Commissioners to lease land to new charter school By AL WHELESS Daily Dispatch Writer
Vance Commissioners agreed Monday night to lease about two acres of the former Vance Manor property to Henderson Collegiate Charter School for a temporary learning site. In return for the land that will allow classes for 100 freshmen to begin next August, the school will pay the county $1 a year for three years. Appearing in front of the commissioners just prior to their unanimous vote were: Nancy Jo Smih, chairwoman of the board of directors; Dr. Cornelius Cathcart, a board member; and Eric Sanchez, co-founder and school planner. Cathcart told the commissioners that the Zoning Board of Adjustment will hold a hearing today on the school’s request for a special use permit. If granted, it would allow the Charter School to operate at the southwest corner of County Home and Health Center roads. Please see COMMISSIONERS, page 4A