CMYK Census briefing for Warren clergy Local & Nation, Page 4A
Former prosecutor opens law office Business & Farm, Page 5A
What GOP can learn from a pizza chain
Artificial attraction Machine-made snow...without usual chills
Opinion, Page 8A
N.C. foreclosures up 17 percent
Duke, N.C. State lose ACC openers
Showcase, Page 1C
Sports, Page 1B
Real Estate, Page 1D
SUNDAY, January 10, 2010
Volume XCVI, No. 9
(252) 436-2700
www.hendersondispatch.com
Raleigh approves contract to evaluate two-lane roadway From STAFF REPORTS
Please see ROUTE 50, page 3A
Oxford authority partner after city restores funding By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
Daily Dispatch/ASHLEY STEVEN AYSCUE
John Soles holds a dust pan Saturday morning while John Rice sweeps up dirt from the floor of the new homeless shelter for men in the basement of First Presbyterian Church. A group of volunteers removed bricks and other materials along with thoroughly cleaning the ceiling, walls and floors in anticipation of moving beds in next week.
Shelter inches toward opening Homeless men could have place to stay by month’s end By DAVID IRVINE Daily Dispatch Writer
Index Our Hometown . . . . . 2A Business & Farm. . . . 5A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . 8A Sports. . . . . . . . . . 1-6B Showcase. . . . . . . . . 1C Celebrate. . . . . . . . 2-4C Books & Leisure . . . . 5C Light Side . . . . . . . 6-7C A to Z Kids. . . . . . . . . 8C Real Estate . . . . . . 1-2D Classifieds. . . . . . . 3-5D
Weather Today Sunny
High: 37 Low: 15
Monday Mostly sunny
The proposed homeless shelter in First Presbyterian Church in Henderson is inching toward an opening date. Joel Rice, housing coordinator for Five-county Mental Health Authority, said the shelter could be open by the end of the month or, if progress is smooth, by Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Rev. Doug Addington, vice-chairman of the Ministers Community Partnership and pastor of West Hills Presbyterian Church, said the original goal was to have the shelter operating by November. However, the zoning issue and building code requirements have delayed the opening. More than a year ago, the Ministers Community Partnership anticipated the need for a shelter — although probably not the Please see SHELTER, page 3A
High: 45 Low: 24
Details, 3A
Deaths
Obituaries, 4A
Daily Dispatch/ASHLEY STEVEN AYSCUE
Volunteers Leon Smith, left, and Carl Lewis Pettiford load bricks into a wheelbarrow Saturday morning to remove them from the inside of the new homeless shelter for men in the basement of First Presbyterian Church.
OXFORD — The City Commission will be considering appointing City Manager Mark Donham as Oxford’s representative on the local Airport Authority Board. The matter is on the agenda for the commission’s 7 p.m. Tuesday meeting. Mayor Al Woodlief at the Monday evening commission Donham agenda meeting cited Donham’s prior experience and said he believed Donham would be a good representative for Oxford. Donham was hired as Oxford’s manager in May 2008 after having been assistant manager of Monroe, which is southeast of Charlotte. While working for Monroe, Donham’s job included directing airport operations. If the City Commission approves the appointment, then Donham would replace Jimmy Brummitt. Donham told the Dispatch that Brummitt requested to be replaced. When the Dispatch asked Donham why Brummitt wanted out, Donham replied, “He’s got a lot of other responsibilities.” City records show Brummitt’s two-year term ended in July. The previous City Commission on Nov. 18, 2008, voted for full funding for a restored partnership on the local Airport Authority Board. The city appropriated $14,022 on top of an already $12,000 amount to get back on the team at the facility, which is off Salem Road just on the Granville County side of the Granville CountyPlease see AIRPORT, page 3A
RR crossing closings comments due review From STAFF REPORTS
Clarksville, Va. Jackie R. Terry, 53 Henderson Edith B. South, 92 John E. Vernon, 82 Norlina Alberta C. Dunson, 95
$1.25
Manager candidate for airport board seat
Route 50 planning study OK’d
The Raleigh City Council has approved a contract with the design firm Kimley-Horn and Associates to conduct a transportation planning study of the N.C. 50 corridor from Interstate 540 toward Creedmoor for the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO). CAMPO, in partnership with the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT), Wake County, Granville County, Creedmoor and Triangle Transit, will evaluate transportation and land use along the hilly, two-lane route. Raleigh’s government made the announcement in a news release Tuesday. The purpose of the study is to explore mid-term and long-term solutions to improve traffic flow between Granville County and Raleigh.
A meeting of leaders and officials is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday at City Hall to review public comments received about the proposed closure of eight railroad crossings in Henderson. During a Nov. 17 workshop at City Hall, the N.C. Department of Transportation got both an earful and written feedback. A group of citizens wants to keep the Harris Street crossing open on the northeast side, while another group of citizens wants to keep the
St. Matthew’s Street crossing open on the south side. Residents say if the Harris Street crossing is done away with, then they would have to use the Main Street crossing, which would mean driving on narrow pavement and past decrepit structures. And residents expressed concern about the ability of Vance County Fire and Ambulance to quickly respond by having to take longer routes. Residents near the St. Matthew’s crossing expressed similar concerns about the impact on
access by emergency and rescue personnel. In addition to the Harris and St. Matthew’s crossings, NCDOT is proposing closing crossings at Spring, Orange, Winder, Rock Spring and Railroad streets and Carolyn Court. A consultant for NCDOT told the Dispatch on Nov. 17 the situation boils down to the presence of redundant crossings, many of which are low volume. Although officials have said the proposal is separate from the bullet train route project, President
Obama in April called for the U.S. to move quickly toward having a high-speed rail system nationwide to ease vehicle bottlenecks and snarls, to help clean up the environment and to conserve fuel. Obama allocated $8 billion of the more than $780 billion federal economic stimulus package for a start on setting up corridors, including the proposed one from Washington to Richmond, Va., through the Carolinas and into Atlanta. Send comments to the newspaper at news@hendersondispatch.com.