CMYK Break-ins charged to city man
Obama pledges to create jobs
Webb’s Mize signs with UNCW
From Page One, Page 3A
State of the Union, Page 7A
Sports, Page 1B THURSDAY, January 28, 2010
Volume XCVI, No. 23
(252) 436-2700
www.hendersondispatch.com
50 cents
Missing bank bag — another problem Bostic
Manning
Morris says he’s indigent Accused of killing wife, man declares he can’t afford an attorney
Will county pay bank fees for citizens who must stop payment on their checks? By AL WHELESS Daily Dispatch Writer
A still-missing bank deposit bag containing more than $52,000 worth of property tax checks is causing yet another problem for the Vance County Tax Office. County Manager Jerry Ayscue said Wednesday it has yet to be decided whether there will be reimbursement of any stoppayment fees that banks might
charge those whose checks have yet to be found. Letters asking people like Lucie Wilson to send replacement checks to the county were mailed out Jan. 15, according to Ayscue. When Wilson recently visited Ayscue’s office, she told him her bank wanted $32 to block payment. She wants the county to pay the fee. Ayscue said Wednesday that Wilson is the only affected tax-
payer who has talked with him about stop-payment fees from banks. First suspected on Dec. 17, the loss of the bag that also contained more than $7,800 in cash wasn’t reported to the Vance County Sheriff’s Office until Dec. 28. Ayscue said Wednesday that no one has been disciplined or fired as a result of the disappearance of the bag. He added that the investiga-
Preparing for the worst
Daily Dispatch/ASHLEY STEVEN AYSCUE
A front-end loader driven by Michael Satterwhite carries a load of salt Wednesday morning from a storage shed to the brine mixer at the NCDOT maintenance yard on Gillburg Road.
Please see MORRIS, page 3A
Index Our Hometown . . . . . 2A Business & Farm. . . . 5A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . 10A Light Side . . . . . . . . 11A Sports. . . . . . . . . . 1-4B Comics . . . . . . . . . . . 5B Classifieds. . . . . . . 6-8B
Weather Today Mostly sunny
High: 58 Low: 30
Friday Snow possible High: 37 Low: 26
Details, 3A
Deaths Creedmoor Mary J. Aiken, 89 Henderson Ruth S. Peel, 58 Rebecca Ann D. Smith, 77 Andre D. Taylor, 33 Oxford Bertie H. Adcock, 87 Roscoe H. Small, 65 Wise Moses Levister, 99
Obituaries, 4A
Contact the writer at awheless@hendersondispatch.com.
Former sheriff in running
By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
OXFORD — Scott Morris on Wednesday declared himself indigent in Granville County Superior Court, meaning he is claiming he is financially unable to pay an attorney to defend him in the case of Morris the alleged slaying of his wife, Kelly Currin Morris. Durham attorney Jerry Clayton made an appearance in court on behalf of Scott Morris. Assistant District Attorney Cindy Bostic objected to Scott Morris filling out a document claiming he is legally destitute. Judge Howard Manning set April 5 to decide the matter of legal representation and to preside at a Rule 24 hearing in which the state will declare the intent to seek the death penalty. District Attorney Sam Currin has already said he wants Scott Morris, if found guilty, to be executed. The judge granted a request by Bostic to declare
tion is ongoing, and all of the facts have yet to be determined. An employee, not identified by name, has served for many years as the courier to make bank deposits for the county. Security measures have been implemented to prevent future losses. Such funds are now transported by Sheriff’s deputies.
Michael Satterwhite dumps salt from the blade of a front-end loader into a brine mixer at the NCDOT maintenance yard. Elton Ross, right, unhooks a hose from a tandem truck after filling the truck’s tank with 1,600 gallons of liquid brine. The NCDOT started pretreating the roads in anticipation of a winter storm expected to hit the TriCounty area Friday night and Saturday. The National Weather Service in Raleigh has issued a winter storm watch for Vance, Granville and Warren counties from 4 p.m. Friday until 6 p.m. on Saturday. Although it is too early to specify exact amounts, it appears that there will be enough cold air to support significant wintry precipitation in the watch area. A winter storm watch is issued when severe winter weather is possible but not imminent, but there is potential for significant snow and/or ice accumulations.
Granville’s Smith declares for county commission seat By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
OXFORD — Former Granville County Sheriff David Smith said he will file qualifying papers Feb. 8 to run for the District 2 County Commission position being vacated by the retiring James Lumpkins. “I’ve been involved with Granville County all my life, in particular the last 37 years, and maybe if I’m elected I can contribute to Granville County in a different light,” Smith, a Democrat, said Wedneday Smith afternoon. Smith, 59, joined the Sheriff’s Department in 1972 as a jailer and worked his way up the ranks to chief deputy sheriff. He was elected the county’s top lawman in 1998. Smith said that, in addition to a work ethic dating back to having grown up on a farm, his qualifications as a candidate for commissioner includes having managed budgets as sheriff. “And I was frugal with the tax dollars and certainly will try to be that way if elected as commissioner,” he added. And he said that, even though he no longer wears the sheriff’s star, he has continued his public service, including as a member of the County Human Relations Commission and as a member of the agricultural Extension advisory board, the Crime Stoppers advisory board, the senior citizens advisory board and the greenways panel. Additionally, Smith is perhaps the most well-known cancer survivor in the county. Smith has said that, in 1999, doctors found “a spot on my lung.” He underPlease see SMITH, page 3A
Navy Band’s Sea Chanters concert ‘sold out’ By DISPATCH STAFF
The U.S. Navy Band’s Sea Chanters concert on Thursday, Feb. 18, is an official “sell out.” The tickets to the concert at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center are free, and they have been distributed to the public on a first-come, first served basis. The public was invited to fill out a form in The Daily Dispatch and send it to the Dispatch with a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
“We have distributed to the public all of the tickets we have available for the show,” said James Edwards, publisher of The Daily Dispatch. The Dispatch and Vance-Granville Community College are hosting the concert for the Navy. “The response from the public has been overwhelming,” he added. “If you mailed us a form and a self-addressed, stamped envelope, we have mailed tickets back to you on a first-come, first-served
basis. If you have not received tickets, it means that we did not have enough tickets to complete your order. “We will save all of the forms and envelopes that have been mailed to us and we will continue to fill orders for tickets if tickets should be returned to us by people who discover they can’t attend the concert,” Edwards said. If the Dispatch is not able to send tickets, the form and envelope will be returned, he said.
Everyone who has a ticket to the show is being asked to be seated by 7:15 p.m. All remaining seats in the Civic Center will be filled as of 7:20 p.m. on a firstcome, first-served basis. “We appreciate this incredible response, and we regret that we can’t seat everyone who has indicated a desire to attend,” Edwards said. Send comments to news@hendersondispatch.com.