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Super Bowl XLIV stage for super offenses to collide Page 1B
SUNDAY, February 7, 2010
Volume XCVI, No. 32
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Former mayor indicted
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PEOPLE
The hues of Copper Rain ACTS ‘House Momma’ at 65
Violation of child pornography laws
By AL WHELESS Daily Dispatch Writer
By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
OXFORD — Former longtime Mayor Allie Ellington is charged in federal court with violating child pornography laws. Suellen Pierce, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, said the prosecution has no comment, but she said the case is on docket call for March 1. A docket call is a court appearance by an attorney or attorneys regarding the status of a case. Ellington, 63, was Ellington a schoolteacher in Charlotte when he was first arrested on state charges nearly two years ago, but the state pulled back from prosecuting. Mecklenburg County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Davis has said although the state charges were dismissed because a probe was not yet complete, Ellington was not off the hook. Ellington was arraigned in federal court on Oct. 28 and released on bond with conditions after a grand jury on Oct. 20 issued a three-count indictment against him. Count one alleges that, in early March 2008, Ellington had an image in his computer of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Counts two and three allege that, in March 2003 and March 2004, Ellington received computer images, also depicting a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The federal case was scheduled to go to trial early last month. Ellington’s court-appointed attorney, Emily Marroquin, said in court documents she could not effectively represent him without a postponement and additionally said he needed more time for possible plea negotiations. Ellington and Marroquin could not Please see INDICTED, page 3A
Daily Dispatch/ASHLEY STEVEN AYSCUE
Somewhat of a still-practicing hippy, Copper Rain, who got her name on a rainy day in an Arizona copper-mining town, helps others help themselves at the ACTS house. Not helping “would be like asking me not to be a redhead.”
City set to vote on accepting offer on Southerland tract By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
The City Council at 7 p.m. Monday is scheduled to vote to accept a $170,940 counteroffer by state Rep. Bill Faison for the cityowned Southerland’s Mill Pond tract in the southeastern part of Vance County. Faison, D-Orange and who is an attorney in Faison Durham, submitted the counteroffer Jan. 12 and no one responded by a Jan. 26 deadline, ending the bidding process that started in the summer. “I thought this was an extremely
beautiful piece of rugged and undeveloped property. And I thought the neatness of it made it very special,” Faison told The Daily Dispatch late last week. Faison said he learned about the property from one of the attorneys in his office, Edward P. Yount, whose mother is former City Councilwoman Elissa Yount. She was one of the early bidders. Faison said he believes this is “one of many very special pieces of property” in Vance County. “And I’m glad to have an opportunity to have access to it by virtue of the bid process,” he said. “I really don’t have any plans” for the property, he said when asked. When asked whether he would fish or hunt on the property, he said, “I’m sure Please see OFFER, page 7A
Living your life well could be the ultimate art form, according to Copper Rain, a 65-year-old free spirit, abstract-painter, dancer, sculptor, writer, philosopher and counselor who uses both her good and bad experiences to help others help themselves at the ACTS House. A former painting contractor, she brush-stroked the interior and exterior walls of homes and businesses in Raleigh and the surrounding area from 1980 to 1994. Before you ask, her 15-year-old mother picked those names because it was raining when she was born in a copper-mining town in Morenci, Ariz., on June 5 in 1944 while her biological father was off fighting in World War II. Rain says she could use any of her eight last names, but doesn’t. Somewhat of a still-practicing hippy, Rain would have little trouble wearing her clothes, long hair, cosmopolitan voice and calm demeanor into a ‘60s party on any given day and fitting right in, without changing a thing. Besides undertaking any special projects in her relatively new career, Rain makes sure the soup kitchen — which has been called “The Hard Times Cafe” — is ready to serve “at brunch” at Area Christians Together In Service at 305 S. Chestnut St. in Henderson. She also supervises the food pantry. “I call myself the ‘House Momma,’ but actually, I’m the assistant to Melvin Green, who is the director,” she said Wednesday during an interview in her office. Several of her oil-paintings hang in the rambling structure. “Anything I can get my hands on becomes art,” she said. A current pastime is carving walking canes and hiking sticks. An on-going one is talking to those who walk into the ACTS Please see COPPER, page 3A
BLUEPRINT FOR henderson’s FUTURE
Panel reviewing plan By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writers
The Planning Board intends by next month to have studied the proposed Comprehensive Plan drawn up to serve as a blueprint for Henderson’s future growth and development. Board Vice Chairwoman Marchita Vann, noting she has not had time to read the document, asked at a recent board meeting whether her fellow board members were going to have the document read and by what date to start making decisions. Board member Jimmie Ayscue suggested his fellow board members have the document read by the next meeting, which is March 1, and the rest of the
board members present agreed to be ready to discuss the document. “So, we’re going to try to digest it,” Vann said. “I’m sure it may take more than one meeting — or a special session — for us to kind of hash through it.” Vann led the meeting in place of an absent Chairman Michael Rainey. Board members Linda Allen and Cornell Manning also were absent from the meeting, which was held Monday afternoon. Planning Director Erris Dunston handed out copies of the draft to the board members present shortly before the start of the Jan. 4 board meeting. A council-appointed steering committee, with help from business and community leaders, citizens and officials, Please see PLAN, page 7A
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Today
Creedmoor
Mostly sunny
High: 37, Low: 21
Monday Mostly sunny
High: 41, Low: 26
Ruth R. Braswell, 81 Gordonsville, Va. Mae S. Stephens, 65 Henderson Mary Helen P. Hicks, 71 Mattie W. Kimble, 80
Clorine H. Davis-Jones, 90 Jacques R. Taylor, newborn Oxford Dorothy H. Beach Philadelphia, Pa. Gladys M. Allen, 70
WHEN IS ONE MORE DEVICE TOO MANY? You might be on gadget overload. In today’s Showcase, find out what others think about the new iPad — and the other electronic gadgets in which they’ve invested time and dollars. Page 1C