CMYK
City, county eye fixing up old armory, bank building
Page 10A
FRIDAY, February 12, 2010
Volume XCVI, No. 36
(252) 436-2700
COOPERATION
Panels discuss joint funding City, county agree on regular meetings
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Crime, schools get blame EDC wrestles with obstacles to growth By AL WHELESS Daily Dispatch Writer
The community’s low selfesteem, high crime rate reputation and unimpressive public schools test scores were some of the issues discussed Wednesday around the HendersonVance Economic Development
By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
Commission’s conference table. Even the negative prose about the area that is sporadically found on Wikipedia in cyberspace drew remarks. The topics — and others — surfaced while the members were trying to come up with ways the board could help overcome obstacles to making the city and the county more attractive to businesses and industries contemplating expansion, building sites or places for
executives and other employes to live. Every eye turned toward Superintendent Norman Shearin — all the way down at one end of the table — after Terry Garrison (seated fairly far away) made some comments about the negative effect of Vance County schools on the situation. Garrison, an EDC member and a county commissioner, said he had heard some influential people gathered for the
recent Seventh District Forum at Vance-Granville Community College say that the public school system’s reputation was keeping some businesses from locating in the county. Shearin lamented aloud the fact that the end-of-grade test scores of his large flock of students are duly recorded for posterity by the State Department of Public Instruction, Please see EDC, page 3A
FORUM ON GANGS in vance
Gangs in '09 committed 15 crimes
The city’s and the county’s intergovernmental affairs committees, after meeting Thursday about joint funding of programs and services, agreed to talk more sometime the middle of next month, with City Manager Ray Griffin and County Manager Jerry Ayscue to develop a quarterly meeting schedule for the rest of the year. After an hour and half of discussion, the leaders from both sides decided to have a >> video at hendersondispatch.com meeting next month because the respective governments will be preparing Fiscal Year 20102011 budgets and because of the county’s plans to go to a countywide water system. The City Council, already concerned about a lean municipal budget, had extensive discussions about the joint funding matter late last month and earlier this week. And one of the city’s chief concerns is about whether the county can beef up both the tax collection rate and the collection of back taxes. Ayscue said the county commission authorized the tax office to utilize foreclosures up to three years, but noted a forecloPlease see JOINT, page 10A
Daily Dispatch/AL CREWS
From left, Sen. Doug Berger, Officer Lamont Burchette, Pastor William Clayton, Craig Turner from the Governor’s Crime Commission and Vance Sheriff Peter White participate in a panel discussion about gangs Saturday afternoon at the Vance County courthouse.
Key to solving problem is funding for more programs By DAILY DISPATCH STAFF
ELECTION FILINGS By DAILY DISPATCH STAFF
Candidates filed Thursday for county and district offices in the May 4 political party primaries. Vance County Sheriff Peter White, a Democrat, filed with the Board of Elections to run for a second fouryear term. District Attorney Sam Currin, a Democrat, has filed to seek re-election to a four-year term as the chief prosecutor for the district comprised of Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties. Additionally, District 7 state Sen. Doug Berger, also a Democrat, is seeking re-election to a two-year term, also in a district comprised of those same four counties. Send comments to news@ hendersondispatch.com.
Melissa Elliott’s message is simple: More needs to be done to keep Vance County’s youth out of gangs. Elliott believes the answer lies in more funding — for intervention and prevention programs in the county. She recently brought her message to more than 60 people at a gang forum sponsored by her organization, Gang Free, and St. James Missionary Baptist Church. Part 2 of Elliott’s forum is scheduled for
noon on March 20 in the county commissioners room at 122 Young St. At Saturday’s forum, Elliott presented the group with statistics about local gang members. According to Elliott, 14 local United Blood gang members and seven hybrid gang members were admitted to the Department of Corrections in 2009. Fifteen crimes, including murder, were attributed to Vance County gang members last year. Elliott pointed to several factors that may be contributing to
local gang involvement. Those include: substance abuse, family criminality, education levels and school behavior problems. “We do have gangs in Vance County; we’re not denying that,” Vance County Sheriff Peter White said Thursday. “Some places want to say they don’t have gangs. But it’s not really out of control at this point — we’re trying to take the lead before it does.” White said the sheriff’s department has three officers who regularly speak at schools about the dangers of gangs.
Sen. Doug Berger, Craig Turner with the Governor’s Crime Commission, and several local law enforcement officials spoke at the forum. The Governor’s Crime Commission develops the criteria for eligibility for funds appropriated for gang prevention and intervention. Last year, the General Assembly approved $10 million to be made available to cities, towns and communities that submit proposals that focus on gang prevention Please see GANGS, page 3A
Use of library increases at new site By DAVID IRVINE’ Daily Dispatch Writer
Since the H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library opened in its new facility on Breckenridge Street in July, 2006, everything about it has increased — except the number of hours it is open to serve the community. The total of 48 hours, during
which the library is open each week, is a 21 percent reduction from the schedule followed when the library was located on Rose Avenue. Potential users can’t get into the library before noon on Monday or Tuesday. And they have to leave by 6 p.m. during the rest of the week, Wednesday through Saturday. The library is not open
at all on Sundays. In spite of the restricted hours, use of the library has increased substantially since it moved into the new building, as shown by comparing statistics for 2005-2006, when the library was in the old building, with statistics for 2008-2009: • The number of registered borrowers increased from
22,692 to 32,192 — an increase of 42 percent. • Total circulation rose from 104,583 to 139,239 — an increase of 33 percent. • Computer use more than doubled, from 17,232 to 40,296 — an increase of 134 percent. • The number of new library Please see LIBRARY, page 3A
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Today
Henderson
Mostly sunny
Oxford
High: 43, Low: 26
Saturday Mostly sunny
Melvin W. Chavis, 77 Sallie K. Peace
Obituaries, 4A
High: 38, Low: 19
Details, 3A
BILL CLINTON HAS HEART PROCEDURE
JUDGE: RELEASE U.S. MISSIONARIES
The former president had two stents inserted to prop open a clogged heart artery after being hosptialized with chest pains. Clinton, 63, “is in good spirits,” an adviser said. Page 6A
The judge deciding whether the missionaries should be tried for attempting to take children out of Haiti recommends they be released provisionally while the investigation continues. Page 8A