CMYK
Oxford looks to annex businesses and industries
Page 9A
SUNDAY, February 14, 2010
Volume XCVI, No. 38
(252) 436-2700
January top cop has magic number
www.hendersondispatch.com
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‘BLOOD DONE SIGN MY NAME’
Oxford story a movie
It’s 2 — and he’s been honored twice by department By AL WHELESS Daily Dispatch Writer
Born in both Vance and Warren counties, Alvis Hawkins has two birth certificates, is on his second tour of duty with the Henderson Police Department, and has just been named Officer of the Month for the second time since returning in 2006. The first award was in March of 2008. Hawkins This one is for January, when Hawkins was one of the highest-producing members of Patrol Section III. The senior police officer completed 18 incident/crash reports, made four misdemeanor and three felony arrests, served 15 warrants, issued 21 verbal/ written warnings during traffic enforcement efforts, made 44 business/citizen contacts and assisted other officer with calls for service. His claim to fame was sealed when he made a vehicle stop in the parking lot of Rose Mart at 101 N. Cooper Drive, based on information he received from Sgt. G.L. Williams. After finding two laptop computers and other merchandise worth a total of $1,300 during a search, Hawkins charged the three occupants with felonious possession of goods stolen from Please see OFFICER, page 3A
Publicity stills from “Blood Done Sign My Name” movie, featuring Nate Parker as Ben Chavis, who in this scene leads his students to the courthouse to watch the murder trial for Henry Marrow, who was killed in Oxford in 1970.
After slaying of Henry Marrow, blacks said ‘no more’ By DAWN BAUMGARTNER VAUGHAN and WILLIAM F. WEST
OXFORD — Tim Tyson’s memoir “Blood Done Sign My Name,” which includes his childhood memories of the murder of Henry Marrow in Oxford in May 1970, is now a movie. Adapted by screenwriter Jeb Stuart (“Die Hard,” “The Fugitive”), who also directed and produced the independent Paladin film, “Blood Done Sign My Name” premiered at the Pan African Film and Arts Festival on Wednesday in Los Angeles. Earlier screenings were held at Hayti Heritage Center in Dur-
ham and last week in Atlanta. It will be released to a wider audience Feb. 19. Tyson’s memoir, which talks about the role of his father, the Rev. Vernon Tyson, as a white Methodist pastor in Oxford in 1970, hit close to home for Stuart. Vernon Tyson is played by actor Rick Schroder in the film. Stuart grew up in Charlotte and Gastonia as the son of a Presbyterian minister. Stuart’s father told him being a white pastor during the civil rights era was the most stressful time of his career. Tyson, who teaches at Duke, also wrote about living in San-
ford and Wilmington and his path to becoming a historian in his memoir, but Stuart chose to focus just on Oxford in 1970 rather than telling the story through a child’s eyes. “So much had to do with the sacrifices of the black community in Oxford,” he said. Stuart took some creative license with the narrative, but everything regarding the murder was from the trial record, he said. In “Blood Done Sign My Name,” Marrow, a young black man, was killed after making a comment to a white woman. Father and son Robert and Larry Teel were acquitted.
Stuart didn’t reach out to the Teel family or Ben Chavis, who played a major role — in the film and in real life — in leading black protests in Oxford. Chavis later became the youngest leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), helped organize the Million Man March and, along with rapper Russell Simmons, cofounded the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, which seeks to get the hip-hop generation involved in community development issues. Please see OXFORD, page 3A
COUNTY GOVERNMENT RETREAT
Granville officials facing austere financial future Manager preparing for cuts — even personnel By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
Dads and daughters
Daily Dispatch/EARL KING
About 60 fathers and daughters take turns around the floor Friday night at the third annual father-daughter dinner and dance at the Henderson Family YMCA. Membership director Cynthia Ratliff said the idea behind the event is promoting family. She said most comments came from the fathers, who asked if the dances could be held more often. Ratliff said the YMCA is considering something similar for mothers and sons. Julia Langston, the YMCA special events-special projects director, organized the event.
OXFORD — The Granville County Commission decided Saturday to take a wait-and-see approach before giving specifics about preparing the Fiscal Year 2010-2011 budget. The commission and the county administration want to see the sales tax collection figures from the holiday season and want to know the impact on property taxes after the completion of a state-required reappraisal process. At the same time, County Manager Brian Alligood told the commission he recently met with the county depart-
ment heads to identify more potential financial cuts in the face of flat revenues resulting from the weak national economy. “And we’re not talking about reusing paper clips. We’re talking about $1 Alligood million-$1.5 million we want to identify right now, early on,” Alligood said. “So, we ran that exercise with our folks. And we’ve looked at where we think we can find some significant numbers and we’ll continue to revise that,” Alligood said, adding that nothing is off Please see GRANVILLE, page 9A
>> INSIDE TODAY <<
Index
Weather
Deaths
Our Hometown. . . . . . . . . . . . 2A Quick Take . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5A Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8A Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6B Showcase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1C Light Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7C Real Estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-2D Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6D
Today
Henderson
Partly cloudy
High: 43, Low: 25
Monday
Oxford
Few showers
Josephine Atwater, 85 Clara L. Green, 53 Isaac R. Pegram, 69 Eleanor D. Sigmon, 90
Raleigh Townsville
alentine’s D ppy V ay Ha Winella Green, 88 Weldon B. Curl, 88
Obituaries, 4A THE DAILY DISPATCH
High: 42, Low: 23
Details, 3A
FEBRUARY 14, 2010
Inside Today