CMYK Granville, Oxford Web site updates Local News, Page 4A
‘Bark for Life 2009’ — Canine event to fight cancer Community News, Page 6A
Perdue signs law on race bias test in death cases Local & State, Page 7A Good Taste, Page 1C
Braves end Nationals’ winning streak
QB Patrick Pinkney’s Pirates early favorite to win C-USA.
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WEDNESDAY, August 12, 2009
Volume XCV, No. 187
(252) 436-2700
B&G Clubs request for help denied
www.hendersondispatch.com
Heat overcomes four firefighters; SBI to aid probe By AL WHELESS Daily Dispatch Writer
By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
The Henderson City Council, with one dissent, approved a recommendation by City Manager Ray Griffin on Monday evening not to appropriate funds to help the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Central North Carolina. Griffin said that he reviewed the matter at the request of the council and that, while he would not argue with the merits and the benefits of the club, the situation boils down to the lack of available resources. Griffin said sales tax collections, which are the second highest source of revenue in Henderson’s government, continue to be below projections. Additionally, Griffin said that the city has learned from the N.C. League of Municipalities that lawmakers, as part of balancing the state budget, withheld large amounts of beer and wine proceeds intended for counties and municipalities.
Daily Dispatch/ASHLEY STEVEN AYSCUE
Please see B&G CLUBS, page 3A Assistant Fire Chief Steve Cordell radios for additional units Tueday afternoon as a wild fire blazes behind him on the
Garnett Street side of the railroad tracks between Spring Street and Gholson Avenue.
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Weather Today T-storms High: 85 Low: 67
Thursday T-storms High: 83 Low: 70
Details, 3A
Deaths Macon Erman J. Edmonds, 77 Oxford George S. Holmes, 69 Philadelphia, Pa. Mary A. Williams, 86 Warrenton John W. Eaton, 94 Kermit Richardson, 76
50 cents
‘Very unusual’ fire burns shed, woods
Funding needed for after school program at middle school
Index
It took four hours Tuesday afternoon for about 60 city and volunteer firefighters to control a suspicious blaze that burned a storage building, some woods and CSX railroad track ties between South Williams and South Garnett streets. Working in 97-degrees, four firefighters were overcome by heat and had to be treated at the scene by Vance County EMS. The heat index registered 105 degrees. Two ambulances stood by during the operation. Also there were members of Emergency Management. Agents with the State Bureau of Investigation were called in to try to determine how the fire started. Henderson Police officers blocked off numerous nearby streets in the area. Describing the situation as “very unusual,” Chief Danny Wilkerson said the wildfire traveled about 100 yards, but was kept from reaching structures on Spring Street. The hot, smoky fire had a will of its own between 3:30 p.m. — when someone reported it to 911 — and 7:30 p.m., according to Wilkerson. He said the heavy rains in the Please see FIRE, page 4A
Payback due state’s school districts Vance windfall could total over $3.8 million By AL WHELESS Daily Dispatch Writer
Some day, possibly next year, cash-strapped Vance County Schools might be in line for a windfall of roughly of $3,880,540. But, it would be a good idea for local school officials not to hold their breaths until they get it. Vance County and other North Carolina public schools could eventually benefit from a pro-
posed State payback plan for $747 million in school technology funds collected through fines and forfeiture over 9 1/2 years. The time-frame covered by the potential program is from Jan. 1, 1996 to June 30, 2005. It is tied to North Carolina Superior Court Judge Howard Manning’s 2008 ruling that the State illegally withheld the money from the public school systems during that period. According to the judgement, restitution funds will be allotted to schools based on 2008-2009 student population figures. The student numbers for Burke County Public Schools totaled nearly 14,150 during the same fiscal year. Based on the judge’s appropriations, the payback per
student would be $506. Vance County Schools had about 7,669 students in 20082009. At $506 per student, the amount due the school system would be $3,880,540. A bill that would put the payback plan into action was held up Aug. 5 after the General Assembly’s House Judiciary III Committee decided to hold it over until the 2010 short session for changes. The developments were described in information from the North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA). It was provided to The Daily Dispatch Monday by Steven Graham, finance director of Vance County Schools. Years ago, the NCSBA filed a
lawsuit that eventually resulted in the North Carolina Superior Court judgement that the $747 million was unconstitutionally kept from the schools by the State. Senate Bill 269, if it becomes a law next year, would establish a restitution program. It would consist of cameras that would detect speeding violations in highway construction areas and school zones. Seventy-five percent of the collected fines would be used to pay down the 2008 judgement, providing an estimated $47 million a year for school technology. The money is supposed to be used to be used for computer Please see PAYBACK, page 4A
Beacon Light home ownership ‘real risk’ Agent: ‘Responsibility for management on people...who don’t have a lot of experience with being responsible’ By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
The real estate agent representing the owner of the former Obituaries, 4A Beacon Light apartment complex said the owner will pursue home ownership at the property, but maintained there are logistical problems and gambles in doing so. The agent, Vance County Commissioner Terry Garrison, told the Henderson City Council the
process would mean a conversion to condominiums and the need for a homeowners association. And Garrison additionally cited a need for improvements to Garrison the entrance to the property. And Garrison said another problem is the property, located at 318 Boddie St. in the southeast-
ern part of Henderson, is in an area surrounded by many houses worth $25,000-$30,000 and which are rented. The council on Monday evening voted to move ahead with a demolition order on the former Beacon Light, but with terms making clear the city’s willingness to work with the property owner, Sharif Abdelhalim, to give him time to bring the property into compliance with municipal housing
codes and into compliance with a council-majority mandate of home ownership. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-sponsored low-income complex, which dates back to 1973, was closed in 2006 at the request of the previous council after the property had become notorious for crime and unsanitary conditions. The previPlease see BEACON LIGHT, page 3A