CMYK Firm in N.C. sells out, closes facility
N.C. residents plan service for Swayze
Spartans fall to Knights, 5-0
Business & Farm, Page 5A
Nation, Page 8A
Sports, Page 1B FRIDAY, September 18, 2009
Volume XCV, No. 219
(252) 436-2700
Shelter for men planned Zoning change needed for church to host homeless By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
The Planning Board has called a special meeting for 3:30 p.m. Monday, with one of the items to include a request to recommend the City Council amend the zoning ordinance to allow First Presbyterian Church to have a voluntarily-run homeless shelter for men. The Planning Board met this past Monday and, due to a lack of a quorum of city appointed members, could not make any recommendations to the council, prompting the need to meet again. Planning Board Chairman Michael Rainey did, however, allow public hearings and the Rev. Paul Baxley urged support for the shelter. Baxley, of First Baptist Church, doubles as chairman of the Ministers Community Partnership, which has been working with the city leadership since February to address increasing numbers of people identifying themselves as homeless on the steps of churches and at Please see SHELTER, page 3A
Our Hometown . . . . . 2A Business & Farm. . . . 5A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . 6A Public Records . . . . . 7A Light Side . . . . . . . . . 9A Sports. . . . . . . . . . 1-5B Comics . . . . . . . . . . . 6B Classifieds. . . . . . . 7-9B
Weather Today Mostly ... High: 77 Low: 60
Saturday ... cloudy High: 79 Low: 61
Details, 3A
Deaths Henderson Fred M. Alston Jr., 55 Robert Lee Foster, 66 Carl J. Hart, 29 Lillian S. Jones, 94 Zenith A. Weaver, 66 Grace H. Wheeler, 90 Middleburg Maurice J. Durham, 85 Norlina Augusta Williams, 83 Oxford John A. Floyd II, 64 William T. Looney, 40 Wise Maggie B. Plummer, 78
50 cents
Henderson man struck by car dies By GLENN CRAVEN Daily Dispatch Editor
A Henderson man who was struck by a car on Raleigh Road Wednesday evening, has died. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol confirmed Thursday that Robert L. Foster, 66, of 1161 Morgan Road, died of injuries sustained when he was hit by a Toyota Camry driven by 40-year-old Roger Allen Gallagher of 177 Huff Road. Foster stepped out of a
stopped vehicle in a southbound line of cars in the 3200 block of Raleigh Road (near C&P Body Shop) at about 5:20 p.m. Wednesday and tried to cross the street, apparently without looking or at least without noticing the oncoming Camry in the northbound lane. Two witnesses said Foster stepped out from between the stopped vehicles and in front of Gallagher’s Camry such that the motorist “never had a chance” to hit the brakes. One witness
said Foster was knocked almost as high in the air as the wires running between power poles along Raleigh Road. Foster landed roughly 70 feet away from where he was struck. His body was only a few feet behind the car, which veered into the ditch after colliding with the pedestrian and came to a halt only upon striking a culvert. The car’s fender was dented and its windshield smashed in the collision. Both men were taken
by ambulance to Maria Parham Medical Center and Foster was transferred to Duke University Hospital in Durham, where he was pronounced dead. Gallagher according to authorities was in stable condition at the hospital Wednesday, but was undergoing tests to confirm that he would be O.K. Trooper B.E. Pulliam said Thursday that routine toxicology tests on both motorist and pedestrian would be performed as a result of the accident.
The officer also said he was still looking for the driver of the red Dodge pickup that reportedly stopped and dropped-off Foster moments before he was struck and killed. Pulliam said the pickup’s driver gave a first name to first-responders, left the scene (perhaps, some witnesses said, to follow the ambulance to the hospital), and then hasn’t been heard from since. Contact the writer at gcraven@ hendersondispatch.com.w
Early vote begins in Henderson Mayor, 5 ward seats contested for 2-year terms By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
Daily Dispatch/ASHLEY STEVEN AYSCUE
Exhibits from the Vance County Historical Museum collection will soon be on display at Ashland Plantation, above. The oldest home in Vance County, Ashland was built in 1740 by Samuel Henderson.
Ashland to host museum exhibits By DAVID IRVINE Daily Dispatch Writer
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It is appropriate that exhibits from the Vance County Historical Museum will be placed in the house at Ashland Plantation, for Ashland is itself an important part of the history of Vance County. In June, the board of the Vance County Historical Society voted to display a number of exhibits from the museum’s collection at Ashland Plantation. The Society plans an official opening this Saturday, when the full membership of the Society will meet. After that, the museum at Ashland will be available for group tours and meetings by appointment. Exhibits to be displayed in the historic house will depict several eras, beginning with the culture of the Native Americans before Europeans entered the area and continuing through the creation of Vance County in 1881. Tem Blackburn, curator of the museum, says the Historical Society is exploring other possible venues for exhibits
Historic house, built in 1740 by Samuel Henderson, is the oldest in Vance County describing Vance County’s more recent history, including its contributions to America’s foreign wars. Ashland Plantation House is the oldest home in Vance County. It was built in 1740 by Samuel Henderson. A man for all seasons, he is variously identified as a farmer, a miller and the high sheriff of Granville County. Because the house stood in a grove of ash trees, Henderson named it Ashland. A “new” section was added in 1820, more than doubling the size of the house. In succeeding decades (and now centuries) ownership of Ashland changed hands several times. It is now owned by members of the Blackburn family. The Board of Directors of the Society has announced the schedule of programs for the coming year. On Oct. 12, Robert Morgan, author of a recent biography of Daniel Boone, will present a program on Boone and the
Transylvania Company, organized by Richard Henderson to finance Boone’s treks into Kentucky along what came to be called the Wilderness Road. Boone’s expeditions opened the west for settlement. In his day, the “west” meant Tennessee and Kentucky. Additional programs planned by the Society include: • A presentation by Danny Moody, Historian of the N.C. Supreme Court, about the Williamsboro community and the development of the North Carolina court system. He will speak in St. John’s Church in Williamsboro on Nov. 15. • A ceremony to dedicate the N.C. Highway Marker commemorating the 1958 textile union strike in Henderson. A date has not been set. • A program on the strange disappearance of R. S. McCoin in 1932, in recognition of a recent gift by John H. Zollicoffer Jr. of artifacts related to the case. A date in January is anticipated for this program. Contact the writer at dirvine@hendersondispatch.com.
Proposal requires U.S. high school graduation and paying out-of-state tuition
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s community colleges would once again be allowed to enroll illegal immigrants next spring Obituaries, 4A under a proposal expected to come before State Board of Community Colleges today. The change won unanimous approval Thursday in the board’s policy committee.
Under the new rules, undocumented immigrants could enroll at any of the system’s 58 campuses if they have graduated from a U.S. high school. They would have to pay the out-of-state tuition rate, which is nearly five times the in-state rate or $30,000 for a twoyear degree, said Stuart Fountain, the policy committee’s chairman. They also couldn’t qualify for financial aid or supplant
students who are legally in the U.S. on crowded campuses. “That is an enormous hurdle,” Fountain told reporters after the vote by six committee members. “I am very pleased with the fact that we have maintained the open-door policy that has been the hallmark of the community college system ... If they want that education that badly and are determined to succeed, then we think
Please see VOTING, page 4A
Man held on drug charges From STAFF REPORTS
Franklin Small, 43, of 5480 Hwy. 39N has been arrested by the Vance County Sheriff’s Vice/Narcotics Unit and charged with: • Felony possession of cocaine • Possession with intent to sell/deliver cocaine • Misdemeanor posseswe need to provide that sion of drug paraphernalia pathway.” • Conspire sell/deliver The system has changed marijuana its illegal immigrant • Conspire sell/deliver admission policy four times since 2000. In 2007, crack cocaine • Felony possession of the system replaced a marijuana policy giving campuses the • Possession with intent option to enroll undocuto sell/deliver marijuana mented immigrants with Small is being held on a a requirement that they $50,000 bond, pending an do so. Oct. 30 court appearance. The current no-admission policy was approved Send comments to news@ Please see IMMIGRANT, page 3Aw hendersondispatch.com.
Community college heads set immigrant vote By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press Writer
One Stop No Excuse Absentee Voting has begun in advance of Henderson’s municipal election. The process started on Thursday, with 19 showing up to cast votes. And the process will continue weekdays from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Vance County Board of Elections office, which is located in the Henry Dennis Building at 300 S. Garnett St. The final hours of early voting will be on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. In the contest, set for Tuesday, Oct. 6: • Mayor Pete O’Geary is being challenged by Tina Hunter, Tammy Sue Lightfoot, Tim McAllister and Juanita Somerville. • Cathy Ringley is challenging incumbent Mary Emma Evans for the Ward 1 position. • Sara Coffey is again