The Daily Dispatch - Saturday, October 17, 2009 by The Daily Dispatch

CMYK Friday Night Football Ticker ... Chapel Hill 21, N. Vance 7 … Cardinal Gibbons 28, S. Vance 13 ... Orange 35, J.F. Webb 9 ... Swine flu hits hard in young

Old cars, speed draw a crowd

Tabernacle UMC to celebrate 225th

Local & Nation, Page 4A

Opinion, Page 8A

Faith, Page 1C SATURDAY, October 17, 2009

Volume XCV, No. 243

(252) 436-2700

www.hendersondispatch.com

50 cents

2 held N.C. inmates being freed have prison infractions on drug charges By MIKE BAKER Associated Press Writer

From STAFF REPORTS

Traffic stops by the Henderson Police Department’s Narcotics Unit have resulted in two drug-related arrests, Chief Keith L. Sidwell announced. William Barksdale Granger, 44, of 365 Willieville Lane, a passenger in a vehicle stopped in the parking lot of Burger King, 1817 N. Garnett St., was arrested Oct. 15. During the investigation, he and the driver were detained. Police said a search of Granger found approximately 10 grams of powder cocaine, digital scales and cash. Granger was charged with: • Possession with the intent to manufacture, sell and deliver cocaine. • Manufacture of cocaine. • Possession of drug paraphernalia. Granger is being held on $30,000 bond, with a court date of Nov. 9. Darrick Bullock, 32, of 430 John St., the driver of a vehicle stopped in the Please see CHARGES, page 7A

Index Our Hometown . . . . . 2A Business & Farm. . . . 5A Nation . . . . . . . . . . 6-7A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . 8A Light Side . . . . . . . . . 9A Sports. . . . . . . . . . 1-4B Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6C Comics . . . . . . . . . . . 7C Classifieds. . . . . . 8-11C

Weather Today Mostly... High: 56 Low: 38

Sunday ...cloudy High: 60 Low: 40

Details, 3A

Deaths Henderson Preston Mosely, 84 Mary B. Overton, 70 Charlie M. Phelps Sr., 88 Clifton Watkins, 57 Mt. Vernon, N.Y. William C. Thorpe, 87 Oxford Cleo A. Bass, 76 Rufus Nevels, 76 Marguerite C. Parker, 85 Sarah C. Wortham, 81 Stratford, Conn. Juanita W. Muller, 75

Obituaries, 4A

RALEIGH — The violent North Carolina criminals set to be freed later this month because of a court ruling and good conduct credits have racked up more than 250 infractions in prison for offenses such as fighting, weapon possession and theft. Department of Correction records reviewed Friday by The Associated Press show the viola-

tions go as far back as the 1970s but also appear as recently as 2008, raising questions about whether the prisoners are reformed. Each one of the 20 inmates has at least two infractions, and combined Bowden they have a total of 256. They have repeatedly been denied parole. The inmates are scheduled to

be released Oct. 29 after state courts sided with one of the inmates, double murderer Bobby Bowden, that a 1970s law defined a life sentence as only 80 years. The state’s Fair Sentencing Act in 1981 included a retroactive provision essentially cutting all those sentences in half, and good behavior and other credits have shortened the sentences to the point that they are now complete. Bowden had argued before the Court of Appeals in 2008 that

he had accumulated 210 days of good conduct credit, 753 days of meritorious credit, and 1,537 days of gain time credit. But the 60-year-old has also racked up 17 infractions in prison, including two for weapon possession, one for damaging property and several for disobeying orders. Others have equally long rapsheets: William Baggett, a 60-year-old convicted of a 1976

Nature’s water colors

Please see INMATES, page 3A

Zoning amended for men’s shelter Organizers still need a special use permit By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer

The City Council earlier this week unanimously approved a zoning text amendment allowing First Presbyterian Church to have a voluntarily-run homeless shelter for men. Councilwoman Mary Emma Evans expressed excitement in leading the Daily Dispatch/ASHLEY STEVEN AYSCUE vote. “And it is one of the better things that I’ve A spider web traps water droplets inside a holly bush outside the office of optometrist Dr. Robert Allen Thursday afternoon. heard about that has come before this council,” Evans said. The vote came after the Rev. Paul Baxley urged support for the shelter at First Presbyterian. Baxley, North Carolina’s uneman eighth consecutive claims for unemployment By EMERY P. DALESIO of First Baptist Church, is ployment rate has been month the unemployment insurance in September, AP Business Writer past chairman of the Minhovering around 11 perrate topped the previous almost 5,000 fewer than isters Community Partnercent since February and historic high. Before this in August. More than RALEIGH — North ship. Additionally speaking has been worse than the year, the state’s highest half of those initial claims Carolina’s unemploywas Joel Rice, of the Five national average for more unemployment rate was indicated that employees ment rate stayed stuck County Mental Health than a year, the monthly 9.7 percent in March 1983, expect to be recalled to in double-digit territory Authority and who has report by the state’s a level matched in Janutheir jobs. for the eighth straight been chairing the shelter’s Employment Security ary. Economists closely month in September, with task force. Commission said. August’s But there were hopeful watch initial claims, which 10.8 percent of the state’s The partnership has jobless rate was also 10.8 signs in the state jobless are considered a measure ready and willing workers been working for almost a percent. report. Newly laid off unable to find jobs, data Please see JOBLESS, page 7A year trying to develop a reSeptember also marked workers filed 77,312 initial released Friday said. sponse to various challenges related to homelessness and poverty in Henderson and Vance County. “In dialogue both with churches and with leaders in the public sector, it became apparent that we had a growing challenge related to homelessness in had cast ballots compared By WILLIAM F. WEST this community,” Baxley to 37 on Thursday. And on Daily Dispatch Writer told the council on Monday Friday in Creedmoor, 28 evening, adding that the had cast ballots compared OXFORD — One-Stop churches in Henderson and to 22 on Thursday. Early Voting began Thursthe county felt compelled to The one-stop period day for all five municipal respond. is from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. elections in Granville And Rice said, “The Mondays through Fridays, County. livelihood of this shelter with the last day being “So far, very smoothly,” will be on the commitment Saturday, Oct. 31, from County Elections Director of volunteers.” 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. And that Tonya Burnette said when The Planning Board at asked about the process on Saturday is the only one a Sept. 21 special meeting when the two stations Friday afternoon. recommended changing will be open for one-stop There are two one-stop wording in the zoning reguvoting. polling stations, with Daily Dispatch/ASHLEY STEVEN AYSCUE lations to allow homeless The turnout usually one being in the County shelters in Office-Instituis slow the first couple Administration Building tional districts by a special of days and then the conference room at 141 use permit, with the latter word circulates about the Williamsboro St. in Oxford process being underway, having to be approved by Cayla Williams and Shawn Brown were crowned 2009 and the other being in the the Zoning Board of AdBurnette said. Homecoming Queen and King at Northern Vance during Creedmoor City Commisjustment. “And then the final halftime festivites Friday night. To view or purchase a photo sion meeting room at 111 First Presbyterian is week will be the busiest,” of a member of the court, visit us on the Web at www.henMasonic St. dersondispatch.com. Please see SHELTER, page 3A Please see GRANVILLE, page 3A On Friday in Oxford, 34

N.C. jobless rate holds at 10.8 percent

One-Stop Voting starts in Granville

Northern’s royalty

The Daily Dispatch

Mark It Down Today Maria Parham fundraiser — The Maria Parham Healthcare Foundation is holding its second annual Foundation 5 event in and around Maria Parham Medical Center on Ruin Creek Road today. The event will consist of a 5K run beginning at 8 a.m. and the Heart Healthy Mile event and Kids’ Dash beginning at 8:45 a.m. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Maria Parham Healthcare Foundation, a non-profit organization geared to promote health care in the local four-county area. The foundation will dedicate all funds from the Heart Healthy Mile to Maria Parham’s Cardiac Rehab Scholarship Program. Participants may register from 7-7:45 a.m. at the registration table. The entry fee is $25 in advance for the 5K and the Heart Healthy Mile, increasing to $30 on race day. The fee for the Kid’s Dash is $10. For more information, contact Nick at (252) 436-1604. Car show — The Show, Shine, Shag & Dine car show will bring hundreds of antique and classic cars, muscle cars and nostalgia drag cars (pre ‘76) to downtown Henderson along Garnett Street today. Registration will be held from 7:30-11 a.m. Cars will be on display until 5 p.m. Live entertainment will be provided and vendors will sell food and other items all day. Admission is free for spectators. Registration fee is charged for judged and non-judged car entries. For more information, call the Vance County Tourism Department at (252) 438-2222. Rabies clinic — Citizens for Animal Protection of Warren County is sponsoring a free rabies clinic for Warren County cats and dogs on from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Warrenton Lions Club Parking Lot, 249 W. Ridgeway St. The clinic is also offered to those with a Littleton address. Limit of 10 animals per vehicle and cats must be in a carrier. Vance County Farmers’ market — The Vance County Farmers’ Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon. The market is located at the intersection of Williams and Arch streets in downtown Henderson. Vendors interested in selling at the market should contact Wayne Rowland at 438-8188. Warren County Farmers’ Market — The Warren County Farmer’s Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon at the corner of Market and Main streets in historic downtown Warrenton. All produce is locally grown by the vendors. For more information or to receive a vendor application, contact the Warren County Extension Center at 257-3640. Oxford Farmers’ Market — The Oxford Farmers’ Market, located on the corner of McClanahan and Lanier streets across from the police station in Oxford, is open from 7 a.m. to noon. Dee’s Music Barn — Dee’s Music Barn, 3101 Walters Road, Creedmoor, will be featuring The Woodlief Band at 7 p.m. For more information, call (919) 528-5878. Master gardeners — The Master Gardeners will be at Franklin Brothers Nursery and Greenhouse, 3193 Vicksboro Road, Henderson, from 10 a.m. to noon for a plant clinic. If you have any questions please call Franklin Brothers at 252492-6166. Ridgeway Opry House — Performing this week are Julia Morton, Matt Nelson, Verlin Bailey, Jeff Jeffries and Friends, Joyce Chisenhall, Jackie Turner, and Frieda & Ellen with High Mountain Harmony. Doors open at 6 p.m. Music starts at 7 p.m. Coming Oct. 24, New Grace Bluegrass.

Sunday Hall of fame — The East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame reunion and awards presentation will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center. An awards presentation and induction ceremony honoring this year’s inductees into the hall of fame will be held at 12:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Vance County Tourism Department at (252) 438-2222.

Monday Book sale — The Friends of the Library organization for the H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library in Henderson is collecting used books for its annual book sale today from 1-4 p.m. This is the last collection day for this fall’s used book sale. Do not bring Readers Digest Condensed Books, textbooks, magazines or encyclopedias. Used books can be delivered to the former Super 10 location across from Supply Line Country Market on Raleigh Road.

Our Hometown

Saturday, October 17, 2009

‘Green adventures’ have the potential to increase children’s attention spans Exposure to green spaces is calming and therefore helpful to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) say researchers at the University of Illinois. This research confirmed earlier results showing that “green” walks improve two key issues of the disorder — atten- Mary Helen Jones tion and impulse Cooperative control. Extension Further, the “degree of green” appears to matter with greater effects from the greenest or most wilderness-like environment. A walk in the forest trumps a walk in the park or playing organized sports in recreational park fields. Park experiences reap better results than a walk in a neighborhood or downtown area. “Green” play more effectively reduced ADHD symptoms than active play in a gym or play on paved surfaces. This should be good news for parents, educa-

tors and child-care providers with approximately two million school-aged children in the U. S. diagnosed with this disorder. Although researchers haven’t investigated how long the “dose of nature” may last, these results do indicate that nature may favorably compare to a “dose of medication.” According to researcher Frances E. Kuo “as little as 20 minutes of outdoor exposure could potentially buy you an afternoon or a couple of hours to get homework done.” Parents and caregivers may want to replace all or part of after-school screen time (TV, computer, etc.) with a walk or outdoor play in the “greenest” area that is accessible to them. Presently, children between the ages of six months and six years spend an average of oneand-a-half hours a day with electronic media, while youth eight to 18 spend a whopping average of six-and-a-half hours a day with electronic media!

Other benefits Increased outdoor play may also reduce childhood obesity which has contributed to greatly increased rates of diabetes

Tips

among children. Although some parents are concerned about the effect of outdoor pollution on children’s health, indoor pollutants such as mold, lead, asbestos and secondhand smoke may be more damaging. Improved social competence may also be a benefit of outdoor play. Children not only engage in more creative play outdoors, but they also play more cooperatively in greener areas. When thinking about how to incorporate “green adventures,” remember to: • Plan for outside activities as part of your family routine. For example, after dinner take a family walk, then bath time and story time before bed. Routines make children feel safe because they know what to expect. • Show and teach respect for nature. All creatures have a purpose. Instead of squashing every bug, observe it, find out what it is and how it contributes to our world. • Take indoor activities outside: read books, play games, draw pictures, hold birthday parties, snooze in the sun. • If you enjoy any outdoor activities — gardening, fishing, nature photography — involve

your child in age appropriate ways. • Dress appropriately and enjoy the outdoors in all kinds of weather. • Use all your senses — see, smell, feel, listen and taste, if it is safe to eat. • Take time and get down at eye level with your child to look and talk about your surroundings. Don’t rush. • Advocate for outdoor time at child-care facilities and at schools. Voice support for green areas in town and in every neighborhood so all children have access to a green experience. • Contact the extension center regarding starting a 4-H club with an outdoor focus such as gardening, camping, bird watching, etc. For more information, contact the Vance County Cooperative Extension Center for a copy of the soon-to-be-released publication, “At Your Doorstep: A Family Fact Sheet on Outdoor Play and Learning.” The fact sheet contains many age-specific suggestions for green adventures. Source: ACES News, College of ACES, University of Illinois; At Your Doorstep, NCSU

Vance County If you miss your paper, Parenting Task Force

from the

PLEASE CALL before

Dads: Meet your child’s teacher! Dads, meet your child’s teacher before problems arise at school. The teacher that has met a child’s

parent will feel more comfortable asking that parent to help solve problems that may occur. Unfortunately, too many dads leave the home-school connection to their children’s mothers, so teachers are not acquainted with many

dads. Teachers are usually impressed with fathers who involve themselves in their children’s education. Principals like to meet dads, too! By Mary Helen Jones, NC Cooperative Extension

Cost of the trip is $9 and due at registration. Admission at the fair gates is free to those 65 and older. There is limited space and reservations are on a firstcome, first-served basis. Those interested may come by the senior center, located at 126 S. Garnett St., between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. to register for the

Fort Knox, Ky., which included basic combat training and advanced individual training. He

Marketplace Shopping Center

438-9060

wHERE tHE wIld tHIngs aRE (PG)

law abIdIng CItIzEn (R)

FRIDAY: 5:15, 7:25 & 9:35PM SAT: 12:55, 3:05, 5:15, 7:25 & 9:35PM SUN: 12:55, 3:05, 5:15 & 7:25PM MoN-THUR: 5:15 & 7:25PM

tHE stEpfatHER

trip. The bus will depart at 7:30 a.m. and return at approximately 4 p.m. Participants must park in the public parking lot on Chestnut Street and meet the bus at the senior center. For more information, call the center at (252) 430-0257.

In Service Army National Guard Pfc. Benjamin L. Oakley has graduated from One Station Unit Training at

Marketplace Cinema

FRIDAY: 5:10, 7:10 & 9:10PM SAT: 1:10, 3:10, 5:10, 7:10 & 9:10PM SUN: 1:10, 3:10, 5:10 & 7:10PM MoN-THUR: 5:10 & 7:10PM

Vance County Senior Center plans trip to N.C. State Fair The Vance County Senior Center is coordinating a trip to the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Tuesday is the Senior Citizen Fun Festival at the state fair with free breakfast from Bojangles and beach music entertainment at Dorton Arena from 9-11 a.m.

11:00 am — 436-2800

is the son of Herbert and Wendy Oakley of Oxford and a 2009 graduate of J.F. Webb High School.

(PG13) FRIDAY: 5:05, 7:10 & 9:15PM SAT: 12:55, 3:00, 5:05, 7:10 & 9:15PM SUN: 12:55, 3:00, 5:05 & 7:10PM MoN-THUR: 5:05 & 7:10PM

CouplEs REtREat

(PG13) FRIDAY: 5:10, 7:20 & 9:30PM SAT: 12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:20 & 9:30PM SUN: 12:50, 3:00, 5:10& 7:20PM MoN-THUR: 5:10 & 7:20PM

zombIEland (R)

FRIDAY: 5:15, 7:15 & 9:15PM SAT: 1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15 & 9:15PM SUN: 1:15, 3:15, 5:15 & 7:15PM MoN-THUR: 5:15 & 7:15PM

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I Can do bad allFRIDAY: bY mYsElf (PG13) 7:00 & 9:15PM SAT: 3:00, 5:15, 7:30 & 9:45PM SUN: 3:00, 5:15 & 7:30PM MoN-THUR: 7:00PM

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FRI: 10/16/09 @ 5:00PM SAT & SUN: 10/17-10/18/09 @ 1:00PM

food, InC.

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EARLY BIRD SAVINGS For The Month of October

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From Page One

The Daily Dispatch

NATIONAL WEATHER

Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.

New

First

Full

Last

Oct 18

Oct 25

Nov 2

Nov 9

INMATES, from page one

Billings 70/41

San Francisco 68/57

Minneapolis 50/35

Detroit 52/34

New York 46/40

Chicago 50/35

Denver 70/39

Washington 48/40 Kansas City 56/38

Los Angeles 90/64

Atlanta 56/39 El Paso 80/55 Houston 75/50

Fairbanks 32/16

Anchorage 43/31

-10s

-0s

Miami 86/62

Honolulu 87/75

Hilo 83/70

Juneau 47/39

10s

20s

30s

40s

Showers Rain T-storms Snow Flurries

50s

60s

70s

80s

90s

100s

110s

Stationary front

Cold front

Ice

Warm front

FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR HENDERSON TODAY

TONIGHT

SUNDAY

60°

38°

56°

40°

Mostly cloudy and cool

Mostly cloudy and breezy

Mostly cloudy, breezy and cool

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

66°

71°

36°

72°

44° Sunny

50°

Sunny and pleasant

Mostly sunny and nice

ALMANAC

SUN AND MOON

Temperature

Sunrise today ........................... Sunset today ............................ Moonrise today ........................ Moonset today ......................... Sunrise tomorrow ..................... Sunset tomorrow ...................... Moonrise tomorrow .................. Moonset tomorrow ...................

Raleigh-Durham through 6 p.m. yest. High .................................................... 58° Low ..................................................... 49° Normal high ........................................ 72° Normal low ......................................... 48° Record high ............................ 85° in 2008 Record low .............................. 32° in 1945

REGIONAL WEATHER Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows

WinstonSalem

Asheville

Henderson

Greensboro

56/38

Rocky Mt.

60/40

54/39

54/40

46/37

Durham

Raleigh

56/38

Charlotte

58/40

Cape Hatteras

Fayetteville

57/38

7:22 a.m. 6:35 p.m. 6:43 a.m. 5:57 p.m. 7:23 a.m. 6:34 p.m. 7:51 a.m. 6:30 p.m.

Moon Phases

Precipitation 24 hours through 6 p.m. yest. ......... 0.01” Month to date .................................. 0.54” Normal month to date ..................... 1.76” Year to date ................................... 26.87” Normal year to date ...................... 35.62”

64/53

60/42

LAKE LEVELS

Wilmington

60/42

Elevation in feet above sea level. Data as of 7 a.m. yesterday. 24-Hr. Lake Capacity Yest. Change Gaston 203 199.63 +0.01 Kerr 320 293.80 +0.11

24-Hr. Capacity Yest. Change 240 212.80 -0.05 264 247.89 -0.02

Lake Jordan Neuse Falls

REGIONAL CITIES Today

Sun.

Today

Sun.

City

Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

City

Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

Asheville Boone Burlington Chapel Hill Chattanooga Danville Durham Elizabeth City Elizabethton Fayetteville Goldsboro Greensboro Greenville Havelock Hendersonville

46 41 56 56 54 54 56 62 48 60 60 54 56 66 49

High Point Jacksonville Kinston Lumberton Myrtle Beach Morehead City Nags Head New Bern Raleigh Richmond Roanoke Rapids Rocky Mount Sanford Wilmington Winston-Salem

54 67 60 60 64 63 61 65 58 54 56 60 56 60 54

37 32 40 40 39 37 38 43 34 42 42 39 40 46 33

c c c c c c c pc c c pc c c pc c

52 46 58 57 57 57 59 59 52 60 60 57 59 61 54

31 31 38 38 36 37 38 42 32 40 41 39 37 44 32

pc c s s pc pc s sh c pc pc s s c pc

38 42 43 39 46 47 52 45 40 38 39 40 40 42 40

c pc pc c c pc pc pc c c c c c c c

57 61 59 63 61 60 58 60 56 53 56 58 59 62 57

37 41 42 39 45 46 52 44 38 37 40 42 39 42 36

Home delivery ONLY

s pc c pc pc c sh c s sh c c s pc pc

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice

per month The Daily Dispatch

Call 436-2800 XI

XII I

II III

X IX

XII

VII

II III

VIII

Est. Aug. 12, 1914 304 S. Chestnut St. P.O. Box 908 Henderson, N.C. 27536

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participate in work or program activities. Prisoners can also get meritorious credit for working under special conditions, such as overtime. Infractions can remove some of those credits. Woodall said a person sent to prison for 10 years before structured sentencing frequently completed the term in just a couple of years. The new laws lead to shorter sentences in the courtroom but less opportunity for inmates to accrue credits, something he supports. Seven of the inmates set for release were once on death row. All but one of them have been convicted of murder or rape, including several who targeted young girls. “Any of these convicts

could be a danger to any man, woman and child in North Carolina,” said Thomas Bennett, executive director of the North Carolina Victim Assistance Network. “We have no assurance that these people have learned anything and changed.” North Carolina’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal from the state earlier this month after a lawyer from the Attorney General’s office argued that the 80-year law was ambiguous and likely was supposed to determine when somebody would be eligible for parole. The 1970s statute says: “A sentence of life imprisonment shall be considered as a sentence of imprisonment for a term of 80 years in the state’s prison.”

four-year term. Creedmoor’s five commissioners serve staggered terms. The mayor is up for election for a two-year term, but is unopposed. In Stem, voters will be choosing a mayor for a two-year term and three town commissioners for a four- year term. Stem’s five commissioners serve staggered terms.

In Butner, voters will be choosing a mayor for a two-year term and all six town council members for a four-year term. To see the complete list of candidates, go on-line to www.hendersondispatch. com/pages/home and click on Extras!

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GRANVILLE, from page one Burnette said. The number of those in the county who voted in the one-stop phase of the 2007 municipal elections was 539, with Butner’s election having been cancelled because Butner was undergoing changing from being a state-run town to an incorporated one. This year additionally marks the first time Stovall voters can participate in early voting. Stovall’s Town Commission previously did not have a resolution in place allowing absentee or onestop voting, but the town commissioners sent a resolution to the state, which gave the approval, and sent the resolution to the U.S. Justice Department,

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tion to the text amendment. Two other recommendations from the Planning Board were promptly and unanimously dealt with by the council on Monday evening. One was approving a request by SRS of Henderson to allow the rezoning of a couple of small lots along First Avenue to allow the property to become the site of a clothing and a shoe business. SRS of Henderson wanted the land bordering First, which is the rear part of the property, to be rezoned from High Density Residential to Highway Commercial. The front part of the property, which is located along Andrews Avenue and is adjacent to a BP convenience store, already is zoned Highway Commercial. The other was approving a text amendment permitting tailors in the OIA zoning district as a matter of right. No one spoke in opposition to either of the latter two matters. Councilman Bernard Alston was absent from Monday evening’s council meeting. Sara Coffey, who defeated Alston in the Oct. 6 election, attended the meeting.

which gave the approval, Burnette said. The election is Nov. 3 for all five municipalities in the county. In Oxford, voters will be choosing a mayor for a two-year term and four city commissioners for a four- year term. Oxford’s seven commissioners serve staggered terms. In Stovall, voters will be choosing a pair of town commissioners for a four-year term. Stovall’s five commissioners serve staggered terms. The mayor is up for election to a four-year term, but is unopposed. In Creedmoor, voters will be choosing a pair of city commissioners for a

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Attorneys, said many in the courts system believe that criminals become less active as they grow older. But he warned that nobody can be sure whether these inmates are ready to lead normal lives. “A person who has been in prison for a violent crime, and has gotten infractions throughout their time incarcerated, that’s the best predictor for their future activity,” he said. North Carolina inmates sentenced before structured sentencing came into effect in 1994 can rapidly knock time off their prison terms. Good conduct credit automatically reduces sentences by one day for every day inmates serve with good behavior and without an infraction. Gain time credit goes to inmates who

Rainey, Rice said the first 20 homeless men to arrive for registration will get in for the night. “It’s not the Durham Hilton,” Baxley told Rainey. “I know that,” Rainey said, with Baxley referring to the hotel to explain that there will not be multiple night reservations at the shelter. And Baxley said, “If we see someone who we think their needs could be better met somewhere else, we have that option of referring out.” Baxley said the nearest shelter for men is in neighboring Granville County and has six beds. City Attorney John Zollicoffer said he hated to be technical, but, “We’re getting into the specifics of your particular homeless shelter. And that is not something really before the board. “That’s what comes before the Board of Adjustment when you apply for a special use permit,” Zollicoffer said, with City Manager Ray Griffin moments later emphasizing the attorney’s point. “And it’s there that the board may impose additional restrictions and requirements that it feels creates the balance between the shelter and the needs of the community,” Griffin said. No one spoke in opposi-

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murder in Sampson County, got a fighting infraction last year — his fifth fighting offense while behind bars. Kenneth Mathis, a 55-year-old who went to prison in 1976 after forcing a woman into the woods and raping her, has had three sex infractions in prison. He was accused in 2005 of assaulting an inmate with the intent to commit a sexual act. State officials believe dozens more inmates convicted three decades ago could soon be eligible for release because of credits and the 80-year law that was in place for several years in the 1970s. Jim Woodall, the district attorney in Orange County and president of the North Carolina Conference of District

into not the rest of the church, but into the outside world.” And Baxley said the partnership has had representation from the Police Department and has been in conversations with the department about the shelter from the beginning, including about making sure security concerns are addressed. Baxley noted that, before volunteers can staff the shelter, they will have to undergo a training process. “We can assure you that we’re going to establish structure and rules and procedures” for the shelter to protect everyone around, Rice added. The plan is to hopefully open the shelter early next month and keep the shelter open until the early spring, Baxley has said. The assumption is the shelter would take in up to 20 people in the first hour each night and, after that, the person would have to have a law enforcement escort or a note from the hospital to get in, Baxley has said. Rice told the council that the shelter doors will close at 7 p.m. after intake and that those who stay in the shelter will have to be gone by 6:30 a.m. the next day. Under questioning from

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SHELTER, from page one in an OI district. Homeless shelters presently are only allowed in a Highway Commercial “A” district or an Office-Institutional “A” district by a special use permit. The partnership’s plan is to have the homeless shelter for men in the former Boy Scouts room of First Presbyterian, 222 Young St. Fort Bragg has donated more than 40 cots, Maria Parham Medical Center has agreed to provide laundry services and linen supplies and the Police Department has agreed to provide security, Baxley has said. During Monday evening’s council meeting, Councilman Michael Rainey, who doubles as Planning Board chairman, asked what type of security will be in place at the shelter and whether the shelter would interfere with activities of youth groups. Rainey said persons had approached him with questions about the shelter. “They were a little concerned with homeless people just walking in in some of their attire and so forth. And they didn’t want to be sent to the wrong place,” Rainey added. Baxley said, “The only doors into or out of it lead

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OXFORD — Cleo A. Bass, 76, of 120 Brookside Lane, died Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009, at her residence. She was the daughter of the late Samuel Milton Blalock Sr. By LAURAN NEERGAARD and Annie Young Blalock AP Medical Writer Hunt. Funeral services will be WASHINGTON — Swine conducted at 2 p.m. Monflu is causing unprecedented day by the Rev. George E. illness for so early in the Green Jr. at New Light fall — including a worrisome Baptist Church. Burial count of child deaths — and will be in the church the government warned cemetery. Friday that vaccine supplies She is survived by a will be even more scarce than stepdaughter, Annie Jean expected through this month. Manufacturer delays mean Bass Moore of Zebulon; 28 million to 30 million doses, and a brother, Robert M. at most, will be divided around Blalock Sr. of Henderson. The body will be on the country by the end of the view Sunday from 10 a.m. month, not the 40 million-plus until 6 p.m. The family that states had been expectwill receive friends at the ing. The new count from the residence. Centers for Disease Control Arrangements are by and Prevention means anxiously awaited flu-shot clinics Wright Funeral Home of Oxford. in some parts of the country may have to be postponed. It also delays efforts to Preston Mosely blunt increasing infections. Overall, what CDC calls the HENDERSON — Pres2009 H1N1 flu is causing ton Mosely, 84, of 75 Morwidespread disease in 41 ton Lane, died Wednesday, states, and about six percent Oct. 14, 2009, at Guardian of all doctor visits are for Care of Henderson. He flu-like illness — levels not was born in Vance County normally seen until much and was the son of the late later in the fall. This new strain is different Tripholia Mosely and the late Henderson Austin. from regular winter flu beHe attended the public cause it strikes the young far schools of Vance County more than the old, and child and joined Mt. Zion Chrisdeaths are drawing particular attention. Eighty-six children tian Church at an early age. Later in years, he have died of swine flu in the U.S. since it burst on the scene played with the Durham Eagles in 1948, Negro last spring — 43 of those deaths reported in September League, Wilson League and early October alone, said and was a member of the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat. American Association. He That’s a startling number moved to Orange, N.J., in because in some past winters, 1953 and lived there until the CDC has counted 40 or 50 he retired from Ward Bakchild deaths for the entire flu ery in Newark, N.J., before season, she said, and no one relocating back to Henderknows how long this swine son. He was a member of flu outbreak will last. Half of the Morning Star Masonic those early fall child deaths Lodge #740 and before deare among teenagers, also clining health he worked surprising as preschoolers are part time at Townsville thought to be most vulnerable. Waste Industry. Also in contrast to regular Funeral services will winter flu, swine flu somebe conducted at 3 p.m. times can cause a very severe Sunday at Mt. Zion United viral pneumonia in otherwise Church of Christ by the healthy young adults, the Rev. Calvin Brooks. Burial World Health Organization will follow in the church warned Friday. cemetery. Typically, influenza weakSurvivors include a ens people so they’re vulnerdaughter, Lucy McDaniel able to bacterial pneumonia, of Maplewood, N.J.; three especially those over age sons, William Mosley 65. But the new H1N1 can of Irvington, N.J., Joel dive deeper into the lungs, Mosley of Henderson, and in “small subsets” of patients who go into respiratory failure Allen Faines of Norfolk, within days, said WHO medi- Va.; three grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; cal officer Dr. Nikki Shindo. and a sister, Susie Fields Fortunately, most people of Henderson. recover from the new strain The family will receive with simple at-home care, just as with the regular flu. friends at the residence of While there aren’t precise Susie Fields, 2645 Thomas counts, states have reported Road in the Williamsboro more than 2,000 deaths from community. The body pneumonia or flu-like illnesses will be on view at the to the CDC since Aug. 30. And funeral home and at the Schuchat said other tracking church one hour before the systems show those deaths service. have reached the level that Funeral arrangements each year is used to declare an are by Davis-Royster Fuinfluenza epidemic, months neral Service. early. As of Wednesday, states Juanita W. Muller had ordered eight million of the 11.4 million doses of STRATFORD, Conn. — swine flu vaccine the governJuanita Williams Muller, ment has ready to ship. Just over half of the vaccine now 75, of 292 Sedgewick Ave., available is in shot form and Stratford, Conn., died the rest as a nasal spray. First in line for scarce H1N1 vaccine are supposed to be pregnant women, anyone age six months to 24 years, health care workers and people under 65 with flu-risky www.ﬂowersfuneralhome.com conditions. CDC’s Schuchat urged “Commitment to patience, saying eventually Caring Personal Service” enough vaccine will be here 438-4717 for everyone who wants it: “I 1833 Oxford Rd., Henderson know this is frustrating for people.”

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Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009, at Bridgeport Hospital in Bridgeport, Conn. She was the daughter of the late James A. Williams and Jessie Chavis Williams. She was a native of Granville County. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Friendship Baptist Church, 235 Albert Ave., Stratford, Conn., by the Rev. Johnny Gamble. Burial will be in Mountain Grove Cemetery in Easton, Conn. She is survived by five daughters, Lavern Small, Linda Greatheart, Tammy Dzurka, LaWanda Martinez and Monique Muller, all of Bridgeport, Conn.; two sons, Jesse William of Suffolk, Va., and Quinten Terry of Bridgeport, Conn.; five sisters, Minnie Thorpe, Zelda Harris, Dora Pettiford, Callie Gill and Alice W. Faucette, all of Oxford; two brothers, James T. Williams of Oxford and Jasper Williams of Wilson; 15 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Arrangements are by Baker/Asaac Funeral Service, 985 Stratford Ave., Bridgeport, Conn. Local announcements are by Wright Funeral Home.

Rufus Nevels OXFORD — Rufus Nevels, 76, of Granville County, died Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009, at St. Joseph Hospital in Wayne, N.J. Arrangements are by Wright Funeral Home of Oxford.

Marguerite C. Parker OXFORD — Marguerite Clarke Parker, 85, died Friday, Oct. 16, 2009. A native of Granville County, she was the daughter of the late Roscoe Z. and Mable Sizemore Clarke. She was retired from Mecklenburg County Health Department in Boydton, Va. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Sunday at Gentry-Newell and Vaughan Funeral Chapel by the Rev. Dr. J. Steven Bolton. Burial will follow in Elmwood Cemetery. She is survived by a sister, Jean Clarke Cannady of Oxford. She was preceded in death by a brother, Norman R. Clark. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Oxford Baptist Church, P.O. Box 398, Oxford, N.C. 27565. Visitation will be one hour prior to the funeral services.

Arrangements are by Gentry-Newell and Vaughan Funeral Home, 503 College St., Oxford.

Charlie M. Phelps Sr. HENDERSON — Charlie Marcillus Phelps Sr., 88, of 2012 Raleigh Road, was born Aug. 9, 1921, and died Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. He was the son of the late George Harold Phelps and Elnora Hudson Phelps. He was a World War II veteran with the U.S. Army Air Corps. The graveside service will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at Lancaster Memorial Park with the Rev. Linwood Jarrell. He is survived by his wife, Beulah Phelps of the home; his sons, Charlie M. Phelps Jr. of Creedmoor, Clarence Phelps of Henderson, and Dennis Phelps of Roxboro; his brother, Everette Phelps of Louisburg; his sister, Alice Hight of Louisburg; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made to Community Care Hospice, 1242 Dabney Drive, Henderson, N.C. 27536. The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m. today at Strickland Funeral Home, 103 W. Franklin St., Louisburg and other times at the home.

William C. Thorpe MT. VERNON, N.Y. — William Clarence Thorpe, 87, of 546 South “7th” Ave., Mt. Vernon, N.Y., died Monday, Oct. 12, 2009, at Mt. Vernon Hospital. He was the son of the late Cager Thorpe and Ellen Lee Thorpe. He was a native of Granville County. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Sunday by the Rev. Mary Grissom at Wright Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in the Thorpe Family Cemetery. He is survived by his wife, Vinelle Wilkerson Thorpe; five children, Florence Glover of the home, Bettie Holiday of Brooklyn, N.Y., William Thorpe of Peekskill, N.Y., and Mary Thorpe and James Thorpe, both of Mt. Vernon, N.Y.; 12 grandchildren; and 13 greatgrandchildren. The family will receive friends one hour before the funeral service. Arrangements are by Wright Funeral Home of Oxford.

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Mary B. Overton HENDERSON — Mary Burnette Overton, age 70, a resident of 240 Pinewood Drive, died Friday, October 16, 2009, at her home. Born in Franklin County on March 6, 1939, she was the daughter of the late Wesley Burton Burnette and Vera H. Gupton Burnette. She was retired from Roses Stores, Inc. and was a member of Calvary Baptist Church. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Calvary Baptist Church by the Rev. Dr. Gene Wood. Burial will follow in Sunset Gardens. She is survived by her husband, James Daily “J.D.” Overton of the home; one daughter, Mary Ann Roberson and husband, Al, of Henderson; one son, Charlie B. Evans Jr. and wife, Jenny, of Henderson; two step-daughters, Suzanne

Clifton Watkins HENDERSON — Clifton Watkins, also known as “Poochie” and “Rock,” died Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009, at the University of North Carolina Hospital in Chapel Hill. He was 57. Born in Vance County, he was the adopted son of the late Lucius and Charlie Belle Hill Watkins. He attended the public schools of Vance County and worked and traveled with citric farming in different towns in Florida. Survivors include a daughter, Belinda Johnson of Henderson; six grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; a foster sister, Gloria Hill of Henderson; and five brothers, Jimmy Williams of Albany, N.Y., Walter Foster of Louisburg, Willie Foster Jr., Jessie Foster and Robert Foster, all of Henderson. Memorial services will be conducted at 4 p.m. today in the chapel of Davis-Royster Funeral Service by the Rev. Roy Burrough. Arrangements are by Davis-Royster Funeral Service.

Crumpler and husband, Charles, and Angela O. Grissom, both of Henderson; two grandchildren, Adrianna Evans and Adison Evans; four step-grandchildren, Trey Grissom, Amber Grissom, Andrew Crumpler, and Stephen Crumpler; and her beloved dog, Tinkerbelle. She was preceded in death by one brother, Robert Lee Burnette. The family will receive friends today from 7 until 8:30 p.m. at J.M. White Funeral Home. At other times they will be at the home at 240 Pinewood Drive, off Vicksboro Road. Serving as active pallbearers will be Stephen Crumpler, Charles Crumpler, Trey Grissom, Macon Abbott, Tommy Abbott, and Earl Edmonds. Arrangements are by J.M. White Funeral Home. Paid Obituary

Spencer Cooper. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday by the Rev. Christopher Diggs at Wright Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in Meadowview Memorial Park. She is survived by a stepdaughter, Jean Wortham Johnson of Baltimore, Md.; two sisters, Lois Mayo of Durham and Ruby Herndon of Oxford; and a brother, James Arthur Cooper of Oxford. The family will receive friends one hour before the funeral service and at other times at the residence of her niece, Phyllis Clark, 4054 Dooster St. Arrangements are by Wright Funeral Home of Oxford.

Sarah C. Wortham OXFORD — Sarah Cooper Wortham, 81, died Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009, at Brantwood Nursing Center. She was the daughter of the late Lucious Cooper and Emma

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Business & Farm

The Daily Dispatch

Sales of recliners a bright spot for furniture industry RALEIGH — Ah, the recliner. The American invention that linked lazing in the living room to television and frozen dinners is one of the few bright spots in a well-worn U.S. household furniture industry. Sales of reclining chairs are getting a lift from the growing popularity of high-tech TVs, home theater equipment and video games, as well as an aging population that is less active. Even the recession, which forced many Americans to cancel vacation plans, seemed to have help sales of the comfy lounge chairs. “People think, ‘I’m not going to travel. Doggone it, when I go home I’m going to be comfortable,’” said Don Hunter, who heads Catnapper, a recliner-focused division of Jackson Furniture Industries in Cleveland, Tenn. Sales of reclining chairs and sofas totaled $3.5 billion last year and are expected to climb to $4 billion within five years, according to trade magazine Furniture/Today and New York-based Easy Analytic Software Inc. Nevada and Arizona, both popular states for retirees, will see sales jump 25 percent. That’s a stark contrast to the nearly 13 percent drop in sales furniture stores saw through September this year, compared with the same nine-month period last year, according to census data. That bad news includes a slight 1.4 percent rise in retail sales from August to September, the government reported this week. On Saturday, as the household furniture industry assembles in High Point for the start of its twice-ayear international trade show, several manufacturers will be showcasing recliners with more gizmos. Berkline is introducing a recliner line starting at $699 with installed stereo speakers, a subwoofer, and a plug for an iPod. The company has an existing model called the ButtKicker, which can be hooked up to a special amplifier that delivers the shakes and vibrations of the action on your

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High 10,061.66

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High 2,164.73

Pct. change from previous: -0.76%

Oct. 16, 2009

-8.88 J

Pct. change from previous: -0.81%

High 1,094.67

MARKET ROUNDUP 101609: Market urrencies etals charts show Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq; stand-alone; 2c x 4 1/2 inches; 96 mm x 114 mm; staff Aluminum - $.8323 per lb., London Metal NEW YORK (AP) — Key currency exEditors: 5:25:02 PM EDT change rates Friday: All figures as of: Exch. NOTE: Figures reflect market fluctuations after not match other AP content close; Coppermay -$2.7559 Cathode full plate, U.S. Dollar vs: ExchgRate PvsDay destinations. Copper $2.8510 N.Y. Merc spot Thu. Yen 90.85 90.65 Lead - $2138.00 metric ton, London Metal Euro $1.4899 $1.4931 Exch. Pound $1.6353 $1.6268 Zinc - $0.8908 per lb., delivered. Swiss franc 1.0179 1.0155 Gold - $1047.50 Handy & Harman (only Canadian dollar 1.0381 1.0331 daily quote). Mexican peso 13.0880 13.0755 Gold - $1049.80 troy oz., NY Merc spot Thu. Metal Price PvsDay Silver - $17.505 Handy & Harman (only NY Merc Gold $1050.70 $1049.80 daily quote). NY HSBC Bank US $1052.00 $1050.00 Silver - $17.400 troy oz., N.Y. Merc spot Thu. NY Merc Silver $17.405 $17.400 Mercury - $550.00 per 76 lb flask, N.Y. Platinum -$1344.00 troy oz., N.Y. (contract). Nonferrous Platinum -$1348.50 troy oz., N.Y. Merc spot NEW YORK (AP) — Spot nonferrous metal Thu. prices Friday: n.q.-not quoted, n.a.-not available r-revised

home theater system. Also new this year, is a top end to the line of massage chairs retailing for about $1,200 to $2,400. The deluxe version offered this year costs $2,599, conforms to the shape of the user’s body and includes a system of pressurized air bags for a massage that mimics human hands. For cash-crimped consumers, Berkline is targeting them with models that start as low as $299. That will help drive sales up 10 percent this year, said Rob Burch, CEO of the Morristown, Tenn.-based company. Industry executives also see opportunities for chairs that use electric power to tilt back or lift up a person who may be too weak to do it on their own. Manufacturers “benefit from an older population, and from some technological advances that make them not only comfortable but good for your health,” said Jerry Epperson, an industry analyst with investment bank Mann, Armistead & Epperson Ltd. The recliner was invented by La-Z-Boy in 1929, just months before the great stock market crash. And despite the current recession, recliner sales remain steady, said Paula Hoyas, vice president of upholstery merchandising for La-ZBoy. “They are a staple in American homes, and consumers consider recliners to be an easy and affordable

way to add a bit more comfort to a room,” Hoyas said. The U.S. is the world’s largest furniture market, accounting for about a quarter of global furniture sales, according to the Centre for Industrial Studies, an economic research and consulting company in Milan, Italy. Yet with the recession, American furniture manufacturers and wholesalers limped along with profit margins of less than two percent in the past year, while retailers have stayed afloat on profits of less than 0.5 percent, according to Sageworks Inc., which collects data on private companies. For Americans facing job insecurity and weak home sales — the strongest driver for people to buy new furniture — conserving cash has led some families to open the pocketbook just a bit so that they could at least ride out the recession in comfort. Mystery book author and retiree Pat Browning said she cashed in her stimulus check this spring and bought a $199 blue microfiber recliner at Big Lots! in May. “The comfort level is important because I am home all the time,” said Browning, 80, of Yukon, Okla. “I spend my life sitting at a computer, writing and doing endless research, but the mind can absorb only what the seat can endure. My best writing takes shape when I’m drowsing and dreaming at nap time in my new recliner.”

leases were awarded for renewable wind energy production on the Outer Continental Shelf off New Jersey and Delaware. Energy Secretary Steven Chu also was sched-

uled to speak to the group about the nation’s energy needs. Salazar and Chu also planned to tour a solar farm in Cary with North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan.

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Energy secretary to CEOs: New fuels on way CARY (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has told a North Carolina meeting of corporate CEOs the Obama administration is clearing away red tape to speed progress on alternative energy production. Salazar spoke Friday to the Business Council, a group of 150 chief executive officers formed during the Great Depression to advise the federal government. Salazar says his agency has cleared out bureaucratic confusion holding up potential offshore renewable energy projects. He says the first exploratory

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52.26 25.70 51.32 17.26 28.25 55.01 37.70 15.79 73.12 7.42 16.08 27.26 121.64 60.46 24.78 4.30 6.89 21.36 4.67 62.29 18.27 57.44 38.39 4.55 53.98 48.46 5.42 3.47 21.71 44.59 28.90 52.48 51.22 30.02 4.62 73.25

N.C. wants to create appliance rebate in April RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina consumers could get a break next year buying certain energy-efficient appliance, thanks to federal stimulus money. The state Energy Office has proposed spending nearly $9 million in recovery funds to give 15 percent rebates to people who buy Energy Star-rated appliances during four days in April. The rebate would reduce the price at the cash register on refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers and dishwashers.

Assistant state commerce secretary John Morrison says the rebate also would help cut power bills by getting rid of older

appliances. The U.S. Energy Department now must sign off on the idea, which is expected.

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Nation

The Daily Dispatch

Saturday, October 17, 2009

‘Mighty Mo’ undergoing $18 million preservation Battleship site of surrender of Japanese By JAYMES SONG Associated Press Writer

HONOLULU — Mike Weidenbach has walked across the historic teakwood decks and through the metal hallways of the USS Missouri countless times in the past decade. But he recently realized how massive the aging battleship is from a new perspective — underneath. “I touched the bottom of the ship,” gushed Weidenbach, curator of the iconic World War II vessel that now serves as a memorial and museum. The “Mighty Mo” — the last battleship built by the United States — is spending three months in dry dock at Pearl Harbor undergoing $18 million in maintenance and preservation. “I want it to be here forever,” Weidenbach said Thursday. “I want to die knowing we took care of the ship the best we were able. “For me as curator, this is our primary artifact, so it’s not like a normal Navy ship that has a life span of decades,” he said. “This is supposed to be like the U.S.

AP Photo/The Honolulu Advertiser, Bruce Asato

Navy tugboats move the historic battleship USS Missouri from its berth at Pier F-5 on Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Wednesday, to Drydock 4 in the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for maintenance. The visiting aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, is seen in the background left. Constitution. It’s supposed to be hundreds of years.” Weidenbach visited the ship at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and said it was challenging to capture the size and scope of the 887foot vessel in a photograph. “It was overwhelming,” he said. “It’s bigger than you can see. I’ve seen it above the waterline for 10 years, and I knew it was massive. But when you see the other half of it ... gosh.” The 65-year-old warship, now called the Battleship Missouri Memorial, is best

known for hosting the formal surrender of Japan in 1945. Four tugboats guided the Missouri two miles from its historic spot on Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor to dry dock on Wednesday. It has been moored for the past 11 years in Pearl Harbor, where a Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941, plunged the United States into World War II. The 54,889-ton vessel now sits on 310 wooden blocks. The hull will be sandblasted and painted,

besides preservation work on top. The ship is scheduled to return to Battleship Row on Jan. 7. BAE Systems Ship Repair has been contracted for the work. Roger Kubischta, the company’s president and general manager, said there’s a tremendous amount of marine growth stuck to the hull that will need to be removed before

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Debris found during search for missing F-16 pilot CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Crews searching for an F-16 fighter pilot whose jet hit another fighter off the South Carolina coast have spotted debris and an oil slick in the Atlantic Ocean. The search has been expanded for the pilot, who has been missing

since the planes collided during training exercises late Thursday about 40 miles off Folly Beach. The other pilot landed safely at Charleston Air Force Base. Capt. Michael McAllister of the Coast Guard in Charleston said Friday that the search area is now about 1,300 square

miles. The Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force and other agencies are using boats and planes to search for Capt. Nicholas Giglio of Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter. McAllister said Giglio and his ejection seat would have had beacons, but no signal has been picked up.

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The “Mighty Mo” was launched in 1944 and fought in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. It was decommissioned in 1955 but revived in the 1980s, after which it fired some of the first shots of the Gulf War in 1991. Its home now is just a few hundred yards from the USS Arizona, a battleship that was sunk by the Japanese with more than 1,100 sailors and Marines on board during the Pearl Harbor attack. Japan surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945, during a ceremony in Tokyo Bay. Gen. Douglas MacArthur signed for the Allied powers, while Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Chester Nimitz, signed for the U.S. Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff, signed for Japan. Copies of the surrender documents are on display today on the deck where they were signed. Weidenbach said the Arizona and Missouri are connected in history. “The war started and it was a great tragedy with the Arizona, and it ended in peace on the Missouri,” he said.

it can be sandblasted and painted. “There’s corrosion in spots of the hull, but for the most part, the hull is mostly intact,” Kubischta said. In all, eight acres of the boat’s surface need to be preserved. Kubischta said a major challenge will be to tent the entire 1,050-foot dock to prevent dust from leaving the area. The enclosure will need to be airtight with ventilation and air blowers. Three hundred to 400 people will be working on the project almost around the clock. Ninety percent of the work force is from Hawaii, Kubischta said. The Missouri was last in dry dock in 1992, just after it was decommissioned for the second and last time. It’s been moored at Pearl Harbor for the past decade after local supporters beat out groups in Washington state, San Francisco and Long Beach, Calif., for the right to host the memorial. The USS Missouri Memorial Association now operates the ship. More than 400,000 visitors tour the vessel each year and interest seems to be growing. The ship had a record 49,856 visitors in July.

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Nation News Briefs

Baptist official apologizes for Nazi comparison ATLANTA (AP) — A key Southern Baptist official has apologized for comparing proposals to overhaul the nation’s health care system with Nazism. Richard Land is president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports he also apologized for bestowing a “Josef Mengele Award” on President Barack Obama’s chief health care adviser. Mengele was a Nazi doctor who conducted cruel experiments at the Auschwitz death camp during the Holocaust. Land said in a letter dated Wednesday that he did not intend to “actually equate anyone in the Obama administration with Dr. Mengele.” The Anti-Defamation League had criticized Land’s remarks, calling them “inappropriate, insensitive and unjustified.”

Baptists’ former president sues over lost election NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The former president of the National Baptist Convention USA has sued the denomination over an election he overwhelmingly lost. Delegates to the convention, the nation’s largest and oldest black denomination, chose the Rev. Julius R. Scruggs over the Rev. Henry Lyons in last month’s vote. In a lawsuit filed Oct. 9 in Washington, D.C., Lyons alleges election

fraud and improper votecounting. He lost to Scruggs on a vote of 4,108 to 924. Lyons, who was forced out as the group’s president in 1999 after an investigation revealed he abused his power and stole about $4 million, had sued in the same court to try to stop the election. Officials with the Nashville-based denomination did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

NOW’s president takes on men behaving badly NEW YORK (AP) — The new president of the National Organization for Women has some harsh words for men she believes are behaving badly — among them, director Roman Polanski and talk show host David Letterman. First, Terry O’Neill condemned as “dangerous” suggestions by some Hollywood luminaries that Swiss authorities were wrong to detain Polanski for possible extradition to the U.S. He faces a charge dating from 1978 of having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl. O’Neill then fired another salvo after Letterman’s on-air revelation — prompted by an alleged extortion attempt — that he had sex with women working on his “Late Show.” She contended Letterman had created a poisonous workplace environment. Elected as NOW’s leader in June, O’Neill has plenty of other issues on her plate, including health care reform. But she says badly behaved men are at

the core of why women are unequal.

Feds charge man caught in pot bust SOUTH BEND, Wash. (AP) — A Mexican citizen has been charged in one of the biggest known marijuana grows in Washington state. In a Drug Enforcement Administration complaint Rafael Birrueta Mendoza of Michoacan, Mexico, is charged with conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. The complaint was unsealed Friday after Mendoza was taken into federal custody. On June 24, Pacific and Grays Harbor county investigators found nine pot farms in the Willapa Hills about 10 miles (16 kms.) southeast of South Bend. Authorities say more than 20,000 mostly young plants worth an estimated $60 million at maturity were removed. Investigators report that three men fled and one of them, Mendoza, was caught and jailed in Pacific County. According to the complaint, he was carrying a loaded Glock 20 10 mm handgun.

Judge says Va. violated absentee voters’ rights RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that Virginia violated the voting rights of military service members and other Americans overseas when officials failed to mail more than 2,100 absentee ballots in time for last year’s presidential election. U.S. District Judge

Richard Williams also ordered Friday that the Virginia Board of Elections count and certify the absentee ballots. The ballots from military service members and others living outside the state were the focus of a lawsuit filed by Republican candidate John McCain’s campaign, which alleged that they weren’t mailed in time for overseas voters to return them before the polls closed Nov. 4. The missing ballots would not have swung the election in Virginia where President Barack Obama won by nearly 233,000 votes.

Groups upset man wouldn’t marry interracial couple NEW ORLEANS (AP) — At least two civil and constitutional rights groups are calling for a Louisiana justice of the peace to resign after he refused to issue a marriage license for an interracial couple. The head of the American Civil Liberties Union in Louisiana and the Center for Constitutional Rights and Justice in New York said Keith Bardwell should quit immediately. Bardwell is a white justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish in southeastern Louisiana. He refused earlier this month to issue a license or marry Beth Humphrey, who is white, and Terence McKay, who is black. Bardwell said he always asks if a couple is interracial and, if they are, refers them to another justice of the peace. He says children of such unions face troubling futures.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

JOBLESS, from page one of layoffs and the willingness of companies to add jobs. September also saw 9,700 more people in the work force of four million, a number too small to change the unemployment rate but still a good sign. “It looks like we are not decreasing as much as we were. If you’re not going down that’s a better situation to be in,” said Stanley Black, an economist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “It’s mildly encouraging.” North Carolina has lost about 250,000 jobs since the recession started in December 2007. Trade, transportation and utilities companies

lost the most jobs in September after the sector cut 6,500 positions. Government added 13,000 jobs during the month, with teaching and others in education leading the way back onto payrolls. Construction picked up about 2,200 workers. Most economists believe the U.S. economy has started to rebound, but that increased business activity won’t translate into many new jobs for months. Black said employment won’t take off until consumers start spending again — a chicken-and-egg problem because today’s worries about job security are likely to keep checkbooks closed until prospects improve.

CHARGES, from page one parking lot of Wendy’s, 1516 Dabney Drive, was arrested Oct. 13. During the investigation, a search of the suspect found a felonious amount of marijuana, police said. Police said the investigation included a search of the John Street address. Bullock was charged with: • Possession with the

intent to manufacture, sell and deliver marijuana. • Manufacture of marijuana. Bullock is being held on $15,000 bond, with a court date of Nov. 2 Police said both investigations are continuing and more arrests are pending. Send comments to news@ hendersondispatch.com.

Arizona sheriff launches immigration sweep PHOENIX (AP) — Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has launched a crime and immigration sweep in the Phoenix area, less than a day after officials in Washington limited his powers to make federal immigration arrests. The federal government stripped the controversial Arpaio of his power to let 100 deputies make such arrests but renewed another deal that lets 60 jails officers determine the immigration status of

people in jail. The sweeps Friday in some heavily Latino areas have drawn criticism that Arpaio’s deputies racially profile people, a charge that the sheriff denies. Arpaio says his deputies can still detain illegal immigrants as long as they are turned over to federal authorities within a day or two.

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Opinion

The Daily Dispatch

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Letters to the Editor X

XII I

II III

VIII VII VI

IV V

X IX

XII

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II III

VIII

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Daily Meditation Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts. Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert. Psalm 28:3-4

Our Opinion

Old cars, speed draw a crowd If you’ll pardon the play on the famous NASCAR rally cry, we’ll offer a shout: “Gentlemen, park your cars!” Upwards of 1,500 classic cars and drag racing vehicles have been making their way to Henderson for the eighth annual Show, Shine, Shag & Dine event sponsored by Vance County Tourism both last night and all day today and the East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame reunion and inductions on Sunday. These fancy vehicles and their owners will be parked up and down Garnett, William and Breckenridge streets and every where in-between downtown today. In addition, drag racing vehicles will be parked at Vance-Granville Community College’s Civic Center on Sunday. Event organizers project Vance County’s population could more than double for this one weekend if the 50,000 folks they are expecting all get here. There’s much to see, hear and do, and it’s a real boost for Henderson’s economy each third weekend in October. Today’s show in downtown Henderson will feature antiques, muscle cars, Chevys, Fords, Corvettes, Camaros, kit cars, dragsters and motorcycles, among the dozens of categories of vehicles to be on display for viewing and for prizes. Add to the mix a display of Henderson’s own Corbitt trucks, manufactured here during the first half of last century. In addition to the metal and leather on display, various race drivers will be appearing with their famous vehicles, giving visitors a chance to inspect legendary cars and talk to the owners and drivers. Danny Thompson, the son of speed record-holder Mickey Thompson, will be autographing his new book about his dad. The elder Thompson drove the Challenger for a record 406.6 miles per hour in 1960. Joe Timney, of the East Coast Timing Association, will talk with fans about one-mile land speed records set at North Carolina’s “Maxton Mile.” At Sunday’s Hall of Fame induction, Mickey Thompson will posthumously receive the Wally Parks Motorsports Statesman Memorial Award. Also, Dave Christie will be given the Ronnie Sox Memorial Award, and Gene Fulton and Tommy Mauney will get the Thomas “Woody” Andrews Memorial Award. More than a dozen other drag racing greats will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. There’s plenty of entertainment – performances by the Imitations Band, the Al Williams Band and D.J. “Koto” – and cars that will be of interest to the children today – the “Munster Koach,” a hot rod hearse built on a 1928 Model T Ford chassis, made famous on the TV show, “The Munsters.” The public is invited to attend the various events scheduled for today and Sunday. Times and locations are available in a special on Pages 10A and 11A in today’s Dispatch. Today’s forecast promised some sun in the morning before the clouds were expected to roll back in, but a high in the upper 50s/low 60s should make for a pleasant day in the downtown area. The event has drawn significant interest across the East Coast and the nation as thousands of visitors make their way to Henderson each fall. North Carolina Weekend featured last year’s show on their TV show on Thursday and Friday night. Other media, like Fox Sports News, have covered the event on shows like “Inside Drag Racing.” No doubt, the weekend is a huge boost for motels, restaurants and shops in our community. With gasoline about a buck-and-a-half cheaper than last year, we’re expecting that the projection for the number of attendees may be right – despite the economy. When it comes to old cars and speed, some folks just can’t sit at home. Here’s trusting that the weather’s good and that Henderson will again be a great host for all of our out-of-town visitors.

The Town of Middleburg Council Members and I would like to thank all of the people who participated in Middleburg Fun Day. The day began rainy but ended with a successful event. A special thank you to the volunteers who helped with parking and setup, and to Debbie Rolson for the vocal renditions. Thanks to Middleburg Steak House; Rose Oil Company; Southern Laundry & Dry Cleaners; Forsyth’s Bar-B-Q; Jerry McDaniel of Georgia-Pacific Lumber; Vance County Crime Stoppers; Cross Country Cruisers; Vance County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Unit; Middleburg weapons, an unheard-of agree- Variety; Vance County ment. EMS; Ricky Edwards, DJ; If President Obama is going Kidd’s Entertainment, who to live up to this premature provided the children’s award, this is the legacy he rides; and to the churches must meet and strive to surof Middleburg and the pass. He has said he accepts vendors who provided this award as a call to action, such delicious food and gift and this is exactly what it must items. be. We no longer face the threat Again thanks to everyof Soviet hegemony, but rogue one and see you next year on Middleburg Fun Day. states such as Iran and North Korea present genuine threats Ray A. Bullock, mayor, and must be countered not only with calls for nuclear reduction, Middleburg but with steady determination and overwhelming strength. Just today, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called talk of Iranian sanctions “premature,” signaling yet another wrinkle in the global posture towards Iran. Negotiations and The Daily Dispatch weldiplomacy are crucial to any comes letters to the editor. effort. My father, who opened Letters must be signed, frank negotiations with the include the author’s city Soviets, knew that better than of residence, and should most, but he also knew that be limited to 300 words. we can’t be seen as willing to Please include a telephone let negotiations fail should the number for verification. resistance prove too strong. As for the Nobel, thankfully We reserve the right to my father understood that most edit comments for length, political awards were nothing clarity, libelous material, more than philosophical beauty personal attacks and poor pageants. Rather, he knew that taste. We do not publish action and results were the anonymous letters, form true measure of an individual, letters, letters with names a presidency and a nation. withheld or letters where Time and experience will we cannot verify the show the measure of President writer’s identity. Obama. Writers should limit themselves to one letter Mike Reagan, the elder son of the every 30 days. late President Ronald Reagan, is Letters can be acchairman and president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation (www. cepted by e-mail, but city reaganlegacyfoundation.org). Look of residence and a phone for Mike’s newest book, “Twice number for verification Adopted” and other info at www. purposes still must be Reagan.com. E-mail comments to included. Reagan@caglecartoons.com.

A prize for hope So much has already been said and written concerning President Obama’s startling receipt of a Nobel Peace Prize this past Friday that I don’t want to bore you with a regurgitated version of yesterday’s news. But with so many commentators and pundits, on both the left and right, raising understandable questions about the validity of conferring such an award on an American president who has been in office for less than a year and really accomplished so little… well, it’s gotten me thinking. As a country, we have had many successful past American presidents who have had such a significant, positive impact on the course of global affairs — too many of whom are no longer seen relevant or historically noteworthy, but from whom we must learn. According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the prize for peace was to be awarded to the person who “shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding of peace congresses.” Given that, we can only assume that Mr. Nobel intended the award be given to those who have achieved tangible accomplishments and invested considerable effort, not merely talked of the goals of peace. Interestingly, President Obama was especially recognized by the committee for his goal of nuclear arms reductions and focus on strengthening international diplomacy — certainly two worthwhile foreign policy goals. But President Obama’s one major speech on

nuclear arms reduction is just that…one speech. When compared to the policy aims of past presidents — including my father, who made nuclear arms reduction and eradication a centerpiece of his presidency and beyond — current political chatter seems so Michael broad. And Reagan when compared to the Distributed by foreign policy Cagle Cartoons successes of Ronald Reagan, who personally bridged the coldest of barriers to halt a spiraling nuclear arms race and aggressively confront the Red armies of oppression, the current political discourse looks little more than hope without substance. Ronald Reagan was successful not because of his strong opposition to nuclear weapons, but because he backed that opposition with real pressure on the rest of the world — pressure marked by action. He was able to walk into the 1986 Reykjavik negotiations with the Soviets and tell Gorbachev that a 50 percent reduction in weapons was insufficient and that together they needed to work for the complete elimination of all nuclear weapons. And then Reagan was able to walk out of that meeting and bring to bear all the needed economic, military, social, and political pressure. The next year Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev signed a treaty which abolished an entire category of nuclear

What’s your opinion?

Regime is Iran’s disease; nukes just a symptom The Nobel Peace Prize has renewed prestige in my book. No, not because Barack Obama won it for accomplishments to be determined later. It’s got new luster because Shirin Ebadi has, at great personal risk, effectively come out for regime change in her native Iran. Ebadi, who won the Peace Prize six years ago (under the old rules whereby recipients were expected to do something to earn the prize before receiving it), is Iran’s premier human rights lawyer. In an interview with the editors of the Washington Post, Ebadi “suggested that the nature of Iran’s regime is more crucial to U.S. security than any specific deals on nuclear energy.” Her point is precisely the same point made by so-called neoconservatives for years. The problem with Iran is its regime; its nuclear program is merely a symptom of that problem. Do you lay awake at night worrying about Britain’s nuclear weapons? France’s? Israel’s? Of course not, because stable democracies in general, and stable democratic allies in particular, aren’t a threat. If your neighbor is an upright and responsible citizen, who cares if he has a gun? If your neighbor is a complete whackjob and criminal, you sure as Shinola care if he has a gun. Armed neighbors aren’t a problem,

dangerous ones are. The same logic applies to nations. “Imagine if the government actually promised to stop its nuclear program tomorrow,” Ebadi told the Post. “Would you trust this government not to start another secret nuclear program somewhere else?” Jonah It’s a profound and Goldberg fundamental Tribune Media point. We’ve Services gotten many such promises from the North Koreans. They are worthless. Promises from oppressive regimes cannot be trusted any more than promises from Tony Soprano could be. If a government is willing to betray its own people on a daily basis, what makes anyone think that it won’t betray its geopolitical adversaries? A democratic Iran, Ebadi says, would be unlikely to pursue a nuclear program. The Iranian people fear sanctions more than the country’s corrupt, economically insulated rulers do. Moreover, the Iranian regime needs nukes for its own survival. The Iranian people may like the prestige of being a member of

the nuclear club, but they aren’t eager to pay any price to join. More important, the Iranian people aren’t interested in preserving the current regime, as has been demonstrated by the historic protests this summer. But even if Iran did go nuclear, who really cares as long as the nutty, messianic, totalitarian leadership is gone? A stable, democratic regime concerned with economic growth and normalcy might not be perfect, but which sort of government would you rather see in charge of nuclear weapons? Democracy is not necessarily a cure-all. Palestinians in Gaza held elections and swept Hamas to power. But the Iranians aren’t Gazans. And while America is despised by most nations in the region, the U.S. is actually popular with the Iranian people. Ebadi doesn’t want America to topple the Iranian regime the way it toppled Saddam Hussein’s. Or, if she does, she’s certainly smart enough not to say so outright, given that her family is under constant surveillance by Iranian authorities. What she wants is for America to get its priorities straight. Iran, which has been sponsoring terror for 30 years, is a threat because the Iranian regime is a threat. Change the regime and the threat diminishes or vanishes instantaneously. We had a golden opportunity to acceler-

ate regime change in June, but Obama blinked. Enamored with the idea that “engagement” with evil will produce good, and convinced that a brutal, undemocratic regime is the legitimate representative of the Iranian people, Obama was slow to recognize the moral authority of the democracy movement. By the time he did say what he should have said at the outset, it was clear that his grudging and qualified support for the protestors had no steel to it. The Iranian regime recognized that it would have a free hand to murder and intimidate its own people in order to reconsolidate power after it stole the election. This was a sad moment for the leader of the free world. “Mr. Obama has extended the hand of friendship to a man who has blood on his hands,” Ebadi told the Post. “He can at least avoid shaking the hand of friendship with him.” There are rumors — unconfirmed at this point — that the Supreme Leader of Iran, the Ayatollah Khamenei, is either dead or in a coma. If true, the resulting power vacuum might give Obama the chance for a do-over. That is, if he’s interested in earning a peace prize, not just winning one. You can write to Jonah Goldberg by e-mail at JonahsColumn@aol. com.

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News From The Light Side SATURDAY Morning / Early Afternoon 10/17/09

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