CMYK The politics of Fort Hood
KVA’s Cutts signs with Wake Forest
L.A. church invites pets to attend
Opinion, Page 6A
Sports, Page 1B
Faith, Page 1C SATURDAY, November 14, 2009
Volume XCV, No. 267
(252) 436-2700
www.hendersondispatch.com
Fire under investigation Chamberlain
Richardson
Arrests in Granville break-ins
Daily Dispatch/ASHLEY STEVEN AYSCUE
The trademark J.P. Taylor Co. Inc sign has disappeared from the main building Friday afternoon after a fire destroyed a number of buildings Thursday on the complex off Raleigh Road.
SBI, ATF will be on scene Monday By DAVID IRVINE Daily Dispatch Writer
Index
Daily Dispatch/ASHLEY STEVEN AYSCUE
An exit door sits open Friday afternoon after a fire destroyed several buildings on the J.P. Taylor complex off Raleigh Road Thursday night.
Etheridge won’t challenge Burr for Senate
Today Cloudy
High: 63 Low: 48
Sunday Sunny
High: 72 Low: 48
Details, 3A
Deaths Gresham, Ore. Nancy M. Dorr, 57 Henderson Anthony Bullock, 53 Abria J. Lewis, 12 Joshua Lewis, one year old Norlina William H. Green, 72 Oxford Stephanie R. Johnson, 14 Richmond, Va. Jerline A. Smith, 69 Warren County John Wyche, 58 Warrenton Annie Alston, 91 Bernice Nicholson, 83
Picking up city garbage By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
The fire that swept through the old J. P. Taylor building Thursday night was still under investigation as the week ended. Harold Henrich, Vance County Fire Marshal and EMS Chief, said late Friday afternoon that the cause had not been determined. “We’ll be out there Monday with the SBI and ATF,” he added. The tobacco plant, which had served the J. P. Taylor Company for 118 years until its closing in 2002, was first reported in flames at 3:34 p.m. on Thursday. Units from Vance County Station 3 were on the scene within five minutes. More than 100 firefighters from 14 companies Please see ARRESTS, page 4A eventually responded to the fire. The building, located at 500 J.P. Taylor Road, was a storage facility for the Pacific Coast Feather Company. The age of the structure and bedding material housed there created a difficult situation for fireOur Hometown . . . . . 2A fighters, who were also hampered in their efforts by Business & Farm. . . . 5A wind and rain. Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . 6A Light Side . . . . . . . . . 7A Contact the writer at dirvine@hendersondispatch.com. Sports. . . . . . . . . . 1-3B Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5C Comics . . . . . . . . . . . 6C Classifieds. . . . . . 7-10C
Weather
50 cents
Private firm’s rate said cheaper; city needs new trucks
By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
OXFORD — Two men were jailed on more than $100,000 bond, a teen was jailed on more than $50,000 bond and another teen was jailed on $30,000 bond after the Granville County Sheriff’s Department booked them in connection with break-ins and property damage in the rural northern part of the county. Sheriff Brin Wilkins in a statement Friday said that 15 incidents have been solved and that items valued in the thousands of dollars have been recovered. The incidents happened at the Antioch, Bullock, Fairport, Gela and Grassy Creek communities. Wilkins credited an alert neighbor at Fairport with having reported a suspicious vehicle, resulting in the arrests. The four accused persons, all from Oxford, are Dakota Chamberlain, Jonathan Richardson, Kwmane Cozart and Abdul Harris. Chamberlain, 21, of 415 Henderson St., is being held on $125,000 bond.
But challenge coming from other Democrats sparked by Hagan win By MIKE BAKER Associated Press Writer
RALEIGH — North Carolina Rep. Bob Etheridge said Friday he has decided against a run for Senate next year, saying he’d prefer to remain working in the lower chamber. Etheridge, who was first elected in 1996, pointed to his seniority in the U.S. House and noted that he recently began working on the powerful Committee on Ways and Means. “I really believe that I can best help the people in North Carolina,
during what I consider one of the worst economic downturns we’ve faced since the Great Depression, by remaining in the House,” Etheridge told The Associated Press. The representative from North Carolina’s 2nd congressional district, which covers areas south and east of Raleigh, is the second prominent Democrat to consider but decline a run against Sen. Richard Burr. Attorney General Roy Cooper also passed on the campaign earlier this year. Etheridge said he believes Burr remains vulnerable. “I really think the atmosphere is lining up in North Carolina,” he said. “The dynamics have changed in our state.” North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and
Durham attorney Kenneth Lewis, both Democrats, have announced their plans to challenge Burr. The Republican senator already has $3.4 million to spend on his reelection bid. Democrats have been eager to target Burr since the 2008 election, when party candidate Kay Hagan was able to unseat Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole. An Elon University poll released last month found that Burr had an approval rating of 37 percent among North Carolina adults, while 22 percent of respondents disapproved of the way the Republican lawmaker is handling his job. Next year will be Burr’s first re-election bid in the Senate. He served in the House for a decade before moving to the upper chamber in 2004.
Rainfall triggers bypass of wastewater From STAFF REPORTS
Heavy rain continues to trigger reports from Henderson of the bypass of untreated wastewater. The city’s Sandy Creek sewage pumping station at Rowland’s Obituaries, 4A Pone at 482 Rock Mill Road byplassed 12,000 gallons from 9:15 p.m. Thurday to 7 a.m. Friday. The cause was heavy inflow and infiltration from 5.85 inches of rain over a 60-hour period. The bypass entered Sandy
Creek, which is a tributary of the Tar Pamlico River Basin. Questions about the bypass should be directed to Tom Spain, Henderson Water Reclamation Facility Director, at (252) 4316081. The city also reported that its sewer collection system bypassed 39,000 gallons of untreated wastewater from 5 p.m. to midnight Thursday. The location was Neathery Street, Rock Spring Street, Pinkston Street school,
Pinkston and Adam Street and Pinkston Street apartments. The bypass also entered Sandy Creek. Questions about this bypass should be directed to Paul Brown, the Public Utilities Operator in Responsible Charge, at (252) 4316105 or Andy Perkinson, Public Utilities Maintenance Supervisor, at (252) 431-0419. Send comments to news@hendersondispatch.com.
Waste Industries is offering to pick up household garbage and recyclables at curbside in Henderson for a monthly base price of $8.94 compared to the municipal government’s current price of $9.91 for backdoor pickup of garbage and curbside pickup of recyclables. “The beauty of the privatization is that the rate could stay flat or you would have a little bit of flexibility,” City Manager Ray Griffin told the City Council earlier this week. The price for the city to provide curbside service would increase to $13.46 by Fiscal Year 2014 because the city would have to replace aging trucks and acquire containers and additionally because of the labor and liability costs, Assistant City Manager Frank Frazier and City Public Works Director Linda Leyen told the council. By comparison, the price for Waste Industries to provide the service is projected to be $9.77 by Fiscal 2014, documents show. Waste Industries is proposing a 10-year contract, with two automatic five-year renewals. The price would be subject to adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index, which is the measure of the average change over time in the price paid by urban households for a set of consumer goods and services. Previous talks had been about a three-year proposed agreement between the city and Waste Industries. A city discount for senior citizens would remain in place. Waste Industries would provide 95-gallon containers for household garbage, along with 65-gallon containers for recyclables. The company has amended details to withdraw an additional $5 proposed charge for backyard service for physically challenged persons and to reduce an additional proposed $5 charge for an extra container to $4. Frazier said that the picking up of recyclables at curbside would remain under the present bi-weekly schedule should the council go with Waste Industries. The city utilizes 18-gallon bins for recyclables, with the recyclables hauled by municipal crews to Sonoco, which is a professional recycling company in Raleigh. The council, meeting on Monday evening, spent approximately 40 minutes hearing from Frazier and Leyen and asking questions. Frazier and Leyen were back after council members posed more questions after the pair gave a presentation on Oct. 26. The council in mid-April 2008 voted to change from twice-a-week to once-a- week household garbage pickup, with the vote taking effect at the start of July 2008. And Leyen has said when the city scaled back the household garbage pickup service, “We probably cut our staff too short.” The Public Works Department has to consistently pull from the cemetery, grounds maintenance and street crews for help with sanitation when there is absenteeism and vacancies. Please see GARBAGE, page 3A