The Daily Dispatch - Thursday, December 31, 2009 by The Daily Dispatch

CMYK Smokers to puff fire-safe cigarettes

Smoking ban makes sense

Dispatch names All-area volleyball team

From Page One, Page 3A

Opinion, Page 6A

Sports, Page 1B THURSDAY, December 31, 2009, 2009

Volume XCV, No. 305

(252) 436-2700

www.hendersondispatch.com

Correctional officer charged in death outside restaurant

Lt. Pulley retires in March, will run unaffiliated

By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer

Please see DA, page 3A

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

Weather Today Mostly cloudy

High: 51 Low: 39

Friday A few showers

By AL WHELESS Daily Dispatch Writer

Daily Dispatch/WILLIAM F. WEST

Amber Faucette had 20 inches of her hair cut by Henderson stylist Tina Williamson. Amber was inspired after seeing a televised program about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Amber’s gift will go to Locks of Love.

Sharing her locks, love with kids suffering from hair loss

Girl, 8, was inspired after hearing message from St. Jude hospital By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer

An 8-year-old girl on Wednesday afternoon had 20 inches of her hair cut at a Henderson salon for a worthy cause. Amber Faucette was inspired after seeing a televised program about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., said her mother, Sandra. The clippings will be given to Locks of Love, a Florida-based non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. Amber, when asked how she felt about making the donation, replied, “Good.” When asked whether she is going to miss having lengthy hair, she laughed and replied, “Yeah.” She said she will let her hair grow long again. Amber has cerebral palsy. “Other than just having her left side affected from that, she’s a pretty smart little girl,” her mother said. “And I’m tickled to death she decided to do it.” “And, too, I think she’s getting tired of all the knots that have to be combed out,” her mother added with a laugh. The Faucette family lives off Sims Bridge Road southeast of

Details, 3A

Deaths Henderson Thelbert E. Rudd, 60

Obituaries, 4A

Daily Dispatch/WILLIAM F. WEST

Amber Faucette stands with her mother, Sandra, moments before the 8-year-old had her locks cut as a gift to help the less fortunate, and then sports her new look. Henderson and just on the Franklin County side of the Vance County-Franklin County line. Sandra Faucette at first said Amber previously only had her bangs cut, but clarified to say

approximately eight inches of Amber’s hair was cut last year because the locks had grown past her buttocks. And Sandra Faucette said she was scared Amber’s hair was going to get hung up at school. Amber is a student at Crosscreek Charter in Louisburg. Amber’s hair was cut by Tina Williamson at Tina’s A Cut Above, 345 Dabney Drive. The name of the salon is in reference to the owner, Tina Phan. Sandra Faucette said although Amber knew about Locks of Love, Amber made the decision to go to the salon after seeing the video about the St. Jude hospital. The hospital was founded in 1962 by the late entertainer Danny Thomas and is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Sandra Faucette, when asked about Amber’s hair length after the trimming, “It’s hard to get used to, to be honest. It’s hard to get used to, but I’m proud of her for doing it.” Amber’s older sisters, Ashley, 16, and Autumn, 11, each had their locks cut by a family member this past summer for donations. Sandra Faucette said that Ashley’s hair and Autumn’s hair never reached the length of Amber’s hair and that Amber’s hair “just grows like a weed.” Contact the writer at bwest@hendersondispatch.com.

Creedmoor mayor King event speaker By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer

High: 45 Low: 21

50 cents

HPD officer announces for sheriff

DA to seek indictment in shooting

OXFORD — Granville County District Attorney Sam Currin intends to seek an indictment of a federal correctional officer resulting from the weekend fatal shooting of a 45-year-old man outside a Butner restaurant. Currin told the newspaper that, based on what Butner Public Safety told him Wednesday afternoon, he will ask the grand jury to consider issuing a true bill saying Uriah Metcalf must answer for allegedly committing voluntary manslaughter in the early Sunday morning death of Ronald Dewey Anderson Jr. Currin said he cannot comment about why he will seek the indictment, citing the ongoing probe. Voluntary manslaughter is defined as the killing of a human being in which the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted in the “heat of passion” as a result of having been provoked by the deceased. Currin said the grand jury will meet the week of Jan. 19. Currin said when a person is indicted first, rather than issued a warrant, his office will ask a Superior Court judge for an order to arrest the person, with the judge to decide the amount of the bond. Metcalf and another federal correctional officer, Gwynn Basinger, were leaving the Taste of Fuji Japanese Grill off the Interstate 85/N.C. 56 interchange and were followed

OXFORD — Creedmoor Mayor Darryl Moss will be the guest speaker at the Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast here. The annual gathering, which is sponsored by the Granville County Human Relations Commission and Oxford’s government, is set for 8 a.m. Jan. 18 at Oxford Baptist Church, 147 Main St. Moss was re-elected Nov. 3 without opposition to another two-year term as Creedmoor’s chief executive. In 1999, Moss, a 10-year city

commissioner, won the mayor’s position by narrowly defeating decade-long incumbent Otha Piper. And Piper replaced Moss on the commission. Moss Moss additionally serves on the N.C. Environmental Management Commission, which is responsible for adopting rules for the protection, preservation and enhancement of the state’s air and water resources. Moss is an account executive at Blue Range Technology in Morrisville.

Henderson Police Lt. Charles Pulley said Wednesday he will challenge Vance County Sheriff Peter White, who announced Tuesday his bid for re-election. Because he won’t retire from the police force until the end of March, Pulley explained, he can’t file with the Board of Elections in February, and will be running Pulley unaffiliated. “Being a city employee, I can’t be a candidate for any office,” said the 48-year-old head of the department’s detective division, narcotics unit and drug interdiction efforts on Interstate 85. For the past two weeks, Pulley said, people have been gathering signatures for him to be on the ballot in the General Election in November. The figure needed is about 1,200 or four percent of the total number of registered voters in the county, he added. “My official last day (with the police department) will be March 31,” Pulley said. As of then, he will have been on the force for 28 1/2 years. For the last several years, the first-time politician explained, he has thought of running for sheriff after retirement. Asked why, Pulley replied: “I think we can improve the crimefighting efforts in this county. I’ve lived here all my life, and I’d like to see the quality of life improve.” In addition, Pulley said he doesn’t believe crime has dropped across Vance since White took office in 2006. “I think the county can work more closely with the federal government as far as the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) and ATF (Alcohol-Tobacco-Firearms), to target violent offenders,” Pulley said. For eight years, he was head of the Interagency Drug Enforcement Unit (Police Department and Sheriff’s Office) between 1995 and 2007. “Drugs are a big part of the (crime) problem in Vance County,” Pulley said. “Probably 95 percent. I will definitely create a drug interdiction unit (on I-85).” Sparks of friction developed between White and Chief Keith Sidwell earlier this year over the stopping of I-85 motorists outside the city limits in the county in Please see PULLEY, page 3A

The Human Relations Commission was established in 1992 by the County Commission to encourage understanding and goodwill among all citizens regardless of race, religion, nationality, gender, creed and economic status. The Human Relations Commission meets monthly. Tickets are required to attend the breakfast. Those interested in going may phone the county administration office at (919) 693-5240.

Oxford commission retreat set for Jan. 14

Contact the writer at bwest@hendersondispatch.com.

Send comments to news@hendersondispatch.com.

OXFORD — The Oxford City Commission’s annual retreat is set for 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Cobb Center at the Masonic Home for Children, 600 College St. The municipal department heads will make presentations to the seven-member board and Mayor Al Woodlief. The session is open to the public.

The Daily Dispatch

Mark It Down Saturday

Our Hometown

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Wet weather hampers leaf collection

Ringing in the New Year

Dee’s Music Barn — Dee’s Music Barn, 3101 Walters Road, Creedmoor, will be featuring the Woodard Band at 7 p.m. For more information, call (919) 528-5878.

Due to the frequent rainfall this fall and winter thus far, the City of Henderson’s Public Works Department has had to modify its planned schedule for loose leaf collection. Since the leaf vacuum machines are less efficient when leaves are wet, the city crews are using tractors and loaders with dump trucks to help with loose leaf collection. Leaf collection crews are working six days a week to collect all loose leaves as soon as possible, according to Linda S. Leyen, director of the department. Bagged leaves are being collected on a daily basis. The city encourages residents to use clear bags when bagging leaves. For more information on the loose leaf collection schedule, contact the Public Works Department at (252) 431-6115 or (252) 431-6118.

Monday Planning board — The City of Henderson’s Planning Board will meet at 3:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of City Hall, 134 Rose Ave. Oxford Commission — The Oxford City Commission’s agenda meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. in the City Commission meeting room of City Hall, 300 Williamsboro St. Granville Commission — The Granville County Commission will meet at 7 p.m. in the County Commission meeting room, 145 Williamsboro St.

Tuesday Elections board — The Vance County Board of Elections will meet at 11 a.m. in the Board of Elections office in the Henry A. Dennis Building, 300 S. Garnett St., Henderson. Zoning board — The City of Henderson’s Zoning Board of Adjustment will meet at 3:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of City Hall, 134 Rose Ave.

Wednesday Joint replacement class — Rehabilitation Services at Maria Parham Medical Center will offer a class from 3:304:30 p.m. in the classroom at the hospital for those who are planning to have joint replacement surgery. The class will be taught by licensed physical and occupational therapists and will cover exercise recommendations, rehabilitation therapy needs, equipment needs, pain management strategies and what to expect after surgery. The free class is offered to anyone who has elected to have shoulder, knee or hip replacement surgery, regardless of the hospital where the surgery will be performed. Call Ben Soyden at (252) 436-1235 for more information. Lake Gaston Association — The Lake Gaston Association will hold its monthly meeting at 9:30 a.m. in the Family Life Center at the Lake Gaston Baptist Church on Route 903, one mile north of Eaton Ferry Bridge, near Littleton. Guest speaker will be Brady Martin, newly elected president of the Lake Gaston Chamber of Commerce. The meeting is open to members and non-members. For further information call (252) 586-6577, or, toll free 1-888-586-6577. Economic Development Commission — The Oxford Downtown Economic Development Commission will meet at 8 a.m. in the mayor’s conference room of City Hall, 300 Williamsboro St.

Guidelines The “Mark It Down” calendar announces events happening in the community that are sponsored by civic organizations, non-profit groups, government organizations and similar groups. The Daily Dispatch staff asks that items intended for inclusion in the calendar be submitted in writing at least five days in advance of the event. Please include a contact person’s name and phone number in case there are questions. Items for this listing can be e-mailed to communitynews@ hendersondispatch.com. Due to the overwhelming number of churches served by the Dispatch, church events cannot be listed in the “Mark It Down” calendar.

The town of Clarksville, Va., will hold its family-oriented community New Year’s Eve celebration, “Countdown to 2010” at the Clarksville Community Center tonight from 8 p.m. to midnight. Children will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of games and enjoy live music. Clowns and balloons will add to the festive atmosphere. Adults can enjoy food, door prize drawings, dancing and more. The toast at midnight will include a large fishing bobber that will drop to end the festive evening. For more information, contact Beth at (434) 374-5859. Pictured above are kids, teens and adults having fun doing the hokey pokey dance at the “Countdown to 2009” celebration last year.

The spirit of giving

Contact our

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communitynews@hendersondispatch.com or faxed to (252) 436-0125. Submitted photos are kept for 30 days after appearing in the paper and may be picked up at any time after they appear in the paper. For more information on community news guidelines, contact Linda Gupton, features editor, at 436-2837.

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season. Volunteers are asked to call (252) 492-6298 and leave a name and phone number. Free training will be provided.

for safe return of Dell Laptop Computer stolen from the residence of Joe Lewis on Vincent Hoyle Road or for information that leads to its recovery.

Please call (252) 213-0098 if you have any information.

Marketplace Shopping Center

Tax assistance volunteers needed at Gateway Center for upcoming tax season

The Gateway Community Development Corp. needs volunteers to help with the Volunteer Income Guidelines for Community Tax Assistance Program News Submissions for the upcoming tax

The Daily Dispatch encourages readers to submit news items and photos for inclusion in the paper. News items may be dropped off at our newspaper offices at 304 S. Chestnut St. in downtown Henderson or mailed to The Daily Dispatch, P.O. Box 908, Henderson, NC, 27536. News items may also be e-mailed to

Marketplace Cinema

Members of the Jubilee Sertoma Club donated toys, clothing and food items to the Salvation Army to assist with the organization’s annual Christmas project. They also spent time ringing the bell at various locations as they assisted with the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Program. Pictured (left to right) are Bernice Yancey, Anne Ellis, Clara Foster, Diane Gee, Carolyn Taylor and Leroy Gee with some of the items collected.

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304 S. Chestnut Street, Henderson, NC 27536

From Page One

The Daily Dispatch

FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR HENDERSON TODAY

TONIGHT

FRIDAY

Mostly Cloudy

Few Showers

51Âş

39Âş

45Âş 21Âş

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

Mostly Sunny

34Âş 18Âş

34Âş 17Âş

36Âş 17Âş

Almanac

Sun and Moon

Temperature

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

Raleigh -Durham through 6 p.m. yest. High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Low . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Normal High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Normal Low . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Record High . . . . . . . . .76 in 1996 Record Low . . . . . . . . . .9 in 1970

.7:25 .5:09 .5:10 .7:18 .7:25 .5:10 .6:26 .8:10

a.m. p.m. p.m. a.m. a.m. p.m. p.m. a.m.

Moon Phases

Precipitation Yesterday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0.00" Month to date . . . . . . . . . . . .5.91" Normal month to date . . . . .2.93" Year to date . . . . . . . . . . . . .40.25" Normal year to date . . . . . .42.94"

Full 12/31

New 1/15

Last 1/7

First 1/23

Lake Levels Elevation in feet above sea level. Data as of 7 a.m. yesterday. Lake Gaston Kerr

24-Hr. Lake Capacity Yest. Change Jordan 240 219.6 -0.7 Neuse Falls 264 254.3 -0.3

24-Hr. Capacity Yest. Change 203 199.2 0.0 320 309.1 0.0

Regional Weather Henderson 51/39

Winston-Salem Durham 51/39 49/38 Asheville 46/34

Rocky Mt. 54/42

Greensboro 50/39 Raleigh 52/40 Charlotte 48/38

Fayetteville 55/43

Shown is todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weather. Temperatures are todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highs and tonightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lows.

Cape Hatteras 60/47

Wilmington 58/48

Regional Cities Today

Fri.

Today

Fri.

City

Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx City

Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx

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

46/34 46/34 50/39 51/39 49/35 51/39 51/39 54/46 46/33 55/43 56/44 50/39 55/43 58/44 45/34

50/39 57/45 55/43 54/45 58/49 60/47 55/44 57/43 52/40 49/38 53/41 54/42 53/41 58/48 49/38

ra ra mc mc ra ra mc ra ra mc mc mc ra ra ra

35/19 34/18 43/22 45/22 42/26 44/22 45/22 50/26 40/20 50/26 50/26 43/21 51/26 54/28 36/19

rs sn sh sh pc mc sh ra rs sh sh sh ra ra mc

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

mc ra ra ra ra ra ra ra mc ra mc mc mc ra mc

43/22 54/27 52/26 52/26 55/29 55/33 52/33 53/28 47/24 43/25 47/24 48/25 47/23 56/27 43/21

sh ra ra ra mc ra ra ra sh ra sh sh sh ra sh

Weather (Wx): cl/cloudy; pc/partly cloudy; ra/rain; rs/rain & snow; s/sunny; sh/showers; sn/snow; t/thunderstorms; w/windy

Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Map

H H

Cold Front

Stationary Front

Warm Front

Low Pressure

out 75 percent of the time when not in active use. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tiny, ultra-thin bands of paper that are literally layered on the white part of the cigarette and when the lit end of the product crosses one of those bands it acts like a speed bump and it slows down the burn rate,â&#x20AC;? said David Sutton, spokesman for Altria Group Inc., parent of Philip Morris USA, the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest tobacco company. Most tobacco companies have supported the move to fire-safe cigarettes. Sutton said his company has been working with states to make sure all adopt the New York standards. The maker of Marlboro, Chesterfield, L&M and Virginia Slims plans to sell nothing but fire-safe cigarettes by Feb. 2 regardless of state laws. Most states allow businesses to sell conventional cigarettes past the effective dates of their laws until existing stocks are exhausted. Fire-safe packs are generally marked with â&#x20AC;&#x153;FSC,â&#x20AC;? for Fire Standards Compliant. Some smokers claim the new cigarettes cause headaches and nausea and contain dangerous chemicals. Cigarettes have already been linked to cancer.

Yesterdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Extremes High: 70Â° in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Low: -15Â° in Wolf Point, Mont.

FORT BRAGG (AP) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; A military judge ruled against a defense motion to dismiss for double jeopardy the case of Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis, accused of killing a woman and two of her daughters in North Carolina. Col. Patrick Parrish on Wednesday said the Army can prosecute Hennis for the same offenses for which he was acquitted in civilian court in 1989. Hennis is charged in the deaths of Kathryn Eastburn and two of her daughters, who were killed in their Fayetteville home on May 9, 1985. He was convicted in civilian court in 1986 but was acquitted at a second trial in 1989.

Two men, woman found shot to death in eastern N.C. WILSON (AP) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Authorities in eastern North Carolina say a man shot and killed his former girlfriend and her new boyfriend before he fatally shot himself. WRAL-TV reported that Wilson County Sheriff Wayne Gay is calling the murder-suicide near Wilson a domestic violence situation. He said the woman sought a restraining order against the

suspect last year but never followed through. Investigators said Paola Aguilera Ayala, 24, had returned home from her job Wednesday morning when her former boyfriend and another person drove up to her home in a pickup truck. They said he went into the house and killed Ayalaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new boyfriend, chased the woman into an adjacent yard and shot her, then shot himself.

Teacher charged with sex crimes from 1993-2001 GREENSBORO (AP) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; A middle school teacher in North Carolina has been arrested and charged with sex crimes, some of which occurred more than 15 years ago. The News & Record of Greensboro reported that Harold Robert Grant Jr., 57, of Greensboro was arrested Tuesday. Guilford County sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deputies say the charges stem from an investigation of allegations that occurred between 1993 and 2001. The Southeast Middle School teacher is charged with four counts of indecent liberties with a child and one count each of second degree sex offense, crime against nature and felony child abuse involving a sexual act. Grant was being held in the Guilford County jail.

PULLEY, from page one a coordinated effort by members of the police department and other law enforcement agencies. Besides drugs, Pulley said the morals of those who are responsible for crimes are also a factor. He doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, however, think the bad economy is to blame. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good people of the county donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go out and commit armed robbery and break-ins just because they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have jobs,â&#x20AC;? Pulley said. As for the sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office itself, â&#x20AC;&#x153;There may be some reorganization that will have to occur,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have to put the people already employed in the proper places they are suited and trained for.â&#x20AC;? Pulley listed a number

of law enforcement ideas he would use as sheriff. They include: â&#x20AC;˘ A Proactive Criminal Enforcement Team that would patrol Interstate 85, U.S. 1 and other areas where drug trafficking is a problem. Pulley said 80 percent of money seized from drug dealers is returned to the county, and can be used to purchase vehicles and other equipment to fight crime. â&#x20AC;˘ Having a full-time crime prevention officer to work closely with local residents and create Community Watch groups throughout the county. â&#x20AC;˘ E-mail alerts that could inform the public and the media when and where crimes occur.

DA, from page one

High Pressure

Military judge denies defense motion for sergeant

by Anderson and another man, Warren Owen, authorities said. The gunfire subsequently started, authorities said. Basinger and Metcalf were not on duty at the time of the shooting. The restaurant is at the

corner of N.C. 56 and West Lyon Station Road. Authorities received the call at 12:25 a.m. and Owen was charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Contact the writer at bwest@ hendersondispatch.com.

â&#x20AC;˘ Creating and training a full-time crime scene technician who could respond to homicides and robberies, as well as breaking-and-entering incidents at businesses and residences. â&#x20AC;˘ A Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Citizens Patrol that could be operated with graduates of an academy that would offer 40 hours of training in crime prevention and other areas of law enforcement. â&#x20AC;˘ A chaplain to provide specialized guidance, counseling and assistance to the deputies and their families. â&#x20AC;˘ Restructuring and redirecting the Narcotics Unit to work with both state and federal law enforcement authorities to

ay yd r e Ev

focus on large-scale drug traffickers and violent offenders. â&#x20AC;&#x153;During my career, I have personally been involved in the investigation and prosecution of over 200 individuals who were successfully prosecuted in the federal system and received sentences ranging from 10 years to life in federal prison,â&#x20AC;? Pulley said. â&#x20AC;˘ A Career Development Program that would give employees an opportunity to not only attend statemandated training, but to continue their training in other fields of law enforcement such as narcotics, criminal investigation and crime scene processing. Contact the writer at awheless@hendersondispatch.com.

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The Daily Dispatch

Local, Nation & World

NYPD: No bomb inside abandoned van By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — A white van parked in the heart of Times Square with tinted windows, no license plates and a bogus law enforcement placard led the NYPD to briefly evacuate the tourist hot spot and send in a bomb squad on the day before New Year’s Eve. No explosive devices were found inside the van Wednesday afternoon, and the area was reopened to traffic about two hours after the incident began. The van was spotted by patrol officers around 11 a.m. Wednesday on Broadway between 41st and 42nd Streets, and counterterrorism and bomb squad crews responded. The area was blocked off and two high-rise buildings home to Nasdaq and publishing company Conde Nast were partially evacuated but allowed back in around 1 p.m. Nasdaq said its trading was unaffected. Conde Nast was in the process of evacuating when the order was lifted. There were no corresponding terror threats involving the vehicle, said chief NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne. But police take extra care around New Year’s Eve when the ball-drop celebration draws hundreds of thousands of revelers to the heart of Times Square from around the world. Squads routinely patrol for suspicious vehicles and do sweeps in garages before the annual event. The 1992 Dodge van was parked in a row of cars beneath some of the large billboards that ring the square. Police

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Emergency personnel and media gather around a suspicious van that was parked in Times Square, New York, Wednesday. No explosive devices were found inside the van, and the area was reopened to traffic about two hours after the incident began. used a robot to examine the vehicle, then approached on foot and peered in the windows. The van was opened and clothing was discovered inside, along with a temporary registration. Police were looking for the van’s owner. Shouting and putting up wooden barricades, police began clearing several blocks, directing thousands of Times Square tourists to move south. Investigators also towed a parked car several yards from the van. A tarp partially

covered the van, and the placard said “detective’s crime clinic, New York/New Jersey area,” a nonexistent law enforcement agency. It wasn’t clear how long the van had been parked there, although New Yorkers who work in the area said the van had been there at least two days. A similar-looking van in the same location appeared on Google Street View in warmer weather, which suggests it could have been there for a while.

Dutch plan full body scans for U.S. flights Christmas bomber passed through the Netherlands By ARTHUR MAX MIKE CORDER Associated Press Writers and

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The Netherlands announced Wednesday it will immediately begin using full body scanners for flights heading to the United States, saying that could have stopped the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing. The U.S. had not wanted these scanners to be used previously because of privacy concerns but now the Obama administration has agreed that “all possible measures will be used on flights to the U.S.,” Dutch Interior Minister Guusje Ter Horst told a news conference. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253 to Detroit from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Friday carrying undetected explosives, law enforcement authorities said, adding that 23-year-old Nigerian tried but failed to blow up the plane carrying 289 people. Amsterdam’s Schiphol has 15 body scanners, each costing more than $200,000. But until now neither the European Union nor the U.S. have approved the routine use of the scanners at European airports. A key European legislator urged the European Union to begin rapidly installing the new equipment across the 27-nation bloc, but no other European nations immediately followed the Dutch move. Body scanners that peer

AP Photo/Cynthia Boll

An employee of Schiphol stands inside a body scanner during a demonstration Monday at a press briefing at Schiphol airport, Netherlands. On the display the highlighted area shows an alert on possible forbidden items. underneath clothing have device, including 80 grams of Pentrite, or PETN, in the been available for years, but aircraft toilet, then planned privacy advocates say they to detonate it with a syringe are a “virtual strip search” of chemicals. She said the because they display an explosives appeared to have image of the body onto a been professionally precomputer screen. pared and had been given to New software, however, Abdulmutallab, but did not eliminates that problem by elaborate. projecting a stylized image Abdulmutallab arrived in rather than an actual picture Amsterdam on Friday from onto a computer screen, Lagos, Nigeria on a KLM highlighting the area of flight. the body where objects are After a layover of less concealed in pockets or under than three hours in the the clothing. international departure But the 15 scanners will hall, he passed through a not cover the 25-30 flights a security check at the gate day that leave Amsterdam in Amsterdam, including a for U.S. destinations, and hand baggage scan and a passengers at gates without metal detector, and boarded one will be patted down. the Northwest flight. He did Schiphol is waiting for a not pass through a full-body government directive on scanner. whether to buy more maAbdulmutallab was carchines, airport spokeswoman Kathelijn Vermeulen said. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was briefed Tuesday by the Dutch justice minister on the subject, agency spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said in Washington. Ter Horst said Abdulmutallab apparently assembled the explosive

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rying a valid Nigerian passport and had a valid U.S. visa, the Dutch said. His name also did not appear on any Dutch list of terror suspects. Abdulmutallab, charged with trying to destroy an aircraft, is being held at the federal prison in Milan, Michigan. In the U.S., 40 full-body scanners are being operated in at least 19 U.S. airports. Later Wednesday, Nigeria echoed the Dutch move, with Civil Aviation Authority chief Harold Demuren in Lagos saying his agency would buy full body scanners and hope to begin installing them next year. Those comments conflicted with a 2009 report from the U.S. State Department, which said the Nigerian government had approved the installation of U.S.-funded body scanners in all four of Nigeria’s international airports earlier this year. The reports could not be immediately reconciled. President Barack Obama has demanded a preliminary report by Thursday from U.S. security authorities on what went wrong in the Detroit airliner case. Obama said the intelligence community should have been able to piece together information that would have raised “red flags” and possibly prevented Abdulmutallab from boarding the airliner.

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Thelbert E. Rudd HENDERSON — Thelbert Errol Rudd, age 60, a resident of 424 Lightwood Way, died Tuesday, December 29, 2009, at Rex Hospital in Raleigh. Born on January 31, 1949, in Warren County, he was the son of the late Howard Thelbert Rudd and Virginia Collins Rudd. He was a veteran of the United States Army serving during the Vietnam War. He was an employee of the United States Postal Service and was a Henderson mail carrier. Mr. Rudd was a member of the American Legion in Colonial Heights, Va., and was also a member of the Disabled American Veterans. Errol loved working with wood and making curio cabinets, clocks, and furniture. He also enjoyed metal detecting. Funeral services with Military Honors will be held Friday, January 1, 2010, at 2 p.m. in the J.M. White Funeral Home Chapel by the Rev. Brent Kassey and the Rev. Frank Sossamon. He is survived by his wife, Judy Cochran

Rudd, of the home; one son Troy Rudd Walker, and wife, Teri Walker, of South Hill; two loving grandchildren, Skylar and Kason; two brothers, Howard W. Rudd and wife, “Peachy,” of Henderson, and Leland Bowers and wife, Betty, of Chase City, Va.; one sister, Vicki R. Faucette and husband, John, of Henderson; and many nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends Friday from 12:30 until 1:45 p.m. at J.M. White Funeral Home. At other times they will be at the home at 424 Lightwood Way in the Sagefield Subdivision. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, c/o RBC Bank, P.O. Box 1609, Henderson, N.C. 27536; the Vance County Relay For Life, P.O. Box 914, Henderson, N.C. 27536; or the American Diabetes Association, 2418 Blue Ridge Road, Suite 206, Raleigh, N.C. 27607. Arrangements are by J.M. White Funeral Home. Paid Obituary

Nebraska state trooper finds pot gift-wrapped in an SUV SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska trooper found an unexpected holiday present at the end of a police chase. The Nebraska State Patrol says the trooper found seven pounds of gift-wrapped marijuana inside an SUV that ran off the road during a chase in Morrill County. The patrols says the trooper tried to stop the SUV for failure to signal on Tuesday. After a short

pursuit, the SUV turned into a cornfield. The patrol says the driver fled on foot but was captured a short time later. A passenger, who was pregnant, remained in the SUV and was arrested. The patrol says the two face charges of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. The driver may also face additional charges stemming from the chase. Artistic Director

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Business & Farm

The Daily Dispatch

Conservation program applications due Jan. 15 The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced a Jan. 15 deadline to qualify for the first application period for the 2010 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in North Carolina. EQIP is a voluntary conservation program administration by the NRCS. The program supports North Carolina farmers who have set compatible goals in both production agriculture and environmental quality. Through EQIP, farmers may receive financial and technical help to plan, design and install structural conservation practices, and to plan and implement management practices on eligible agricultural land. EQIP is a competitive program. All applications will

be ranked. The ranking system uses a combination of statewide and local criteria to help determine which applications are the most environmentally beneficial projects. Those projects that are ranked highest will be funded during this initial ranking period. Those who are not selected in this first round are asked to continue to submit EQIP applications throughout the year in anticipation for future ranking periods. For more information about EQIP and eligibility, contact NRCS or the local Farm Service Agency at the Vance County USDA Service Center, (252) 438-3134, ext. 3, or stop by the office at 835 S. Beckford Drive, Suite C, Henderson.

Currencies & Metals NEW YORK (AP) — Key currency exchange rates Wednesday: Dollar vs: Yen Euro Pound Swiss franc Canadian dollar Mexican peso Metal NY Merc Gold NY HSBC Bank US NY Merc Silver

ExchgRate 92.46 $1.4334 $1.6069 1.0370 1.0554 13.0730 Price $1091.50 $1093.00 $16.779

PvsDay 91.96 $1.4351 $1.5903 1.0370 1.0434 13.0770 PvsDay $1097.00 $1097.00 $17.091

Nonferrous NEW YORK (AP) — Spot nonferrous metal prices Wednesday: Aluminum - $1.0182 per lb., London Metal Exch. Copper -$3.2750 Cathode full plate, LME. Copper $3.3255 N.Y. Merc spot Wed Lead - $2365.00 metric ton, London Metal Exch. Zinc - $1.1362 per lb., London Metal Exch. Gold - $1087.50 Handy & Harman (only daily quote). Gold - $1091.50 troy oz., NY Merc spot Wed. Silver - $16.890 Handy & Harman (only daily quote). Silver - $16.779 troy oz., N.Y. Merc spot Wed. Platinum -$1461.00 troy oz., N.Y. (contract). Platinum -$1462.20 troy oz., N.Y. Merc spot Wed. n.q.-not quoted, n.a.-not available r-revised

Area Stocks Listed below are representative interdealer quotations at approximately 4 p.m. Wednesday from the National Association of Securities Dealers. Prices do not include retail mark-up, mark-down or commission. ACS ATT Ball Corp. BankAmerica BB&T Coca-Cola CVS Duke Energy Exxon Ford General Elec. Home Depot IBM Johnson & Johnson Kennametal Krispy Kreme Louisiana Pacific Lowes Lucent Tech. Pepsico Phillip Morris Procter & Gamble Progress Energy RF Micro Dev Royal Bk Can

Thursday, December 31, 2009

60.68 28.32 52.12 15.07 25.56 57.68 32.71 17.42 68.77 9.99 15.35 29.13 132.57 64.91 26.74 2.94 7.29 23.53 3.30 61.31 19.81 61.37 41.55 4.89 53.21

A DAY ON WALL STREET 11,000

Dec. 30, 2009

Dow Jones industrials

10,000 9,000 8,000

+3.10 10,548.51

Pct. change from previous: +0.03%

High 10,550.70

Low 10,505.66

Dec. 30, 2009

2,400

Nasdaq composite

2,200 2,000 1,800 1,600

+2.88 2,291.28

Pct. change from previous: +0.13%

High 2,293.02

Standard & Poor’s 500 +0.22 S

Pct. change from previous: +0.02%

High 1,126.42

1,400

Low 2,280.16

Dec. 30, 2009

1,126.42

7,000

1,200 1,100 1,000 900 800 700 600

Low 1,121.94

SOURCE: SunGard

ROUNDUP 123009: Market Wells Fargo 26.82 53.47MARKET charts show Dow, S&P 500, and Wendy’s 4.75 17.08 Nasdaq; stand-alone; 2c x 4 1/2 inches; Establis 77.15 3.7896 mm x 114Delhaize mm; staff

RJR Tobacco Revlon Sprint Sun Trust 20.18 Editors: All figures as of: 5:25:07 EST If you PM miss your paper, Universal 46.68 NOTE: Figures reflect market fluctuations after close; may not match other AP content Verizon Comm. 33.42 PLEASE CALL before Vulcan 53.57 11:00 am — 436-2800 Wal-Mart 54.30

OFFICIAL BALLOT FOR THE 2009 “BEST OF VANCE COUNTY” 65. Best Golf Course Business _______________________ 66. Best Church Supplier Business _______________________ 67. Best Medical Wear Business _______________________

People 1. Best Contractor Name _________________________ 2. Best Electrician Name _________________________ 3. Best Pharmacist Name _________________________ 4. Best Doctor Name _________________________ 5. Best Nurse (RN, LPN) Name _________________________ Location________________________ 6. Best Medical Assistant (CNA, office assistant) Name _________________________ 7. Best Dentist Name _________________________ 8. Best Optometrist Name _________________________ 9. Best Insurance Agent Name _________________________ Business _______________________ 10. Best Waiter/Waitress Name _________________________ Restaurant ______________________ 11. Best Car Salesperson Name _________________________ 12. Best Hair Stylist Name _________________________ Salon __________________________ 13. Best Sales Team Business _______________________ 14. Best Auto Mechanic Name _________________________ Business _______________________ 15. Best Attorney Name _________________________ 16. Best Elected Official Name _________________________ 17. Best Real Estate Team Business _______________________ 18. Best Real Estate Agent Name _________________________ 19. Best Dental Hygienist Name _________________________ Office _________________________ 20. Best CPA Name _________________________ Firm __________________________ 21. Best Chiropractor Name _________________________ 22. Best Barber Name _________________________ 23. Best Veterinarian Name _________________________

Food & Drink

Your ballot automatically enters you in the 2009 “BEST OF VANCE COUNTY” SWEEPSTAKES!

2009

Goods & Services 24. Best Restaurant Business _______________________ 25. Best Caterer Business _______________________ 26. Best Roofing Co. Business _______________________ 27. Best Sign Company Business _______________________ 28. Best Nursing Home Business _______________________ 29. Best Bank Bank __________________________ 30. Best Tires Business _______________________ 31. Best Clothes Business _______________________ 32. Best Body Shop Business _______________________ 33. Best Jewelry Store Business _______________________ 34. Best Pet Services Business _______________________ 35. Best Used Cars Business _______________________ 36. Best Dry Cleaner Business _______________________ 37. Best Hair Salon Business _______________________ 38. Best Furniture Store Business _______________________ 39. Best Pest Control Business _______________________ 40. Best Gas/Service Station Business _______________________ 41. Best New Cars Business _______________________ 42. Best Cosmetics Business _______________________ 43. Best Muffler Shop Business _______________________

44. Best Florist Business _______________________ 45. Best Home Improvement Company Business _______________________ 46. Best Nursery/Garden Center Business _______________________ 47. Best Car Wash/Detail Business _______________________ 48. Best Shippers Business _______________________ 49. Best Gift Shop Business _______________________ 50. Best Funeral Services Business _______________________ 51. Best Nail Salon Business _______________________ 52. Best Barber Shop Business _______________________ 53. Best Carpet Dealer Business _______________________ 54. Best Drug Store Business _______________________ 55. Best Manufactured Homes Business _______________________ 56. Best Plumbing Company Business _______________________ 57. Best Appliance Store Business _______________________ 58. Best Electronics Store Business _______________________ 59. Best Mattress Dealer Business _______________________ 60. Best Heating & Cooling Co. Business _______________________ 61. Best Preschool or Day Care Center Business _______________________ 62. Best Print Shop Business _______________________ 63. Best Internet Provider Business _______________________ 64. Best Wireless Store Business _______________________

68. Best Mexican Food Business _______________________ 69. Best Italian Food Business _______________________ 70. Best Chinese Food Business _______________________ 71. Best Cup of Coffee Restaurant or Store ________________ 72. Best Pancake and Waffles Restaurant ______________________ 73. Best Stew Restaurant or Deli _________________ 74. Best Hot Dogs Restaurant or Grill _________________ 75. Best Hamburgers Restaurant or Grill _________________ 76. Best Barbeque Restaurant ______________________ 77. Best Fried Chicken Restaurant ______________________ 78. Best Chicken Sandwich Restaurant ______________________ 79. Best Hushpuppies Restaurant ______________________ 80. Best Fast Food Restaurant or Grill _________________ 81. Best Salad Bar/Soup Restaurant or Grill _________________ 82. Best Buffet Restaurant or Deli _________________ 83. Best Pizza Restaurant or Delivery Service ________ 84. Best Steaks Restaurant ______________________ 85. Best Seafood Restaurant ______________________ 86. Best Iced Tea Restaurant or Grill _________________ 87. Best Ice Cream Location________________________ 88. Best Milkshakes Location________________________ 89. Best Desserts Restaurant, Deli or Bakery ___________ 90. Best “Southern Style” Meal Restaurant ______________________ 91. Best Home-Cooked Breakfast Business _______________________ 92. Best Chicken Tenders Business _______________________ 93. Best Fish Sandwich Business _______________________

RULES FOR ENTRY 1. At least 50% of the questions must be answered on your ballot. 2. When voting on names, please put the first and last names and put “jr.”, “III”, etc. when applicable. 3. When voting the name of a chain (for example: Hardee’s Pizza Hut, Burger King, McDonalds, etc.) be sure to specify which location.

4. No mechanical reproductions of “answered ballots: will be accepted. 5. All answers must be applicable to Vance County for eligibility. 6. Send your completed entries to “The Best of Vance County” Retail Dept. P.O. Box 908, Henderson, N. C. 27536

7. Ballots must be received by January 25, 2010. 8. One entry per person. 9. Must be 18 years or older to participate. 10. Complete list of rules are available at The Dispacth

Name (Please Print) ________________________________________ Address____________________________ Telephone (Home) ______________________ (Day) _____________ Signature____________________________

CMYK 6A

Opinion

The Daily Dispatch

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Editorial Board: James Edwards, Publisher • jedwards@hendersondispatch.com Luke Horton, Editor • lhorton@hendersondispatch.com Don Dulin, News Editor • ddulin@hendersondispatch.com 304 S. Chestnut St./P.O. Box 908 Henderson, N.C. 27536 PHONE: 436-2700/FAX: 430-0125

Daily Meditation Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Ephesians 3: 20-21

Our Opinion

Smoking ban makes sense Starting Saturday, North Carolina residents can breath a little easier. A new state law will take effect that prohibits smoking in certain public places, including restaurants and bars. Smokers can still light up. They will just have to step outside to do it. It’s a big step for a state that has historically leaned heavily on tobacco dollars. Given the amount of power the tobacco lobby once wielded, it’s a move many thought would never happen. Along with the clean air, there will be plenty of complaints starting Saturday. Smokers will gripe. Restaurant and bar owners probably will too. But it’s a law that benefits everyone and harms no one. Sure, asking smokers to step outside may be a slight inconvenience. But any inconvenience is far outweighed by the benefits of keeping second-hand smoke away from the lungs of non-smokers. According to the General Assembly, second-hand smoke has been proven to cause cancer, heart disease, and asthma attacks in both smokers and non-smokers. In 2006, a report issued by the United States Surgeon General stated that the scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk‑free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. The state joins about 30 others that have some type of state-wide smoking ban. Maybe the rest of the country will follow suit now that the tobacco king North Carolina has shown that public health should be a top priority. “It’s a huge marker in our state that we’re serious about having a healthy North Carolina, and that we’ll go to (all means) to make that happen,” Gov. Beverly Perdue said when she signed the ban back in May. “My hat’s off to the General Assembly. I have never been as proud of a body in my entire life.” We couldn’t have said it better.

Quotable “There were bits of information available within the intelligence community that could have — and should have — been pieced together. Had this critical information been shared, it could have been compiled with other intelligence, and a fuller, clearer picture of the suspect would have emerged. ... The warning signs would have triggered red flags, and the suspect would have never been allowed to board that plane for America.” President Barack Obama demanding answers on why intelligence information was never pieced together about an alleged terrorist and possibly prevent his botched Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner. “Paying for access taints the credibility and neutrality of what you are doing. There is now a motive for people to be helping you, to be telling you what you want to hear.” Andy Schotz, chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists ethics committee, speaking about NBC News’ decision to charter a jet to carry a New Jersey man involved in a bitter custody battle and his son home from Brazil.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

A year of living quotably You can tell a lot about a year from its great quotations. The early 1960s gave us John F. Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can for your country.” The 1990s gave us Bill Clinton’s “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” Last year gave us George W. Bush’s reaction to plummeting financial markets: “If money isn’t loosened up, this sucker could go down.” Without Bush to kick around anymore and Clinton on best behavior, 2009 could have been a year of slim pickings for memorable quote hunters. But, as they say in New Jersey, “Fugeddaboudit.” In the age of ubiquitous cell phone, surveillance and reality-TV show cameras, this was the year of living famously. Our cup of quirky quotes runneth over. A sampling: 1. WHAT NEXT? HIS HAIR ON MOUNT RUSHMORE? “I thought about Mandela, Dr. King and Gandhi and tried to put some perspective to all this and that is what I am doing now.” That’s none other than exGov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, now awaiting trial on federal corruption charges, on NBC’s “Today” show at the start of his impeachment trial. Don’t we all

think of history’s great champions of truth and justice and civil rights when we think of Blago? 2. AND YOU AGREED TO DO THIS INTERVIEW, WHY? “Larry, you’re being inappropriate.” That’s fired beauty queen Carrie Prejean to CNN host Larry King. When he pressed her about her settlement with Miss California USA, Prejean unplugged her microphone and threatened to walk off King’s program, but only sat there in a TV moment that TMZ.com described as “most awesomely awkward.” According to reports, she was not nearly this shy in the “sex tape” that led to her firing. 3. QUIET, YOU LITTLE STOOL PIGEON “Um, ‘cause you guys said we did this for a show.” That was Falcon Heene, 6, aka “Balloon Boy,” responding honestly and thus blowing daddy’s cover on Larry King’s show when asked why he did not come out of his hiding place when he heard his parents calling his name. The parents, Richard and Mayumi, were convicted and given jail sentences and fines for perpetrating the hoax that had authorities chasing a silver balloon in the belief the child was in it. Ah, well, the two reality TV veterans reportedly

wanted to be on TV again in the worst way. They succeeded. 4. SURE, WHAT DO WORDS MEAN, ANYWAY? “We don’t want to get caught up in language.” That was U. S. Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., explaining to the Clarence Associated Press why, Page after saying Tribune Media “unequivoServices cally” that he would only vote for a Senate health care bill that included a “strong” public option, he voted for one that didn’t. Ah, details, details. 5. AND SHE BE DA WOMAN? “Michael Steele! You be da man! You be da man.” That was Rep. Michelle Bachmann, getting her Minnesota Republican ebonics on after a get-busy pep talk by Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele at the podium of a Conservative Political Action Conference meeting in Washington. Hey, Steele said he wants to see more GOP outreach to people of color. Just call on Soul Sister Bachmann.

6. HOW ABOUT A BUNCH OF WISE GUYS? “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” Who could forget Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s often-used speech line that sparked cries of racism from some Republicans during her confirmation hearings? She’d like to. She called it a joke that fell flat and vowed to drop the line from future speeches. Wise. 7. NOT SO STUPID, THE COP GOT A FREE BEER “I think it’s fair to say ... that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home....” Yes, that was the master orator President Barack Obama putting his foot in it by reacting to the arrest of friend. The result was a heavily covered but mostly ceremonial “beer summit” that took valuable attention away from the president’s proposed health care overhaul. E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@tribune.com, or write to him c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207

Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ and the faith instinct You probably don’t need a long synopsis of James Cameron’s half-billion-dollar epic “Avatar,” in part because even if you haven’t seen it, you’ve seen it. As many reviewers have noted, Cameron rips off Hollywood cliches to the point you could cut and paste dialogue from “Pocahontas” or “Dances With Wolves” into “Avatar” without appreciably changing the story. In short, “Avatar” tells the tale of a disabled Marine, Jake Sully, who occupies the body of a 10-foot-tall alien so he can live among the mystical forest denizens of the moon world Pandora. Sully is sent in mufti, like a futuristic Lawrence of Arabia, to further the schemes of the evil corporate nature-rapists desperate to obtain the precious mineral “unobtainium” (no, really). Jake inevitably goes native, embraces the eco-faith of Pandora’s Na’Vi inhabitants and their tree goddess, the “all mother,” and rallies the Pandoran aborigines (not to mention the Pandoran ecosystem itself) against the evil forces of a thinly veiled 22nd-century combine of Blackwater and Halliburton. The film has been subjected to a sustained assault from many on the right, most notably by Ross Douthat in the New York Times, as an “apologia for pantheism.” Douthat’s criticisms hit the mark, but the most relevant point was raised by John Podhoretz in the Weekly Standard. Camer-

on wrote “Avatar,” says Podhoretz, “not to be controversial, but quite the opposite: He was making something he thought would be most pleasing to the greatest number of people.” What would have been controversial is if — somehow — Cameron had made a movie in which the good guys accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts. Of Jonah course, Goldberg that sounds outlandTribune Media ish and Services absurd, but that’s the point, isn’t it? We live in an age in which it’s the norm to speak glowingly of spirituality but derisively of traditional religion. If the Na’Vi were Roman Catholics, there would be boycotts and protests. Make the oversized Smurfs Rousseauian noble savages and everyone nods along, save for a few cranky right-wingers. I’m certainly one of those cranky right-wingers, though I probably enjoyed the movie as cinematic escapism as much as the next guy. But what I find interesting about the film is how what is “pleasing to the most people” is so unapologetically religious. Nicholas Wade’s new

book, “The Faith Instinct,” lucidly compiles the scientific evidence that humans are hard-wired to believe in the transcendent. That transcendence can be divine or simply Kantian, a notion of something unknowable from mere experience. Either way, in the words of philosopher Will Herberg, “Man is homo religiosus, by ‘nature’ religious: as much as he needs food to eat or air to breathe, he needs a faith for living.” Wade argues that the Darwinian evolution of man depended not only on individual natural selection but also on the natural selection of groups. And groups that subscribe to a religious worldview are more apt to survive — and hence pass on their genes. Religious rules impose moral norms that facilitate collective survival in the name of a “cause larger than yourself,” as we say today. No wonder everything from altruism to martyrdom are part of nearly every faith. The faith instinct may be baked into our genes, but it is also profoundly malleable. Robespierre, the French revolutionary who wanted to replace Christianity with a new “age of reason,” emphatically sought to exploit what he called the “religious instinct which imprints upon our souls the idea of a sanction given to moral precepts by a power that is higher than man.” Many environmentalists are open about their desire to turn

their cause into a religious imperative akin to the plight of the Na’Vi, hence Al Gore’s uncontroversial insistence that global warming is a “spiritual challenge to all of humanity.” The symbolism and rhetoric behind Barack Obama’s campaign was overtly religious at times, as when he proclaimed that “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for” — a line that could have come straight out of the mouths of Cameron’s Na’Vi. What I find fascinating, and infuriating, is how the culturewar debate is routinely described by antagonists on both sides as a conflict between the religious and the un-religious. The faith instinct manifests itself across the ideological spectrum, even if it masquerades as something else. On the right, many conservatives have been trying to fashion what might be called theological diversity amid moral unity. Culturally conservative Catholics, Protestants and — increasingly — Jews find common cause. The left is undergoing a similar process, but the terms of the debate are far more inchoate and fluid. What is not happening is a similar effort between left and right, which is why the culture war, like the faith instinct, isn’t going away any time soon. You can write to Jonah Goldberg in care of this newspaper or by e-mail at JonahsColumn@aol.com

DEAR READERS: I’m sure all of us are glad to bid a “fond farewell” to 2009. What a year this has been! If you’re planning to celebrate the New Year with alcohol tonight, please appoint a designated driver. And on this night of all nights, everyone — including the designated driver — should remember to drive defensively. To one and all, I wish a happy, healthy 2010. — Love, ABBY

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