THURSDAY
TEACHER ASSAULT: School system probes case against principal. 2A
January 14, 2010 125th year No. 14
KILLER QUAKE: Destruction, despair grip Haiti. 4A
www.hpe.com High Point, N.C.
SAND MEN: HPU embarks on Big South beach trip. 1D
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COLD COMPLICATIONS City asks customers to conserve as water main breaks tap sources BY PAM HAYNES ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – The city of High Point is asking its customers to conserve their water usage as prolonged cold temperatures continue to put a strain on water lines, treatment and distribution. Breaks in main water lines
have increased since mid-December, according to Chris Thompson, public services director for the city. The breaks require more water to be treated to compensate for the loss, but the purification process also has been impacted by the cold weather, he said. “The extremely cold temperatures make it more difficult to get
the turbidity out of the water,” he said, noting that turbidity has a cloudiness or haziness appearance in water but is not a health hazard. “The colder it gets, the harder it gets for the (purification) blending process to take place.” A violation of drinking water standards occurred at the Ward Water Treatment Plant due to the
turbidity, but that water did not enter the water distribution system, according to a statement from the city. Water customers will receive a notice from the city, however, to notify them of the violation and that corrections are being made. Thompson said the problem
CONSERVE, 2A
Bus ridership moves in a new direction Mass transit commutes fall flat for 2009
Linda M. Sangiuliano of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center was named the 2010 president of the North Carolina Association of Nurse Anesthetists. The association serves the 2,800 certified registered nurse anesthetists across the state.
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OPTING OUT: School board OKs Title I alternate list. 1B
BY PAUL B. JOHNSON ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
GREENSBORO – The combination of high unemployment reducing the number of commuters to work and moderate levels of gas prices in 2009 may have contributed to the first annual decline in bus passenger traffic since the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation started serving riders in 2002. Total PART Express bus ridership declined 2 percent from 465,284 in 2008 to 453,583 last year. The PART board of trustees digested the ridership numbers during its monthly meeting Wednesday in Greensboro. PART Executive Director Brent McKinney told the board he’s not disappointed in the slight decline for 2009. In an interview following the meeting, McKinney acknowledged the recession and gas prices affected overall PART Express ridership. The eight counties in the Piedmont served by PART Express suffered with unemployment rates that were at or above 10 percent for much of the year. Higher unemployment means fewer people
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OBITUARIES
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SONNY HEDGECOCK | HPE
Passengers line up to board the 7 a.m. PART bus in downtown High Point Wednesday. needed bus service to commute, McKinney said. “You have people moving and losing jobs,” McKinney said. The vast majority of PART passengers are commuters to work, students going to college classes and patients traveling to medical centers or doctor’s offices. Gas prices, which have increased during the first part of this year, moderated during 2009. In past years, higher gas prices have prompted commuters to switch to bus service, especially following
the price spike with Hurricane Katrina in the summer and fall of 2005. Fuel prices at the beginning of last year hovered around $2 a gallon, and for the year gas prices averaged $2.46 a gallon, McKinney said. During the board meeting, trustee Larry Williams, mayor of Rural Hall in Forsyth County, said the PART staff has done a good job marketing the service. “But a lot of people still don’t know what PART is,” Williams said. PART’s 2010 work plan
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The mass transit agency Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation developed its work plan for 2010. It includes boosting service to hospitals and colleges, which includes targeting High Point Regional Hospital and Davidson County Community College. The work plan also includes adding a midday bus route between High Point and Winston-Salem. includes continuing marketing efforts to promote the bus service through advertising, brochures, the Internet and outreach such as the Triad Commute Challenge. The mass transit agency
also wants to develop “regional partners to support transit services in the Piedmont Triad region,” according to its work plan.
Henry Allen, 79 Nora Bennett, 76 Sherry Boone, 48 Baldos Deaton Jr. Fredrick Farmer, 79 John Farmer, 40 Rhonda Green, 38 Stacey Griffith, 77 Gilbert Hendrix, 69 Vernie Jenkins, 89 Asa Johnson Sr., 82 Irene Lamb, 84 Danny Ledford Sr., 62 Ruby Mazoo, 83 Annie Medley, 90 Emma Payton, 69 Mary Peacock, 100 Autmon Pope, 83 Catharine Smith, 99 Agnes Todd, 71 Charles Wagner Jr., 77 Pamela Whitaker Obituaries, 2-3B
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pjohnson@hpe.com | 888-3528
Sunny, cold High 54, Low 29 6D
Parade kicks off local King celebrations BY PAT KIMBROUGH ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – A variety of events are planned for the coming days to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The High Point Human Relations Commission will host the 34th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King King Jr. Community Celebration on Sunday. The theme of the event is “We the People, an International City, Marching into the Future.” The keynote speaker is High Point native Valda Boyd Ford, founder and CEO of the Center for Human Diversity Inc., a Nebraska-based nonprofit organization that develops training, leadership and diversity initiatives. Boyd Ford spent part of
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In addition, High Point University will host a service that is open to the public at 11 a.m. Monday at Hayworth Chapel to celebrate the life and
A prayer breakfast to honor King will be held by the Minister’s Conference of High Point and Vicinity, in partnership with the United Way of Greater High Point, at 8 a.m. on Monday at
Williams Memorial CME Church, 3400 Triangle Lake Road. Tickets cost $10 and can be bought at the United Way’s office at 201 Church Ave. or by calling the Rev. Mike Ellerbe at 8848183. A memorial service will be held in honor of King at 7 p.m. Monday at the same church. The service is free and open to the public.
her career working as a nurse in the Middle East and the Caribbean, where she developed the first cardiac, stroke and physical rehabilitation center in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She is credited with fostering better understanding among people of different races, cultures, ethnicities and spiritual backgrounds through her work as a medical professional and
at the Center for Human Diversity, which she established in 1998. According to the Human Relations Commission, “For more than 25 years, Valda has thrilled and delighted audiences with her extensive repertoire of workplace faux pas and other stories gleaned from living and working in diverse situations. With humor and the ease of a natu-
ral born storyteller who began learning her craft as a child by listening to her great-grandmother’s tales of life, Valda Boyd Ford continues to impress audiences around the world with her authenticity and knowledge encased in her own unique ‘keep it fun,’ ‘keep it real’ and ‘make it plain’ wrapper.” The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Parade, spon-
High Point’s Community Celebration honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at the High Point Theatre, 220 E. Commerce Ave.
work of King. The annual event will feature special guest speaker the Rev. Dr. H. Beecher Hicks Jr., as well as music.
YOUR COMMUNITY. YOUR NEWSPAPER.
sored by the Carl Chavis YMCA and the High Point Ministers Conference, is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Saturday at Russell Avenue and S. Main Street and proceed north along Main Street. In Thomasville, a memorial service in King’s honor is planned for 3 p.m. Sunday at Citadel of Faith Christian Fellowship. Central United Methodist Church will host the MLK Holiday Prayer Breakfast at 8 a.m. Monday. Thomasville Medical Center will host the MLK Community Health Fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, offering various health screenings to residents free of charge. The MLK National Holiday Observance of the cities of Lexington and Thomasville will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at First United Methodist Church in Lexington. pkimbrough@hpe.com | 888-3531
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