SATURDAY
HARD TIMES: Series on living through a recession. SUNDAY
Sting leads to big drug bust
August 21, 2010 127th year No. 233
READY FOR BUSINESS: Salvation Army opens 2nd Family Store. 2A
www.hpe.com High Point, N.C.
IN THE PINK: Weaver makes cut in charitable way. 3C
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SEASON OPENER
WHO’S NEWS
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Joey Hammond joined Westchester Country Day School’s faculty as a physical education teacher. Hammond has been a varsity baseball coach with the school for three years, the past two as head coach.
ENTERPRISE STAFF REPORT
HIGH POINT – Law enforcement officers made a major drug bust and charged four people after an investigation that included undercover narcotics purchases was carried out at Club Triangle. The bust involved seizing more than two pounds of cocaine valued at $85,000. Also seized was $2,000 in cash, 60 Xanax tablets, three firearms, a 1 kilogram press used to package cocaine in bulk and 0.39 ounces of marijuana, the State of North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety announced Friday evening. The bust concluded a threemonth investigation by N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) agents and officers from the High Point Police Department. The investigation began when High Point police received complaints from the community about activities at Club Triangle, which is at 1310 N. Main St. at the intersection of Lexington Avenue. A representative from Club Triangle couldn’t be reached Friday evening by The High Point Enterprise. Undercover agents reportedly purchased cocaine on several occasions from a bar manager and another individual at the club, according to authorities. ALE agents surmised where cocaine was stored off-site and obtained a search warrant at a High Point residence. Investigators raided the residence Thursday night and discovered larger amounts of cocaine and marijuana and additional suspects, authorities say. “We knew we were dealing with individuals who were capable of distributing large amounts of cocaine, and it was necessary to find out where the cocaine was stored to take as much out of the network as possible,” said ALE Greensboro Special Agent in Charge Rodney Beckom. Beckom told the Enterprise that Club Triangle, formerly known as Triangle Billiards, hadn’t been closed by authorities as of Friday, but a report will be submitted to the State Alcohol Beverage Control Commission about alcohol permits at Club Triangle. High Point police Chief James Fealy said the club has become a nuisance. “This has been a public safety issue for the community, where we have had problem after problem with this particular location. It has been historically notorious for drug dealing and other criminal activities,” Fealy said. Triangle Billiards and Blues Club Inc., the corporation doing business as Club Triangle, was charged with trafficking in cocaine, having a manager, employee or agent knowingly allow controlled substances violations to occur on the premises, and maintaining a building that was used for keeping and selling controlled substances. The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are expected, authorities said Friday.
INSIDE
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DON DAVIS JR. | HPE
The Bison were among the area teams in action on the first night of high school football. Brian Primus and his High Point Central teammates battled R.J. Reynolds. See coverage of all the hard hits in sports.
SUMMER HEAT
90-DEGREE DAYS
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The Triad has endured 50 days so far this year in which high temperatures reached 90 degrees or higher. A typical year would generate 29 days with highs at or above 90. The last summer that approached this level of severe heat was 2007, which produced 49 days with highs at or above 90.
RECORD ENROLLMENT: Area college sees student growth. 1B OBITUARIES
---- Virginia Craven, 85 Naomi Hill, 75 Rue Holder, 103 Mildred Lyon, 92 Lester McKee, 94 Dorothy Taylor, 80 Louise Vestal, 76 Donald Whitehead, 78 Sharon Wright, 40 D. Yarbrough, 73 R. Yarbrough, 91 Obituaries, 2B
This June was the hottest on record in the Triad, while July was the second-hottest. Source: WXII-TV
Extreme temps wane, but don’t expect much relief BY PAUL B. JOHNSON ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
TRIAD – Residents of the region who’ve suffered through an unbearable summer may have to endure above-normal temperatures through August, though probably not at the extremes of earlier this season. High temperatures in the Triad are expected to remain above normal – in the upper 80s – through the end of this month, and the trend of highs more intense than normal shows no signs of abating. “The overall pattern is one that still favors abovenormal warmth,” said Dave Houk, meteorologist with AccuWeather. The Triad and Southeast remain stuck in a hot, humid weather pattern, said Lanie Pope, chief meteorologist with WXII-TV. “We don’t have any indication that it’s going to drop very much. We are just in a very soupy pattern,” Pope said about the humidity. The climate conditions aren’t producing any ex-
WEATHER
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Sunny, hot High 91, Low 73 6C
SONNY HEDGECOCK | HPE
City of High Point street department worker Burnice Boyd puts ice in water cooler before heading out to work Friday morning. tended breaks in the ridge of heat that’s engulfed the Southeast this summer, she said. “We’ve been having this steady pattern of a front comes through and we get one day of a break from the humidity,” Pope said. As the end of summer approaches, high temperatures in the area average 83 degrees at the end of August, according to AccuWeather. But actual
highs next week should hover in the upper 80s. “We’re not going to see as many consecutive 90degree days as we saw during June, July and most of August. But we certainly are going to be above normal as we head into next week. It just won’t be as extreme,” Houk said Friday. The above-normal climate conditions appear ready to lock the Triad into higher-than-average
temperatures through the fall. “From what we are forecasting in the long range, we are expecting temperatures to be, on average, above normal for the months of September and October. But again, the average high temperatures will be lower then,” Houk said. “The core of the worst heat we’ve had is on the wane.” pjohnson@hpe.com | 888-3528
City OKs ordinance for sidewalk cafes BY PAT KIMBROUGH ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – Restaurants in the Uptowne High Point area and elsewhere seeking to expand their features got a boost when the city passed a new ordinance this week. The City Council approved regulations for sidewalk cafes
after representatives of the City Project put forth the concept. The move could be an immediate benefit for some restaurants in the Uptowne area of N. Main Street that will now be able to offer sidewalk dining. Under the ordinance, sidewalk cafes can operate any time between 7 a.m. and 1 a.m. and must be associated with an operating
YOUR COMMUNITY. YOUR NEWSPAPER.
restaurant and may not be open or operated at any time when the restaurant is not open for business. Tables, chairs and other furnishings must be placed in such a manner that at least five feet of unobstructed space remains on the sidewalk for the passage of
SIDEWALKS, 2A
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