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September 7, 2009 125th year No. 250
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High Point post office joins the list of potential closings
State Rep. Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, was appointed cochairman of the State Health Plan Blue Ribbon Task Force. The task force is responsible for studying and comparing coverage and costs of the plan to other state health plans in the region and address issues of cost, quality and access to health care coverage under the State Health Plan.
BY PAM HAYNES ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – A High Point post office has been placed on a list of potential closings and consolidations by the United States Postal Service. The Furnitureland Office at 913 W. Fairfield Road in High Point is under going a “feasibility study,” which will determine if it should remain in operation, according to Carl Walton, a public relations spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service. The office joins a list of 413 locations in the country and 12 locations in the state that could be closed. The list includes two more offices in the Triad at the Plaza Station at 1852 Banking St. in Greensboro and the Center City Office at 200 Town Run Lane in Winston-Salem. Walton said the postal service was considering the closings due to a financial deficit. “In light of the fact that there are fewer people going to post offices to use our service, we looked at every office in our district to see where there was a decline in retail,” he said. “In efforts to find a way to reduce costs, we’re looking to see if it’s feasible for us to close these locations, but nothing is imminent right now.”
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The Furnitureland Post Office at 913 W. Fairfield Road in High Point is undergoing a feasibility study, which will determine if the location should remain in operation. More than $6 billion in expenses have been cut this year by trimming working hours, adjusting carrier routes and implementing various other changes, according to a news release issued by the postal service. The consideration process will be thorough, Walton said, and it will take a few months for the final decision to be made. “The main thing we have to look at is our customers being served by
these offices and if they can still be served in the same way,” he said. “Are they in close enough proximity to be served by other areas? That’s our main concern.” Because the postal service does not lay off employees, Walton said workers at the High Point office would be relocated if the location was closed. He said further announcements would be made in October as to
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Three post offices in the Triad and 12 in North Carolina could be closed by the United States Postal Service The Triad locations are: • Plaza Station – 1852 Banking St., Greensboro. • Furnitureland – 913 W. Fairfield Road, High Point. • Center City – 200 Town Run Lane, Winston-Salem.
whether each office would before making a final decicontinue to be evaluated, sion. and the postal service will ask for community input phaynes@hpe.com | 888-3617
Loan pool would provide incentives for Core City investors BY PAT KIMBROUGH ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – The City Council will be asked this week to OK an endeavor aimed at sparking development in certain areas. A public hearing is slated for Tuesday on a proposed small business loan pool for Core City investors. If council members sign off on the idea, the city will seek to establish a loan pool made up of federal funds and private money from banks that would be available to small businesses for start-up or expansion projects in Core City areas. “The focus is on creating or retaining jobs, and to do that, you’ve got to have investment,” said Mike McNair,
director of community development and housing for the city. “The idea is that when these small businesses hire people, it will have a spillover effect which helps bring the whole neighborhood back.” The plan is the latest effort to spur development in the Core City, an 11square-mile area comprised of eight districts targeted for revitalization. Under the proposal, the loan pool could total up to $9.7 million, about $3.9 million of which the city would seek to borrow from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. McNair said he hopes four or five banks will issue loans for the pool. A committee of city officials and lenders would determine eligibility for the loans, which McNair estimated
would range from $50,000 to $300,000 each. The plan is for 40 percent of each loan to be comprised of HUD funds, with the rest coming from the banks’ portion of the loan pool. The program would also carry job creation/retention requirements for borrowers. At a minimum, one fulltime job would have to be created or retained for each $50,000 loaned from the pool. The goal is for a majority of the jobs to be made available to low and moderate-income city residents. McNair said he’s seen examples of the program work in cities like Fayetteville, where the loan pool attracted businesses such as barbershops, law offices and restaurants.
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SUNDAY: Club celebrates 100 years in North Carolina TODAY: Local physician attributes her career, sons’ success to 4-H TUESDAY: Retired veterinarian, wife, met at 4-H dance WEDNESDAY: It’s no longer just about agriculture
Before you read...
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Second in a four-part series on the 4-H program.
BY VICKI KNOPFLER ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – Dr. Zoe Draelos, a High Point physician who specializes in dermatology, is an unabashed champion of 4-H. “I can honestly say 4-H has been the biggest influence of my life and one of
4-H, 2A
A public hearing on the city’s proposed application for federal funds for a small business loan pool is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday during the City Council’s regular meeting. Additionally, as part of the application process, city staff is proposing to expand the current Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area to encompass the Washington Drive, East Central and West End areas. NRSA designation allows for more flexible use of grant funds to promote revitalization strategies.
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INDEX ABBY 3B BUSINESS 5D CLASSIFIED 3-6C COMICS 5B CROSSWORD 2C DONOHUE 5B FUN & GAMES 2C LIFE&STYLE 1C LOCAL 2-3A, 1B, 2B LOTTERY 2A MOVIES 6A NEIGHBORS 4B NATION 6A, 6D NOTABLES 2C OBITUARIES 2B OPINION 4A SPORTS 1-4D STATE 2-3A, 2-3B TV 6B WEATHER 6D WORLD 5A
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SPECIAL | HPE
Zoe Draelos is pictured Matthew and Mark, holds at the 1975 4-H National an old 4-H sewing project. Bread Winners contest.
YOUR COMMUNITY. YOUR NEWSPAPER.
Eddie Ables, 71 William Bellamy, 65 Arthur Cheek, 59 Jane Coffey, 76 Donald Edwards, 73 Herman Jenkins, 72 Obituaries, 2B
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pkimbrough@hpe.com | 888-3531
the reasons I went into medicine,” she said. Draelos, who is from 4-H Arizona, began 4Celebrating H activia century of ties when change she was 8 ■■■ years old and decided she wanted to learn DON DAVIS JR. | HPE to sew. She continued with 4-H and went to Dr. Zoe Draelos, with sons
OBITUARIES
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PUBLIC HEARING
High Point physician is champion of 4-H SERIES BREAKOUTS
HIT BY THE RECESSION: Business that creates prepared meals to close. 1B
PROPOSED CUTS
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