FLU OUTBREAK: Area school forced to cancel football game. 2A
FRIDAY
MALL ADDITION: Sears to relocate call center to Oak Hollow. 1B
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VICTORY CENTRAL: Bison stampede past Smith. 1D
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Parents express concerns over redistricting BY PAM HAYNES ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
RANDOLPH COUNTY – Parents of students in the Archdale-Trinity area expressed concerns over several options presented by school officials at a public hearing at Trinity High School last night to redistrict kindergartenthrough-eighth-grade attendance lines. Randolph County Schools confirmed earlier this year that there was discussion about converting Archdale Elementary School into an all sixth grade school to reduce
overcrowding in the district’s middle schools. Superintendent Donald Andrews said at the meeting the board also wanted a “clean feeder-pattern,” which was disrupted after the building of a new Wheatmore Middle School was delayed. Currently, students from Archdale Trinity Middle School feed to Trinity and Wheatmore high schools. Marty Trotter, assistant superintendent of operations, presented the options at the meeting which included converting Trindale Elementary or Braxton Craven into a sixth
grade school or keeping the sixth grade at the elementary schools. Each plan had some drawbacks. For example, Braxton Craven doesn’t contain enough land to be converted into a sixth grade school, and the state requires sixth graders to have elective classes such as band that the elementary schools don’t provide. “We won’t do anything next week or next year. There’s too much of a transition being made,” Andrews said about the opening of Wheatmore High School on Monday. Mark Hyde, a parent
whose child graduated through the school district, said all funding should be put aside for the building of Wheatmore Middle School rather than redistricting. “I think one of the great plans is to delay any significant change until we have more of an idea of what things are going to cost and what effect that will be,” Hyde said. Greg Allen, a teacher at Archdale Trinity Middle School with children in the school district, agreed with Hyde. “We should take any funding to redistrict and
put that towards building the new Wheatmore Middle School,” Allen said. Other parents were concerned that athletics would be disrupted if redistricting didn’t occur, including Carol Ann Robles. “If we don’t split (Archdale Trinity Middle School), not as many kids will be able to play sports,” Robles said about the school’s large population. “I would like to see them split in a way that’s best for all involved - the middle schools and elementary schools.” phaynes@hpe.com | 888-3617
September 11, 2009 125th year
WHO’S NEWS
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Melanie Jo Myers of Sophia participated in the Governor’s Page Program in Raleigh. Myers spent a week providing administrative support as a page for the North Carolina Department of Justice and the Office of the Governor.
INSIDE
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The Sound of Music
REOPENING? Status of upscale city restaurant uncertain. 1B
Group brings amphitheater to Chair City
OBITUARIES
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BY DARRICK IGNASIAK ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
THOMASVILLE – Construction crews spent Thursday morning installing an amphitheater in Thomasville that officials say will further help revitalize the city’s downtown. Members of People Achieving Community Enhancement, a city committee, have been planning for several months an amphitheater and park in the former Belk parking lot near Memorial Park. Officials had a crane on the site of the amphitheater Thursday to start piecing together the structure. “I think this is going to be one of the cornerstones of the revitalization of downtown Thomasville,” said Martin Beale, a PACE member. “This is definitely going to be an anchor block here, with
SONNY HEDGECOCK | HPE
Workers put the first arch, which will be one of the roof supports, in place on the new amphitheater. the farmer’s market and the amphitheater and park here now.” Just in time for the Everybody’s Day festival on Sept. 26, the amphitheater should be completed in a week. “I’m real excited that it will be ready for Everybody’s Day,” said David Yemm, a Thomasville City Council member. “They are going to have one of the gospel stages here. I’m just ready for it to be used for a good downtown attraction.” Ben Watford, a PACE member, said earlier this year an amphi-
theater is a continuation of implementing ideas put forward in an Urban Design Assistance Team report. A group of UDAT planners came to Thomasville in 1999 to conduct a study on redeveloping the city’s downtown. Two of the suggestions were a park in downtown and a Thomasville Farmers Market, which PACE helped start several years ago. According to Beale and Yemm, the amphitheater was made possible through a donation from Sue Hunter, a PACE member, and her family in honor of her late hus-
band Dr. Jim Hunter, a former Thomasville councilman. The amphitheater is expected to be named after the former Thomasville physician and city official. After Everybody’s Day, PACE is planning on tearing up the parking lot to plant trees and grass, as well as placing benches on the city-owned property. Aside from Everybody’s Day, the amphitheater will be used for year-round events, such as concerts and church services.
Edna Angley, 94 M. Browning, 92 Margaret Elkes Claude Garrett, 93 Colleen Hilliard, 79 D. Hornaday, 84 Lucy Louya, 83 Benny Proctor, 75 Janice Ramires, 43 Bertha Smith, 97 Obituaries, 2-3B
WEATHER
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Partly cloudy High 81, Low 61
8D dignasiak@hpe.com | 888-3657
INDEX
Revitalization effort gets makeover BY PAT KIMBROUGH ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – With a new name, logo and tagline, Core City High Point is getting a makeover of sorts. The nonprofit organization working to promote growth and revitalization of the city’s 11-square-mile urban core announced Thursday that it’s in the process of switching its name to The City Project Inc. A marketing firm, The McNeill Communications Group, recommended the change after getting feedback from about 20 key members of the community, who indicated a need to emphasize the organiza-
tion’s mission of creating an “urban style of living.” Its representatives said the previous name also carried the connotation that the group’s work was limited to downtown High Point. “Core City was just confusing to people. It didn’t communicate what we’re trying to do,” said Wendy Fuscoe, executive director of Core City. “What came out of (the community feedback) was, how do you see High Point, what do you see High Point being – a safe, family-friendly area, walkable, pedestrian-friendly – all of that they wanted to capture in a logo and a tagline.” The logo aims to encap-
sulate defining elements of a city neighborhood by depicting places to sit and gather. The design includes a park bench and streetlight on a street corner above the words, “Creating an Urban Style of Living for High Point.” “Our new branding communicates a sense of energy and community pride, while providing the framework for multiple neighborhoods,” said Aaron Clinard, chairman
of the Core City board. “It is a call to action. We are confident that together we can create mixed-use areas for working and living in an environment that promotes the return of people, businesses and services to our city and its neighborhoods.” The new branding scheme includes potential logos for each of the eight areas of the city that the project is seeking to revitalize: Uptowne High
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Point, Washington Drive, the West End, South Main GTCC, Market District, Oak Hill, Five Points and College Village. Core City, which works to identify and develop incentives, initiatives and funding for neighborhood reinvestment, was established and funded by the city last year. The city budgeted $404,800 for the organization for the current fiscal year. pkimbrough@hpe.com | 888-3531
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