MONDAY
RISKY DRUG: Doctor says ruling likely won’t impact his patients. 1C
HARD TIMES
September 27, 2010 127th year No. 270
FLU SEASON: Officials say it’s still important to get vaccinated. 1B
www.hpe.com High Point, N.C.
ALL WET: Bengals rain on sloppy Panthers parade. 1D
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BLOOD-SUCKING VERMIN
WHO’S NEWS
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Hayden Carron, assistant professor of Spanish at HPU, co-presented a paper at the Historical Roots of Social Inequality in Latin America conference, held at the University of London in June. The paper, “Cash Crops and Inequality in the Dominican Republic,” looked at the historical differences between the northern and southern economies of the Dominican Republic.
School board considers delaying stimulus spending BY DAVID NIVENS ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
GUILFORD COUNTY – School district officials could decide as early as Thursday if they want to spend $14.2 million in federal stimulus money this year. Superintendent Mo Green told the Guilford County Board of Education earlier this month that he prefers spending most or all of the money next year when the schools will face an even harder budget crunch. “We have heard that even more cuts are possible from the state,” Green said. “I don’t know what will happen. We have cut millions out of the budget in the last two years. We may not see much improvement, and there is a funding cliff ahead.” The board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the district administrative offices in Greensboro. The district will receive about $68 million in stimulus funds over two years to save 750 full-time equivalent positions, but that allocation is scheduled to run out next year. Green said the new allocation can “replace other federal dollars and continue another year.” Green suggested spending $1 million this year to hire teachers and to work with literacy programs. “We could hire teachers to manage classroom sizes and make quality additions to the staff, if it would be beneficial,” he said. Following a decision, Green said that district leaders may have to negotiate with commissioners to spend the money and for a full county allocation of $175 million, or more. “Commissioners should be aware of what we are attempting to do,” Green said. “We need a level of dialog. It will not do any good to reduce our (county) amount any further. That would dramatically impact the level of education we can provide our children.” Board member Garth Hebert of High Point estimated that the district may have to cut as many as 1,400 employees if the district uses the allocation this year and the federal government does not provide more stimulus funds during the next two years. “This is reason enough not to spend the money now,” Hebert said. dnivens@hpe.com | 888-3626
STIMULUS
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First wave: The Guilford County Schools district will receive about $68 million in stimulus funds over two years to save 750 full-time equivalent positions. Second wave: The district’s share is $14.2 million to spend before Sept. 30, 2012.
INSIDE
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DON DAVIS JR. | HPE
Paul Gunter, Go-Forth Pest Management’s bed bug expert, demonstrates how he searches for the little insects.
The business of bed bugs
HIGH POINT – Improvements to the High Point Depot are included in funding announced last week for train stations and train maintenance facilities in North Carolina. The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Rail Division will spend $43.4 million on improvements to each of the nine train
OBITUARIES
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Colleen Curry, 81 David Ezekiel, 68 Theodore Medina, 61 Jack Miller, 91 Lois Poindexter, 84 Russell Reid, 54 Gene Reynolds Sr., 54 Paul Wilson, 80 Obituaries, 2B
Pest controllers see a rise in cases, calls BY PAM HAYNES ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
TRIAD – Don’t let the bed bugs bite. It’s a phrase that some have come to take literally in light of recent studies that have documented a growing presence of the blood-sucking insects in major U.S. cities. While no such reports exist for the Triad, local pest management companies say the hype about bed bugs, often created by part fear and part fact, is causing their bed bug business to grow. “We’ve seen a tremendous increase,” said Chase Hazelwood, president of High Pointbased Go-Forth Pest Management, about its bed bug sector. “It really started about two years ago. Now we have people calling all the time telling us that they think they have the bugs.” Customers will call or, on some occasions, stop by the Go-Forth office with an insect inside of a plastic bag, concerned that it is a bed bug. And sometimes, it is. Based on
recent inspections, Go-Forth and other pest management companies have seen a growing presence of the critters in High Point. “I don’t think the problem is of the epic proportions it’s sometimes made out to be, but I think that it could be,” he said. “Bed bugs are a growing problem, not just a new business avenue.” Operators of Edwards Pest Control Inc. also have dealt with bed bug infestations at local apartment complexes and some hotels. “We’ve had several apartment complexes in south High Point to have a problem with them,” said Phillip Edwards, vice president of the Trinity business. “We’ve seen an increase in cases even though we don’t advertise that we handle bed bugs.” Edwards, Hazelwood and other experts will sometimes attribute bed bug infestations to several factors. First, they’re becoming more resistant to chemical treatments. Companies that produce insecticides, including Syngen-
ta in Greensboro, always are researching new chemicals that will kill the bugs. “Bedbug testing is incorporated into the development for all new products Syngenta researchers are working on for the professional pest control market, and we are continually looking for new ways to address this problem,” company officials said in an e-mail. Global travel and imports are another factor, said Edwards. “With so many things arriving from overseas, especially furniture and clothes, there’s a risk that it’s going to become more of a problem,” he said. Regardless, calls about bed bugs are booming at the two offices. Go-Forth created positions for two bed bug specialists in the last two years, and Hazelwood said it could become a new wing of the business if the problem progresses. “There is no magic treatment or silver bullet to kill them,” he said. “But the good news is that we can get rid of them.” phaynes@hpe.com | 888-3617
Rail money includes High Point Depot ENTERPRISE STAFF REPORT
TEACHER WAREHOUSE: Next supply drive slated for Thursday. 1B
stations along the proposed Southeast High Speed Rail corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte. The funding will come from $545 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding awarded to the state from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration earlier this year. Money through the act is commonly re-
ferred to as the federal stimulus. The work at and around the High Point Depot includes additional parking and landscaping, enhancing the existing video security system and adding a new passenger information display system, the DOT reports. The High Point work will total more than $2 million, the DOT indicates. Work in High Point is sched-
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uled to begin early next year and should be completed in 2012, the DOT reports. The Passenger Information Display Systems being installed at all stations between Raleigh and Charlotte are mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The new systems provide visual and audible messaging for impaired passengers, according to the DOT.
WEATHER
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Rain likely High 72, Low 61 6D
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