TUESDAY
TRUCK WANTED: Thefts plague local Habitat for Humanity. 1B
October 6, 2009 125th year No. 279
DRUG BUST: Two face charges in Liberty. 3A
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OVERCOMING CHALLENGES: Stroup sparks Ledford tennis. 1D
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Sprinklers could be costly Proposal may mean big bucks for furniture companies BY PAM HAYNES ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – A proposal from the National Association of State Fire Marshalls could cost some local furniture retail stores and manufacturers big bucks in efforts to increase safety. The NASFM has proposed a change to the model building code that would mandate sprinklers in all buildings used for the manufacture, storage or retail sale of upholstered furniture or mattresses. The change would be retroactive, mean-
WHO’S NEWS
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ing existing structures without sprinklers would have to be retrofitted with automatic sprinkler systems. Renovations would have to be covered by individual property owners, which could cost up to $6 per square foot, according to American Home Furnishings Alliance, or AHFA. A 3,000-square-foot showroom may cost $18,000 for the installation of an automatic sprinkler system. “This would be a phenomenal expense,” said Larry Dunn, vice president of Rominger Furniture on 1201 N. Liberty St. in Winston-Salem. “It’s going to devastate a lot of stores in this business.” PAM HAYNES | HPE Dunn, whose company owns the 3,000square-foot retail store, said he was per- Local furniture retailers, including Steve Patalano, vice
Hooper “Lex” Alexander IV is the new director of external relations for Greensboro College. Alexander’s responsibilities will include managing the college’s media relations, external publications and public relations.
president of Red House Furniture, oppose the sprinkler system proposal, saying it could drive them out of business.
SPRINKLERS, 2A
INSIDE
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THOMASVILLE CAMPAIGN FUNDING
FALLEN HERO: Piedmont soldier dies in Taliban firefight. 2A OBITUARIES
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Edward Barnes, 56 Mayme Ferrell, 71 J. Galindo-Soto, infant Tommy Harris, 66 Kathleen Hill, 75 Ronald Jester, 91 Virginia Ledford, 85 Mildred Neighbors, 82 JoAnn Thornburg, 76 Julia Tysinger, 70 Obituaries, 2-3B
DON DAVIS JR. | HPE
Campaign signs have been popping up around Thomasville recently. A majority of a candidate’s campaign funds purchase items such as signs.
Most candidates spend frugally Inside...
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Candidates divided on term lengths. 2A
BY DARRICK IGNASIAK ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
THOMASVILLE – Thomasville City Council members who support a proposal to lengthen terms of council members from two to four years say it will keep potential candidates from having to run expensive campaigns every two years. But as of the end of last week, no candidates run-
ning in Thomasville’s municipal election have passed the $3,000 threshold where they have to report campaign spending to the Davidson County Board of Elections. And at least two incumbents have spent $35 or less so far. Ruth Huneycutt, director of the Davidson County Board of Elections, said candidates don’t usually pass the threshold, as they “usually do more personal contact than they do spending money.” However, those campaign signs you see in the Chair City do come at a price. According to a random sampling by the High Point
Enterprise, candidates vying for all seven of the City Council seats and mayor’s spot have spent amounts ranging from $10 to $1,500. A majority of those campaign funds are coming from the pockets of the candidates themselves to purchase items, such as signs. Using campaign signs from last year, Councilman David Yemm has spent $35. In 2007, Yemm funded his $2,000 campaign primarily through contributions, while only spending $100 of his own. Ricky Murphy, a longtime councilman, said he has spent only the $10 needed to file for his candi-
dacy. Like Yemm, Murphy is using materials from previous campaigns. George Burton and Scott Styers, both City Council incumbents, said they had spent about $1,100. Styers said he has been given $300 in contributions, while Burton said had received “very little” in contributions. “I think signs have a big impact on people who don’t necessarily always follow the issues closely,” said Styers, who spent nearly $3,000 in his 2007 campaign. “They recognize the signs and the names. Often that’s one of the folks who they vote for.” Jay Browning, a City
Council candidate, has used about $700 for his campaign, with about half coming from friends and family. “Being a new candidate and maybe not being as familiar as some of the people who are already in office, we felt we wanted to get some signs that would stand out a little bit better,” Browning said. Ronald Bratton, the former police chief who is running for City Council, said he has spent $500, with less than $100 coming from contributions. Bratton said he hopes he doesn’t spend more than a $1,000. dignasiak@hpe.com | 888-3657
City Council OKs loan for JobLink center BY PAT KIMBROUGH ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – The City Council on Monday approved a financing arrangement that will enable a local job resource center to upgrade its presence in High Point. During its meeting, the High Point City Council adopted a resolution authorizing city officials to borrow money for the purchase of a 24,000-square-foot building at 607 Idol St. to house the Guilford County Workforce Development Board. The loan from BB&T Governmen-
tal Finance carries a 3.89 percent interest rate for 10 years, and the total repayment over the life of the loan will be $2.408 million. Council members Bill Bencini and Chris Whitley opposed the resolution. Under the arrangement, the city will not face any non-reimbursable expenses because the city will lease the facility to the Workforce Development Board and the North Carolina Employment Security Commission, which plans to move its local office to the site. The board, which operates the JobLink career cen-
ter system in the county, has been at Guilford Technical Community College’s High Point campus since 1997. The new, larger site will have classrooms for skills-training programs and other resources for jobseekers. Final approval of the arrangement is contingent on the North Carolina Local Government Commission signing off on it. Also Monday, council approved an ordinance providing for a change in control of Lexcom Communications cable television franchise to Windstream Corp. Lexcom,
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based in Lexington, serves about 11,000 customers in High Point, Thomasville, Lexington and other portions of Davidson County. Arkansas-based Windstream, which has about 3 million customers primarily in rural areas in 16 states, is purchasing Lexcom. The Piedmont Triad Council of Governments reviewed the transaction and made a positive recommendation for it, finding there will be no impact on the management of the current franchise or on cable rates. pkimbrough@hpe.com | 888-3531
WEATHER
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Isolated rain High 65, Low 59 6D
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