hpe10062010

Page 1

WEDNESDAY

TALKING POLITICS: Candidates square off at High Point forum. 1B

October 6, 2010 127th year No. 279

HELPING HANDS: Four win awards for volunteerism. 1B

www.hpe.com High Point, N.C.

QUARTERBACK ROULETTE: Wake continues to do the shuffle. 1D

50 Cents Daily $1.25 Sundays

SALES TAX DEBATE

WHO’S NEWS

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Group pushes support of increase

Thomas E. Sibert was named president and chief operating officer of the integrated health system of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Sibert is responsible for oversight of the full scope of medical center clinical care operations.

BY DAVID NIVENS ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

GUILFORD COUNTY – A familiar group representing business and education interests launched a campaign Tuesday to win passage Nov. 2 of a quarter-cent sales tax increase with the unveiling of a “Vote Yes� billboard. As he was in 2008, Jim Morgan, a High Point lawyer and civic leader, is a leader of the group, saying that “the Quarter Cent Makes Sense.� Fairway Outdoor Advertising of Greensboro will handle the billboards for The Quarter Cent Makes Sense Committee. “This is important for Guilford County,� Morgan said while standing in Fairway’s parking lot. “In 2008, our community approved several bonds for the schools and to build a jail. Now it is important that we figure out a way to pay for these projects.� Voters declined twice, by 2-1 and 3-1 margins, in 2008 to increase the sales tax by a quarter-cent, with one vote coming on the same day they approved construction project lists totaling $457 million for the school district, $79.5 million for Guilford Technical Community College and $115 million for a jail annex

INSIDE

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DAVID NIVENS | HPE

A new billboard was unveiled in Greensboro Tuesday in support of an issue to be voted on Nov. 2. Jim Morgan of High Point (right) stands with supporters of the proposed quarter-cent sales tax increase. Each person, including Board of Commissoners Chairman Skip Alston (center, with hand raised), holds a quarter to show the cost of the hike per $100 spent in purchases. in downtown Greensboro. “These bonds, when fully issued, would add an additional 8 cents to our property tax rate,� Morgan said. “None of us want these increases, particularly in these times. The quarter-cent increase would help reduce the tax burden by up to 3 percent.� The tax hike received wide support in earlier cam-

paigns from the High Point Chamber of Commerce, the Guilford County Education Alliance, the Greensboro Partnership and the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition. “This tax increase will have a very low impact on our citizens,� Morgan

SALES TAX, 2A

SALES TAX

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Referendum: Voters will consider Nov. 2 increasing the sales tax a quarter percent to 8 percent on general sales, excluding food or medicine. Taxpayers in 17 counties, including Randolph, have approved the increase. Revenue: The quarter-cent hike, amounting to 25 cents for every $100 spent, would raise $12 million to $15 million a year. An estimated 25 to 40 percent of the revenues would come from consumers visiting Guilford County.

Thomasville OKs changes to spanking policy BY DARRICK IGNASIAK ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

THOMASVILLE – The Thomasville Board of Education on Tuesday night approved revisions to the system’s disciplinary policy, including guidelines for the administering of corporal punishment. The changes were made because of new state legislation approved earlier this year, said Thomasville City Schools Superintendent Keith Tobin. “(Corporal punishment) will not be used in our system unless a parent

gives you approval or unless a parent is present if it happens,� Tobin said. “It gives parents another option for disciplinary action.� Changes to the system’s policy for management of student behavior were introduced during the board’s monthly meeting last month. The changes were tabled for 30 days for public review. Associate Superintendent James Carmichael said school officials decided to make additional changes in the policy based on concerns expressed during the last month. Those changes stipulate that spanking

must be administered only if a parent signs a statement giving permission to the administrator to perform corporal punishment and the spanking can only be administered in the presence of a parent of the child being punished. Other updates to the policy state that corporal punishment will not be administered in the classroom with other students present. The principal or assistant principal may administer the corporal punishment and the student body will be informed beforehand what general types of misbehavior could result in a spanking.

Tobin said the system previously allowed schools to individually decide whether to require parents to sign off before it administered corporal punishment. Last year, the system had two cases in which a child was spanked. Tobin said the changes to the policy, which is for grades K12, may make it where corporal punishment is used “none, if any.� “It will be very limited in its use because of the policy we have in place,� he said. “I think this is a good policy, a fair policy.�

HIGH POINT – Two manufacturing companies have received business licenses in the last month to operate in some of High Point’s vacant industrial spaces. A business license was issued to Slane Hosiery Mill in September to operate in the former Cedar Creek facility at 550 W. Fairfield Rd., according to city documents. A spokesperson for the company couldn’t be reached Tuesday to elaborate. The sport sock manufacturer has been a major employee in the city since

it was founded here in 1915. It announced in 2004 that it would close its doors, eliminating 241 jobs. Instead, a turnaround management firm was hired to assist in saving the company. It operates a factory at 313 S. Centennial St. in High Point. It employed 304 people in 2008, when it added 12 jobs, according to the High Point Economic Development Corp.’s 2008 Annual Report. It did not provide data for the 2009 report. Precision Fabrication Inc., a wholesale sign manufacturer, also received a business license to operate in a 30,000-square-foot facility at 2000 Nuggett Road.

SONNY HEDGECOCK | HPE

Former Cedar Creek facility at 550 W. Fairfield Rd. President Allen Henkel said the company was relocating from its current location in Jamestown to the larger High Point space due to an uptick in business. “We need more room,� Henkel said. “We’re more than doubling our space. We’ve got some pretty good jobs (orders) and need the extra room.�

According to the business license, the company has 27 employees. Henkel said the relocation had not yet translated into new jobs. The pair of licenses adds to several other companies who recently have relocated or expanded into an industrial High Point space. GBF Inc., a medical

OBITUARIES

----Dane Brooks, 42 Robert Calloway, 92 Margaret Clapp, 89 Charles Hartman Effie Hedrick, 95 Wayne Hunt, 72 Wade Myers, 89 Dewey Parks, 85 Thomas Pratt, 24 Suquan Rogers, 21 Robert Sizemore, 87 Fred Skeen, 94 Hazel Smith, 83 Raymond Toler Jr., 68 Obituaries, 2A, 2-3B

WEATHER

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Mostly sunny High 69, Low 46 6D

dignasiak@hpe.com | 888-3657

2 vacant buildings get new tenants BY PAM HAYNES ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

STATE OF THE COMMUNITY: N.C. official speaks at chamber event. 1B

packaging and drug testing kit producer, said last month it would move from Greensboro to High Point. Three other companies made similar moves. HPEDC Pwresident Loren Hill said economic activity has seen a spike in recent months.

INDEX ABBY 3B BUSINESS 5D CLASSIFIED 3-6C COMICS 5B CROSSWORD 2C DONOHUE 5B FUN & GAMES 2C LIFE&STYLE 1C LOCAL 2A, 1B LOTTERY 2A MOVIES 6B NEIGHBORS 4B NATION 6A, 6B NOTABLES 6B OBITUARIES 2A, 2-3B OPINION 4-5A SPORTS 1-4D STATE 2A STOCKS 5D TV 6B WEATHER 6D WORLD 3A

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