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Officials support Fairfield post office BY PAM HAYNES ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
BY PAUL B. JOHNSON ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – Some city officials began efforts to keep the Furnitureland Post Office open after learning it was placed on a list of potential closures last month by the U.S. Postal Service. The post office, located at 913 W. Fairfield Road in High Point, is one of 12 locations in the state and 413 locations in the country to be considered under a “feasibility study,” according to Carl Walton, a public relations spokesman for the postal service. Walton said a questionnaire regarding the use of the post office was sent to its post office box customers, and the questionnaires must be returned by Oct. 20. A resolution to keep the post office open was presented by Councilman Latimer Alexander and passed unanimously by the City Council at a September meeting. The resolution states that the office should remain open for the convenience of business and the citizens of High Point. Alexander said he owns a business, Latimer Alexander LLC, and he regularly uses the post office for business purposes. “The post office there isn’t open as many hours as the downtown post office, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t do a lot of business,” he said. “When you talk about business infrastructure, a local post office has to be part of that infrastructure.” A letter was sent to the Greensboro district of the postal service by Loren Hill, president of the High Point Econom-
SONNY HEDGECOCK | HPE
JoAnn Antoneli and Glenn Hammonds erect Gypsy Faire Tents at the Bobo Intriguing Objects showroom at the corner of Elm Street and Broad Avenue.
DON DAVIS JR. | HPE
Sen. Kay Hagan is shown the Thomas & Gray showroom by company President Thomas Tilley during her visit to Market Square on Friday. tive district during her first two terms covered parts of High Point. Earlier this decade, Hagan helped pass General Assembly legislation that created the High Point Market Authority as an agency overseeing all aspects of
the trade show. She also was part of the area state legislative delegation that secured $12 million in state funding for the market during Hagan’s 10 years in the General Assembly.
POST OFFICE, 2A
pjohnson@hpe.com | 888-3528
Dell suppliers left in lurch with plant closing BY PAUL B. JOHNSON ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
TRIAD – Economic developers want to assist local suppliers to Dell Inc. so the shutdown of its Winston-Salem plant early next year won’t have as much of a ripple effect resulting in further job losses and business closings. Smaller companies set up operations in the Triad during the past four years to serve the computer manufacturing plant in capacities ranging from packaging and parts to distribution and logistics. Dell announced Oct. 7 that it will close the plant, eliminating 905 jobs. A comprehensive list of Dell suppliers in the Piedmont isn’t readily available. Records from the Piedmont Triad Partnership economic development group indicate at least six Dell suppliers had established operations in the region since the plant opened four years ago this month. A Dell press representative told The High Point Enterprise Friday the company declined to comment on questions about its business relationships with suppliers.
LAYOFFS
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Dell Inc. announced Oct. 7 that it will close its computer manufacturing facility in WinstonSalem’s Alliance Park, between U.S. 311 and Interstate 40, about 5 miles from High Point city limits. About 600 Dell workers will be laid off on or near Nov. 18, according to a petition filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. The plant will close on or near Jan. 20, the petition indicates, costing 305 other workers their jobs. SONNY HEDGECOCK | HPE
World Wide Technology Inc. is one company affected by Dell’s closing. Representatives with two Triad companies that supply the plant also declined to comment on their business with Dell or their future after the plant closes. St. Louisbased World Wide Technology Inc. has a facility on Pegg Road in north High Point near the Greensboro city limit, while Texas-based Austin Foam Plastics Inc. has a facility in Union Cross Business Park
125th year No. 290 www.hpe.com High Point, N.C.
Hagan visits market during first year in Washington
a Senate resolution last month honoring this year’s 100th anniversary of the market. Hagan’s involvement with the market dates from her first years in the General Assembly when she was a state senator in Guilford County. Her legisla-
October 17, 2009
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Opening day HIGH POINT – U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan wants to take her advocacy for the High Point Market to a personal political level with her 99 colleagues. Hagan, the first-term Democratic senator from Greensboro who once represented High Point in the N.C. General Assembly, visited the furniture market Friday, before the fall trade show formally opened today. Hagan greeted industry representatives and High Point leaders while attending the kickoff celebration for the new Thomas & Gray showroom in Market Square. Based in High Point, Thomas & Gray is a new company, led by industry veteran Tom Tilley, that produces fine furnishings through a network of designers and contractors in North Carolina. One idea to promote the market, which Hagan mentioned in an interview with The High Point Enterprise, would involve her inviting fellow U.S. senators and their spouses to High Point to experience the market. The tours would help raise the profile of the High Point Market nationally, she said. “It’s one of those hidden secrets,” the senator said. Hagan’s idea to bring U.S. senators to market would dovetail with an effort launched several years ago to invite state legislators here to expose them to the significance and scope of the world’s largest home furnishings trade show. “It’s sometimes hard to comprehend until you’ve visited it,” Hagan said. Hagan and Republican Richard Burr of Winston-Salem co-sponsored
SATURDAY
in southeastern Forsyth County. Area economic development officials are talking with Dell suppliers about alternatives, said Bob Leak, president of the Winston-Salem Business Inc. economic recruitment group. “One of the things we plan to do in sorting out this process of life after Dell, if you will, is talking with them (Dell suppliers) about
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Dell began production at the plant in October 2005. The company once pledged to have 1,500 workers or more within five years.
targeting some other companies. Most of these suppliers do serve other entities in addition to Dell. So they have a bit of a base of other companies,” Leak said. pjohnson@hpe.com | 888-3528
WHO’S NEWS
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Michael J. Bennett was hired as instructor of history in the Department of History at High Point University. Bennett has a special interest in the areas of war and society, such as the Civil War and the Vietnam War.
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ELECTION CHANGES: Man tries to rally opposition to Thomasville referendum. 1B OBITUARIES
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Edith Alexander, 86 Marion Ameen, 79 Hilda Austin, 78 P. Branscome, 62 Earl Davis Sr., 81 James Ingram, 65 Glenn McDowell, 90 Elizabeth Miller, 93 Betty Queen, 74 Charlene Walker, 56 Obituaries, 3A, 2B
WEATHER
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Mostly cloudy High 55, Low 39 8C
INDEX ABBY 3B BUSINESS 6-7C CLASSIFIED 1-6D COMICS 5B CROSSWORD 4B DONOHUE 5B FAITH 6-7A FUN & GAMES 4B LOCAL 2-3A, 1B LOTTERY 2A MOVIES 8A NATION 8C OBITUARIES 3A, 2B OPINION 4A SPORTS 1-5C STATE 2-3A STOCKS 7C TV 6B WEATHER 8C WORLD 8A
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