THURSDAY
HOLIDAY HELP: Today is the deadline to register for assistance. 1B
October 28, 2010 127th year No. 301
STORMY WEATHER: Triad escapes damage; change in store. 2A
www.hpe.com High Point, N.C.
LOFTY GOALS: Westchester tennis targets state crown. 1D
50 Cents Daily $1.25 Sundays
EARLY VOTING BUSY Time running out to avoid crowds; polling sites report increased traffic BY PAM HAYNES ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
GUILFORD COUNTY – An increased number of early voters have taken to the polls this year for fall elections, the Guilford County Board of Elections reports. More than 22,000 already have cast their votes for the Nov. 2 election, according to unofficial numbers released Wednesday. That compares with about 16,000 votes cast during the entire 2006 general election season, including Election Day. “We’ve had a relatively large turnout for early voting,” said Charlie Collicutt, deputy director of Guilford County Board of Elections. “There’s a Senate race that wasn’t involved in the 2006 election, so we may have a bigger turnout for that. But we’re probably going to double the amount of votes (compared to 2006).” The highest turnout so far occurred at the BurMil Club in Greensboro on Oct. 23, when 2,337 ballots were cast. High turnout is expected on Friday and Saturday, the last two days of early voting. The Blue Room in the
WHO’S NEWS
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Linda Willard, office support at Penn-Griffin School for the Arts, recently received the Robert Bruce Cook Family History Book Award for her book “We Are Family.” The award was presented by the N.C. Society of Historians and was among 95 awards out of a total of 729 entries.
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DON DAVIS JR. | HPE
The Roy B. Culler Jr. Senior Center hosts a bustling early voting site. Old Greensboro Courthouse and the High Point Elections Office will not be open Saturday. The last day of early voting at these two locations is Friday. Calvin Vaughn, director of the Roy B. Culler Jr. Senior Center in High Point, an early voting location,
said traffic is “the heaviest I’ve seen it during early voting,” when not counting the 2008 Presidential Election. “It seems to be building every day,” Vaughn said. Charlie Collicutt, deputy director of Guilford County Board of Elections, said voting machines for
Election Day on Tuesday would be prepared and transported to voting sites by the end of the week. Despite some complaints from voters in the past that the machine voting process was confusing or unclear, Collicutt said he anticipates the election to run smoothly this year.
“Every year we have used those machines, the voters and our poll workers get more accustomed and we run smoother,” he said. For more information, go to www.guilfordelections.org or call 845-7895.
FATAL PLANE CRASH: HPU soccer player suffers tragic loss. 1B OBITUARIES
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phaynes@hpe.com | 888-3617
High Pointers square off in school race BY DAVID NIVENS ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – High Point Realtor Ed Price said he filed for the District 2 seat on the Guilford County Board of Education to help the kids – something he has done in other ways for decades. “I would like to continue to help promote, encourage and support the self-
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Candidates agree some issues. 1B
Price
Hebert
esteem of our children and youth,” said Price, who likes to point out that he has said this several
on
times in response to candidate surveys. Price faces incumbent Garth Hebert in the Nov. 2 elections for the District 2 seat. Hebert says he has helped to reform the dis-
trict administration and is working to increase public trust. “I did not want at first to run again,” Hebert said. “But I wanted someone like me to run, someone seeking accountability.” To achieve his goal, Price, a High Point property developer and veteran community leader, favors support for athletics and other student ac-
tivities. He also wants to maintain small class sizes in elementary schools and increase the number of teacher aides. “If you start cutting support for these activities and charging fees, where do you stop?” Price said. “A recent study of dropouts showed that 95 percent were not in band and
Morlan Buck Jr. Bert Clapp Jr., 91 Nathan Davis, 93 Ruben Little, 81 Paul McKeehan Jr., 54 Norris Massten, 86 Elsie Moore, 81 Betty Murphy, 82 Kane Rivera, infant George Smith, 75 Obituaries, 2B
WEATHER
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Partly Cloudy High 79, Low 41 6D
HIGH POINTERS, 2A INDEX ABBY 3B BUSINESS 5D CLASSIFIED 5-8C COMICS 5B CROSSWORD 2C DONOHUE 5B FUN & GAMES 2C LIFE&STYLE 1C, 3-4C LOCAL 2A, 1B LOTTERY 2A NEIGHBORS 4B MOVIES 6B NATION 5A, 8A, 6B NOTABLES 6B OBITUARIES 2B OPINION 6-7A SPORTS 1-4D STATE 3A, 2-3B STOCKS 5D TV 6B WEATHER 6D WORLD 4A
Sales BOOst: Retailers see uptick in shopping this Halloween BY PAM HAYNES ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
TRIAD – Besides the usual ghouls and goblins, there’s one aspect of Halloween that isn’t expected to be quite so scary this year: retail sales. The black-and-orange holiday usually provides a small boost to the economy, local retailers report, but its impact is expected to return to 2008 levels this year. The National Retail Federation estimates consumers will spend about $66 on costumes, candy and decorations, up almost $10 from last year. Costumes are the biggest sellers at most local stores, and the fact that Halloween falls on Sunday causes
them to fly off the shelves, store managers said. “Sales are better whenever Halloween is on a weekend because people have more parties, and kids tend to dress up more,” said Robert Hayes, store manager of Kmart on S. Main Street in High Point. Popular costumes for kids at Hayes’ store this year are inspired by blockbuster films such as “Transformers” and “Iron Man.” But adults aren’t missing out on the costume hype, according to Joshuah Smith, manager at the seasonal Halloween and More store at the Friendly Shopping Center in Greensboro. “A lot of people are doing Lady Gaga or Katy Perry,” Smith said about the popstar singer costumes. “Everyday I get asked about those.” But all costumes in general are selling well this year, which Smith also
DON DAVIS JR. | HPE
Kim Gentle and daughter Kellie browse Kmart’s selection for a costume for Kellie. attributes to the fact that Halloween lands on a weekend. “Compared to the last few years, people are spending more,” he said. “When it falls on a weekend like this, people have several parties to go to. One customer bought $400 in costumes because she said she had four different parties to go to – Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
Americans also are expected to spend more on Halloween merchandise in general. According to the National Retail Federation, individuals will spend $20.29 on candy and $18.66 on decorations. Candy has been a big seller so far at Target in High Point, though the treats usually fly out of the door at the last minute, said a manager.
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And pumpkins are selling at a comparable level to last year despite hot and dry weather that was tough on some crops, according to farmer Jack Bodenheimer. “They’ve been selling pretty good,” said Bodenheimer, who sells the pumpkins at 2041 Burke Road in Davidson County. phaynes@hpe.com | 888-3617
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