SUNDAY
MARINE’S DEATH: Loved ones struggle to understand. 1E
December 20, 2009 125th year No. 354
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Company is a mixture of tradition, diversity. 1C
www.hpe.com High Point, N.C.
SIZZLING ACTION: Duke burns Gonzaga; Texas trips UNC. 1D
50 Cents Daily $1 Sundays
Ice may make travel more treacherous Inside...
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Staying home isn’t an option for some. 1B
BY PAUL B. JOHNSON ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
TRIAD – Road conditions in the region may remain treacherous this morning because of freezing temperatures overnight Saturday, which will turn any snow that melts into ice, authorities say. The high today isn’t expected to rise above the freezing mark until lunchtime, said Ryan Ellis, a
meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh. While no more wintry precipitation is expected, icy conditions won’t improve until later today as temperatures push past 32 degrees and skies begin to clear, Ellis said. “The one thing you’ll have to be careful about on Sunday morning is black ice freezing overnight.” Road conditions may cause churches to alter Sunday morning worship services. Dozens of Piedmont churches either had canceled or delayed the start of services, according to WXII-TV.
The most direct impact from the storm involved the increase in vehicle accidents Friday and Saturday, though no fatalities had been reported in the Piedmont by the North Carolina Highway Patrol as of Saturday afternoon. On Friday night in High Point, the Police Department at one point had 57 wreck calls needing response, Officer J.S. Crouse said. On a typical evening, officers would respond to five or six, Crouse said. The storm didn’t appear to cause major power problems Saturday. The city of High Point Electric Utilities Department reported no out-
ages as of Saturday morning. Duke Energy Corp. reported scattered outages as of Saturday morning in Davidson and Randolph counties and southwestern Guilford County. The N.C. National Guard contributed to the storm relief effort, as 24 guardsmen were called to duty during the weekend and are assisting the Highway Patrol rescue stranded motorists. The guardsmen are using 10 Humvees, working out of the Hendersonville and Marion armories and mainly assisting in the foothills and mountains. pjohnson@hpe.com | 888-3528
WHO’S NEWS
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Vic Conant, chairman of the board of Nightingale-Conant Corp., a publisher of audio personal development programs, was named by High Point University to the Nido R. Qubein School of Communication Board of Advisors. Conant became president of the company in 1986.
SONNY HEDGECOCK | HPE
Galileo looks a bit cold as he sits on a bench in front of the Plato S. WIlson School of Commerce at High Point University.
INSIDE
FAIR FORECAST
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CENTENNIAL: Boy Scouts ready to mark 100 years. 1F
Experts optimistic on farming prospects for 2010
OBITUARIES
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J.R. Akers, 59 Edward Coltrane, 87 Randy Cox, 50 Sylvia Craver, 61 Patsy Hill, 67 Sallie Hogan, 92 Tina Holmes, 47 Thomas McRae, 69 Kenneth Peel, 85 Ila Russell, 88 Opal Tomlin, 58 Obituaries, 2B
Before you read...
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ON THE FARM Agriculture in the Triad ■■■
The sour economy lingered throughout 2009, affecting nearly every U.S. industry, and farming hasn’t been immune. Though many local farmers continue to struggle, there were good signs in 2009, with record years for some crops, and the forecast for 2010 looks bright. This three-part series looks at the state of farming in the Triad and North Carolina, and what lies ahead.
BY DAVID NIVENS ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
TRIAD – One leading economist with close ties to farming predicts the two-year economic decline is coming to an end. That’s good news for farmers suffering the most – hog, dairy and poultry producers. Like the nation, North Carolina will return to economic growth in 2010 and 2011, economist Michael L. Walden, N.C. Cooperative Extension economist in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University, said in his year-end report. Walden said agriculture has fared decently in the past couple of years. Commodity prices for some crops have been up, but part of those gains have been offset by higher costs.
North Carolina agriculture usually is stable even in hard times. “Agriculture is not always flashy, but it is consistent,” Walden said earlier this year. “North Carolina ag didn’t roll over and just take it ... North Carolina farmers reshaped themselves.” Most area farmers have managed things well in 2009, said Troy Coggins, director of the Agricultural Extension Service in Davidson County. “Bankers are looking to lend to many of them,” Coggins said. “They have seen some hard times, but most of them are good managers.” Agriculture should be well positioned for future growth because the world will recover from the recession with easier trade practices, experts say. And the U.S. excels in agricultural production.
SIGNALS
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Factories: Output from the state’s factories has increased. DON DAVIS JR. | HPE
Les Crouse at his dairy farm in Denton.
Housing: The housing market has passed its recessionary bottom and is moving higher. Job losses: Joblessness continues, but at a slower pace, putting the state’s employment market on track to generate gains in the first quarter of 2010. Job growth will be strongest in the Charlotte, Triangle and Wilmington regions.
“I’ve never been as optimistic about ag as I am now,” Walden said. “We have an industry that is competitive worldwide. We’ll see a return to growing world income, and I think there will be very strong, economically viable opportunities in the alternative-fuels market.” But a combination of oversupply of product, the down economy and feed prices has many farmers on shaky ground, North
Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler said recently. “That is a cinder block around the neck of our pork industry and poultry industry and the dairy industry when they’re trying to keep their heads above water,” Troxler said. Reducing the oversupply of animal products is a key first step in solving the problem, Troxler said. dnivens@hpe.com | 888-3626
Unemployment: Will peak between 11.3 and 11.5 percent, although adding those former workers who have quit the labor force would push the rate to a full percentage point higher. Several regions will continue to have unemployment rates above 10 percent at the end of 2011. Source: Michael L. Walden
Low milk prices squeeze dairy profits BY DAVID NIVENS ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
DENTON – Dairy farmer Les Crouse hopes things will turn for the better in 2010. Although good weather helped produce
good supplies of feed and market crops, low milk prices put pressure on profits. “This was a tough year,” Crouse said, “maybe the worst in 35 to 40 years that I can remember. I’m pretty sure we will finish in the red. We may make the depreci-
ation this year and that is all.” For most of 2009, there was a worldwide surplus of milk because fewer people bought cheese and powdered milk during the global eco-
PRICES, 2A
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WEATHER
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Partly cloudy High 38, Low 23 8D
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