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Tuesday, August 10, 2010
THOMASVILLE
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PREYING ON INNOCENCE EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a three-part series on protecting children from sexual predators. Look for part two in Thursday’s edition.
Sexual abuse of children a growing dilemma
Awareness, dialogue crucial for prevention
BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer
BY ERIN WILTGEN Staff Writer Creeping strangers and figures lurking in alleyways have never been purely a figment of the imagination. And as movies such as “The Lovely Bones” depict a parent’s nightmare, the fact remains that it isn’t just neglected or inattentive children that disappear. It can happen to anyone. It can happen anywhere. According to Darkness to Light, a Charleston, S.C.based organization pledged to spreading awareness of and educating parents on sexual abuse, one in every four girls and one in every six boys fall victim to sexual abuse before the age of 18. And with an estimated 39 million survivors of sexual abuse nationwide, both reported and unreported, about 70 percent of all known cases of sexual assaults occur on children 17 years old and younger. But the statistics don’t have to be so staggering. Jolie Logan, chief operating officer for Darkness to Light, says that adult intervention can provide a simple solu-
See DIALOGUE, Page 10
Mug shots are of some of the registered sex offenders living in the Thomasville area. Information provided by the N.C. Department of Justice Sex Offenders Registry.
Proposed plan could bring new equipment to parks Staff Writer
Thomasville City Council will consider joining with the Parks and Recreation Committee to form Partners for Playgrounds, a project seeking to enhance six of the Chair City’s parks, at its regular meeting Monday. Coming together with other, non-governmental entities in raising a total of $350,000, the City will raise a portion of the funds to replace playground equipment at Doak Park, Cen-
tral Recreation Center, Myers Park/Kings Row, Contingency, Carver Park, Memorial Park and Turner Street — all at the same time. “We would pledge $50,000 over four years if we can come up with participation outside of the government to refurbish six parks all at one time to make a dynamic impact on different neighborhoods,” said City Manager Kelly Craver. The goal is to raise the money quickly to upgrade each park in the spring of 2011, then pay
See PLAN, Page 12
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School upgrades energy efficient BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer
BY ERIN WILTGEN
Taking indecent liberties with a minor. Sexual exploitation of a child. They are the crimes that capture people’s attention for all the wrong reasons and the ones that conjure up the most emotion. No one wants to think about a person sexually exploiting a 7-year-old girl or taking indecent liberties with a 8year-old boy, but it happens in every town across the country. In almost every case printed in the newspaper, the call came to social services first. The Davidson County Department of Social Services (DCDSS) receives an average of 1,400 reports a year regarding child abuse or neglect, including 84 involving sexual child abuse since last July alone. “It’s a job we hoped would go away,” DCDSS Director Dale Moorefield said. “We hoped things would improve and we wouldn’t have to deal with families in this way and we would be out of that business. That would be the ultimate goal, but I don’t know if it will ever happen. We would rather it not be happening but we have to do the best we can once it does.” DCDSS has people on call 24 hours a day to take reports regarding neglect or abuse. Once a call is received, a staff member files a written report, asking a
When the chance came for Thomasville City Schools to get a hold of more than $1 million for school renovations, superintendent Keith Tobin felt that in order to save money, he would have to spend some money. TCS received $1.2 million from a Quality School Construction Bond available through the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act earlier this year and has spent the summer putting the funds to use with a series of upgrades
intended to save money over a period of time. Three of the four city schools, along with the Alternative Learning Center, had an energy-saving project on its campus this summer. “This was a good move for us,” Tobin said. “We are definitely coming out on the good end. We realize it’s a lot of money that we will have to pay back, but the money we’ll save in the long run just made this a good call all the way around.” TCS will be paying off the bond to Davidson County Commissioners over the next 14 years, but with several schools
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already needing improvements, Tobin felt the time was right to make the move now instead of waiting. One of the biggest projects was replacing the chiller at Thomasville Middle School. For the past several years, TCS has been spending around $30,000 annually on simple maintenance and upkeep of the outdated unit that provides TMS with central air. The new 210-ton chiller cost $214,000 and has two compressors that run on magnetic bearings instead of oil. Greg Miller, TCS’ main-
See UPGRADES, Page 12
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