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Saturday, September 19, 2009
118th Year - No. 140 50 Cents
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Piedmont Crossing hosts candidate forum BY KARISSA MINN Staff Writer
Thirteen Thomasville candidates discussed crime, education and other issues at Piedmont Crossing Retirement Home on Thursday during a candidate forum. Present were city council incumbents Raleigh York, Scott Styers, David Yemm, Ricky Murphy, Neil Grimes, Pat Shelton and George Burton, and challengers Carl Shatley, Jacqueline Jackson, Jay Browning and Ronald
Bratton. Joining them were Mayor Joe Bennett and mayoral candidate Terry Hill. All candidates were asked what ideas they have that would help curb juvenile delinquency in the city. Most of them agreed that while this isn’t a big problem in Thomasville, it is important to promote parental involvement and constructive activities in order to keep it that way. “This is something that will not go away, and we’ve got to be on top of
it at all times, working through other organizations to make that happen,” Bennett said. Bennett, who serves on the Thomasville Coalition of Alcohol and Drugs, used that organization’s basketball camp as an example of a good structured summer activity for children. Shelton suggested advocating more Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops in the city to fill that purpose as well. Children need to learn responsibility at home, Grimes said, and pro-
grams like Communities In Schools help teach children to be responsible at school. York said that children may not have positive adult role models inside the home, so mentoring programs should be supported. Council members Burton and Murphy were asked how they felt about a possible merger of the three school systems in Davidson County, and they both said they were
TIMES PHOTO/KARISSA MINN
City Council candidate Ronald Bratton answers quesSee FORUM, Page A4 tions at a candidates forum at Piedmont Crossing.
TMC looks to expand geriatric department
Free lunch planned for public service workers BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer
BY KARISSA MINN Staff Writer
Thomasville Medical Center is asking the state to approve the addition of seven beds to its 26-bed geriatric psychiatric unit. “We have a need for additional beds to treat our patients in Davidson County,” said Kathie Johnson, TMC president. “There is a lot of demand for it. Our utilization has exceeded 80 percent for the last three months and the 75 percent target occupancy rate for the last six months.” Johnson said that many older adults have multiple health conditions that affect both their physical and emotional well-being. According to the American Psychiatric association, about 10 percent of Americans aged 65 and older suffer from dementia. The figure is higher for depression. “Fifteen out of every
See TMC, Page A6
COURTESY PHOTO
MULTIPLICATION MASTERS At the end of the last school year, the 4th grade teachers at Friendship Elementary School in Davidson County, issued a “Multiplication Challenge” to the rising 2009-10 fourth graders. They were challenged to study their multiplication facts (0-10) over the summer to see if they could make a 100 on a test during their first week back in school. Pictured is of the students who met the challenge and made a 100. Front Row (from left): Robert Grubbs, Brianna McCoy, Erika Castillo, Sam Hartzell, Justin Todd and Braxton White; middle row (from left): Vanessa, Caroline Everhart, Ella Russell, Jessica Tran, Michaela Yates, Abigail Eastman, Hayat Alkadir; and back row (from left): Megan Ball, Graham Harrington, Chris Poole, Mandy Fulton, Amiah Jones, Dan Gross and Chris Royal.
Man arrested for theft from family business BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer
Davidson County Sheriff ’s Office arrested a Thomasville man for stealing from his mother and the family business. Kevin Douglas Cranford, 40, of 2614 Johnsontown Road, is facing multiple charges from three different law enforcement agencies after DCSO detectives arrested him at
a residence on Amhurst Avenue in High Point on Wednesday. Cranford is charged with two counts of felony larceny by DCSO, two counts of nonchild support by Thomasville Police Department and one count of obtaining property by false pretenses by High Point police. DCSO responded to a
See THEFT, Page A4
Community Sponsor
With Everybody’s Day on the horizon, a local funeral home is inviting all public employees to come out and enjoy a free lunch as a way to say thanks for all they do for the community. On Wednesday, Sept. 23, Thomasville Funeral Home, located at 18 Randolph St., will be hosting its third annual luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is open to firefighters, police officers, city council members, trash collectors and anyone else who serves the public in some capacity. “We’ve created a precedent for Public Servants Day,” Scott Kramer, TFH’s Funeral Director, said. “How many people are involved in day-to-day things that we never think twice about? How many people shake a fireman or garbage man’s hand? This seems like such a simple way to say thank you.”
See LUNCH, Page A6
Thomasville man charged with drug-related offenses BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer A Thomasville man was arrested for drug possession as he was disposing of evidence when police arrived. On Wednesday, DCSO deputies were conducting a follow up investigation at 253 Park Drive when they had reason to believe drug use was taking place. Deputies noticed a marijuana odor coming from the front door and asked to do a consent search. When deputies came in contact with the home owner, Hunter Allan Ritchie, 20, they found him in
the process of destroying done pills, Oxycotin pills several marijuana plants, and Klonopin pills. Ritchie according to a DCSO press was arrested and charged release. with simple possession of “They went about a comschedule IV, trafficking, plaint regarding a girl who opium or heroin, posseshad her window broken sion with intent to sell and out the previous weekend,” deliver schedule II, possessaid Sheriff David Grice. Ritchie sion with intent to sell and “When officers arrived, they deliver marijuana, felony encountered some people at possession of marijuana, the residence. They had strong possession of drug paraphernareason to believe some drug use lia and maintaining a dwelling was going on.” to keep a controlled substance. A search of the house turned Ritchie was issued a $500,000 seup 31 grams of pot, seven mari- cured bond and is scheduled to juana plants, Xanax pills, Oxyco- appear in court on Sept. 30.
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