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Saturday, October 3, 2009
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City devises plan to address recent spill BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer
The City of Thomasville released a fourpronged approach Friday to deal with the recent sewer overflow of nearly 16 million gallons of untreated wastewater into Hamby Creek that sparked an investigation from the Environmental Protection Agency and resulted in a fine of more than $35,000.
Details of the plan include the city hiring consulting engineers, an environmental consulting firm and a law firm, as well as introducing interim procedures that open up lines of communication for city employees in the event of another spill. “We’re having everything indefensibly looked at — the actions of our employees and how they reacted to the spill, what
tion,” City Manager Kelly Craver said. “And then of course the internal controls to ensure we have open lines of communication. We put the four pieces of the puzzle together to move forward with this.” In order to analyze the city’s sewer collection system and prioritize the immediate short and long-term rehabilitation needs, Thomasville hired Pease and Associates
‘We put the four pieces of the puzzle together to move forward with this.’ — Kelly Craver Thomasville City Manger information or data that we can have environmental folks look at to help recreate as best we can to find out what happened,
and going forward with rehabilitation projects by evaluating the system and going forward with plans for construc-
Lexington kicks off ‘Barbecue Month’ BY LISA WALL Editor
WELCOME — Nothing says fall in North Carolina like cooling temperatures, early sunsets, the turning of the leaves and barbecue. Lexington officially kicked off “Barbecue Month” Tuesday at the Barbecue Festival Media Luncheon held at Richard Childress Racing Auditorium in Welcome. The event begins a month-long celebration in Davidson County, culminating with the 26th annual Barbecue Festival on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. in uptown Lexington. With the list of big-name bands performing on six entertainment stages, Festival Director Stephanie Saintsing said she expects this year to be bigger and better than ever. “With the 26th annual event, mainly we’re just focused on building on what has worked for us in the past,” said Saintsing. “It takes several ingredients to have a successful event and, obviously, barbecue is the star, but we have six stages for entertainment and many other special attractions. It’s really just a family-friendly atmosphere that lends itself to a wonderful day. We’re really just celebrating Lexington and what our community is all about.” Gracing the WTQR stage this year will be country music sing-
Staff Writer
In October, 1871, a tremendous fire devastated the city of Chicago, killing more than 250 people and leaving more than 100,000 homeless after the blaze destroyed 17,000 homes during the two-day inferno. The impact of the tragedy affected the entire country, causing sweeping reform in fire safety codes and increasing public awareness as to how prevent another such disaster.
See PLAN, Page A3
Rep. Coble discusses U.S. troop increase BY KEVIN REID Times Correspondent
died and another 16,705 suffered injuries from fires last year, which also caused an estimated $15.5 billion in property loss. Statistics show prevention can make a difference as 63 percent of house fire deaths occurred in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. Only one in four Americans has a home escape plan and has practiced it, despite the fact house fires account for 84 percent of all fire-related deaths.
GREENSBORO – When it comes to the issue of sending more American troops to Afghanistan, U.S. Rep. Howard Coble has mixed feelings on the subject. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do on that, but I have strong feelings about it,” Coble said of the war in Afghanistan. “I’m not wild about spending millions of dollars to send thousands of more troops over there where they would be in danger of getting killed or maimed for the rest of their lives.” The Republican, who has represented North Carolina’s Sixth District since 1985, met with a Thomasville Times correspondent while attending a pancake supper at the Greensboro Masonic Temple. He was an early supporter of both the war in Afghanistan, as well as the one in Iraq, before becoming a strong critic of the handling of the war in Iraq. “If I had known that we had such a poorly formulated exit strategy in Iraq, I would have never voted to dispatch troops over there,” Coble said. “We had a terrible post exit strategy, and I’m not sure the one in Afghanistan is much better.” Coble, who spent 5 and a half years in the U.S. Coast Guard and 22 years in the Coast Guard Reserves, is a member of the House Committee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. “We have a bad record of taking control in Afghanistan,” Coble said. “There are all sorts of failures; all sorts of notches on
See SAFETY, Page A3
See TROOPS, Page A3
TIMES PHOTO/LISA WALL
From left, renowned artist Bob Timberlake and NASCAR legend Richard Childress unveil the 2009 edition of Fine Swine Wine Tuesday at the Lexington Barbecue Festival Media Luncheon. ers Richie McDonald, Joey and Rory, Chris Young, Megan Mullins and David Nail, followed by a full-band performance by Big Kenny. Juried arts and crafts vendors once again will line Main Street, along with roving entertainers, a lumberjack sports
competition, pig races, bicycle stunt shows as well as a variety of activities for children of all ages. Highlighting another rich tradition in Davidson County will be NASCAR legend Richard Childress, as he will be on hand at the beginning of the festival
signing bottles of this year’s edition of Fine Swine Wine, which is produced at his vineyards by renowned winemaker Mark Frizolowski. “The Barbecue Festival has a huge economic effect on the
See BARBECUE, Page A3
Safety urged during Fire Prevention Week BY ELIOT DUKE
Consulting Engineers. The firm will develop and submit construction plans to the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources for approval, assist in the bid process, oversee construction and certify completed work. The environmental consulting firm Brown and Caldwell will review city records and other data to
More than 100 years later, the memory of the event lives on through Fire Prevention Week, a campaign sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) highlighting the importance of fire safety education. Fire Prevention Week starts Sunday, commemorating the Oct. 8-9, 1871, Chicago inferno. “Every 22 seconds a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the United States,” Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of communica-
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tions, said. “Fires kill roughly 3,000 people each year and injure thousands. These statistics are especially tragic because most fires can be prevented and the deaths and injuries associated with them can be avoided. Fire Prevention Week is dedicated to focusing on important safety information that will help [people] stay safe from fire year round.” According to NFPA statistics, fire departments responded to approximately 1.5 million fires in 2008. More than 3,000 people
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