Coming Thursday
THOMASVILLE
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Silver Valley Civitans Project Santa to begin delivering Christmas gifts.
Times
119th Year - No. 36 50 Cents
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Two men charged in recent robbery BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer
Thomasville Police Department arrested two brothers in connection with last week’s armed robbery of a local beauty salon. Jasmond Tyjan Gillins, 20, of 2711 Ridgeview Court in High Point, and Jasean Terrell Gillins, 21, of 208 White St., were taken into custody Friday for allegedly robbing Total Beauty
Supply at 210 National Highway at gun point. Both Gillins were charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon. TPD had been looking for suspects since Thursday afternoon after receiving a call regarding the armed robbery shortly after 3 p.m. According to a TPD press release, four to five suspects walked into Total Beauty Supply when one of the suspects pulled out a handgun and de-
manded money. The suspects robbed the clerk of his wallet as well as an undisclosed amount of cash from the store and fled in a light-colored Jeep Cherokee. The clerk’s wallet was later found in the store parking lot. TPD’s Criminal Investigations Division, with assistance from Vice Detectives and Special Response Team, executed a search warrant on Friday at 208 White St., believing that
was the address where some of the suspects and property from the robbery were located. As a result of the search warrant, police arrested two of the suspects and found some of the stolen property. TPD said charges are pending on four additional suspects who are believed to have been involved in Thursday’s robbery. Attempts to reach detectives investigating the case on Monday were unsuccessful.
BY KARISSA MINN Staff Writer
See GOAL, Page 12
See ROBBERY, Page 12
Unilin contract changes approved
United Way short of annual goal
Last year, United Way of Davidson County almost did not reach its campaign goal of $2 million, but an eleventh-hour donation filled in the gap. This year, the organization estimates that it will fall 10 to 15 percent short of the same goal, and it is asking Davidson County citizens to help provide another Christmas miracle. Lee Jessup, president of the United Way of Davidson County, said that while 10 to 15 percent may not seem like much of a gap, it would greatly affect the partner agencies that depend on money from the United Way. These groups, which have had difficulty with their own fund raising projects, are dedicated to helping the local community and aiding those in need.
One of the brothers, Jasmond Gillins, has a criminal background involving firearms. According to the North Carolina Department of Corrections, Jasmond was arrested last April in Guilford County and charged with larceny of a firearm, larceny of a motor vehicle, felony breaking and entering, and obtaining property by writing worthless checks.
BY KARISSA MINN Staff Writer
COURTESY PHOTO
MRS. CLAUS STORY TIME Mrs. Santa Claus (aka: Judy Younts, director of Communities in Schools (CIS) of Thomasville) with students on her recent visit to Thomasville Primary School. Mrs. Claus visited the school on Dec. 14 and Dec. 17 to read to kindergarten and first grade students. Following the reading students asked questions and received a Santa update.
SNOW FUN Local residents took advantage of the weekend snowfall by building an enormous snowman in a yard off of Salem Street. Others hit the hills to do some snow sledding. TIMES PHOTO/ELIOT DUKE
Community Sponsor
Thomasville City Council approved changes to its incentive contract with Unilin Flooring Inc. at its Monday meeting. The amendment will waive the contract’s job requirement if, during one of the past six reporting months prior to a grant request, the unemployment numbers from the N.C. Employment Security Commission were in the double digits. The grant amount paid would be proportionally reduced relative to the percentage of jobs originally required. No citizens spoke against the amendment, and three spoke in favor of it. One of them was Barney Hill, who said he
See UNILIN, Page 6
Winter weather wreaks havoc on weekend travel BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer Winter’s early arrival Friday left a weekend full of traffic accidents behind as motorists in Thomasville and throughout Davidson County found the season’s first snowstorm was more than just a passing fancy. Several inches of snow, sleet and ice blanketed much of Davidson County once the predicted storm moved into the area early Friday afternoon, leaving slick roads and emergency workers scrambling to answer the overload of calls. “The radio just started buzzing right around noon Friday” Terry Bailey, emergency communications director for Davidson County, said. “It was one call after another. ”
Today’s Weather
Mostly Sunny 44/23
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What’s Inside
Bailey said a total of 212 traffic-related calls poured in from Friday afternoon through Sunday, including 62 involving injuries. A large volume of the emergency calls, Bailey said, came from major roads like Interstate 85 as deteriorating conditions made even subtle accidents much worse. “Sometimes the intestates will become a parking lot,” said Bailey. “Simply because it just becomes impassable. If you’re driving from an area that doesn’t have any ice and is just wet and you run into an area with ice that you’re not expecting, it sends you into a spin if you’re not prepared for it. A lot of times, one accident can turn into several.” In Thomasville, a total of 25 accidents were reported over the weekend
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