Inside Today
THOMASVILLE
Saturday, December 26, 2009
East Davidson’s Haley Grimsley lighting up the boards for Lady Eagles. See, Page 7.
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Sales solid for local stores
Downtown sees more holiday bustle this season
New Year’s celebration to add twist to ball drop BY KARISSA MINN Staff Writer
BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer
There’s no formula for predicting a holiday shopping season. Trying to gauge how much people will spend for Christmas can be as unpredictable as the weather. Now that Christmas is officially over, one thing is clear — not only did people in Thomasville get out and shop, Chair City residents spent their money downtown. Several local businesses on Main Street reported a successful shopping season despite high unemployment in the area, an early snowstorm and a continuing national recession. “I’m very pleased,” Mike Floyd, owner of Shoppes on Main, said. “We’ve been pretty steady. The run up for Christmas was excellent.” Floyd took over Shoppes on Main in August and said the variety his store offers attracts all sorts of people looking for items such as lotions, toys, candles, soaps, costume jewelry and cigars. Floyd wasn’t quite sure what to expect from his first holiday shopping season, but so far the numbers have been positive. “I wasn’t sure,” said Floyd. “I knew what the numbers from last year were, and we’re ahead
TIMES PHOTO/ELIOT DUKE
Caleb Evington hands an iced tea to customer Mike Floyd Wednesday at Monkeez Brew in downtown Thomasville. The store has experienced better-than-expected sales this holiday season. of last year. I can’t be more pleased going into the new year. Everything has been doing well.” Monkeez Brew shares space with Shoppes on Main at 32 E. Main St., and Lori DeRue said her business has been a hit for holiday shoppers. Last Saturday, as snow blanketed Thomasville, DeRue thought about not opening Monkeez Brew due to inclement weather and poor road conditions. That idea flew out the window once she real-
ized just how many people were already waiting outside. “We’ve been doing great,” DeRue said. “People have been making this place their little hangout. It’s more than I expected and has been really cool. People are finally realizing we’re here. The snow brought people. We’re weren’t going to open Saturday but we couldn’t leave people standing outside.” DeRue said patrons have been flocking to Monkeez Brew for church meetings, Christ-
mas parties and as just a place to open presents together. Monkeez Brew also plans to be open New Year’s Eve for a special celebration. Don and Brenda Hawks’ store, Natures Herbs, has been on the corner of Main and Salem Street for the past 10 years, giving the couple plenty of experience when it comes to a holiday shopping season. Even though Natures Herbs isn’t
See SALES, Page 6
Two more arrested in High Point’s third murder of 2009 BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer
High Point Police Department arrested two more men in connection with a shooting that left a man dead. Marqualis Nyquan Parson, 16, of 407 Vine St. in High Point, and Antwain Orlando Owens, 18, of 1011 True Lane
in High Point, are in custody and charged with accessory after the fact of first degree murder for their involvement in Monday’s shooting of another teenager on Ennis Street. Police responded to a shooting call at 331 Ennis St. and found Kinitez Dante Gilbert, 19, lying in the road suffering from a gunshot wound shortly after 7
p.m. Gilbert was transported to High Point Regional Hospital and died hours later. HPPD arrested Parson on Wednesday but were still looking for Owens until early Thursday. “[Owens] came in with family members and turned himself in,” Capt. Margaret Erga said. “We had warrants out on him,
but he saved us a lot of trouble by just coming down here and turning himself in.” Within hours of Gilbert’s apparent murder, detectives had already begun an investigation and identified two suspects. By Tuesday, HPPD arrested Johnathan Brandon Mack, 17,
If Thomasville residents can’t make it to New York this New Year’s Eve, they still can enjoy the celebratory atmosphere right here in the Chair City. Several local churches are coming together to hold “Time Square at the Chair” on Dec. 31, from 8 p.m. until midnight on Main Street in downtown Thomasville. It will include a variety of entertainment, food and games, as well as the raising of a lighted cross as the year 2010 begins. Nonprofit organizations and churches will be invited to sell food to raise money for their outreach programs, said Janice Spainhour, missions committee chair at Thomasville Friends Church. Many also will set up game booths for the public. “I just hope that a lot of people will come, because we’ve got everything really ready, and we’re hoping lots of people will participate,” Spainhour said. “I think that it’s going to be a very positive, upbeat and really exciting event.” Participating churches include Christian Life Center, Thomasville Friends Church, Thomasville Church of the Nazerene, Covenant Life Church of the Nazerene, Cedar Lodge Baptist Church, Jesus Just In Time Ministries, He Cares Ministries, First Baptist Church, Kingdom Vision Ministries and others. The night will feature performances by Unified Cry Youth Band, Sheltered Quartet, Canaan-
See TWIST, Page 6
See MURDER, Page 6
Chair City to play role in new film BY KARISSA MINN Staff Writer
HIGH POINT — Just a few months after ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” brought a bit of Hollywood to Davidson County, the Triad area will be hosting the production of a feature film written by a local professor. Ed Simpson, chair of the Performing Arts Department and professor of theatre at High Point University, penned the play “Elephant Sighs” in 1998. The well-received production has since been performed in theatres across the
country, and it now will be made into a feature-length movie with Hollywood actors. The production will be filmed in High Point and Thomasville from Jan. 3 through Jan. 24. Indoor scenes will be shot in a studio in High Point, and scenes taking place outdoors will be shot in both cities. “I love the look of Thomasville as a town, and a lot of the buildings and streets,” Simpson said. “In parts of Thomasville and High Point, the architecture looks a lot like what you would find in western Pennsylvania, which is where
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it takes place.” The film will star Ed Asner, a seven-time Emmy Award-winning actor known from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Lou Grant,” “Roots,” “Elf,” “Up!” and more. The production also will feature Tony Award-nominated John Cariani, of “Fiddler on the Roof,” “NUMB3RS” and “Law and Order”; Jack Kehler, of “The Big Lebowski,” “Love Liza,” “Dudley Doright,” “Waterworld” and “Men in Black II”; David Wells, of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Charlie Wil-
TIMES PHOTO/KARISSA MINN
Professor Ed Simpson, performing arts chair, works in his See FILM, Page 6 office at High Point University.
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