WEDNESDAY
December 16, 2015
Two Sections – 16 Pages vINDEX Calendar Classifieds Features Here & There
Winter begins December 21, 2015
Vol. 37 No. 52
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Scientist explains science of Santa’s sleigh for doubters (This article appeared in the Dec. 6, 1995 issue of the Jamestown News.)
(Photo/Norma B. Dennis)
Remembered still
A picture of the late Thurman Haynes hanging in the lobby of Haynes-Inman Education Center sports a Santa hat for the Christmas holidays. The school is located on land once owned by Haynes and is named in part for his granddaughter, Meredith, who was also a student with special needs. Haynes volunteered at the school from the time it opened until his death in 2014. He loved the children and the Christmas season and could often be seen wearing a bright red Santa’s hat around the school during the holidays.
It can fly in any weather, circle the globe overnight, carry millions of pounds of cargo and make silent, rooftop landings with pinpoint accuracy. A Stealth bomber? Nope, it’s Santa’s sleigh, one of the engineering wonders of the modern world. And – with a wink and a smile – Dr. Larry Silverberg at North Carolina State University thinks he knows how it works. “Santa clearly is ahead of the curve when it comes to applying advanced scientific theories to his sleigh’s design. Children shouldn’t believe others who say he isn’t real because there’s no way he could deliver toys all over the world on one night. There is a way,
and it’s based on plausible science,” says Silverberg, a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and a member of NASA’s Mars Mission Research Center at N.C. State. As an academic exercise in fun (and a gift to beleaguered parents), Silverberg and some of his students gathered after class recently and devised these scientific answers to questions long asked of Santa. How can Santa’s sleigh travel around the world in one night, making stops at so many houses? Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity proved that under the right conditions, time can dilate and space can contract. It is theorized that annually, Dec. 24, these conditions occur at the North Pole, which is the earth’s center of rotation and also a point of convergence of
its electromagnetic field. When this happens, a rip literally develops in the fabric of time, allowing Santa to slip through. Until he returns back through the rip, time stands still for the rest of the world. He can take as much time as he wants to deliver the package, and to us, it seems like it was done in the twinkling of an eye. How does Santa know
where the children live, and what gifts they want? Although old-fashioned letters to Santa still work, Silverberg and his students speculate that the Jolly Ole Elf also has a strategically multigrid receiving antenna system that picks up electromagnetic signals from children’s brains. Sophisticated signal processing See DOUBTERS, page A7
Gift bricks help mend Mendenhall P&R meeting is short and sweet By CAROL BROOKS Staff Writer
The Historic Jamestown Society has an interesting idea for a Christmas gift this year that will appeal to long-time residents and newcomers as well. The gift idea is a donation to help repair the chimney stacks on the 204-yearold Richard Mendenhall house at the Mendenhall Homeplace. Society president Shirley Haworth appealed to members in a recent letter and also wishes to open up the request to others.
(Photo/Donated by Barbara Bell)
This picture of the Richard Mendenhall house was taken in approximately 1910. It is these same chimney stacks seen here that are in need of repair 105 years later. Note the smaller bank barn in the background without the later edition on the east side. “Come walk with me from the parking lot toward
the front door of Mendenhall House on a bright
Student Veterans prepare care packages
On Dec. 9, members of the Student Veterans Association at Guilford Technical Community College packed care packages that will be mailed to members of the United States military serving in Afghanistan this Christmas. The organization has been participating in this project for 10 years. Members of The Men of Distinction, a service club at Allen Jay Preparatory Academy, assisted in collecting personal care items, snacks and other small treats that were placed in
December day,” Haworth wrote. “Look up at the sun beaming down through the chimney stack on the east end of the house. “That’s not right – there should be no light shining through there! Believe me, we have a problem.” Haworth continues describing her walk into the house to see the large crack in the plaster of the north wall of the new parlor. Repairs done after a vehicle hit the exterior wall years ago have now deteriorated and are in need of repair. The cost to repair the four chimney stacks and See BRICKS, page A7
By CAROL BROOKS Staff Writer Anyone arriving late for the Dec. 7 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee probably missed the entire session. With no major business on the agenda, members quickly dispatched with committee appointments. Chair Lawrence Straughn resigned the committee since he will be sworn in to the Town Council on Dec. 15. Lynn
Tice will become the new chair, with Robert Pickett as vice chair. Jim Pendry moved from alternate to full member, leaving an alternate vacancy. The committee is asked to attend the Jan. 19 Town Council meeting to hear a presentation about the golf course renovation. Carol Brooks can be reached at 336-841-4933 or jamestownnews@ northstate.net.
(Photos/Jane E. Whitehorne)
the packages going to soldiers this year. Above left, Cassi Lambert, president of the Student Veterans Association, Jose Melos and Luka Kinard, a member of Allen Jay Preparatory Academy’s Men of Distinction, left to right, pack boxes. Pictured in the center, Lambert and Melos prepare the paperwork necessary for shipping the care packages. The care packages are almost ready to be shipped in the photo on the right.
Holiday Closings For the Christmas holiday, the Jamestown News will have an earlier deadline for the Dec. 30th issue. All articles and advertising will need to be submitted by Dec. 23 at noon. The News office will be closed Dec. 24 and 25 for Christmas. The News office will be closed Jan. 1 for New Year’s. All articles and advertising will need to be submitted by Dec. 31 at noon. The Town of Jamestown office will be closed Dec. 24 and 25. There will be no garbage pickup on Friday. Town Hall will be closed on New Year’s Day. There will be no garbage pickup. The Jamestown Public Library will be closed Dec. 24 through 27 and reopen Dec. 28.