Thursday, April 8, 2010 | 50¢
Mourning loss of one who found what most never do in a lifetime BY KATHY CHAFFIN kchaffin@salisburypost.com
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Christopher Lewis was among the ‘Prop Daddies’ who performed with Center Stage Dance Co.
KANNAPOLIS — Rick Pethel arrived at Ruehlen Supply Co. early Monday for his morning cup of coffee. He and Christopher Lewis, his sole employee and the husband of his niece, met there every morning to talk with fellow plumbers and customers. Rick would drive his blue Toyota pickup, and Chris had the bigger Rick Pethel Plumbing truck. They’d leave the Toyota there and head to their plumbing jobs in the company truck. On Monday, however, Rick was driving the big company truck, having used it over the weekend to help a friend. Chris was running late, he said,
which was unusual. He was never late. • • • Rick was talking with his fellow plumbers when one of them received a call on his cell phone and went outside to talk. When he came back inside, the man asked Rick if Chris was driving his Toyota. “Yes,” Rick said. A blue Toyota truck LEWIS with plumbing equipment on it had been in an accident on Enochville Avenue, the man said, and it didn’t look good for the driver.
What event center could look like
Rick tried to call Chris on his cell phone, but there was no answer. “I couldn’t bear to go,” he said, “because I knew. He was 15 minutes late.” Two of his plumbing friends left to go to the accident scene. They called Rick on his phone and told him it was Chris in the accident. He had been killed on impact. • • • Had it been any other weekday, Chris’ 4-year-old daughter, Madisyn, would have been in the truck with him when a Dodge Durango driven by Leslie Matthews of Timway Drive crossed the center line and struck him head on, according to his mother-in-
See FAMILY, 5A
County’s jobless rate hits 14 percent BY SHELLEY SMITH ssmith@salisburypost.com
SUBMITTED RENDERING
This artist’s rendering provided by Conventions, Sports and Leisure International shows the event center planned for the 300 block of Main Street.
City officials say $3 million remodeling project could meet ‘a lot of community demand’ BY SHELLEY SMITH
“It’s a great site and will be a good anchor on that end of town.”
ssmith@salisburypost.com
Citing “an immediate community need,” Downtown Salisbury Inc. has revealed a proposal for a $3 million downtown event facility. Downtown officials shared plans Tuesday with Salisbury City Council that would involve remodeling rather than replacing two vacant buildings the city owns in the 300 block of South Main St. DSI’s report on a Phase I market analysis included 3-D virtual walk-throughs of the facility and graphics. The center would be able to hold more than 950 people in auditorium-styled seating and more than 480 in round table seating, with eight seated people per table. The market analysis, completed by Conventions, Sports and Leisure International (CSL), is the first phase of the feasibility study for a downtown event center. It outlines market conditions, competition, industry trends, market surveys and building program options. According to Randy Hemann, executive director of DSI, a 2005 plan suggested Salisbury needed such a facility and proposed a new building that would cost roughly $15 million. Remodeling the existing buildings for the proposed center would cost $3 million. It’s a modest proposal, Hemann said, “but it meets a lot of community demand. As a community, we cannot gather right now, as you know.” Hemann said the proposed facility would be twice the size of the Salisbury Civic Center, and the entire area of the property is roughly the same size of land that the Charlotte Bobcats arena was built on. Hemann said CSL has experience in analyzing more than 500 studies, and that the firm went as far as visiting Salisbury and calling
RANDY HEMANN executive director of Downtown Salisbury Inc.
groups, asking if they had heard of Salisbury and if they’d be interested in bringing meetings to the area. “Eleven out of 11 people who were familiar with Salisbury said yes, they’d like to put a meeting in our community,” Hemann said, noting that the center’s focus would be local, with an outside market, as well. “There’s an immediate community need for the center.” DSL found six strengths and five weaknesses in its study on the development and potential operating success of the facility. “I think probably the biggest strengths are the location and the quality of the product that we have to sell as far as downtown Salisbury’s concerned,” Hemann said. “The biggest weakness is that there are a lot of people that don’t know about Salisbury. “Out of 100 meeting planners, only 11 were familiar with Salisbury. However, they’re not familiar with us because we don’t have any meeting facilities. “It’s kind of a catch-22.” Hemann said the weaknesses could be overcome. “The weaknesses are all things that we can deal with,” he said. “We know what they are and we know we can deal with them.” The study was completed assuming there were no downtown hotel rooms, noting that for
a large facility to work, hotel rooms were needed. “I don’t think it’s essential to have the Empire Hotel associated with a facility of this size,” Hemann said of planned Empire Hotel renovations. “We are more geared toward local needs and (need to) see what out-of-town needs can be met with that,” Hemann said. “It’s a great site and will be a good anchor on that end of town.” Hemann said the pursuit of a second phase of the study would be up to the city, and that funding of the event center would have to be studied and determined based on its level of usage. “I think we’ve come a whole lot closer to cash flowing to a $3 million project than a $15 million project,” he said. Hemann and Joe Morris, DSI board member, presented the council with a 3D walkthrough computer graphic done by DSI’s architect Bill Burgin, a former member of City Council. The facility would have exposed steel beams and could be configured many ways, from auditorium seating to accommodating more than 70 vendors. Curtain walls could separate and section off space. The street-front of the building that formerly served as a athletic club would feature large windows, and a kitchen could be added in the back of the building. “I am very excited,” Salisbury Mayor Susan Kluttz said. “I just feel like it’s Salisbury. It’s adapted for use, using an existing building in a historic downtown. It’s buildings that we own. “I appreciate all of the work that you’ve done to bring this to us, and I think it has great
See CENTER, 5A
[xbIAHD y0 0 1rzu
ity said the pollen count of 3,524 grains per cubic meter at its Raleigh central office on Wednesday was the highest reading since at least 2003. Forsyth County’s reading of 9,632 grains on Tuesday was the highest lev-
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Deaths
el since the county began recording pollen counts in 1997. Pollen in central North Carolina — mostly from pines and oaks — usually peaks this time of year but generally doesn’t exceed 1,500 grains.
Louise H. Barger Mary W. McDaniel Mildred D. Graham Norma J. Fetterman
Marinelle O. Neal Aiden J. Stamper Rex C. Tucker Peggy J. Neely
State officials say above-normal temperatures following a cold winter and cool early spring combined with recent dry weather are to blame. Rain forecast for late this week could provide some relief.
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See JOBLESS, 5A
Unemployment rate up Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sept
Pollen near peak: Highest readings in years recorded RALEIGH (AP) — Allergy sufferers can already attest to what government officials now confirm — North Carolina’s pollen season is an itchy, watery nuisance. The state Division of Air Qual-
Rowan County’s unemployment rate hit 14 percent in February, up from 13.7 percent the previous month, according to the N.C. Employment Security Commission. Cabarrus unemployment rose from 13 to 13.4 percent. Rates in surrounding counties were Davidson, 14.3; Davie, 12.8; Iredell, 13.9; and Stanly, 13.9. All were up. Debbie Davis, head of the Rowan County Employment Security Commission and JobLink, said every labor force category went up in February — the number of people in the workforce, the number employed and the number who were unemployed. “I hope people are aware that the entire labor force went up,” Davis said. “Some places are doing some hiring and improving in some areas, and, unfortunately in others, people are laying off.” Davis said 14 percent was not the highest unemployment rate she’s seen in Rowan. The county hit 16 percent in the early 1980s, she said. “Our business (the ESC) has not changed a great deal from last month to this month,” she said, noting that no one place is to blame for the increase in unemployment. “It’s a combination of a lot of places laying off people,” Davis said. Robert Van Geons, executive director of the Rowan County Economic Development Commission, said the rate reflects an unfortunate reality. “The increased unemployment rate reinforces what we are all seeing everyday,” he said. “These are difficult times, and it will be a long road back. “Unfortunately, for every positive announcement like the growth at PGT and Henkel, there are two or three companies shutting down or laying off.” Van Geons said he looks at how many people in Rowan County are actively working versus those looking for employment. “Bottom line, we have well over 4,000 fewer people employed than we did at the start of this recession, and we have to do everything we can to create opportunities for these workers and their fam-
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