SPECIAL CHAMPIONSHIP SECTION INSIDE Commemorative Duke coverage wrapped around today’s sports • Page 1B
The Sanford Herald SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2010
SANFORDHERALD.COM • 50 CENTS
QUICKREAD
LEE COUNTY
CENSUS
NATION
Tighter leash on Animal Services
Officials: Response better than expected
STEVENS TO RETIRE FROM SUPREME COURT
Sanford ‘March to the Mailbox’ events planned for today to raise participation rate
The retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens, the Supreme Court’s leading liberal, touched off an immediate election-year political battle Friday over President Barack Obama’s second high court pick
By JONATHAN OWENS owens@sanfordherald.com
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POLITICS
OBAMA, PALIN SPAR FROM A DISTANCE President Barack Obama and Republican Sarah Palin sparred from a distance over nuclear policy with each questioning the other’s experience on the issue in a potential preview of the 2012 White House race Page 10A
ELECTION 2010 HERALD SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION FORUM SET FOR MONDAY AT DWCC
The Herald will host a forum featuring the seven candidates for three open positions on the Lee County Board of Education on April 12 at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center in Sanford. The forum will begin with a 6 p.m. reception outside of the center’s auditorium, and the question-and-answer session will begin at 7. Candidates will be provided the opportunity for opening and closing statements and will answer questions submitted by The Herald and its readers. To submit a question for the April 12 forum, e-mail Herald Publisher Bill Horner III at bhorner3@sanfordherald.com. Admission to the forum will be free.
ASHLEY GARNER/The Sanford Herald
A dog lays in a kennel at the Lee County Animal Shelter Friday. The Lee County Board of Health plans to make changes to its animal control policies after complaints from the community.
County considering major changes to its control efforts By CAITLIN MULLEN cmullen@sanfordherald.com
SANFORD — After questions of animal cruelty were raised, major changes to the policies of the county’s animal services department are in the works. Howard Surface, director of the Lee County Health Department, said a subcommittee is researching and considering changes to Lee County Animal Services’ policies. The Lee County Board of Health is responsible for animal control services, he said. The board has been interested in revisiting the policies and ordinances for several years. Kenny Cole, chair of the subcommittee and also doing consulting work for it, said the policies were last revisited in 1983. Cole also is running for the District 4 seat on the Lee County Board of Commissioners. When he joined the board of health, “everybody agreed to have an aggressive ap-
Animal Control Officer Omayra Zagada opens the door to a kennel on Friday at the Lee County Animal Shelter. proach to animal control,” he said. “We’ll break it down, piece by piece,” he said, “and find out what we need to change. You have to look at it now and then.” Right now, the subcommittee is researching the way
See Animal, Page 7A
YOUR THOUGHTS Those interested in sharing their opinion with Lee County Public Health Director Howard Surface or Kenny Cole on the animal control policies are encouraged to do so. Surface can be reached at hsurface@leecountync.gov.
See Census, Page 7A
2nd Century moves into next phase
STATE SENTENCING TO BEGIN FOR BRAGG SOLDIER Military jurors will determine if a soldier convicted of murder in the slayings of a North Carolina mother and her two children will face the death penalty Page 8A
TO INFORM, CHALLENGE AND CELEBRATE
Vol. 80, No. 83 Serving Lee, Chatham, Harnett and Moore counties in the heart of North Carolina
SANFORD — Contrary to a recent study indicating it was the most likely county in the state to suffer an undercount in the 2010 Census, Lee County has already registered more participation this year than in 2000 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. While both North Carolina and the nation as a whole have underperformed 2000 participation rates so far, Lee County residents as a whole have mailed back their forms in greater numbers. In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 57 percent of the county’s residents mailed in their forms. So far, just a month into the 2010 Census process, the bureau estimated that as of Thursday 63 percent of the county’s homes had mailed their questionnaires. The figures are encouraging, but concerns still exist about the validity of the local count. City of Sanford Strategic Services Administrator Don Kovasckitz said a task force of concerned citizens and officials have identified three key areas in the county that are struggling to return their forms, and plan to hit those areas today with a door-to-door campaign encouraging more participation. All three areas lie in East Sanford. One tract, stretching from N.C. Highway 42 down South Horner Boulevard up to Jonesboro Heights region, for instance, has seen just a 49 percent participation rate this year, down nearly 10 percentage points from 2000. The area of Sanford just east of downtown, encompassing McIver Street and extending
T
his week, we Take 5 with Kirk J. Bradley to provide an update on the 2nd Century project, a branding and marketing campaign for Sanford and Lee County which began in 2008. Bradley, the chairman, Bradley president
HAPPENING TODAY n Barron Maness of Pinehurst will be in concert with his regional band “Taste” and other special musical guests at 8 p.m. at the Temple Theatre. Tickets are $15, and can be purchased online at www.templeshows.com or by calling the Temple Box Office at (919) 774-4155.
Take with
5
Kirk Bradley
Second Century Project and CEO of Lee-Moore Capital Company, has been instrumental in the 2nd
Century project’s operation. In addition to his work at Lee-Moore Capital, he serves as chairman and president of Governors Club Development Corp. in Chapel Hill. Lee-Moore is a private, family-owned business that focuses on real estate investment and venture capital. Governors Club Development Corp. developed the 27-hole
See Take 5, Page 12A
High: 69 Low: 40
PARTICIPATION RATES Reported Census participation rates (in percentages) in Lee and surrounding counties as of Thursday afternoon: County Lee Moore Chatham Harnett State Nation
2010 63 69 71 62 65 63
2000 57 66 67 59 66 72
For a detailed look at participation rates so far in the 2010 Census, visit 2010.census.gov
INDEX
More Weather, Page 12A
OBITUARIES
D.G. MARTIN
Sanford: Loretta Rockwell; David Watson, 82 Bennett: Mary Jones, 91 Supply: Trisha Allen, 60 Midlothian, Va.: Robert Saxton
The folks who care the most about effectiveness ratings are the legislators themselves
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Abby, Graham, Bridge, Sudoku............................. 6B Classifieds ....................... 9B Comics, Crosswords.......... 7B Community calendar .......... 2A Horoscope ........................ 6B Obituaries......................... 5A Opinion ............................ 4A Scoreboard ....................... 4B