COMING SUNDAY: A look at the planning for next week’s Sanford Pottery Festival
The Sanford Herald SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2010
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QUICKREAD
LEE COUNTY UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR MARCH
SPORTS
Local jobless rates fall All 100 counties see decrease; Chatham now has third-lowest rate in state By JONATHAN OWENS owens@sanfordherald.com
PANTHERS PICK CLAUSEN IN ‘STEAL OF THE DRAFT’
Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen went to Carolina at No. 48 overall — more than 40 picks lower than some projected — Friday night
SANFORD — Lee County’s unemployment rate dropped more than a percentage point in March according to figures released by the N.C. Employ-
ment Security Commission Friday. The county’s rate for March came in at 13.2 percent, down from 14.5 percent in February. March’s rate is the lowest since November. According to the data, 3,465
people in Lee are still looking for work, down 308 from the previous month. Edith Edmond, director of the N.C. Employment Security Commission’s office in Lee County, said a decrease of unemployment rates is to
common in the second quarter every year, with more businesses hiring for outdoor work in landscaping and construction. But her office is seeing
See Jobless, Page 6A
THE BIKES ARE BACK Take with
Page 1B
5
Linda Barrick
Keynote Speaker, Rally for a Friend in 2010
STATE
Mother, daughter to speak at Grace event
THE OBAMAS ARRIVE IN ASHEVILLE FOR VACATION First stop for the first couple’s weekend vacation on Friday was a roadside restaurant that President Barack Obama visited during the final month of his White House campaign. First meal on the trip: barbecued ribs. Page 8A
IMMIGRATION
ASHLEY GARNER/The Sanford Herald
Pete Cannell of Mebane zips past other cyclists during the Masters portion of the 2009 Downtown Sanford Bike Criterium.
Annual road race in downtown slated for Sunday By BILLY BALL bball@sanfordherald.com
ARIZONA GOV. SIGNS BILL GIVING POLICE FREEDOM Gov. Jan Brewer ignored criticism from President Barack Obama on Friday and signed into law a bill supporters said would take handcuffs off police in dealing with illegal immigration in Arizona, the nation’s gateway for human and drug smuggling Page 9A
SANFORD — Get on your bikes and ride! Sunday is downtown Sanford’s third annual Bike Criterium. The event has become a fixture in Sanford, with hundreds of bikers coming from all over to compete. The day’s events aren’t just for bikers though. Event founder Parker McConville
said the day’s festivities will also include a 5K race starting at 8:15 a.m. McConville, a Sanford physician, started the Criterium after being inspired by races in nearby Moore County and Chapel Hill three years ago. “We kind of piggybacked onto their races,” McConville said.
See Race, Page 6A
WANT TO RIDE? Registering for the 5K ahead of time costs $20, although it’s $25 Sunday. Prices for the bike races, which vary in length and route, range from $10 for youth races to $30 for adults. Register online at www.prereg.com and learn more about the varying races.
This week, we Take 5 with Linda Barrick, who will be the keynote speaker — along with her daughter, Jen — at the “Rally for a Friend in 2010” conference scheduled for May 15 at Grace Chapel Church. Jen Barrick was nearly killed in a car accident in November 2006, and she and her mother now speak at women’s rallies across the country. The Barrick family resides in Forest, Va.
Q
: Your family was involved in a serious automobile accident near your home near Lynchburg in November 2006. The accident changed your lives significantly. What happened?
A
: On Nov. 5, less than a mile from our home, we were hit by a drunk
See Take 5, Page 7A
ELECTION 2010: LEE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
NATION
Mangum: Schools are an equalizer
DEBATE OVER NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER RAGES
Incumbent calls service a ‘welcome challenge’
To pray or not to pray? That’s the issue government leaders across the country are facing after a federal judge ruled that the National Day of Prayer set for May 6 was unconstitutional. Page 10A
LOCAL SENIOR CENTER HONORS VOLUNTEERS FOR WORK More than 135 local volunteers and guests were honored at the annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on April 6 at The Enrichment Center of Lee County
By CAITLIN MULLEN
THE CANDIDATES
cmullen@sanfordherald.com
SANFORD — To Ellen Mangum, doing what’s best for all students of Lee County Schools is what’s important. “We make the best decisions for the children in general. It can’t be for a select few,” she said. “It’s got to be for the overall picture.” Mangum, who has three grown sons with her husband John, was elected to the Lee County Board of Education in 2000, serving a four-year term, and re-elected in 2006. She’s been the curriculum and instruction committee chairperson for the board and now she’s up for re-election. Serving on the board has been a welcome challenge for her. “I enjoy the thought process that I have
Throughout the week, The Herald will profile (in alphabetical order) the seven candidates vying for three open seats on the Lee County Board of Education. The schedule: o April 18: Mark Akinosho o Tuesday: Dana Wicker Atkins o Wednesday: John Bonardi o Thursday: Shannon Gurwitch o Friday: Kim Lilley o Today: Ellen Mangum o Sunday: Linda Smith
to go through,” she said. “I feel it’s important, whatever community that you live in, that you give back to it.”
See Mangum, Page 6A
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Vol. 80, No. 96 Serving Lee, Chatham, Harnett and Moore counties in the heart of North Carolina
HAPPENING TODAY n Healing House Ministries will host a free outreach spaghetti lunch from noon to 4 p.m. at Kiwanis Park.
High: 78 Low: 62
INDEX
More Weather, Page 10A
OBITUARIES
CALENDAR, PAGE 2A
ASHLEY GARNER/The Sanford Herald
Ellen Mangum has served two non-consecutive terms on the Lee County Board of Education and is seeking a third.
Sanford: Judy McQueen, 40 Aberdeen: Helen Stephens, 65 Clemmons: Jane Lyle, 78 Lillington: Carol Bordeaux, 54 Wilmington: Debbie Faulk
SCOTT MOONEYHAM There are no easy “fixes” to the state’s Medicaid system because of outside factors
Page 4A
Abby, Graham, Bridge, Sudoku............................. 5B Classifieds ....................... 8B Comics, Crosswords.......... 7B Community calendar .......... 2A Horoscope ........................ 5B Obituaries.......................5-6A Opinion ............................ 4A Scoreboard ....................... 4B