SPORTS: Changes coming for prep football • Page 1B
The Sunday Herald SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2010
SANFORDHERALD.COM • $1.50
SUNDAYQUICKREAD SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT: HAPPY MOTHERS DAY
STATE
A WAR OF HER OWN MOTHER STILL HOLDS OUT HOPE FOR MISSING DAUGHTER’S RETURN For more than a year, Juray Tucker has worn a yellow ribbon on her nursing scrubs. A flier with a photograph of her missing daughter is taped to her car window. Every few hours, Tucker’s husband checks their home phone for a message, still hoping she hasn’t fallen victim to a possible serial killer. Page 9A
NATION
BILLY BALL/The Sanford Herald
STATEN ISLAND FERRY SMASHES INTO PIER, HURTING THREE DOZEN
Thelma Wilson — who will celebrate her 98th birthday next week — raised four while working multiple jobs in the 1940s while her husband was in Germany during World War II.
A Staten Island ferry with a history of accidents malfunctioned as it approached its terminal Saturday and smashed into a pier with a jolt that tossed passengers to the deck and hurt as many as 37 people
Local woman, 98, raised a family while her husband fought World War II
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TIMES SQUARE
FAILED CAR BOMB ATTEMPT MAY HAVE COST AS LITTLE AS $7K The Pakistani-American who police say admitted to igniting a failed car bomb in busy Times Square has made no court appearance since his arrest early this week and, though he is cooperating, authorities remain unsure he was acting alone Page 12A
NATION FORMER PRES. CARTER ON THE STUMP FOR HIS GRANDSON Most candidates for the state Legislature would love to campaign door-to-door with a former president, but Jason Carter wanted to keep his famous grandfather away for a while Page 14A
BUSINESS DAIRY BAR OWNERS PROMISING SIGNIFICANT CHANGES THIS TIME Paul and Kathy Freedle, who are back at the helm of the Sanford institution the Fairview Dairy Bar, play to scale back this time around and make more time for themselves Page 9B
TO INFORM, CHALLENGE AND CELEBRATE
Vol. 80, No. 108 Serving Lee, Chatham, Harnett and Moore counties in the heart of North Carolina
By BILLY BALL bball@sanfordherald.com
SANFORD — When it comes to mom, LeRoy Wilson admits he’s biased. “She’s the greatest lady I’ve ever met in my life,” he says. Enough said. This being Mother’s Day, it seems like a good day for him to show his apprecia-
tion. After all, his mother Thelma Wilson — who will celebrate her 98th birthday next week — raised him and three siblings while working multiple jobs in the 1940s. LeRoy’s father was away, fighting off the Nazis in World War II. Meanwhile, LeRoy and his siblings were still much too young to
work, much less take care of themselves. That left the pressure on Thelma to make some money and take care of her children. “That was a big undertaking back then,” LeRoy says. The family lived in
MORE ON MOMS The Herald asked Facebook followers to share with us a quick story on their favorite memory of their mother. Read three local daughters’ reasons why their moms deserve special recognition.
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See Mother, Page 8A
LEE COUNTY SCHOOLS
LIBRARY
Parents angered by possible changes to LCS ‘gifted’ program
Teen advisory board to host talent at Depot Park in June
By BILLY BALL
n Temple Theatre’s final production of the 20092010 season, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific,” features the theater’s own Peggy Taphorn, Michael Brocki and Ken Griggs. Showtime is set for 2 p.m. CALENDAR, PAGE 2A
hight@sanfordherald.com
How do you feel Lee County Schools should proceed with its “gifted” program for students — otherwise knows as the AIG program? E-mail editor Billy Liggett at news@sanfordherald.com
SANFORD — The Lee County Board of Education is bracing for a pocket of angry parents that say they are planning to protest budgetforced changes to the system’s “gifted” students program at Tuesday’s board meeting. The AIG program, created for “academically or intellectually gifted” students, offers additional classroom enrichment for children excelling beyond their peers. But cash-starved school officials moved last year to allow school principals to do away with “pullouts,” a popular technique of taking gifted students out of the standard classroom for one-on-one instruction with AIG teachers. According to some of those miffed parents, they were left out of the decision-making process as school leaders made budget cuts last year, and they plan to let the school board know at the panel’s meeting Tuesday. “It was pulled without any contribution from the community,” said
HAPPENING TODAY
By R.V. HIGHT
YOUR THOUGHTS
bball@sanfordherald.com
Event to benefit county library
Dana Atkins, one of those parents and a recent Board of Education candidate defeated in Tuesday’s primary election. Atkins has one child in Lee County Schools that does not participate in AIG, but she said she became involved after hearing the complaints of longtime AIG teachers. Board of Education Chairman Bill Tatum couldn’t say Saturday which principals nixed pullouts, but Atkins said pullouts were lost in many schools. Without the individual sessions, AIG students will remain in specialized classrooms with other designated AIG children, school officials said. That’s not good enough, according to Atkins, and some students
SANFORD — Do you have talent you would like to share with the public? If so, you’ll have your chance on Friday, June 4, as the Lee County Library Teen Advisory Board will present Talent on the Green. The family friendly, all-ages event will be held at 7 p.m. at the Depot Park Stage in Downtown Sanford. “Talent on the Green is a chance for people to share their talents with the public,” said Jennifer Gillis, who is youth services librarian. “It will be a relaxing evening of free entertainment suitable for all ages. “We encourage performers to register right away, because we know that Lee County is just brimming with talented folks and spaces will go fast.” To register, individuals should contact the library at (919) 718-4665, ext. 5483. Registration deadline is Friday, May 21. A rehearsal will be held at 4 p.m. May 21 at the main branch of the library, 107 Hawkins Ave. The Teen Advisory Board initially considered a battle of the bands. “When we met again last month, the battle of the
See AIG, Page 3A
See Show, Page 3A
High: 71 Low: 46
INDEX
More Weather, Page 12A
OBITUARIES
BILLY LIGGETT
Sanford: Pete Anderson; Richard Bill; Herman Cline; Benjamin Johnson, infant Lakeview: Alma Church, 88 Lillington: Bryant Keith, 82
Today marks a first in the Liggett household — a true Mother’s Day celebration
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Abby, Graham, Bridge, Sudoku............................. 8B Business .......................... 9B Classifieds ..................... 11B Sunday Crossword ............ 7C Community calendar .......... 2A Horoscope ........................ 8B Obituaries......................... 5A Opinion ..........................6-7A Scoreboard ....................... 4B