LOCAL: Jordan Lake got a cleaning Saturday • Page 3A
The Sanford Herald TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2010
QUICKREAD SPORTS
SANFORDHERALD.COM • 50 CENTS
GULF COAST OIL SPILL
LEE SCHOOLS
Expert: Spill shouldn’t hurt N.C. drilling plans
Parents to speak on AIG tonight Letter lays out grievances ahead of board meeting
CAVS GET EARLY TASTE OF THE POSTSEASON
Southern Lee will face Western Harnett at Overhills at 6 tonight in a tiebreaker to determine the Cape Fear Valley Conference’s third and fourth postseason seeds, but there won’t be much more on the line than a first-round destination
By JONATHAN OWENS owens@sanfordherald.com
Page 1B
NATION AP photo
A tugboat pulls orange booms in Mobile Bay near Mobile, Ala., Monday. The state plans to seal off the bay from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico using gates made of the oil-blocking barriers. Natural gas platforms are visible in the background.
OBAMA PICKS NOMINEE; THIRD WOMAN ON COURT Introducing his Supreme Court nominee to the nation, President Barack Obama on Monday portrayed Elena Kagan as a guiding force for a fractured court and a champion of typical Americans. She would be the youngest justice on the court and give it three women for the first time in history Page 8A
ENTERTAINMENT
Sanford geologist says deep sea drilling ‘a different game;’ massive rig spills dangerous, costly, but rare By BILLY LIGGETT bliggett@sanfordherald.com
SANFORD — The deeper the United States goes for oil, the hostile the environment drillers will encounter to “strike it rich.” And part of the reason BP oil rig deep in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to keep erupting for weeks with little hope for stopping it is our nation’s inexperience dealing with the depths that still gush oil. These are the opinions of a Sanford man who’s spent his life in the oil industry. A geologist who graduated from Campbell University in 1978 and received his masters from North Carolina State in 1980, Charlie Roberts — a native of Lemon Springs — has worked in the industry for 30
See AIG, Page 6A
SENIORS years, spending much of that time off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. Roberts said Monday that despite the spill — which is far more common with tankers and rare when it comes to ocean rigs — he believes North Carolina
PIONEERING JAZZ LEGEND DEAD AT 92 Lena Horne, the enchanting jazz singer and actress known for her plaintive, signature song “Stormy Weather” and for her triumph over the bigotry that allowed her to entertain white audiences but not socialize with them, has died. She was 92. Page 9A
shouldn’t simply expect a similar environmental castastrophe should legislators approve coastal drilling. “Look at the number of times this has happened,”
See Oil, Page 7A
AFRICAN CHILDREN’S CHOIR
Children earn an education while seeing the world By R.V. HIGHT hight@sanfordherald.com
COMPANY WAITED A YEAR ON ‘05 RECALL
SANFORD — It’s been called “an inspiring journey across the vast and diverse content of Africa” ... and it’s coming to Sanford this weekend. The African Children’s Choir is celebrating 25 years of performances and perform in Sanford at 7 p.m. Saturday at Shallow Well Church, located at 1220 Broadway Road.
Toyota waited nearly a year in 2005 to recall trucks and SUVs in the United States with defective steering rods, despite issuing a similar recall in Japan and receiving dozens of reports from American motorists about rods that snapped without warning Page 10A
Vol. 80, No. 109 Serving Lee, Chatham, Harnett and Moore counties in the heart of North Carolina
See Choir, Page 7A
HAPPENING TODAY n The San-Lee Dancers return on a new night at the Enrichment Center, located at 1615 S. Third St., from 6 to 9 p.m. The cost is $5 per person (and food to share at intermission). Ages 50-plus (couples and singles) and younger guests welcome. CALENDAR, PAGE 2A
Dementia specialists to address conference By BILLY BALL
Singing for more than applause
TOYOTA RECALL
SANFORD — Parents of local “gifted” students voiced their concerns over possible changes to Lee County Academically or Intellectually Gifted program Monday through a letter addressed to school officials. The letter came a day in advance of the Lee County Board of Education’s meeting, where tonight, AIG parents plan to address the board on their concerns. The parents are upset that the district opted to alter the AIG program in the 2009-10 school year because of budget concerns, including the elimination of small group meetings for K-3 students, along with changes in fourthand fifth-grade AIG classes and teacher certification. the changes are slated to last through 2013, but parents want district leaders to take a second look at them. The letter, addressed to Lee County Schools Superintendent Jeff Moss and members of the Lee County Board of Education from “Concerned Citizens of Lee
Submitted photo
The African Children’s Choir will perform twice in Sanford this weekend — the main performance scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at Shallow Well Church, located on Broadway Road.
High: 71 Low: 63
bball@sanfordherald.com
SANFORD — A popular conference on care for individuals with dementia is returning to Sanford today. Judi Womack, caregiver advisor for the Lee County Enrichment Center, organizers of the annual educational conference on the disabling condition are expecting more than 200 attendees, including caregivers and family members of those suffering from dementia. Speakers include dementia specialists Teepa Snow and Melanie Bunn, providing indepth seminars on an increasingly common condition that typically strikes the elderly, impairing cognitive areas like language processing, problem
See Dementia, Page 6A
INDEX
More Weather, Page 10A
OBITUARIES
SCOTT MOONEYHAM
Sanford: Guyion Angell, 87; Richard Bill, 82; William Finch, 83; Preston Parrish, 70; George Riddle, 76 Cameron: Benjamin Johnson,
The time between now and November will be an eternity, as it always is in politics
Page 4A
Abby, Graham, Bridge, Sudoku............................. 5B Classifieds ....................... 8B Comics, Crosswords.......... 7B Community calendar .......... 2A Horoscope ........................ 5B Obituaries......................... 5A Opinion ............................ 4A Scoreboard ....................... 4B