SPORTS: Cougars welcome freshmen to basketball team • Page 1B
The Sanford Herald WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2010
SANFORDHERALD.COM • 50 CENTS
SANFORD CITY COUNCIL
SANFORD
Budget tabled over taxes
Accident survivor was listed as dead
Councilman Mike Stone calls for decrease, others want more time to debate By BILLY BALL bball@sanfordherald.com
SANFORD — The Sanford City Council tabled talks on its annual budget Tuesday, delaying one councilman’s calls to cut local taxes and open up the city’s pocketbook to some
QUICKREAD
nonprofits. Councilman Sam Gaskins, a vocal critic of expanded spending on some city budget items, said he did not see enough work done to trim expenditures to justify passing a $40.5 million spending plan for 2010-2011 on Tuesday.
“I can’t vote one way or the other,” Gaskins said. Gaskins’ comments came after Mayor Pro Tem Mike Stone attempted to steer a motion to reduce the city’s 54cent property tax rate by one cent, pointing to the city’s $10 million-plus fund balance, or
savings account, as evidence that recession-hit locals have been “overtaxed.” “It’s easy to spend somebody else’s money, but it’s hard to reach back in and do what’s right,” Stone said.
See Tax, Page 7A
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT
By BILLY BALL
Teens seeking green facing uphill battle
NATION
Man now ‘critical’ after being sent to UNC Hospitals for organ donation
GORES TO SEPARATE AFTER 40 YEARS Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, are separating after 40 years of marriage that included a White House run when their sunny relationship offered a counterpoint to President Bill Clinton’s philandering
bball@sanfordherald.com
SANFORD — Initial police reports that all three men found near the site of a deadly crash Saturday morning were killed were apparently not true, Sanford police say. Police reported Tuesday that one of those three men, 34-year-old Claudia Baudililo Hernandez, did not die at Central Carolina Hospital as initially reported. Hernandez was described as “brain dead” by a doctor at Central Carolina following a high-speed wreck early Saturday off Jefferson Davis Highway, or U.S. 1, near Spring Lane in Sanford, said Capt. David Smith of the Sanford Police Department. But after he was trans-
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See Survivor, Page 7A
GULF OIL SPILL BRAC
BILLY LIGGETT/The Sanford Herald
FEDS ANNOUNCE CRIMINAL PROBE
Lee County High School student Rebekah Jackson, 16, helps a young gymnast with her somersaults at Lee County Gymnastics on Tuesday. Jackson is one of the fortunate teens in Sanford with secure summer employment this year as many others are competing with adults for full- and parttime summer employment.
Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that federal authorities have opened criminal and civil investigations into the nation’s worst oil spill
Young job seekers finding adult competition as Lee County continues to endure high unemployment
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By ALEXA MILAN amilan@sanfordherald.com
STATE STATE SENATE PANEL: BORROW $451 MILLION
A Senate panel recommended Tuesday that North Carolina borrow $451 million for construction and equipment purchases in state government and on college campuses Page 8A
WORLD ISRAEL, EGYPT EASE GAZA BLOCKADE Israel and Egypt signaled a temporary easing of the Gaza Strip blockade Tuesday following harsh international condemnation of the deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla Page 12A
TO INFORM, CHALLENGE AND CELEBRATE
Vol. 80, No. 128 Serving Lee, Chatham, Harnett and Moore counties in the heart of North Carolina
R
ebekah Jackson considers herself one of the lucky ones. She’s 16, and she has a job. While the economic downturn has led to fewer employment opportunities for teenagers and adults alike, Jackson has worked at Lee County Gymnastics since August 2009, and with school letting out in the coming days, she’ll have a job there this summer, too. “I’ve been doing gymnastics my whole life, so I already knew a lot of people here,” said Jackson, a student at Lee County High School. “A bunch of my friends have been looking for jobs but can’t find any.” The job market has shown signs of improvement as the Lee County unemployment rate dropped from 13.3 per-
HAPPENING THURSDAY n A groundbreaking ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. to mark the beginning of construction for renovations at Lee County High School
CALENDAR, PAGE 2A
cent in March to 12.3 percent in April. And Edith Edmond, manager of the Lee County Employment Security Commission, said she expects the unemployment rate will continue to drop, but she said teenagers face more of a challenge than in summers past because they’re not the only ones looking for work. “Teenagers are competing for the same jobs as adults now,” Edmond said. “They’re competing for the same jobs as their parents and college students.” O’Connell’s Supermarket used to hire a few high school students every summer and fall, but customer service manager Wanda Futral said the store hasn’t been able to in the past year and a half for financial reasons. “I think most employers are going to find ways to make what they have work,” Futral said. “I really feel sorry
See Teens, Page 7A
ADVICE Tips for teenage job seekers from those hiring and helping others get hired: “My recommendation to young people is to start early. Network. Talk to friends, family and neighbors. Be polite. Display your skills whenever possible.” — Edith Edmond, Employment Security Commission
“I know it’s tough out there and I know it’s hard finding a job with the economy the way it is, but you’ve got to keep a positive attitude about it and just keep looking.” — Ben Johnson, Spring Lane Cinemas
“Do a little research first. Find out what exactly you’d like to do.” — John Payne, Parks & Rec
“No matter what, keep on going out there and trying. Especially in the restaurant industry, things can change quickly.” — Paul Freedle, Fairview Dairy Bar
High: 89 Low: 69
Lee, Moore officials to ‘recruit’ in Atlanta Dozens from two counties to meet with military families moving here By BILLY LIGGETT bliggett@sanfordherald.com
SANFORD — Great golf. Affordable housing. Central location. These phrases are certain to be uttered over and over Friday when dozens of real estate agents, bankers, school personnel, chamber of commerce officials and others from Lee and Moore counties meet with military families looking to transfer to the Fort Bragg in the coming year. The North Carolina group will travel to Atlanta and set up booths for soldiers from Fort McPherson, one of the bases set to close under Base Realignment and Closure ... more commonly known as BRAC. Under the plan, U.S. Forces
See BRAC, Page 7A
INDEX
More Weather, Page 12A
OBITUARIES
R.V. HIGHT
Sanford: Doris Rosser, 88; William Whitaker, 70 Broadway: Donald Thomas, 60 Carthage: Chloe Leslie, 5 month
Hight came home with the gold in the county senior games recently
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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