SPORTS: NASCAR at a crossroads as it hits the Brickyard • Page 1B
The Sunday Herald SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2010
SUNDAYQUICKREAD
SANFORDHERALD.COM • $1.50
SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT: CHATHAM COUNTY COURTHOUSE
BUSINESS
CCCC HELPS SILER CITY MAN START HIS OWN BUSINESS For 11 years, Jeronimo Prieto Medina used his skills to maintain and repair heavy equipment as an employee for several companies. In 2009, he started his own company, JP Mechanic and Welding, working out of his Siler City home. Page 9B
GULF OIL SPILL
What remains of the Chatham County Courthouse, which was gutted by a massive fire on March 25. The blaze marked the fourth time the county’s court building was destroyed by fire. WESLEY BEESON/The Sanford Herald
AS STORM BREEZES BY, BOATS RETURNING TO WELL SITE BP’s evacuation of the Gulf of Mexico was called off Saturday and ships headed back to resume work on plugging the leaky well as remnants of Tropical Storm Bonnie breezed past. Page 10A
INSIDE THE RUINS A guided tour of what’s left of Chatham’s historic courthouse By BILLY BALL
ONLINE
bball@sanfordherald.com
See more photos of The Herald’s tour of the remnants of the Chatham County Courthouse at our website.
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CAROLINA
ARTIST’S FAMOUS WHIRLIGIGS FIND NEW HOME IN WILSON The cacophony of sound from the 29 whirligigs that Vollis Simpson built over a period of 10 years has ebbed, but the City of Wilson has a plan to put them on display for the world to enjoy once again Page 1C
NATION PRESIDENT OBAMA IMPLORES LIBERALS TO KEEP UP FIGHT President Barack Obama made an election-season appeal Saturday to disgruntled liberal activists and bloggers, assuring them his administration is committed to their causes and urging them to help elect Democrats in November. Page 12A
s Debra Henzey surveyed the damage to the Chatham County Courthouse, she pointed to a plastic, black tarp hanging from the structure’s once-proud roof. “That’s where it started,” she said, pointing to the tarp. Henzey, a Chatham County spokeswoman, is referring to the spot where a soldering iron apparently touched off a massive blaze here in the heart of Pittsboro on March 25. Construction workers were in the midst of exterior renovations to the gutters of the historic building, which had stood at the center of a traffic circle in downtown Pittsboro since 1881. Sparks ignited a fire in the
sanfordherald.com
THURSDAY Even more from the devastating March 25 fire that destroyed the Chatham County Courthouse can be found in our annual edition of Chatham County Living Magazine, which will be available Thursday.
An inside view of the Chatham County Courthouse, months after a fire destroyed most of the second and third floors. The door at the top is part of the building’s second floor. courthouse roof that spread within minutes. By the time firefighters arrived, crowds of tearful onlookers were watching as the blustery afternoon winds
whipped the blaze into a frenzy. Standing in the center of what was the building’s
See Ruins, Page 4A
COMING THURSDAY: OUR ANNUAL ‘CHATHAM COUNTY LIVING’ MAGAZINE LITERATURE
Library to mark 50 years of ‘Mockingbird’ By ALEXA MILAN
WANT TO GO?
amilan@sanfordherald.com
STATE OUTER BANKS HISTORIANS STRIKE GOLD WITH PHOTO DONATION A granddaughter of an employee of the Virginia Beach weather bureau office in the 1890s, has given copies of 20 photographs to the Outer Banks History Center in Manteo.Many of them depict the aftermath of the August 1899 hurricane known as San Ciriaco that killed hundreds of people along the coast and in Puerto Rico and wrecked at least 13 ships along the coast. Page 9A
Vol. 80, No. 174 Serving Lee, Chatham, Harnett and Moore counties in the heart of North Carolina
SANFORD — It’s the only novel she ever published, but the impact of Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” hasn’t faded in five decades. July marks the 50th anniversary of the novel’s publication, and the Lee County Library is celebrating with a book discussion and a screening of the 1962 film. “To Kill a Mockingbird” has never gone out of print since its initial publication. It has been translated into
HAPPENING TODAY n Raven Rock State Park presents “Predator Safari” at 1 p.m. Join a park ranger for a program and onemile hike to learn about the park’s “predators in the park.” This program is intended for ages 6-11. CALENDAR, PAGE 2A
more than 40 languages and won the Pulitzer Prize. “It’s a universal book with universal themes, and it’s written in simple language,” said Jennifer Gillis, youth
services librarian at Lee County Library. “In general, it’s a story that pretty much everyone can read and un-
See Book, Page 3A
High: 100 Low: 77
What: “To Kill a Mockingbird” movie screening and book discussion When: Movie — 7 p.m. Aug. 16, book discussion — 7 p.m. Aug. 17 Where: Lee County Library, 107 Hawkins Ave., Sanford Admission: Free More information: For more information or to register for these programs, call 7184665 Ext. 5483 or visit the Lee County Library Share your memories of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by e-mailing news@sanfordherald.com
INDEX
More Weather, Page 14A
OBITUARIES
BILLY LIGGETT
Sanford: John W. Buie, 76; Alda D. Ciacci, 88; Alma Faulk Gilmore, 92; Joyce Matthews Harrington, 83
A vet of dance competitions, Liggett gives his advice to this year’s DWTS contestants
Page 6A
Abby, Graham, Bridge, Sudoku............................. 8B Business .......................... 9B Classifieds ..................... 11B Sunday Crossword ............ 7C Community calendar .......... 2A Horoscope ........................ 8B Obituaries......................... 3A Opinion ..........................6-7A Scoreboard ....................... 4B