SPORTS: Midford golf tourney a success for many reasons • Page 1B
The Sunday Herald SUNDAY, AUGUST 8, 2010
SUNDAYQUICKREAD
SANFORDHERALD.COM • $1.50
SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT: SOUTHERN LEE HIGH SCHOOL
BUSINESS
N.C. HOMEGROWN BUSINESSES ENJOYING SUCCESS ALL OVER In shallow trays of organic soil at her greenhouse in Harrisburg, onetime real estate agent Kate Brun is cultivating a business, part of a wave of the homemade and home-grown springing up in Charlotte and across the country Page 11B
POLITICS
WESLEY BEESON/The Sanford Herald
Southern Lee High School has seen its share of troubles and turnover in its first five years, but officials say better times are around the corner for the school on Tramway Road.
OFFICIALS: TO IMPROVE SLHS, WHO IS ANDREW BREITBART? THAT’S A DIFFICULT QUESTION Love or hate him, you can’t avoid conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart on cable TV these days. But who is this 41-year-old father of four from Los Angeles, who has emerged as one of the most incendiary figures from the Beltway to Hollywood, a minor-league Limbaugh who mixes shock-jock calculation, conservative credo and answerto-no-one swagger? Who is this icon of the smash-mouth politics that divide America? Page 10B
GULF OIL SPILL
FISHERMEN HOPE CUSTOMERS CAN LOOK BEYOND SEAFOOD’S OILY PAST The rich fishing grounds of the Gulf of Mexico are beginning to reopen more than three months after crude began gushing from the sea floor. But those who harvest, process and sell the catch face a new crisis — convincing wary consumers it’s not only delicious, but also safe
STABILITY IS KEY High teacher turnover a big reason for school’s underachievement By ALEXA MILAN
BY THE NUMBERS
amilan@sanfordherald.com
SANFORD — It’s no secret that within the walls of its pristine facilities, Southern Lee High School has faced its share of challenges. The preliminary ABC/ AYP results for Lee County revealed Southern Lee was the county’s only school not to achieve growth in the 2009-2010 year. Since opening its doors in 2005, the school has seen a high faculty and administration turnover. According to Lee County Schools human resources department, Southern Lee had 11 certified vacancies out of 82 certified teaching positions as of June 30. Sanford resident Mark Stewart’s son graduated from Southern Lee in 2008, but only one of his senior-
Southern Lee High School Principal Bonnie Almond has spent the past six months analyzing what is working for the school and what isn’t at the school. year teachers remained in 2010. But rather than getting discouraged, the school’s struggles have motivated Principal Bonnie Almond to introduce some new initia-
tives for the 2010-2011 year that she hopes will turn the school around. “In any organization, when you have major
See SLHS, Page 4A
Some facts and figures about Southern Lee High School n According to Lee County Schools human resources department, Southern Lee had 11 certified vacancies out of 82 certified teaching positions as of June 30 n Southern Lee has had four principals in the last four years n Southern Lee was the county’s only school not to achieve growth in the 2009-2010 year, though it met 18 (or 85.7 percent) out of 21 AYP target goals n The school opened in 2005 and currently has more than 1,200 students enrolled
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NATION KAGAN TAKES HER PLACE ON THE SUPREME COURT BENCH WASHINGTON (AP) — Elena Kagan was sworn in Saturday as the 112th justice and fourth woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court
BUSINESS
MOORE COUNTY
Chamber chairman improving
Suit filed against charter school board
From staff reports
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STATE KINNAIRD BLASTS BOARD OF ELECTIONS ON TRAVEL, BALLOTS At least one North Carolina lawmaker says reports about travel and spending on ballots by State Elections Board officials needs to be studied Page 8A
Vol. 80, No. 186 Serving Lee, Chatham, Harnett and Moore counties in the heart of North Carolina
SANFORD — The Sanford Area Chamber of Commerce chairman who was seriously injured after a fall from a rooftop Wednesday is said to be making improvements this weekend, according to his family. Jerry Pedley, a long-
See Pedley, Page 4A
HAPPENING TODAY Temple Theatre’s youth conservatory will present Disney’s “The Jungle Book!” at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. Seating is general admission. Call the Temple box office at (919) 7744155 or go online to templeshows.com.
By ALEXA MILAN amilan@sanfordherald.com
VASS — The Sandhills Theatre Arts Renaissance School, its parent teacher organization and three members of the school’s board of directors filed a lawsuit Friday against five of the school’s board of directors for violating state law and the school’s charter. John Langley, Al Haltiwanger, Bonnie McPeake, O’Linda Gillis and Larry Graham are accused of remaining on the board
beyond the maximum permitted term, holding illegal meetings in violation of the North Carolina Open Meetings Law and ignoring directives from the N.C. Office of Charter Schools, including two letters of reprimand. The complaint also states that despite the reprimand from the Office of Charter Schools, in another illegal meeting the defendants voted to remove plaintiffs Steven George and Cathy Buchan from the board and to limit the ability of board
High: 93 Low: 71
president and plaintiff Fred Walden. The Office of Charter Schools already placed the board on Governance Probationary Status on July 16 after learning it violated open meetings laws and hasn’t been compliant with its own bylaws. The office also instructed the non-compliant board members to rotate off the board by October. According to the complaint, the defendants’ actions could result in
See STARS, Page 4A
INDEX
More Weather, Page 12A
OBITUARIES
ON THE STREET
Sanford: Joe A. Cline, 76; Lewis Luther Riddle, 83; John Michael Whitley; James William Wicker Sr. Broadway: Nellie Thomas, 78
The mystery of the big box construction near Walmart has been solved — for now
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Abby, Graham, Bridge, Sudoku............................. 7B Business ........................ 11B Classifieds ..................... 13B Sunday Crossword ............ 7C Community calendar .......... 2A Horoscope ........................ 7B Obituaries......................... 5A Opinion ..........................6-7A Scoreboard ....................... 4B