SPORTS: UNC to investigate possible academic violations • Page 1B
The Sanford Herald FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2010
SANFORDHERALD.COM • 50 CENTS
POLITIC AL GIANTS TOUT LEE COUNTY ’S ‘HE AD OF CLASS PROJECT’
WESLEY BEESON / The Sanford Herald
From left, former North Carolina Gov. James Holshouser, Gov. Beverly Perdue, former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley and former Gov. Jim Hunt pose for pictures together at the Head of Class Project’s unveiling at Deep River Elementary School on Thursday morning.
INCENTIVE TO EXCEL HEAD OF CLASS PROJECT
THE IMPACT
ONLINE
Inside, we break down the points system by which local elementary schools will be graded as they compete for $50,000 each year, money donated by the Lee County Education Foundation Page 6A
The partnership between Lee County Schools and the Lee County Education Foundation has not only caught the eyes of current and former governors, it could garner national attention, according to former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley.
Watch the speeches from Perdue, Holshouser, Riley, Hunt and Harrison and read a detailed breakdown of the partnership between the school district the Education Foundation www.sanfordherald.com
Big names in N.C. politics on hand to promote ‘innovative’ plan
Schools will compete annually for $50,000 based on points formula created by Education Foundation By ALEXA MILAN amilan@sanfordherald.com
SANFORD — The Lee County Education Foundation’s new incentive-based initiative to improve school achievement is the first project of its kind in North Carolina, and if successful, it could expand nationwide. Notable county, state and national leaders gathered at Deep River Elementary School on Thursday to announce the Head of Class Project, a publicprivate partnership that will award $50,000 annually to the faculty and staff of the best
performing elementary school in Lee County. “The eyes of North Carolina are going to be on Lee County as this moves forward,” former Gov. Jim Holshouser said. “I think it’s so innovative and so imaginative. They’re going to see it in Raleigh, and I think they’re going to see it beyond the state boundaries, too.” Several prominent figures in North Carolina education attended Thursday’s event, including Gov. Bev Perdue, State Superintendent of Public In-
See Formula, Page 6A
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
By JENNIFER GENTILE jgentile@sanfordherald.com
Former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt pounds his fist as he touts Lee County’s partnership with the Lee County Education Foundation at Deep River Elementary School Thursday.
SANFORD — A momentous announcement occasioned an equally historic gathering of state, local and national leaders Thursday in Sanford. “This is a big day for all of us in North Carolina,” Gov. Beverly Perdue told an audience at Deep River Elementary, which had assembled for the unveiling of the Head of Class Project. The project, an initiative of the
See Big Names, Page 6A
CHATHAM COUNTY
Pastor faces deportation for ’95 crime Siler City Baptist minister pleaded guilty to passing a bad check in California By BILLY BALL bball@sanfordherald.com
JACKETS LOOK FOR UPSET AT HOME; CAVS HEAD SOUTH TO FAYETTEVILLE Get complete previews of Week 2 of the high school football season as Lee County faces Richmond County and Southern Lee takes on E.E. Smith Full stories, Page 1B
Vol. 80, No. 200 Serving Lee, Chatham, Harnett and Moore counties in the heart of North Carolina
SILER CITY — A Siler City pastor is facing deportation over a crime he committed more than a decade ago. Family and an attorney for Pittsboro resident Hector Villanueva, 40, confirmed that the Baptist minister was arrested by U.S. Immigration and
HAPPENING TODAY A Beach Music Dance Party will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. at Chef Paul’s to benefit the Sanford Area Habitat For Humanity. Tickets are $25. For more information, contact John Ramsperger at (919) 721-2200 or Gary Wicker at (919) 721-4730. CALENDAR, PAGE 2A
Customs Enforcement officials Aug. 19 in Chatham County. Villanueva’s attorney Jorgelina Araneda said officials are attempting to deport him and revoke his green card based on a charge of commercial burglary that he pleaded guilty to in California in 1995. Villanueva is a native of Mexico but he has lived in the United States since his childhood, Araneda said. In recent years, he has been the minister at Iglesia Bautista La Roca in Siler City, a Baptist Latino church with a congregation of about 30, said
his wife Martha Villanueva. Martha Villanueva said the charge stems from an attempt to pass a bad check, but he has maintained a clean criminal record in the years since his conviction. State records show that Hector Villanueva has never been convicted of a crime in North Carolina. “He’s definitely a different person,” Martha Villanueva said. “When I married him, he had already given his life over to Christ and he was a Christian.
High: 87 Low: 63
See Pastor, Page 3A
INDEX
More Weather, Page 12A
OBITUARIES
MICHAEL GERSON
Broadway: Elizabeth Cameron, 98; Bettie King, 78 Holly Ridge: Elvin Summerlin, 80 Moss Hill: Nettie Whitfield, 91
Caring for strangers an unexpected for of human behavior in our society
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Abby, Graham, Bridge, Sudoku............................. 5B Classifieds ....................... 9B Comics, Crosswords.......... 6B Community calendar .......... 2A Horoscope ........................ 6B Obituaries......................... 5A Opinion ............................ 4A Scoreboard ....................... 4B