I N S I D E
TWI-HARDS UNITE • Movie-goers pack 4 theaters in Sanford for ‘Twilight’ midnight show • Read Neil Morris’ review
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The Sanford Herald SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
QUICKREAD
SANFORDHERALD.COM • 50 CENTS
SHANIYA DAVIS MURDERED, FOUND IN SANFORD
SPORTS
Vigil offers words of comfort
JACKETS, CAVS BATTLE ON THE HARDWOOD
Southern Lee tops crosstown rivals Lee County, 73-45, in girls’ basketball Friday night. Page 1B Read about the boys’ game onlline at www.sanfordherald.com
Take with
5
Maj. Sue Jervis
Salvation Army
Kettle Campaign kicks off next week This week, we Take 5 with Major Sue Jervis, the commanding officer of the Salvation Army of Sanford & Lee County, about the Army’s annual “red kettle” and Christmas JOY (Joy for Others at Yuletide) programs.
ENTERTAINMENT
Q
: The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign begins next week. How important is the campaign for the Army’s local efforts?
WINFREY: PRAYERS WENT INTO DECISION TO QUIT Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show in 2011 after a quarter-century on the air, saying prayer and careful thought led her to her decision Page 11A
HEALTH CARE
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ASHLEY GARNER/The Sanford Herald
Valerie Womack (left) along with her son Wyett Rickard, 4, takes a moment to remember Shaniya Davis on Friday during a vigil on James Street in Sanford.
Neighborhood off Fields Drive gathers Friday to honor Shaniya Davis’ memory By CAITLIN MULLEN cmullen@sanfordherald.com
MODERATE DEMS HOLD KEY TO PASSING BILL
Three moderate Dems emerged several days ago as the last public holdouts among 58 Democrats and two independents whose votes Majority Leader Harry Reid and the White House must have Page 10A
SANFORD — The death of Shaniya Davis hit Sanford resident Kathy McIver hard. McIver, who organized a small neighborhood vigil off Field Drive held Friday night to remember Shaniya, takes care to look out for children in her neighborhood. “I never let nothing happen to anybody’s children,” she said. She added that she
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TO INFORM, CHALLENGE AND CELEBRATE
Vol. 79, No. 290 Serving Lee, Chatham, Harnett and Moore counties in the heart of North Carolina
See Take 5, Page 6A
See Vigil, Page 6A
McNeill, suspect in case, could receive death penalty if convicted From wire reports
Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, health officials said Friday
About 40 people gathered in a small park on James Street to remember Shaniya. Some spoke, thanking God for taking Shaniya to a better place; others stood silently as tears welled up. “It touches me,” said Carolyn Griffin of Sanford. “You have to be careful, watching your kids. It’s just personal. I have to be here.” McIver said she hopes vigil
Girl killed the day she was taken
STATE TAMIFLU-RESISTANT FLU REPORTED IN N.C.
didn’t know Shaniya, but wished she had. “You would have thought somebody Shaniya Davis called and told me it was one of my children or grandchildren,” McIver said. “I just cried and cried and cried. I said ‘Well, maybe I could do something for her.’”
: The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign is our annual fund-raising campaign. We depend on a successful campaign to allow us to assist the needy during the holidays but also to assist them throughout the year. We raised $44,843.00 last year and need to equal that and even more this year. Because of layoffs and the economy, more people are coming to us for assistance. We need to be able to have volunteers to man the kettles at all our
FAYETTEVILLE — Shaniya Davis, the 5-year-old girl found dead in Sanford Monday, was raped and killed the same day she was taken from her home, according to an arrest warrant released Friday. Davis was sexually assaulted and asphyxiated Nov. 10, the day her mother reported her missing from the trailer park where she was staying, according to the warrant. Authorities embarked on a nearly week-
HAPPENING TODAY n Central Fire Department will check car seats between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 512 Hawkins Avenue. Appointments are required. Contact Krista at (919) 775-8310 by 5 p.m. Wednesday to schedule an appointment for the following Saturday.
long search that ended when the girl’s body was found dumped off a rural road. Mario McNeill is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape of a child in the warrant, which was issued after police said they collected hair and fibers, clothes, and a straw from his 1997 Mitsubishi Galant. He was initially charged only with kidnapping. McNeill seemed nervous as he appeared in court Friday for
See Davis, Page 6A
SANFORD CHRISTMAS PARADE THIS SUNDAY The 2009 Sanford Christmas Parade, presented by Progress Energy, will begin at 3 p.m. on Sunday and will follow its traditional route, which starts at the Elks Lodge on Wicker Street. More than 60 floats, bands and other entries will be in the line-up once again. After the parade, Santa will be available for pictures at Depot Park. The Herald will have much more about what to expect in this year’s parade in Sunday morning’s edition.
Mario Andrette McNeill
High: 62 Low: 45
INDEX
More Weather, Page 12A
OBITUARIES
D.G. MARTIN
Sanford: Louise Blalock; Dorothy Felix, 93; Averi Ingram, infant; Maxine Petty, 66 Broadway: Curtis McNeill, 71 Graham: Evelyn Seagroves, 72
Will Basnight and Nesbitt form a lasting and workable leadership partnership?
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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