CMYK Land donated for Code Talkers museum
N.C. family fighting to keep potbellied pig Football practice begins for area schools
Local & Nation, Page 4A
State, Page 10A
Sports, Page 1B
Japan’s tobacco habit now a matter for the courts
Trouble selling your house? Try cleaning up the one next door
Showcase, Page 1C
Real Estate, Page 1D SUNDAY, August 2, 2009
Volume XCV, No. 179
(252) 436-2700
Powell out of race
www.hendersondispatch.com
11th annual Night Out Against Crime
$1.25
Report on jail safety Fire detection devices, camera need attention
Commissioner will focus on youth initiative By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
By AL WHELESS Daily Dispatch Writer
OXFORD — Steve Powell is bowing out of a campaign for a second term on the Oxford City Commission, saying that he, his wife, Yolanda, and Rev. “Coach” Rick Alexander have formed a six-county non-profit organization called Youth and Parent Empowerment. “And there is not enough time to do it right as well as to be an elected official, if I were to have been fortunate enough to be re-elected,” Powell told Powell the Dispatch on Friday afternoon of his wanting to be an advocate for youths. “I think I would have won,” Powell said when asked whether 14 candidates seeking election Nov. 3 to four commission positions was a factor in his decision. “And I’m not bragging,” Powell said. “I think I still would have retained my seat, but it’s just a matter of personal choice, realizing that there is a bigger picture out here. And the government can’t fix it, it really can’t.” According to a statement provided by Powell, Youth and Parent Empowerment will be a comprehensive program covering Granville, Vance, Warren, Franklin, Person and Caswell counties and addressing crime, low graduation rates, poverty and teenage pregnancy. And Powell told the Dispatch that he and Alexander are starting a minor league football team as part of the process “to help
A total of three standalone, battery-operated smoke detection devices in the Vance County Jail need to be connected to the central fire alarm system panel, a State inspector observed on June 18. The proper operation of the units “is crucial to the detection of fire/ smoke/heat in the areas where they are installed,” said the report completed by Chris Brackett of the Jail and Detention Section of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The office “highly recommends” the connection of the three devices which are in the female housing unit, the worker dorm and the juvenile housing unit, according to the findings. The same notation urged their relocation “in the ductwork or similar location that is inaccessible to the inmate population, yet provides adequate fire detecting protection at all times, without the possibility of someone removing the batteries.” The fire alarm system must be tested and serviced annually, according to the new report which stated that it was previously done on Aug. 25 of 2008. During his inspection in June, Brackett said, the control board showed trouble, system failure and power failure both before and after a manual reset was conducted. Brackett advised Capt. James Baines, one of the supervisors at the jail, to fix the problem immediately.
Daily Dispatch/EARL KING
Youngsters find the fun event of the day Saturday during the 11th annual Night Out Against Crime at the Henderson Police Department on Breckenridge Street. But there was more. Organizers had 900 tee shirts on hand, as well as 1,200 hot dogs. Henderson Police Lt. Irwin W. Robinson, chairman of the Night Out Against Crime Committee, describes the event as “where law enforcement and emergency personnel can interact with the public.” Speakers included Caroline Farmer, deputy director of the Victims and Citizens Section in the State Attorney General’s Office, and local law enforcement other officials.
The 11th annual Night Out Against Crime featured something for everyone. Above left, Katie Long is convinced after a trip on the Seat Belt Convincer — and at a speed of only 5 mph. Above, the North Carolina National Guard showed off its new, multimillion dollar helicopter. Below, members of the Henderson Police Department’s Bike Patrol Unit demonstrate how they do their jobs. And, below left, the hot dogs were going fast. Others on hand included representatives of MADD and SADD. Educational literature on topics such as crime prevention, teen pregnancy, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and gun, water, bike helmet and car seat safety was available.
Please see POWELL, page 3A
Please see JAIL, page 4A
Index Our Hometown . . . . . 2A Business & Farm. . . . 5A Public Records . . . . . 6A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . 12A Sports. . . . . . . . . . 1-8B Showcase. . . . . . . . . 1C
Celebrate. . . . . . . . 2-4C Books & Leisure . . . . 5C Light Side . . . . . . . 6-7C A to Z Kids. . . . . . . . . 8C Real Estate . . . . . . 1-2D Classifieds. . . . . . . 3-5D
Weather
Deaths
Today Severe
High: 88 Low: 67
Monday Some sun High: 91 Low: 71
Details, 3A
Henderson Mary P. Higgs, 78 Zeola M.H. Jones, 85 Charlie Manson Jr., 50 James H. Matthews Sr., 62 Wilton Linville B. Strother, 84
Obituaries, 4A
Burr: Wrong health care plan could decimate North Carolina economy By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr says health care legislation being negotiated in the House and Senate has potential to “decimate” North Carolina’s economy. Pointing to research at the North Carolina universities as well as pharmaceutical, biological and medical device companies in the state, Burr said all could be threatened if dollars for innovation, research and development dry up in a new system. “I think it’s safe to say North Carolina is one of a handful of states whose economy could be decimated based upon the wrong health care
plan,” Burr said in an interview with The Associated Press. Democrats disagree, of course. President Barack Obama traveled to Raleigh last week to tout the Burr overhaul, telling North Carolinians that the reforms he is seeking will bring new stability and security. Obama has framed the debate with proposals to eliminate waste in the system, and has said he thinks the government can obtain more savings from pharmaceutical companies who have benefited from laws that have been written to give them unfair advantages. “In this reform process, we are
going to turn that around,” Obama told the crowd at the Raleigh event last week. The president is seeking legislation to extend health insurance to millions who lack it, even as he is asking lawmakers to slow the growth in the skyrocketing cost of medical care overall. Burr said the Democrats’ job is getting more difficult as many people in the country are growing skeptical of the plan and Congress has yet to come to a solution. He said the majority of calls to his office are against it. “I think it’s impossible right now to go home and explain it, and that may be the most challenging thing,” Please see BURR, page 3A