The Daily Dispatch - Saturday, August 22, 2009 by The Daily Dispatch

CMYK Top 10 secret gardening rules

So. Vance routs S.E. Halifax, 46-0

Back2School Bash '09 draws crowd

Our Hometown, Page 2A

Sports, Page 1B

Faith, Page 1C SATURDAY, August 22, 2009

Volume XCV, No. 196

(252) 436-2700

www.hendersondispatch.com

50 cents

Suspects in theft ring ‘very, very immature’ By GLENN CRAVEN Daily Dispatch Editor

A local bail bonds agent who dealt with two young men caught burglarizing a Vance County home last September — and later unveiled as principals in a massive, multistate theft ring Hartis — said Friday that the first time she met the suspects, she was struck not only by how youthful they appeared, but that their

Probe in Stem shooting

behavior seemed even Local bail bonds agent recalls pair nabbed This week, it less mature than their was revealed by the in Vance for breaking into a county home federal Bureau of appreances. Tommy Lee Alcohol Tobacco and Null held the pair at bay until Lilly, 25, and Jaymes Firearms and the U.S. sheriff’s officers arrived to arrest Attorney’s Office for the Middle Dean Goss Hartis, 23, both them. of Albemarle, were captured District of North Carolina that Nicki Null, Jeff’s wife, reat gunpoint by Vance County Lilly and Hartis were among a turned a Dispatch phone call on homeowner Jeff Null as the group of nine known individuFriday morning to inform the pair ransacked his home at 531 als — and others who remain newspaper that her husband South Lynnbank Road on the unknown — who are accused of was now deceased. Jeff Null, morning of Sept. 11, 2008. A committing perhaps hundreds only 37, died on Oct. 19, 2008, sheriff’s report from that date of home burglaries in nearly a about five weeks after capturstates that, when confronted dozen North Carolina counties ing the burglars in his home. by Null, who asked what the and in South Carolina, as well. In addition to his wife, Null’s two were doing, Lilly replied, The crime ring is accused of survivors included two young “Something we’re not supposed using “sophisticated fixed and daughters. to be doing.” mobile surveillance” equipment

Storm clouds over Carolina

From STAFF REPORTS

OXFORD — Granville County Sheriff Brin Wilkins said his department is continuing to probe in the aftermath of the Thursday evening shooting that took the life of 62-year-old Jimmy Champion. “We’re still talking. We’ve got folks we’re interviewing back there now. We’re just trying to do a thorough investigation,” Wilkins told the Dispatch on Friday afternoon. An autopsy was being performed by the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill, Wilkins said. Champion died at Durham Regional Hospital as a result of being struck by a discharge from a handgun, Wilkins said. Otis Perry, 30, was dePlease see PROBE, page 4A

Index Our Hometown . . . . . 2A Business & Farm. . . . 5A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . 6A Light Side . . . . . . . . . 7A Sports. . . . . . . . . . 1-5B Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5C Comics . . . . . . . . . . . 6C Classifieds. . . . . . . 7-9C

Weather

Henderson Walter H. Grissom Jr., 89 Stem James R. Champion Jr., 64 Warrenton Carl Robinson, 55

Please see SUSPECTS, page 4A

Complex owner, city at impasse Requirements at Beacon Light a ‘hardship’ By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer

AP Photo/The Wilmington Star-News, Matt Born

Storms moved through the area at Kure Beach Friday. Swimming conditions were dangerous as a result of Hurricane Bill and are expected to get worse today. Hurricane Bill will cause flooding and beach erosion on the Outer Banks this weekend. The storm isn’t expected to bring any wind or rain, but the National Weather Service said Friday that Bill could cause water levels to rise three to four feet above normal on the Outer Banks. A weather service meteorologist says the ocean could spill over the roads there.

N.C. jobless rate hovers at 11 percent Numbers for July flat, but above previous high in '83 By EMERY P. DALESIO AP Business Writer

RALEIGH — Jobless workers in North Carolina gained no Today ground in July as they struggled against a statewide unemployment rate that stayed flat at 11 T-storm High: 88 percent, the state’s Employment Low: 67 Security Commission reported Friday. July’s unemployment rate, Sunday unchanged from June, marked a sixth consecutive month the number hovered above the previSunny ous historic high. Before this year, High: 89 the state’s highest unemployment Low: 65 rate was 9.7 percent in March Details, 3A 1983, a level matched in January and that has since run higher. “We’ve got a few months in a

Deaths

to case homes before breaking into them. The thefts, which law enforcement officials say might exceed $750,000, included more than 100 firearms, resulting in the filing of federal charges. Most of those crimes were committed in Cabarrus, Moore, Randolph, Rowan and Stanly counties of North Carolina. The Vance County crime scene was far outside the boundaries of where the group seems to have normally operated. After Lilly and Hartis were arrested in Vance County last

row that we haven’t seen the rate climb a lot,” said Robert Whaples, who chairs Wake Forest University’s economics department and focuses on labor markets. “It’s reached a plateau now. The bad news is that it’s a really high plateau.” But the reality was worse than the unchanged unemployment rate suggests, Whaples said. North Carolina saw almost 13,000 fewer people employed in July compared to June, the ESC said. Meanwhile, only California saw more positions evaporate from the economy, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said. That means North Carolina’s jobless rate stayed steady only because people previously classified as unemployed quit trying to find work and dropped out of the count, Whaples said. “Economists call that the dis-

couraged worker effect. People are looking and not finding,” he said. About 21,500 working-age North Carolinians reported in July they had quit looking for jobs because they’d become discouraged by searching without success, the ESC said. Bill Dubas hasn’t given up looking for a new job, but his experience since being laid off in October has been discouraging. “It’s been very lean the past four months. I have not had an inperson interview since the end of April,” said Dubas, though he has had three or four phone discussions with potential employers. Two co-workers on his fivemember team of software engineers have headed abroad for greener pastures. Dubas and the rest of his team were laid off in Please see JOBLESS, page 3A

Hydrant replacement to interrupt water service From STAFF REPORTS

The city of Henderson will turn off water to customers in one Obituaries, 4A neighborhood overnight Tuesday for a fire hydrant replacement. Water service will be interrupted for about four hours to customers in and near the work zone, on Andrews Avenue between Shank Street and Vicksboro Road. Service will be shut off at about 11:30

p.m. Tuesday and will resume around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, according to a flyer distributed by the City of Henderson Public Utilities Department. Andy Perkinson, the city’s utility maintenance supervisor, said there are a number of hydrants in the city that are due to be replaced, but Tuesday night’s work is replacing just one in the affected area.

Perkinson said about 350 water customers would have their service interrupted, in an area “from U.S. 1 down Andrews, down Vicksboro Road and down Highway 39.” Anyone with questions should call 431-6030 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Send comments to news@hendersondispatch.com.

The owner of the rundown former Beacon Light apartment complex told a Friday afternoon meeting of Henderson city officials he is unable to meet a requirement to bring the 318 Boddie St. property into compliance with municipal codes and to transform the site into one of homeownership. Sharif Abdelhalim, noting he already posted a more than $1.29 million cash bond with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said he cannot and will not agree to the council majority’s requirement of Aug. 10 that he post a letter of credit with Henderson in an amount of 1 1/2 times the cost of demolition and clearing of the property. Abdelhalim at one point called having to come up with a second letter of credit both an “oppression” and a “hardship” and added, “You are really trying to get this guy to go away from here.” Abdelhalim made his remarks at an approximately hour and 10 minute session of the council’s Land Planning and Development Committee, which Councilman Michael Inscoe led in place of Chairman Michael Rainey. Inscoe reiterated the council’s terms, which say Abdelhalim has 45 days from the Aug. 10 council meeting to work out a schedule to bring the property into compliance, with a nine-month compliance deadline. If Abdelhalim does not do so, then the city would use the letter of credit to pay for demolishing and cleaning the property and would seek a portion of the $1.29 million posted with HUD to help do the same. “Basically, the ball is in your court and we need to see that plan of action,” Inscoe told Abdelhalim. Inscoe noted the city’s requirement of a letter of credit would be moot anyway if Abdelhalim were to do work on the site and finish the project. The HUD-sponsored lowincome complex, which dates to 1973 and is located on the southeast side of the city, was closed in Please see COMPLEX, page 3A

Our Hometown

The Daily Dispatch

Mark It Down Today Warren County Farmers’ Market — The Warren County Farmer’s Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon at the corner of Market and Main streets in historic downtown Warrenton. All produce is locally grown by the vendors. For more information or to receive a vendor application, contact the Warren County Extension Center at 257-3640. Vance County Farmers’ market — The Vance County Farmers’ Market is open from 7-11 a.m. The market is located at the intersection of Williams and Arch streets in downtown Henderson. Vendors interested in selling at the market should contact Wayne Rowland at 438-8188. Oxford Farmers’ Market — The Oxford Farmers’ Market, located on the corner of McClanahan and Lanier streets across from the police station in Oxford, is open from 7 a.m. to noon. Dee’s Music Barn — Dee’s Music Barn, 3101 Walters Road, Creedmoor, will be featuring Ronnie Harris & The Country Flame Band at 7 p.m. For more information, call (919) 528-5878. Community dance — The Epsom Country Club will sponsor a community dance starting at 7:30 p.m., featuring the Southwind Band. For more information and directions, contact Curtis Strickland at 492-6834. Rabies clinic — The Vance County Animal Control Department will be conduct its monthly rabies clinic at the Bearpond Volunteer Fire Department, 325 Bearpond Road, from 9:30 a.m. until noon. All rabies shot are $5 for cats and dogs over four months of age. County tax tags are $2 for all dogs. All dogs must be on leashes and cats must be in port-a-crates or carriers for safety reasons. Ridgeway Opry House — Performing this week are the Wade Schuster Music Review, Joyce Chisenhall, Julia Morton & Friends, Freda & Cindy, Allen Reid and the Home Folks and Verlin Bailey. Doors open at 6 p.m. Music starts at 7 p.m.

Sunday Painting class — The Kerr Lake Art Society will sponsor a “Plein Air Experience” (landscape painting) lecture by William Moseley at 2 p.m. at the United Way office, 212 Dabney Dr., Henderson (across from fire station). For more information, call 492-5281.

Monday

Tuesday Spay/neuter clinic — Citizens for Animal Protection is sponsoring a cat and dog spay/neuter clinic in Warrenton today. Animals residing in a home in Warren County or at a Littleton address are eligible. Cost is $40 per animal; limit two pets per family. For more information or for an appointment, call SNAP-NC at (919) 783-7627. NAACP — The Vance County chapter of the NAACP will meet at 7 p.m. at the Gateway Community Center, 314 S. Garnett St., Henderson.

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The top 10 secret gardening rules neatly pruned hedges and uniform flower beds are difficult to achieve. When a single shrub in a neatly clipped hedge dies, there may be no easy solution. 3. Invest some time each week. Recently I heard a well-known gardener state that he spends 10 hours in the garden each week. While that may be impractical for you, it is important to make a regular and consistent commitment to your garden. Perhaps an hour or three a week could be squeezed in between volleyball practice and PTA meetings. 4. Always focus on the soil before the plant. Probably nine out of 10 plant problems I see can be traced back to inadequate soil preparation. Do a good job and your plants will thrive. 5. Start small. A single, small, well-maintained and seasonally updated flower bed can work wonders on a typical lot. It can be planted with annuals alone, or combined with perennials. 6. Kill lots of plants. Unless you are a way better gardener than me (although that’s not a very high bar), many of the

Here they are, finally revealed, the long-kept 10 secret rules to a beautiful garden: 1. Recognize that gardening is hard work. Chores like pruning shrubbery, preparing new beds and dragging hoses will leave you tired. No matter Paul how McKenzie hard you Cooperative work, Extension you will never finish. It is also fun, rewarding and spiritually fulfilling. 2. Accept variation. Gardeners often try to sculpt and chisel plants into uniform shapes. If you do so, keep in mind that you are fighting against nature. Never compare your yard to a picture in a magazine without considering that a team of gardeners spent hours shaping, preening, pruning, and fussing before the shutter snapped. Formal landscapes with

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plants you buy will die. In fact, the more you spend on a plant, the more likely it is to get eaten by voles, nematodes, Japanese beetles and deer. You will lose plants to old age, poor soil, disease, and flood. Treasured trees will decline, and once beautiful flowers will succumb to pest or famine. Dead plants are a learning experience and an opportunity to try something new. 7. Cull aggressively. Overgrown shrubbery, half-dead trees and plants that aren’t thriving will probably never look good. Get them out. This will keep things looking fresh, and provide new planting opportunities. 8. Flowering shrubs rule. They are low-maintenance, drought-tolerant and last for years. And if your first thought was azaleas, you desperately need

• developmental evaluations • service coordination: working with families to plan and coordinate early intervention supports and services • transition from the InfantToddler Program to other community programs and resources For more information, contact a parent educator at 438-8188.

CDSAs are the lead agencies for the North Carolina Infant-Toddler Program, which serves families of children, birth to age three, who are at risk for developmental delays or have been diagnosed with special needs. The CDSA provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers including:

Paul McKenzie, horticulture extension agent for Vance and Warren counties, can be reached at 438-8188 or 257-3640.

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to expand your repertoire. 9. Avoid the urge to collect plants. Yes, there are many, many beautiful plants in the world, and while variety is the spice of life, you would be wise to focus on a limited number. In a given bed, having singles of many different plants often looks cluttered, messy and unplanned. Better to plant in three or five of the same carefully chosen plant in a group. The look is cleaner and more dramatic. In your overall landscape, repeated plants provide rhythm, harmony and cohesiveness. 10. Ignore all the rules about gardening. I certainly have!

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Masonic meeting — Beacon Light Masonic Lodge #249 will hold its stated communication at 7 p.m. at the lodge, located at 1204 West Andrews Ave. For more information, contact Michael Edwards at 767-3672. Mental health meeting — The regularly scheduled meeting of the Five County Mental Health Authority will be held at 7 p.m. at the authority’s administrative building, 134 S. Garnett St., Henderson. The public is invited to attend. ColorFall Festival meeting — The Five County First in Families management team and the Arc of Vance County will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Arc office at Crossroads Shopping Center on Andrews Avenue to make final plans and preparations for this year’s ColorFall Festival on Sept. 12. For information, call Nancy Ormond at 492-4712 or 213-1343.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

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Attention HealthCo Patients Your medical records are available.

To transfer your records to a new doctor, you will need to complete and sign a records release form. To transfer to a Rural Health Group (RHG) location:

To transfer to any other doctor:

Go to either of these two locations to fill out a form:

• Get a medical records release form from your doctor’s office

RHG at Henderson 100 Parkview Drive West Henderson NC 27536 or RHG at Norlina 110 Division Street Norlina, NC 27563

• Complete and sign the form • Fax the form to 252-438-2084

Once an authorization to release medical records is completed and signed by the patient, Rural Health Group will forward a copy of the medical records to the doctor’s office indicated on the form. Requests cannot be taken by phone. Allow 1-2 weeks for requests to be processed.

From Page One

The Daily Dispatch

NATIONAL WEATHER

Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. Seattle 71/53 Minneapolis 74/55

Billings 94/62

Washington 82/69 Kansas City 82/56

Los Angeles 86/66

Atlanta 86/64

El Paso 96/72

Fairbanks 66/45

Houston 98/75

-0s

Miami 90/79

Honolulu 89/76

Anchorage 63/52

-10s

Detroit 73/55

Chicago 70/55

Denver 95/59

San Francisco 70/57

New York 85/73

Hilo 84/70

Juneau 61/49

10s

20s

30s

40s

Showers Rain T-storms Snow Flurries

50s

60s

70s

Ice

80s

90s

100s

110s

Stationary front

Cold front

Warm front

FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR HENDERSON TODAY

TONIGHT

SUNDAY

89°

67°

88°

65°

A couple of thunderstorms

A t-storm early; partly cloudy

Partly sunny and less humid

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

89°

91°

66°

65°

66°

Partly sunny

Plenty of sunshine

Mostly sunny

ALMANAC

SUN AND MOON

Temperature

Sunrise today ........................... 6:37 a.m. Sunset today ............................ 7:55 p.m. Moonrise today ........................ 9:08 a.m. Moonset today ......................... 9:01 p.m. Sunrise tomorrow ..................... 6:38 a.m. Sunset tomorrow ...................... 7:54 p.m. Moonrise tomorrow ................ 10:17 a.m. Moonset tomorrow ................... 9:31 p.m.

Raleigh-Durham through 6 p.m. yest. High .................................................... 94° Low ..................................................... 76° Normal high ........................................ 87° Normal low ......................................... 67° Record high .......................... 105° in 2007 Record low .............................. 54° in 1981

Moon Phases

Precipitation 24 hours through 6 p.m. yest. ......... 0.00” Month to date .................................. 0.88” Normal month to date ..................... 2.54” Year to date ................................... 22.21” Normal year to date ...................... 28.36”

First

Full

Last

New

Aug 27

Sep 4

Sep 11

Sep 18

REGIONAL WEATHER Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows

WinstonSalem

Asheville

Henderson

Greensboro

86/65

83/57

88/67

Rocky Mt.

87/68

86/66

Durham

Raleigh

87/67

Charlotte

88/67

Cape Hatteras

Fayetteville

88/64

87/75

89/70

LAKE LEVELS

Wilmington

88/72

REGIONAL CITIES Today

Sun.

Today

Sun.

City

Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

City

Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

Asheville Boone Burlington Chapel Hill Chattanooga Danville Durham Elizabeth City Elizabethton Fayetteville Goldsboro Greensboro Greenville Havelock Hendersonville

83 77 84 87 86 84 87 86 84 89 90 86 87 88 84

High Point Jacksonville Kinston Lumberton Myrtle Beach Morehead City Nags Head New Bern Raleigh Richmond Roanoke Rapids Rocky Mount Sanford Wilmington Winston-Salem

88 86 91 90 88 86 87 89 88 84 88 87 88 88 86

57 t 56 t 63 t 65 t 61 t 63 t 67 t 71 t 58 t 70 t 71 t 66 t 64 pc 72 t 57 t

78 77 88 88 82 86 89 89 80 90 90 85 85 90 81

57 55 61 63 62 62 63 69 57 68 67 63 64 71 59

t t pc pc s pc pc pc t pc pc pc pc pc pc

65 73 71 69 73 75 78 71 67 69 68 68 69 72 65

t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t

85 88 91 90 87 87 87 90 87 89 88 90 90 90 86

64 69 68 66 71 73 75 69 64 65 66 68 65 70 63

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halim offered to demolish the property if such action would satisfy the city. Griffin said tearing down the buildings to end the nuisance would be Abdelhalim’s choice. Evans asked Garrison whether the city was being hard on Abdelhalim. Garrison estimated Abdelhalim would have to come up with at least another $500,000 to meet the city’s terms (Williams is working on coming up with a specific cost of demolition and cleanup). “Unless he’s a money tree, it’s almost impossible for him to do that,” Garrison said of producing a second letter of credit along with getting the financing to work on the property. And Garrison added that thieves have stolen copper and metal and even the metal window frames. And Garrison added that, in doing a renovation, Abdelhalim would have to post a guard on site to protect the property. Inscoe noted Abdelhalim can submit a plan saying he cannot produce the second letter of credit. Abdelhalim said he would provide a plan according to Cash’s specifications. Abdelhalim, under questioning from Williams, said he has filed a request for an extension of an Aug. 28 HUD deadline to bring the property into compliance. Abdelhalim said that HUD wants more details and that he will provide them. Contact the writer at bwest@ hendersondispatch.com.

ay yd r e Ev

October as mobile phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson slashed more than 400 jobs at its North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park. One coworker returned to his native Japan. Another returned to Germany, found no prospects and returned to North Carolina, Dubas said. Whaples noted that job losses have reached nearly every corner of North Carolina’s economy. One surprise was that local governments in North Carolina issued more pink slips than any other field in July, cutting 22,600 jobs in a field that earlier this year was the rare employer adding workers. Manufacturing lost another 5,100 jobs. The state’s largest employment gains from June to July occurred among office workers, with professional and business services adding 5,200 jobs. The national picture isn’t much better. The U.S. unemployment rate was 9.4 percent in July, down a tenth of a percentage point from a 26-year high. The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly for the second straight week as companies continue to shed jobs.

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And the letter said there would need to be engineer drawings, with all drawings and work to meet state building code requirements. Williams added that Abdelhalim’s plan additionally would require approval by the Zoning Board of Adjustment because the property has not been occupied since 2006. Councilwoman Mary Emma Evans asked Abdelhalim how long he would need for one building or whether he had a plan for such. Abdelhalim, noting, “You are really at the mercy of other people,” said he would estimate two months for each building. Griffin said Abdelhalim’s attorney at the Aug. 10 meeting, Karlene Turrentine, said she would like six months, but would be satisfied with four months, to comply. Abdelhalim told Griffin on Friday, “I don’t really know how in the world that somebody would say I would say I will finish it in four to six months.” Inscoe said the work would have to be done according to the specifications of a condominium-type complex, meaning firewalls between each unit. And Inscoe and Abdelhalim’s real estate broker, County Commissioner Terry Garrison, agreed HUD’s estimate is $5.1 million to have condos. Abdelhalim continued to argue he cannot come up with a letter of credit, citing his having lost money on the property and the challenge of obtaining financing in the midst of the weak national economy. At one point Abdelhalim said, “I’m willing right now to give it to the city and just you guys can do you want to do with it. Demolish it, have it, do whatever you want to do with it.” At another point Abdel-

JOBLESS, from page one

er Ev

Elevation in feet above sea level. Data as of 7 a.m. yesterday. 24-Hr. Lake Capacity Yest. Change Gaston 203 199.78 -0.05 Kerr 320 296.42 -0.13

COMPLEX, from page one 2006 at the request of the previous council after the property had become notorious for crime and unsanitary conditions. The previous council wanted Beacon Light redeveloped with singlefamily homes. Abdelhalim acquired the property for $54,000 in a 2007 foreclosure sale. At the start of Friday’s session, Abdelhalim said the terms spelled out by HUD are: “Repair the property for homeownership.” And Abdelhalim argued he cannot demolish without HUD authorization. City Manager Ray Griffin told Abdelhalim that the council wants to work in partnership and attempt to develop a contract with him to resolve the blight and the code violations and to ensure homeownership. Abdelhalim said he wants to take the first building, which is to the left past the entrance, clean the building, make repairs to the building and market the building for homeownership and work his way to the remaining buildings to do the same. Inscoe said he does not believe this is acceptable because he believes the city wants to see the entire project brought up to code. City Code Compliance Director Corey Williams additionally cited a letter from Vance County Lead Code Enforcement Officer Kevin Cash. The letter said that, if the property is to be repaired for occupancy, then all units would have to be stripped down to the bare studs with complete rewiring, plumbing, insulation and heating, ventilation and air conditioning. And the letter said the fire-damaged units would be required to be demolished and rebuilt.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

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Local & State

The Daily Dispatch

Saturday, August 22, 2009

SUSPECTS, from page one September, bond for each was set at $30,000, according to documents provided Friday by Coffey’s Bail Bondings & Investigations. It took nearly a month for Lilly to be bailed out. On Oct. 10, 2008, he made bond with Tammy Tyner of Albemarle as co-signer for the surety. Tyner is listed on the bond paperwork as Lilly’s “bosses wife.” That “boss” is identified as Chad Bowers, full name Michael Chad Bowers, age 30, who federal agents say was the gobetween for fencing stolen goods that were ultimately sold by two other men named in the indictment, Billy Eugene Talbert II and Gary Winston Sells, at an Albemarle location that appeared to be a legitimate business. Tyner, 34, was also indicted, accused of renting a storage facility for hiding the stolen merchandise until it could be sold. Coffey, the Henderson bonding agent, said all of the theft ring members she met were young, cheerful despite the circumstances, and didn’t seem bothered by the gravity of the situation. “Of course the boys said” they weren’t big-time criminals, Coffey said, “and of course everything was blamed on somebody else.” She said that Lilly and Hartis, who were charged in Vance County with burglary, larceny and possessing burglary tools, told her they had the implements with them because they were construction and home improvement workers.

“I guess their idea of ‘home improvement’ was stealing everything out of somebody’s house,” Coffey wisecracked Friday night. The suspects were jokers, too, Coffey said. When Lilly was bailed out on Oct. 10 last year, “he was laughing, and the girl who came up to get him was laughing,” Coffey said, referring to Tyner. “And she was just as cute a little girl as could be. A pretty girl. … She had a trashy mouth, but she was a pretty girl.” Hartis had to stew in the Vance County Jail for nearly another month before Lilly returned to help bail his partner out, on Nov. 8, 2008. That’s when Coffey said she began to realize that — despite their youth and demeanor — the accused thieves were not involved in a small-time operation. Hartis sat down in Coffey’s office to have a picture taken for her records and cracked a big grin. “That’s how he acted, too; very, very immature,” Coffey said. “They were all like that.” Coffey was able to find that digital photo on her computer, but has not yet located the photo that would have been taken a month prior of Lilly, when he made bond. “When (Lilly) came back to pay the bond on the other one, that was the first time I got any inkling they were into really big, bad stuff,” Coffey continued. “(Lilly) had a wad of $100 bills and was just throwing them around. I told

Deaths him they owed more on (Hartis’) bond and (Lilly) said, ‘No problem’ and just peeled off another couple of $100 bills. … They were never without money.” Coffey had found it strange at the time that the two were caught burglarizing a home in Vance County when they lived about 150 miles away, in Stanly County, not too far from Charlotte. But she could never get a straight answer. “They said they came up to visit someone,” Coffey said. “I never could get them to tell me specifically the person they came up to visit. … Tammy Tyner told me Hartis had worked with somebody from this area in the past, but she didn’t say who. … But they have a direct contact in Vance County.” Coffey said that she believed Hartis is due in a Vance County courtroom in a few days, but with the local sheriff’s office reporting that charges here will be dropped in favor of federal prosecution, if such a court date is on the calendar, it’s likely to be canceled. She said Lilly’s bond was revoked some time ago because he failed to show up for court. “When he failed to appear, I filed for the bond forfeiture and started looking for him,” Coffey said of Lilly. “After a few phone calls, I found out he was already incarcerated again in another county.” Contact the writer at gcraven@ hendersondispatch.com.

N.C. man sentenced to life for killing father HILLSBOROUGH (AP) — A North Carolina man convicted of killing his father and firing shots at his former high school has been sentenced to life in prison. A jury convicted Alvaro Rafael Castillo on Friday in the August 2006 fatal shooting of his 65-year-old

father, Rafael Huezo Castillo. The 22-year-old was also convicted on assault and weapons charges for firing a rifle and a shotgun at Orange County High School. Two students suffered minor injuries. The three-week trial focused on Castillo’s mental state. The defense argued

Castillo felt God had called him to kill. Prosecutors argued Castillo methodically planned the attacks. Castillo apologized, saying he did not intend to hurt people. Judge Allen Baddour said he likely still has mental health issues.

James R. Champion Jr.

Eakes Funeral Home in Creedmoor in charge of arrangements.

STEM — James Russell Champion Jr., 64, a resident of 1570 Little Pond Road, died Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009, at Durham Regional Hospital. A native of Granville County, he was the son of Ruth Goss Puryear and husband C.H. Puryear and the late James R. Champion Sr. He was a member of Fellowship Baptist Church and was retired. Funeral services will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the Eakes Funeral Chapel in Creedmoor by the Rev. Dan Hill. Burial will be in Creedmoor Cemetery at a later date. Surviving are his wife, Pamela Perry Champion of the home; a daughter, Gracie Hill of Stem; a son, Michael Todd Champion of Kittrell; two stepsons, John and Noah Stempson of Newport; two sisters, Linda Tilley of Creedmoor and Ginny Bradshaw of Raleigh; and three granddaughters. A son, James “Jamie” R. Champion III, preceded him in death. In lieu of flowers memorials can be made to The American Diabetes Association, 2418 Blue Ridge Road, Suite 206, Raleigh, N.C. 27607. Visitation will be from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Sunday prior to the funeral at the Eakes Funeral Home in Creedmoor and at other times at the home of Louise Champion, 2068 Sanders Road, Stem.

Walter H. Grissom Jr. HENDERSON — Walter Huell “Juny” Grissom, Jr., 89, a resident of 1102 Bane Ave., died Friday, Aug. 21, 2009, at Franklin Regional Medical Center. Born in Vance County on Sept. 25, 1919, he was the son of the late Walter Huell Grissom Sr. and Maude Renn Grissom. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church and was retired from the City of Henderson. Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday in the J.M. White Funeral Home Chapel by the Rev. George D. Speake. Burial will follow in Sunset Gardens. He is survived by three daughters, Patricia G. Steed and Mary Ann G. Parrott, both of Henderson, and Nadine G. Pierpoint of Raleigh; a son, Dennis Michael Grissom of Henderson; a sister, Peggy Grissom Crocker of Orangeburg, S.C.; eight grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Ella Pegram Grissom; two brothers, Lawrence Grissom and Sidney Grissom; and two sisters, Dorothy G. Nuckles, and Vera Grissom. The family will receive friends today from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at J.M. White Funeral Home. They will receive

1833 Oxford Rd., Henderson

WARRENTON — Carl Robinson, 55, of Warrenton, died Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009, at Maria Parham Medical Center. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Sunday at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Macon. The Rev. Kathard Marks will officiate and burial will follow in the church cemetery. He is survived by his wife, Doris Robinson of Warrenton; a daughter, LaTonya Burton of Chase City, Va.; two sons, Kevin Robinson of Jamestown and Damian Brodie of Warrenton; his mother, Corleen Robinson of the home; five sisters, Esther Young and Carolyn Hogan of Philadelphia, Pa., Geraldine Robinson and Shirley Robinson-Flood of the home, and Arlene Burwell of Henderson; three brothers, William Robinson of Raleigh, Darius Robinson of Bracey, Va., and Clifton Robinson of Richmond, Va.; and seven grandchildren. The family will receive friends today from 7 to 8 p.m. at Boyd’s Funeral Service Chapel in Warrenton. Arrangements are by Boyd’s Funeral Service of Warrenton.

60 Zeb Robinson Rd. Henderson

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Carl Robinson

J. M. White Funeral Home

Flowers Funeral Home “Commitment to Caring Personal Service”

friends at the home at 1102 Bane Ave. today from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Serving as active pallbearers will be Herman Davis, Lou Pearce, George Grissom, Jimmy Richardson, Cliff Steed, III, and Tony Roberson. Arrangements are by J.M. White Funeral Home.

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PROBE, from page one tained in connection with the incident, which happened at Perry’s address off Little Pond Drive east of Stem, Wilkins said. Perry was released, Wilkins said. “Charges will be pending

on the outcome of the investigation,” Wilkins said. Wilkins said that Champion and Perry were neighbors and that Perry was upset with Champion about a dog in Perry’s yard. Emergency 911 received

the call at 6:54 p.m. Little Pond is just off Sanders Road and near the Interstate 85 overpass of Sanders. Send comments to news@ hendersondispatch.com.

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The Daily Dispatch

Business & Farm

Dow Jones industrials

9,000

Listed below are representative inter-dealer quotations at approximately 4 p.m. Friday from the National Association of Securities Dealers. Prices do not include retail mark-up, mark-down or commission.

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+155.91 A

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High 9,519.11

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August 21, 2009

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High 2,021.86

Standard & Poor’s 500 +18.76 A

Pct. change from previous: +1.86%

High 1,027.58

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Low 1,994.33

August 21, 2009

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Stocks

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August 21, 2009

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Area

A DAY ON WALL STREET

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Saturday, August 22, 2009

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Low 1,009.06

SOURCE: SunGard

MARKET ROUNDUP 082109: Market charts show Dow, S&P 500, and urrencies etals Nasdaq; stand-alone; 2c x 4 1/2 inches; 96 mm x 114 mm; staff Aluminum -$0.8700 per lb., N.Y. Merc spot NEW YORK (AP) — Key currency exEditors: All figures as of: 5:25:59 PM EDT Fri. change rates Friday: NOTE: Figures reflect market fluctuations after not match other AP content close; Coppermay -$2.7780 Cathode full plate, U.S. Dollar vs: ExchgRate PvsDay destinations. Copper $2.8790 N.Y. Merc spot Fri. Yen 94.24 94.10 Lead - $1792.00 metric ton, London Metal Euro $1.4336 $1.4255 Exch. Pound $1.6482 $1.6508 Zinc - $0.8427 per lb., delivered. Swiss franc 1.0572 1.0630 Gold - $952.50 Handy & Harman (only daily Canadian dollar 1.0827 1.0886 quote). Mexican peso 12.8415 12.8905 Gold - $953.20 troy oz., NY Merc spot Fri. Silver - $14.210 Handy & Harman (only Metal Price PvsDay NY Merc Gold $953.20 $940.30 daily quote). Silver - $14.160 troy oz., N.-. Merc spot Fri. NY HSBC Bank US $953.00 $940.50 NY Merc Silver $14.160 $13.876 Mercury - $640.00 per 76 lb flask, N.Y. Platinum -$1245.00 troy oz., N.Y. (contract). Platinum -$1259.20 troy oz., N.Y. Merc spot Nonferrous NEW YORK (AP) — Spot nonferrous metal Fri. n.q.-not quoted, n.a.-not available r-revised prices Friday:

& M

ACS ATT Ball Corp. BankAmerica BB&T Coca-Cola CVS Duke Energy Exxon Ford General Elec. Motors Liquidation Home Depot IBM Johnson & Johnson Kennametal Krispy Kreme Louisiana Pacific Lowes Lucent Tech. Pepsico Phillip Morris Procter & Gamble Progress Energy RF Micro Dev Royal Bk Can RJR Tobacco Revlon Sprint Sun Trust Universal Verizon Comm. Vulcan Wal-Mart Wells Fargo Wendy’s Establis Delhaize

45.32 26.00 50.08 17.46 28.03 49.91 35.72 15.61 69.92 7.74 14.21 0.80 27.50 119.90 61.03 21.14 2.93 6.48 21.16 3.48 57.49 18.04 53.58 39.45 5.00 47.43 46.12 5.00 3.90 22.64 37.89 31.37 49.71 51.36 27.94 5.47 67.00

Homebuilders jump on home sales surge NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of homebuilders climbed Friday after the National Association of Realtors said homes sales surged in July, while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economy is on the cusp of a recovery. Home resales soared 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million in July. It is the largest monthly increase in at least a decade as firsttime buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit that expires this fall. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace

of 5 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. First-time buyers must complete their sales transactions by the end of November to take advantage of a tax credit of 10 percent of the purchase price, up to $8,000. The real estate industry is lobbying Congress to get the credit extended. Meanwhile, speaking at a Fed conference in Wyoming, Bernanke said the prospects for a return to growth in the near future appear good. However, he warned that lending is not back to normal. Restoring the free flow of

credit is a critical component to a lasting recovery. Homebuilders rallied on the news. Shares of DR Horton Inc. gained 47 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $12.71, while Lennar Corp. rose 48 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $14.55 and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. jumped 18 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $4.22. Pulte Homes Inc. shares gained 32 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $12.71. Earlier in the week, shareholders for Pulte and rival Centex cleared Pulte’s takeover of Centex, creating the largest homebuilder in the United States.

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Editorial Board: James Edwards, Publisher Glenn Craven, Editor

jedwards@hendersondispatch.com gcraven@hendersondispatch.com

Don Dulin, News Editor ddulin@hendersondispatch.com

304 S. Chestnut St./P.O. Box 908 Henderson, N.C. 27536 PHONE: 436-2700/FAX: 430-0125

Daily Meditation Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. Psalm 91:9-11

Our Opinion

Before backing government health care, check references In our workaday world, past performance is usually a sign of future success. When hiring new employees, an boss wants to see their resume and check references. A candidate with good results in the past is likely to be the one who is hired today. That’s explanation enough for why an increased U.S. government role in health care has a lot of Americans feeling nervous. The very Congress that brought you the “Cash for Clunkers” program — which ran out of its initial allotment of $1 billion in just four days, and is spent-up again and will be stopped for good on Monday — now wants to devote that same D.C. brand of planning and efficiency to your health care. In a recent town hall meeting, while defending “ObamaCare” from critics who suggest the government should not be allowed to compete with private insurance, President Obama reminded us of the competition that exists between package carriers. Private companies fare very well in the delivery business, the president said. The quasi-governmental United States Postal Service, which is on track to lose $7 billion this year, not so much. “I mean, if you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? No, they are,” the president said. “It’s the Post Office that’s always having problems.” Not a ringing endorsement for government-run business, sir. Yes, we know the government has been involved in the health care system for decades via Medicare, Medicaid and other programs. All are likewise poor examples. Only minutes spent searching news archives uncovered public complaints dating back to 1992 (in The New York Times), repeated in 2001 (USA Today) and again just two years ago (Alaska Business Monthly) that Medicare patients keep finding it increasingly difficult to locate a doctor who will see them because the government system is so cheap and slow to pay. The New York Times reported that Medicare, for some procedures, at that time was paying doctors 50 to 60 percent less than private insurance. “It’s a sad list” of doctors who will take Medicare in Alaska, said Rita Hatch, Medicare Counseling Coordinator for the Older Persons Action Group in Anchorage, in 2007. Hatch said there were so few doctors accepting new Medicare patients that she would not publish the list for fear of flooding those did. “If someone calls, I’ll give them the names of two or three doctors on the list,” Hatch told Alaska Business Monthly, “so (the doctors) won’t all burn out at once.” We know that the problem is not all government. Some aspects of American medicine are needlessly expensive. Some cost-lowering within the health care and pharmaceutical industries would help. But the government isn’t improving things. “Medicare pays too little and doctors charge too much,” said Hatch, adding that Medicare’s billing process was complex and frustrating. Hatch said the government sends the bill back to a doctor’s office unpaid at the first sign of an error or discrepancy, without checking the full paperwork. When the bill returns with that error corrected, the government checks it for any other errors and “kicks it back” again, delaying payment as long as possible. And, Hatch said, Medicare bill-coding is convoluted. “There are 10 or more numbers for one procedure,” she said. “If they do it with one instrument it is one number, and with another, it’s a different number.” Granted, insurance companies are notorious for stalling payment and trying to duck expensive procedures. But at least once they agree to the cost, they pay. The government can’t be trusted to be even that reliable. Back we go to Cash for Clunkers. While it doesn’t end until Monday, the popular program for which Congress has budgeted $3 billion won’t be honored at Owen Ford in Jarratt, Va. this weekend. That’s because the store is yet to receive the government cash for the first 21 cars it sold under the program. “It has brought in some traffic that we would not have had,” said Alton Owen Jr., sales manager of the dealership near Emporia, Va. “But if you don’t get paid, it’s all for naught.” Federal efficiency at its finest. Coming soon to your doctor’s office?

Environmentalists and the media have successfully bamboozled half the populace and every school child in America into believing large numbers of polar bears are starving and drowning in the Arctic because of global warming. But it’s obviously not even close to being true. How do we know this? Because if even just one emaciated drowned polar bear’s body had been fished from Arctic waters in the last five years, we’d have seen its sorry carcass a thousand times on TV and on the covers of Time and Vanity Fair. By now the poor dead bear would have been given a trademarked first name, marketed as the official victim of Exxon Mobil-caused climate change and starred in three Pixar movies. Alas, not a single drowned polar bear corpse has come along. Until one does, professional polar bear-saving groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council will have to scare up money and new members with traditional direct-mail campaigns like “Polar Bear SOS!” NRDC’s latest effort to save the iconic, majestic, magnificent, precious polar bear cleverly combines the environmental left’s blind hatred of Sarah Palin with the general public’s mindless love for cuddly polar bears. With six pages of excla-

mation points, underlined sentences, boldfaced type fonts and apocalyptic predictions about imminent planetary and polar bear doom, it looked like a directmail parody when I first pulled it from my mailbox the first week of August. It was the real Bill howSteigerwald thing, ever. Distributed by NRDC Cagle Cartoons celebrity senior attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent two pages warning that unless we act swiftly and join NRDC or send it money, “Governor Palin” and “some of America’s biggest polluters could help push America’s polar bears to the very brink of extinction” by 2050. NRDC — which has an $87 million annual budget, 1.2 million members and a staff of 400 busy lawyers, scientists and lobbyists – can get a little loony when it’s shaking down its target audience of unquestioning “caring Americans.” For example, Kennedy’s cry for help was backed up by four pages of polar bear pathos from Frances Beinecke, the group’s distraught $300,000-plus-per-year president.

Evidently chosen as NRDC’s emoticon-in-chief because she can channel the distress signals of polar bears all the way from the melting Arctic ice packs, she presumed — incorrectly in my case – that it probably pained the reader as deeply as it pained her to imagine: “... The last gasp of a polar bear before it drowns in the vast waters of the Arctic, unable to reach the increasingly distant ice floes it needs to find food.” “... The muffled cries of newborn polar bear cubs as they are buried alive when their snowy den collapses from unseasonable rains.” “... The exhaustion of a mother polar bear and her young as they succumb to starvation after enduring longer and longer periods without food.” Beinecke’s Arctic soap opera blathered and blubbered on and on, ultimately leaving the impression that it was a proven fact many polar bears were starving, drowning and even eating each other in heretofore unseen numbers because global warming is melting more and more of the sea ice they live on and hunt from. Beinecke didn’t use her great imagination to interview any polar bears for NRDC’s unintentionally hilarious package of tear-jerky propaganda.

But since it’s apparently OK to make up anything you want about polar bears, let’s imagine how a wise old bear might react to his proud species being defamed by NRDC as helpless victims and having their allegedly endangered lives exploited for moneyraising purposes. “Dear NRDC,” the average Grandpa polar bear might write. “Thanks a lot for your love and concern. But please don’t worry so much about us. In fact, please leave us alone. “We and the Arctic sea ice are doing just fine. We’ve lived on the frozen top of the world for 250,000 years. We’ve survived two ice ages and a meteor that killed off the wooly mammoths. “We’ve seen a lot of climate change and a lot of pack ice come and go over the eons. Believe us, it’s natural. It’s cyclical. It’s unpredictable. But we’ll adapt, as we always have. “We are not endangered. We are not going to go extinct in 30 years — or 10,000 years. There are at least 25,000 of us living quite well up here and, trust me, we’re going to survive the coming ice age with a lot less trouble than you will.” Bill Steigerwald is a former columnist and associate editor at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review who’s also worked at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Bill at bsteige@ verizon.net.

Letters to the Editor Settlement check held up by process To the editor:

Gimme some free money, too Tired of complaining about President Barack Obama’s free money for people who behaved irresponsibly economics, I have now decided to request some dough for myself. I plan on writing my congressman, faxing my senator and sending the White House a text message demanding a bailout plan for reasonably responsible doubleincome families with two car payments and a mortgage. By buying things that we could more or less afford at the time we needed them, my wife and I missed out on huge government payouts for doing things we had to do anyway. We didn’t by a house or car to stimulate the economy, we bought them because we needed a place to sleep and a way to get to work. We purchased the house (actually a condo) over two years ago with no tax credit or any other sort of government assistance. We bought my wife’s car (a one-year-old Ford Taurus) after the death of her previous car. My vehicle, however, was a sadder story as I bought a fuel-efficient Saturn Ion at the height of inflated gas prices when everyone was scrambling to find cars that got good mileage. I paid a premium for the car and, once again, got not

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cash from the government. Call it bad timing or my not realizing that if Democrats got into the White House and controlled Congress than there would be free money under the guise of economic stimulus. Had I planned betwe could Daniel B. ter, have gotten Kline an $8,000 housing tax Special to The Daily Dispatch credit and $4,500 for the clunker we traded in when we bought my wife’s car. Of course, bitterness aside that none of Uncle Sam’s dough made it into my bank account, if Obama had just left well enough alone, the economy would have sorted itself out. Much like my wife and I did, people would have bought homes and vehicles when they actually needed them — one of the key components of a free market economy. Incentivizing these purchases with tax dollars simply robs sales from the future and puts them into the present. The same thing happens in my store if we run a sale. We might have a better weekend than avshould be limited to 300 words. Please include a telephone number for verification. We reserve the right to edit comments for length, clarity, libelous material, personal attacks and poor

erage, but a certain percentage of those sales were just borrowing from the next week. Obama may have appeared to jump start the economy, but, really, he just ran a sale that caused people to trade in old cars a little sooner than they would have. Government, be it a Republican led one or one helmed by a Democrat, never chooses to simply leave things alone. Had George Bush let the banks fail and had Obama let the auto companies fail, eventually, better companies would rise from the ashes. Instead, we continue to prop up diseased industries letting failures succeed on the public dime and making the public feel like everything is going great while we push doom off another day or two. President Obama needs the courage to do nothing. Stop wasting taxpayer dollars and start realizing that the economy would be just fine if he simply left it alone. Daniel B. Kline’s work appears in over 100 papers weekly. When he is not writing Kline serves as general manager of Time Machine Hobby New England’s largest hobby and toy store; www.timemachinehobby. com. He can be reached at dan@ notastep.com or you can see his archive at dbkline.com or befriend him at facebook.com/dankline. taste. We do not publish anonymous letters, form letters, letters with names withheld or letters where we cannot verify the writer’s identity. Writers should limit themselves to one letter every 30 days.

Recently I was fortunate enough to obtain a settlement (though I’m black) with one of the credit card companies for an alleged indebtedness, which was filed in error with the courts. One of the provisos of the agreement was that the terms of the settlement would remain anonymous. The agreement was sent by UPS and delivered to our home. Enclosed with the matriculated agreement from the credit card company and their representatives was a settlement check as agreed. The check, from the credit company, which I hoped to deposit in my State Employees Credit Union checking account, with the amount, my account number, my name and address on the check and presented along with my picture ID, my valid and current driver’s license, along with a signed deposit slip, made available on the counter at the State Employees Credit Union in Henderson, proved too much. Henderson is a city with a predominate black population, so it appears the check was not immediately honored for deposit, with all its ensconced security safe guards; and it has taken two days for me to deposit the check, and receive $500 cash back, because they wanted to know “what was the check for?” When originally presented, the check was not accepted by the State Employees Credit Union, though I’m a member, even upon their examination of my Photo ID, drivers license, and credentials, because Henderson Branch of the SECU requires a 11-day hold for anyone depositing a check over $5,000 — my check was not $5,000. Thus anyone receiving the president’s $4,500 “stimulus check” at the new location for Toyota of Henderson for a clunker could be losing out on that newly opened Henderson Toyota purchase, if they must wait 11 days before Obama’s check clears. P.S. Dear state employee teller, “This was not a ‘stimulus check.’” Daniel A. Young Sr., Henderson

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