Meet the graduating seniors in our...
Inside
Special section
• Archdale Bass Club hops to High Rock Lake — page 2 • Guil-Rand organizes fundraiser for a recruit in training — page 5
• Trinity High School’s outstanding seniors
* Randleman High School’s graduation list
• THS graduation list
• RHS top five students
Church news.......7 Obituaries.............6 Classifieds..........9 Police report.......10 Fire report...........5 Sheriff’s report......4 Thursday, June 10, 2010
Archdale-Trinity News USPS [432-990]
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50 Cents
Sheriff stops potential school rampage T
he incident had the potential to be on the national news, said Randolph County Sheriff Maynard Reid Jr., but officers stopped a convicted felon before he ever reached school grounds with a 20-gauge automatic shotgun and multiple rounds of ammunition. BY ROBYN HANKINS “We were able to diffuse the situation,” said Reid. “Our school resource officers
take their jobs very seriously, bepossession of a firearm by a cause that’s a big responsibility. prohibited person. According to We’re there to help and protect the sheriff’s office, Kinley is a the children.” convicted felon. Reid was referring to the June As of Monday, Kinley remained in federal custody. The 2 incident that resulted in John federal prosecutor may file Lawrence Elementary School bemore charges. ing locked down after Randolph Just one week before the inCounty 911 received a call that a cident, on May 26, the sheriff’s man with a gun was on his way to Kinley office, Archdale police, Guilthe school to “get” his son. The man, Bennie Lee Kinley II, Rand firefighters and emergency 43, of 1975 Greendale Road in Archdale, responders participated in a live training was charged in federal court June 3 with exercise at Wheatmore High School that
simulated a school shooting. Reid said that exercise and others like it help his officers and other emergency responders protect children. “Our school resource officers are constantly training,” Reid continued. “We try to come up with all sorts of scenarios to prevent children from being hurt and everything fell right into place that day. I’m very proud of everyone.” Aaron Woody, principal of John Lawrence Elementary, said that he was pleased with the response. SEE SHERIFF ON PAGE 3
Top 20 listing could help festival, area T
he Bush Hill Heritage Festival has been included on the list of top 20 September events or festivals in the Southeast. This honor could increase tourism. BY ROBYN HANKINS
Photos by Debbie Hightower
Karen Jones leads a Zumba class, which incudes all ages and all ability levels.
YMCA open house June 13 I t’s high energy at the Carl and Linda Grubb Family YMCA, but not just in the Zumba class. The energy is building for the open house and ribbon cutting set for Sunday.
BY DEBBIE HIGHTOWER
Terri Newton works out on the weights.
The open house begins at 1 p.m. and the ribbon cutting will be at 3 p.m. A few folks aren’t waiting for that ribbon cutting. The YMCA opened May 28. Zumba instructor Karen Jones was surprised and pleased when 41 people showed up for the first class June 2. Zumba combines
high-energy Latin and international music with easy-to-follow dance steps and unique movements. Walter Stanley called the class a “hoot,” and his wife Meg said, “It was easy, and something that anyone could do. It just kept you moving the whole time. I had a lot of fun.” That excitement is not surprising for Executive Director David Pollock. “It has picked up each day since we opened May 28,” he said. Sunday’s events hold excitement, too. “Beginning at 1 p.m., guests can come in, tour the facility, work out and get information SEE YMCA ON PAGE 2
“This certainly represents Archdale as a community and reflects well on the Festival’s volunteers and businesses,” said Archdale Mayor Bert Lance-Stone. “They are to be commended. To rank up there with the barbecue festival in Lexington or the Autumn Leaves Festival in Mt. Airy is a reflection of the community’s commitment.” The list was developed by the Southeast Tourism Society. The Bush Hill Heritage Festival, now in its 25th year, is organized by the Archdale-Trinity Chamber of Commerce. The 2010 Festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 11. Neville Bhada, vice president of communications and public relations of STS, said that Bush Hill was chosen by a panel of industry judges because it exemplifies the region’s originality, creativity and entertainment. Being chosen can have an economic impact. “Some have valued the designation as a top 20 event as high as $250,000 in added value,” said Bhada. Chamber President Beverly Nelson agrees. “By being included with other well-known events, it increases the visibility of the Festival,” Nelson said. “Larger visibility can mean more people and the economic impact SEE BUSH HILL ON PAGE 3
Photo by Michael Hill
The 2009 Festival drew thousands.
No 9 cent property tax increase, says Frye
‘T
here will not be a 9 cent tax in- is 61 cents. “We still have some money available in crease, I can promise you that,’ said Darrell Frye, vice chairman of the our fund balance and we’re going to look at that,” Frye added. Randolph County Commissioners. The fund balance is the county’s savings BY ROBYN HANKINS The proposed 2010-2011 budget, prepared by Finance Officer William Massie, included a 9.1 cent property tax increase. Frye said Tuesday any property tax increase would more than likely be only half of that, around 4-5 percent. Randolph County’s current tax rate is 55.5 cents per $100 valuation. The average county property tax rate for 2010 in N.C.
account. Local governments are required to keep 20 percent of their total operating costs in savings at all times. This forms a contingency fund that provides reserves to offset revenue volatility, and allows the county to maintain liquidity despite the timing of cash inflows and outflows. It also allows the county deal with unforeseen contingencies, such as major natural disasters. Last year the Commissioners took $7.4 million from the fund balance to prevent a property tax increase but, as of June 2009,
It’s hard to cut because we don’t spend a lot of money in the first place. — Darrell Frye Randolph County Commissioner
still had an undesignated, unreserved fund balance of 29 percent. Randolph County’s proposed 2010-2011 operating budget is $111,957,820, a 26 percent increase from the 2009-2010 budget. However, Frye pointed out that once
the $2 million from the quarter-cent sales tax — approved by voters in March — is subtracted, the proposed budget is actually $7 million less than the current 2009-2010 budget. “Our departments have cut their budgets for two years in a row, now,” Frye pointed out. The proposed budget includes 3 percent cuts to departments and no salary increases for county employees. Department heads made no requests for additional personnel or new programs, and the SEE BUDGET PAGE 3