MONDAY
PRODUCTIVE SKATE: Richardson 16th in her final event. 1D
February 22, 2010 126th year No. 53
MAJOR INITIATIVE: City making progress on lead removal efforts. 2A
www.hpe.com High Point, N.C.
TOUGHER THAN EXPECTED: Taliban mounting strong Afghan fight. 5A
50 Cents Daily $1.25 Sundays
Work begins to relocate Eastchester interchange BY PAUL B. JOHNSON ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
WHO’S NEWS
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AT A GLANCE
HIGH POINT – Motorists traveling Eastchester Drive in north High Point should pass through a new interchange at Deep River Road – complete with a traffic signal – by the end of this year. Crews recently began clearing land for a new half-mile section of Deep River that will tie into Eastchester at Lake Forest Drive. A traffic signal, which isn’t
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The existing interchange of Deep River Road and Eastchester Drive in north High Point will remain in place after a nearby, new intersection with a traffic signal is completed at the end of the year. City officials will monitor how traffic changes at the existing interchange before deciding whether to make any changes based on traffic patterns once the new intersection opens.
INTERCHANGE, 2A
North Carolina A&T State University senior Jamelaa Jones attended the 2009 MingDao International Fuel Cell Car Demonstration in Taiwan. Jones was part of the A&T ECO team taking part in several alternative energy events.
SONNY HEDGECOCK | HPE
Mark McDonald looks over the construction area at the intersection of Deep River and Willard Dairy roads.
Residents displaced
INSIDE
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REINVENTED BUSINESS: Auto dealer cuts ties with General Motors. 1B OBITUARIES
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Mary Church, 54 Sandy Clinton Jr., 94 Bonnie Cowan, 87 Matthew Ingram, 58 Esker Key, 68 Nannie Livengood, 83 Maxine Medline, 77 Tommy Simerson, 82 Maurice St. German, 58 Jewell Young, 83 Obituaries, 2B
WEATHER
– SONNY HEDGECOCK | HPE
Firefighters are seen outside the scene of a Sunday morning fire at Hunter’s Point Apartments, which are located off Shadow Valley Road.
Two injured, sent to hospital in Sunday morning blaze BY PAM HAYNES ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – Two people were sent to a hospital with injuries after a fire broke out on Sunday morning at an apartment
complex in High Point. The High Point Fire Department responded to a two-alarm fire at Hunter’s Point Apartments, off Shadow Valley Road, after a 911 call was placed at 5:06 a.m., according to Capt.
Denita Lynch, public information officer with the fire department. Residents of the 12 apartments in building 2225 at the complex were evacuated. Lynch said the injuries of the two victims “appeared to be minor.” She said that the building contained a “heavy fire” that was partially prevented from spreading by a fire wall. The fire was extinguished within
hours after firefighters arrived. The cause of the fire still is undetermined, and the investigation continues. “We still don’t know how it started,” she said. “The fire marshal is attempting to conduct an investigation, but the structure isn’t safe at this time. We’ll be talking to residents and witnesses now.” The Red Cross was notified and is assisting resi-
dents displaced by the fire. The apartment complex is also assisting in relocating some of the victims, Lynch said. Residents in neighboring buildings 2223 and 2221 were allowed to remain at the complex, though some minor damage such as water leaks had occurred in the 2223 building due to the fire. phaynes@hpe.com | 888-3617
Money crunch hampers Thomasville sewer fixes BY DARRICK IGNASIAK ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
THOMASVILLE – With the Chair City’s bill continuing to escalate for last summer’s sewer spill, Thomasville officials are uncertain exactly how they will pay for the rest of the city’s immediate needs to fix its sewer collection system. Last week, the City Council approved $537,402 to repair the Baptist Children’s Home collector line, which was the site of last summer’s wastewater spill of 15.93 millions gallons of sewage. The cost of the repair to the collector line brings Thomasville’s cost for the sewer spill to nearly
$700,000, including fines and engineering fees. The city had previously received a list of $2.3 million in projects, which includes repairs to the Baptist Children’s Home collector line, in a report prepared by Pease and Associates Consulting Engineers. “I would say the final verdict is still out on how we will pay for these updates and upgrades that we are going to have to do to the infrastructure, depending on whether it’s going to be done with borrowed money or grants,” said Councilman Raleigh York Jr., chairman of the city’s Personnel/ Finance Committee. According to York, the city used money from its water and sewer
capital reserve fund, which a previous council established several years ago, to pay for repairs to the Baptist Children’s Home collector line. The rest of city’s sewer bill was paid out of the city’s water and sewer fund. “If a previous council hadn’t had the foresight to start this fund, then we probably wouldn’t have had this money at this time,” York said. “We were very fortunate that we had the money on hand to take care of that need. However, we have other needs with a couple of other pump stations and some other lines in town. All of this, I guess, was brought to light with the sewer spill and an evaluation being taken of our total infra-
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structure in the water and sewer department.” Tony Jarrett, the city’s finance director, said the city’s other operating expenses, except for the water and sewer fund, are expected to break even by the end of the budget year. He said the city is looking at grants and low-interest loans for other needs of the city’s sewer collection system. “I’m most concerned and disappointed in the performance of the water and sewer (fund),” Jarrett said. “I had kinda hoped we would be doing better, but the sewer spill was not within our control. We have to repair it. It’s the right thing for us to do.” dignasiak@hpe.com | 888-3657
Rain Likely High 52, Low 41 6D
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