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WEDNESDAY, May4,2on
Serving All of Person County Since 1881
Copyright The Courier-Times inc. 2011 All Rights Reserved
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Our 129th Year — No. 36
Roxboro, North Carolina
Three Sections — 24 Pages
www.personcountylife.com
Privilege license fees concern EDC members
Several plan to address Roxboro City Council during its meeting on Tuesday, May 10
By PHYLISS BOATWRIGHT
C-T Staff Writer
pboatwright@roxboro-courier.com
Representatives from the Person
County Economic Development Com
mission will attend a public hearing
next week to voice concerns about the
City of Roxboro’s proposed changes in
the way it charges for business privilege
licenses.
Jim Stovall, chair of the Economic
Development Commission (EDC) said,
during a noon meeting of the EDC on
Tuesday, that several business owners
had talked with him about their concerns
regarding the privilege license fee.
The proposed change being consid
ered by city council would have busi
nesses paying a $50 fee for gross receipts
up to $5 million, and 50 cents for every
$1,000 over that figure.
Businesses with gross receipts less
than $5 million would continue paying
the flat fee of $50.
Stovall said Tuesday that he had heard
business owners state that the cost of the
increase would have to be passed on to
customers. He said some had also said
they may have to lay off workers if the
privilege license fees were increased by
as much as the city was considering.
“Most people understand that there
may be some increase, ” Stovall explained
to EDC members, “but they feel it should
be more bracketed” to make for a more
gradual increase, he said.
Stovall continued, saying business
owners were also worried that the gross
receipts method of collecting the fee
would lead to the city’s ability to look
at the businesses’ books.
The Roxboro Area Chamber of Com
merce held a meeting last week in which
Interim Roxboro City Manager Tommy
See PRIVILEGE back page
Commission
provides
more funds
to sheriff's
department
By TIM CHANDLER
Courier-Times Editor
tchandler@roxboro-courier.com
The Person County Board of Commis
sioners’ history of “being conservative
and having a fund balance” enabled it to
approve additional funding to the Person
County Sheriff’s Office and the county’s
detention center for the remainder of
the current fiscal year.
Commissioner Ray Jeffers pointed
out that many counties would not have
been able to approve the motion made
by Commissioner Sam Kennington
during Monday’s regularly scheduled
meeting.
The two requests approved by com
missioners totaled $131,681 and Ken
nington, along with Sheriff Dewey
Jones, was quick to point out that
$116,681 of the amount approved Monday
night was for professional services at
the detention center that are mandated
by the state.
“We don’thave a choice,” Kennington
said before making the motion to ap
prove the amount for the professional
services line item for medical services
in the detention center.
Jones noted that when inmates are
incarcerated, they are the responsibility
of the county
“This is an uncontrollable line item
of unknown medical emergencies,”
County Manager Heidi York wrote in a
message to commissioners. “Although
our health care coverage has a cap of
$30,000 per inmate, we are currently
$88,681 in the red, primarily generated
from two inmates.”
Commissioners also approved $15,000
for maintenance to vehicles throughout
the remainder of the current fiscal year,
which ends June 30.
The sheriff’s office has 57 vehicles
and until fiscal year 2009-10, the county
replaced eight vehicles per year. That
number was whittled in half that year
BERRY PICKING TIME
Phyliss Boatwright / C-T
THEY'RE READY — Many strawberry farmers throughout Person County have a good crop of berries to
pick from this year and Personians are taking advantage. In this photo, Nichole Honeycutt takes a seat
to pick strawberries at Brooks Farm on Monday morning. More photos from other farms in the county,
along with some tempting strawberry recipes, are available on pages B1 and B8 of today's edition.
Amendment
approved for
operation of
airport by
Red Mountain
By TIM CHANDLER
Courier-Times Editor
tchandler@roxboro-courier.com
The Person County Board of County
Commissioners, following a lengthy dis
cussion, voted unanimously to approve
a 12-month amendment to the lease and
fixed base operator agreement with
Red Mountain Aviation at the Person
County Airport.
The cost to the county for the amend
ments was estimated at $32,000 by
County Manager Heidi York.
The changes approved during Mon
day’s regularly scheduled meeting of
commissioners included the county
assuming responsibility for utilities
at the airport at an approximate cost
of $18,000 for the 12-month period. In
addition, the county will assume the
cost of the airport’s general liability
insurance at an approximate annual
cost of $6,000, and waive one month’s
rental payment at a cost of $7,719.
The county also agreed, for the
12-month period, to restructure the
fuel flowage fee to a flat six cents per
gallon instead of the current tiered fee
structure.
See AMENDMENT back page
PCS' Carol Bowes becomes 6th in nation
to complete national special needs training
By GREY PENTECOST
C-T Staff Writer
greypentecost@roxboro-courier.com
See COMMISSIONERS back page
INSIDE Wednesday
Agenda
Commentary
Editorial
Extension Notes..
Lifestyle
Mini-Page
Obituaries
Spoits
.... A2
A5
.... A4
Bf
.B4-5
B6
.. All
.A6-8
Classified C section
Do You Know....
Entertainment..
Legal Notices...
Looking Back...
Movies
Pentecost
TV Listings
..A3
B2
C3
A3
A3
A2
B3
4 8 7 9
0 8 6 9 6
Person County Schools Transporta
tion Information Management System
Coordinator Carol Bowes recently com
pleted the Special Needs Transportation
Training Program through the National
Association for Pupil Transportation
(NAPT), becoming the sixth person in
the nation to do so.
According to the NAPT Web site,
“The program was created to encourage
individuals involved in school transpor
tation to enhance their knowledge about
transporting students with disabilities
and promote excellent leadership skills
for the community of transportation
personnel serving children of all ages
with special needs.”
The 32-hour curriculum consisted
of a core of six learning experiences,
supplemented by eight hours of in
struction from the NAPT Professional
Development Series.
The learning experiences included a
national school bus rodeo, where Bowes
said several state winners competed to
see how well or fast they could do things
like back a bus; fasten wheelchairs into
a bus; evacuate a bus in a wreck; drive
a course; and determine the appropri
ate seating for children with varying
needs.
Program participants also attended
trade shows; learned how to fasten chil
dren into seats according to their weight
or disability; learned how to manage
behaviors of special needs children and
attended a leadership seminar.
“PCS Transportation Department is
extremely proud of Carol’s accomplish
ment,” said PCS Transportation Direc
tor Gregg Foushee in a press release.
“She is a true asset to the department.
We are fortunate to have Carol’s knowl
edge and expertise in the area of special
needs transportation.”
Bowes has been involved with the
NAPT since she became certified
through the organization as a Supervi
sor of Pupil Transportation 10 years
ago. Since then she has attended NAPT
conferences yearly and taken continuing
education courses. When she learned
of the Special Needs Transportation
Training Program, Bowes realized
she had already completed all of the
prerequisite courses. She was able to
complete the program at the NAPT
Transporting Students with Disabilities
and Preschoolers, 20* National Confer
ence and Exhibition, held March 11-16
in Kansas City.
Bowes said Earl Bradsher Preschool
helped pay for her to attend, since pre
school transportation was part of the
program.
Bowes said she was glad to have re
ceived the training. She added, “It was
a lot of work, and it’s worth it.”
Carol Bowes
1 Semora man jailed on drug, traffic charges
By TIM CHANDLER
Courier-Times Editor
tchandler@roxboro-courier.com
Tim Chandler / C-T
Deputies seized this bag with 32 rocks of crack cocaine in
it during the arrest of a Semora man Monday afternoon.
A Semora man was arrested
Monday afternoon on a host of
drug and traffic-related charges
following a high-speed chase in
Roxboro.
Rashad Irijah Lunsford, 21, of
734 New Ephesus Church Rd. in
Semora was taken into custody
by law enforcement officers on
Chub Lake Road near Stories
Creek School shortly before 3
p.m. Monday.
Prior to his arrest, Lunsford
had led deputies with the Person
County Sheriff’s Office, Roxboro
police and the North Carolina
Highway Patrol on a high-speed
chase through multiple City of
Roxboro streets, before heading
out of the city limits on Chub
Lake Road.
Prior to being stopped by
sheriff’s deputies on Chub Lake
Road, Lunsford reportedly threw
a small plastic bag containing
multiple rocks of crack cocaine
from the Mercury GrandMarquis
he was operating.
According to sheriff’s investi
gators, a deputy initially attempt
ed to stop the vehicle driven by
Lunsford on Madison Boulevard
for a violation of speeding 45
miles per hour in a 35 zone.
Lunsford reportedly pulled
into the parking lot of Hardee’s
on Madison Boulevard, but as the
deputy was exiting his vehicle,
Lunsford sped off.
After attempting to elude of
ficers on multiple city streets,
Lunsford headed out of the city
limits via Chub Lake Road.
The plastic bag Lunsford al
legedly threw from his vehicle
was recovered by sheriff’s inves
tigators near the entrance to the
Roxboro Water Plant. The bag
reportedly contained 32 rocks of
crack cocaine.
Lunsford was charged with
felony counts of possession with
intent to manufacture, sell and
deliver crack cocaine, maintain
ing a vehicle for a controlled
substance, fleeing via a vehicle to
elude arrest and failure to heed
blue light and siren.
In addition, Lunsford was
charged with misdemeanor
counts of improper passing,
speeding 70 miles per hour in
a 35 zone, speeding 45 in a 35
zone, failure to stop for blue light
and siren, careless and reck
less driving, resisting a public
officer and possession of drug
paraphernalia.
Lunsford was jailed under a
$75,000 secured bond. He is sched
uled to appear in Person County
District Court on June 7.