WEDNESDAY
September 21,2011
Roxboro,
North Carolina
www.personcountylife.com
75 Cents
NATIONAL
CHAMPION!
South Boston
Speedway title win
ner claims NASCAR
national crown A6
PECULIAR:
Working with exotic
animab 'spicesup'
work day for vet B1
RCS SPORTS:
Updates on Rox
boro Community
School athletics A7
THE ANSWER:
What 's Going On
at Warren's Grove
United Methodist
Church? tA
WIN-WIN:
Editorial on
county's request to
school board for
old Helena School
property
—lEMaE—
Nicole Arlyce Drumwright,
37
Durham
See page All
-itniiBir-
AGENDA
A3
BOAT WRITES
A2
CLASSIFIED
C SECTION
COMMENTARY
AS
DO YOU KNOW
A2
ENTERTAINMENT
B2
EXTENSION NOTES
B6
INSIDE NASCAR
C4
LEGAL NOTICES
C3
LIFESTYLE
B4-5
LOOKING BACK
A2
MINI PAGE
B7
MOVIES
A2
OBITUARIES
All
OPINION
A4
SPORTS
A6-8
TV LISTINGS
B3
WHAT'S GOING ON?
A3
Our
129th year
Number 76
Three sections
24 pages
Copyright
2011
The Courier-Times Inc.
I rights reserved
Serving all of Person County since 1881
Couricr-^imesr
3 Roxboro Community School principal
resigns position Tuesday afternoon
BYPHYLISSBOAMIGHT
COORIER-TIMES STAFF WRITER
pbootwright@roxboco-toutiec.com
Walter Finnigan
The Roxboro Community
School (RCS) faculty and staff
learned yesterday that Principal
Walter Finnigan was resigning,
and would take over as principal
of Clover Garden Charter School
near Burlington.
Sam Kennington, who served
as the first principal at RCS when
it opened in 2006, will return as
interim principal, and will lead
the school while the board of
directors searches for a new full
time chief administrator.
Finnigan, who has served as
principal of the charter middle
and high school since 2008, said
his last day at RCS would be Fri
day, Sept. 30.
Kennington, who brought
Finnigan on as assistant princi
pal in 2007, will begin as interim
today, working alongside Finni
gan for the next two weeks.
Tuesday afternoon, after
Finnigan said he had accepted
the position at Clover Garden,
“after much thought and prayer
ful consideration,” teachers and
RCS Board of Directors members
See RCS, Page 12
''Quite a
process
Strutmasters moving
to Commerce Drive
facility in Roxboro
BY GREY PENTECOST
COURIER-TIMES STAFF WRITER
g(eypentetost@roxboto-tourler.tom
At the beginning of the month
the suspension kit provider Strut-
masters got up and running at its
new location on 118 Commerce
Dr., in the old Alsco building.
This marks the fourth move for
the company since it was founded
in 1999, according to owner Chip
Lofton, and he said he hopes it
will be his last.
“The move went as nicely as I
had hoped that it would go,” said
Lofton, “no real big surprises.”
Strutmasters was most recently
located at the 500,000 square-foot
Collins & Aikman (C&A) building
on North Main Street.s Moving
to the 70,000 square foot facility
has been “quite a process,” Lof
ton said. The company has how
ever, utilized the wealth of verti
cal space in the warehouse.
See LOFTON, Page 12
Roxboro business owner Chip Lofton is completing the move of Strutmasters to its new location on Commerce Drive,
formerly located in the old Collins & Aikman facility on North Main Street. North American Aerodynamics will move to
TIM CHANDLER I COURIER-TIMES
The business was
that site soon.
Early voting for
municipal elections
begins Thursday
BY PHYIISS BOATWRIGHT
COURIER-TIMES STAFF WRITER
pbootwrlght@toxboro-coutler.com
Early voting for the City of
Roxboro municipal election will
begin tomorrow, Thursday, Sept.
22 at the Person County Board of
Elections office at 331 S. Morgan
St.
Early, or one-stop, voting will
end on Saturday, Oct. 8, at 1 p.m.
Hours of operation for one-
stop voting will be from 8:30 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22 and
Friday, Sept. 23; Monday, Sept.
26 through Friday, Sept. 30, from
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; from Monday,
Oct. 3 until Friday, Oct. 7 8:30 a.m.
to 5 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 8 from
8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.
The election will be Tuesday,
Oct. 11. Roxboro residents who do
not choose early voting may cast
their votes on Oct. 11, from 6:30
a.m. until 7:30 p.m. at city hall,
105 South Lamar St.
Merilyn Newell, who has
served four terms on council and
is currently mayor pro-tem, is the
only candidate for mayor. She
said she felt capable of handling
the challenges and opportunities
facing the city and hoped to work
to bring jobs, regional alliances
and progress to the city
Newell has told The Courier-
Times that she consulted current
mayor Samuel Spencer about his
plans before filing for the posi
tion. Spencer, who was serving
his 16‘^ term on council before
being named mayor last year, fol
lowing the death of Tom Brown,
See VOTE, Page 12
FLU SHOTS AVAILABLE
MONDAY AT HEALTH DEPT.
BY PHYLISS BOATWRIGHT
COURIER-TIMES STAFF WRITER
pbootwrlgbt@roxboro-coutiet.com
Health Director Janet Clay
ton said this week that the Per
son County Health Department
would begin providing flu shots
to the public on Monday, Sept.
26.
There are no out of pocket
expenses for Blue Cross Blue
Shield, Health Choice, Medi
care, Medicaid, and MedCost
participants, said Clayton, nor
for uninsured children who
are between six months and 18
years of age. There will be a $30
charge for all others who wish
to get the flu shot at the health
department.
Blue Cross Blue Shield,
Health Choice, Medicare, Med
icaid, and MedCost partici
pants must bring their insur
ance cards with them at the
time they plan to get the flu
shot.
Clayton said, “We encour
age everyone six months and
older to be immunized against
seasonal influenza. Parents
whose children are considered
to be high risk are encouraged
to have their children immu
nized,” she said.
Children considered at high
risk are those between six and
59 months who have chronic
disorders of the pulmonary
or cardiovascular systems, in
cluding asthma. Also, children
and adolescents between six
months to 18 years who are re
ceiving long-term aspirin ther
apy and, therefore, might be
at risk for experiencing Reye
syndrome after influenza infec
tion.
Children who have had re
quired regular medical follow
up or hospitalization during
the preceding year because
of chronic metabolic diseases
(including diabetes mellitus),
renal dysfunction, hemoglobin
opathies, or immunodeficiency
(including immunodeficiency
caused by medications or by
HIV) are also considered high-
risk if they contract the flu.
Children who have any con
dition such as cognitive dys
function, spinal cord injuries,
seizure disorders, or other neu
romuscular disorders that can
compromise respiratory func
tion or the handling of respi
ratory secretions, or that can
increase the risk for aspiration
should be immunized.
Vaccination is recommended
for all adults, especially those
who work in health care, are
50 or older, and women who are
pregnant.
People who have chronic
pulmonary (including asthma),
cardiovascular, renal, hepatic,
cognitive, neurological/neu
romuscular, hematological or
metabolic disorders including
Vee VACCINE,/fage 12
PCC’s EOC office moving to county-owned Barden Street site
BY TIM CHANDLER
COURIER-TIMES EDITOR
tchnu(ller@roxboto-courler.com
“I think it is a great use of the
facility.”
Person County Commissioner
Sam Kennington spoke those
words Monday morning prior to
the board of commissioners vot
ing unanimously to approve a
memorandum of understanding
between Piedmont Community
College (PCC) and the county for
use of property at 204 W. Barden
St.
The property, located beside
the Person County Emergency
Management Services building,
formerly served as the site of the
county’s health department and
the Person Counseling Center. In
recent years, the facility has been
used for storage purposes by the
county.
The approval by commission
ers Monday will allow PCC to use
the facility for a 10-year period.
After that, according to County
Manager Heidi York, the memo
randum of understanding may
be renewed on an annual basis.
PCC requested use of the
Barden Street facility in order to
relocate the college’s Education
al Opportunity Center (EOC),
which is currently located in the
former Roxboro Post Office facil-
Seeytt,Page12