SATURDAY
October 22, 2011
Roxboro,
North Carolina
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PLAYOFFS!
Rocket volleyball
team hosts state
playoff match to
night at home A6
WEEK 10:
Find out how the
Rockets fared in
PAC-6play Friday
at Riverside lA
50 YEARS:
Somerset Baptist
Church celebrating
50-year milestone on
Sunday B4
THE LIST:
Policeprovide this
week's version of
Person County's
Most Wanted A3
THE PICKS:
Pigskin Pickin ’
Party closes in on
midpoint of season
B9
-]i
DEATHS
i[-
Barbara Lee M. Denny, 70
I'imberhke
Eva J. Winstead
Roxboro
-itiMir-
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BULLHORN
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BUSINESS
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B9
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B6
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REALTY TRANSFERS
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TV LISTINGS
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Our
129th year
Number 85
Two sections
22 pages
Copyright
2011
The Courier-Times Inc.
All rights reserved
Emergency notification system in place for county
CodeRED made possible by partnership between Progress Energy & health department
BY TIM CHANDLER
COURIER-TIMES EDITOR
tchnntller@roxboro-tourier.com
“This is a great service and
a great example of partnership
within our community.”
Person County Manager Heidi
York spoke those words Mon
day morning when discussing a
partnership between the Person
County Health Department and
Progress Energy that will pro
vide county residents an emer
gency communication network.
The alert system, called Co-
deRed, allows officials to quickly
deliver messages to Personians
during emergency and hazard
ous situations. Citizens will re
ceive automated calls from the
system in such instances using
numbers stored in the county’s
911 database.
Messages can be targeted to
specific areas or the county as a
whole. The system is capable of
automatically performing thou
sands of calls per hour.
“During severe weather and
other emergency situations, the
ability to communicate impor
tant safety information quickly
is essential,” York said. “The
CodeRed system gives us a pow
erful new tool to keep the public
informed and help to ensure the
safety of the citizens of Person
County.”
Health Director Janet Clayton
told the Person Board of County
Commissioners Monday that the
health department and Progress
Energy formed a partnership
this past spring with mutual in
terest for the implementation of
an emergency communication
system for the county.
VeeCODERED,/!?^^ 10
MIPs replace
action plans for
PCS teachers
BY GREY PENTECOST
COURIER-TIMES STAEF WRITER
greypentecost@roxboro-couriei.com
Teacher “action plans,” used in
schools as a tool to improve teacher
performance, have now been re
placed with Mandatory Improve
ment Plans (MIP), due to legislation
passed during the most recent ses
sion of the General Assembly.
North Carolina Session Law
2011-348, Senate Bill 466 states, “A
mandatory improvement plan is an
instrument designed to improve a
teacher’s performance or the per
formance of any licensed employee
in a low-performing school by pro
viding the individual with notice
of specific performance areas that
have substantial deficiencies and a
See MIP, Page 10
State’s jobless
rate inches up
in September
BY TIM CHANDLER
COURIER-TIMES EDITOR
tchandler@roxboro-counei.com
For the fourth consecutive
month. North Carolina’s unem
ployment rate rose slightly in Sep
tember to 10.5 percent, according to
information released Friday by the
state’s Employment Security Com
mission (ESC).
The state’s jobless rate in August
was 10.4 percent, which was up from
10.1 in July and 9.9 percent in June.
In the three months prior to June,
North Carolina’s unemployment
rate had held steady at 9.7 percent.
Friday’s release detailing the
state’s unemployment rate for
September noted that, despite an
increase in the jobless rate for the
month, the number of employed
people in North Carolina increased
slightly
Since September 2010, private
See\Xit., Page 10
TIM CHANDLER I COURIER-TIMES
Crews demolished the former Kirby house at the intersection of Ridge Road and Chub Lake Street this week in preparation for a
turning lane and traffic light at the intersection.
‘When the walls came tumbling down
Demolition of house first notieeable step toward turning lane,
traffie light at Ridge Road/Chub Lake Street interseetion
BY TIM CHANDLER my Warren told Roxboro City on Chub Lake without waiting Organization funding
BY TIM CHANDLER
COURIER-TIMES EDITOR
tcbondler@roxboto-courler.com
The first major noticeable
step in the project to widen the
road, build a turning lane and
place a stoplight at the intersec
tion of Ridge Road and Chub
Lake Street was taken this
week.
The former Kirby house,
a longstanding fixture at the
intersection, was demolished
Wednesday.
Interim City Manager Tom
my Warren told Roxboro City
Council this week that the
house would be torn down. He
also added that the North Caro
lina Department of Transpor
tation is reviewing the redesign
of the intersection and traffic
signal.
The project is being done
through a Congestion Mitiga
tion and Air Quality (CMAQ)
grant. ~
The purpose of the work
is to provide a left turning
lane on Ridge Road so that
cars will be able to turn right
on Chub Lake without waiting
for left-turning traffic, thus not
idling as long, which contrib
utes to air quality problems.
The stoplight would allow cars
to turn right on red from Ridge
onto Chub Lake Street.
The funding for the proj
ect is offered to municipali
ties through Rural Planning
Organization funding to aid
in reducing transportation-re
lated emissions that lead to in
creased levels of air pollutants.
When cars sit idling, waiting
to turn onto or off of either of
the roads, there are increased
emissions, leading to more pol
lution, Warren told The C-T in
an earlier interview.
Mayor’s reception
GREY PENTECOST I COURIER-TIMES
A group of German Exchange students gather at Roxboro City Hall for the Mayor’s reception
Wednesday afternoon. Refreshments were provided by Alpha Delta Kappa.
Carson Lunsford also earns
spot in state Distinguished
Young Women eompetition
BY GREY PENTECOST
COURIER-TIMES STAFF WRITER
gteypentecost@roxboro-courier.com
Person High School student
Carson Lunsford was named 2012
Distinguished Young Woman of
Caswell County on Oct. 15 after
participating in the Distinguished
Young Women (DYW) - Eastern
At-Large program.
The at-large option is available
to young women who don’t have a
program in their county Because
Lunsford lives in Caswell County,
she wasn’t eligible to compete in
the DYW of Roxboro program.
For Lunsford and her three fel-
See LUNSFORD, Page W
Carson Lunsford