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December 3,2011
Roxboro,
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VICTORIOUS!
The Rocket girls
basketball squad
claim first win of year
Thursday night A7
N-S RIVALRY:
Southern tops North
ern in crosstown
middle school bas
ketball action A8
FRIDAY HOOPS:
Find out how the
Rocket boys fared in
non-league action at
Halifax, Va. A6
GOOD MUSIC:
Sons of Allen to cel
ebrate homecoming
concert; Arise Quar
tet slated for concert
at Faith Independent
Baptist Church B4
-]|
DEATHS
i[-
Ronnie Jural Adcock, 58
Rougemont
Gina Talbott Bagby, 50
Virgilina, Va.
Stanley Carroll Foster, 63
Roxboro
Leenoid Jackson, 64
Roxboro
John Thomas Walters, 67
Bahama
See page All
-][H3[-
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DO YOU KNOW
A2
EDUCATION
B2
FAITH & WORSHIP
B4-5
GREY MATTERS
A2
LEGAL NOTICES
B9
LIEESTYLE
A9
LOOKING BACK
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MOST WANTED
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MOVIES
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OPINION
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REALTY TRANSFERS
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SPORTS
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WORD ON THE STREET
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Our
129th year
Number 97
Two sections
22 pages
Copyright
20)1
The Courier-Times Inc.
I rights reserved
Recreation, Arts & Parks makes
move to new location at Sansbury i
BY GREY PENTECOST
COURIER-TIMES STAEE WRITER
greypentetost@roxboto-tourler.tom
The Person County Recreation,
Arts and Parks Department relo
cated to the building next door
to its former Long Avenue loca
tion Tuesday, providing a better
atmosphere for employees and
customers alike.
The department’s offices are
now located in the Annex Build
ing on 303 S. Morgan St.
According to Recreation, Arts
and Parks Supervisor John Hill,
the Annex’s more modern office
spaces were being used for stor
age of athletic equipment, where
as the department’s employees
were working in the older offices
beneath the gym.
It made more sense, he said, to
“flip-flop” the arrangement.
Hill said the switch was made
in only a day, thanks to the team
work between the Internet Tech
nology, General Services and
Recreation, Arts and Parks de
partments.
In addition to providing em
ployees with a more modern
work environment, the move has
put the offices in a more central
ized and accessible location for
the public.
Hill pointed out that moving
the offices out of the gym build
ing opens up that space to more
recreational programming op
portunities, where fitness classes
or other activities could be held.
“We’re stepping out of the box
See MOVE, Rage 10
GREY PENTECOST I COURIER-TIMES
The Person County Recreation, Arts & Parks Department is now
located at a new site at the Huck Sansbury Recreation Complex.
SBI probe leads to eharges
against former deputy
BY TIM (HANDIER
COURIER-TIMES EDITOR
tchnncller@roxboro-courler.com
A former deputy with the Per
son County Sheriff’s Office was
arrested Wednesday on a pair of
drug-related charges following
a probe by the North Carolina
State Bureau of Investigation’s
(SBI) Division of Environmental
Crimes Unit.
Charles Christopher (Chris)
Wheeler, 39, of 780 Brooks Dairy
Rd. was charged Wednesday with
felony counts of obtaining a con
trolled substance by fraud/forg
ery and trafficking a controlled
substance.
Person County Sheriff Dewey
Jones said Wheeler was in his
11th year as a deputy with the
sheriff’s office.
According to Jones, Wheeler
was terminated from his position
Tuesday.
“Once it was brought to my
attention that an investigation
was ongoing, he was placed on
administrative leave pending the
outcome of the investigation,”
Jones said. “After we received the
See SBI, Page 10
Charles Christopher Wheeler
Person’s jobless rate drops
for 3rd straight month
BY TIM CHANDLER
COURIER-TIMES EDITOR
fchnn(ller@roxboto-courlet.com
For the third straight month.
Person County’s unemploy
ment rate declined, according
to numbers released Thursday
by the Employment Security
Commission (ESC) of North
Carolina.
The latest ESC numbers in
dicate that Person County’s
jobless rate in October dropped
0.2 percent to 9.4 percent. That
decrease came after drops of
0.6 percent in September and
0.2 percent in August.
One year ago. Person County
had an unemployment rate of
8.9 percent in October.
Statewide in October, the
unemployment rates decreased
in the majority of North Car
olina’s 100 counties. Rates
decreased in 83 counties, in
creased in 12 and remained the
same in five.
Rates decreased in all 14 of
the state’s Metropolitan Ar
eas for the second consecutive
month.
“October data showed a
decrease in all of the state’s
metropolitan areas,” DES As
sistant Secretary Lynn R. Hol
mes said. “While unemploy
ment rates dropped in most of
UNEMPLOYMENT, Page 10
:E FLOYD I COURIER-TIMES
Person High School students helping out at museum
The Person High School masonry class and its teacher Kenneth Dixon took on the job this week of rebuilding the sign in front of the Per
son County Museum. The crew is using blank bricks that had been harvested from the walkways to make way for new commemorative
bricks following last month’s Veterans Day ceremony. Students pictured in the photo include Kevin Newton, Jacob Bowers, Jansen Clark,
Jared Pickett, Josue Chavez, Jade Poole, Calvin Barker, Cody Williams, Tyler Ragsdale, Travis Wilkins, Matt Prince, Jeremy Townsend and
Jon Thornburg. Students not pictured include Daniel Jones, Brandon Farr and Chad Johnson.
Undercover
operation nets
another arrest
BY TIM CHANDLER
COURIER-TIMES EDITOR
tchan(ller@roxboro-couner.com
Deputies with the Person
County Sheriff’s Office arrest
ed another suspect this week
in connection with “Operation
Peek-A-Boo,” a five-month un
dercover investigation.
Law enforcement officials
arrested 42 persons in Octo
ber.
Operation Peek-A-Boo,
which began in May and con
tinued through September,
utilized video and audio equip
ment to help document illegal
drug activity
The vast majority of those
arrested in connection with the
investigation were placed un
der secured bonds of $100,000
after the District 9-A district
attorney’s office bypassed the
district court level, sought
indictments from the Person
County Grand Jury and then
sought secured bonds in Per
son County Superior Court.
On Thursday, Dennis Paul
Lunsford, 49, of 154 Loftis
Loop Rd. was arrested on felo
ny charges of possession with
intent to manufacture, sell and
deliver a controlled substance.
.fe UNDERCOVER,
Commissioners host Community Conversations event Monday
BY TIM CHANDLER
COURIER-TIMES EDITOR
tcbnu(ller@roxboto-courler.com
The Person Board of County
Commissioners heard from 10
Personians Monday when it
hosted its third Community Con
versations gathering in the past
seven months.
Monday’s informal meeting
with citizens and commissioners
was held at the Kirby Civic Audi
torium. Approximately 40 people
attended the event, which was
held in an attempt to receive feed
back from the community about
services offered by Person Coun
ty and to receive suggestions for
improving county government.
“The Community Conversa
tions was a great opportunity to
hear from our residents,” County
Manager Heidi York said. “Our
aim was to create a comfortable
environment for folks to dialogue
with the board.
“Again, I am so proud of the
willingness of the commission
ers to avail themselves, their
commitment to transparency in
government and of their efforts
to be effective listeners,” York
added. “We take our residents’
comments seriously.”
York said there were several
items that she was currently fol
lowing up on as a result of Mon
day night’s forum.
Avie Lester, president of the
Person County branch of the
NAACP told commissioners
Monday he was “very concerned
COMMISSION,