Newspapers / The Thomasville Times (Thomasville, … / Sept. 4, 2010, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Thomasville Times (Thomasville, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Saturday, September 4,2010 f M THOMASVILLE llMES Today's Weather Sunny, 83/56 , ThiOi*ASVILLE PUBLIC I WWW. tvilletimes.co^j§ 119th Year - No. 133 50 Cents tWOMASVILLE, NC Local officials optimistic, despite trying times BY ERIN WILTGEN Staff Writer City of Thomasville and Davidson County of ficials alike gathered for a moment of jovial so cializing, taking a brief escape from the daunting task of keeping the area afloat amidst the floun dering economy and lis tening with at least slight optimism to the not-so- bleak city and county re ports. Police officers, com INDEX Weather A2 Opinion A3 Features A4 Health A5 Sports B1 TV Listings B3 Classifieds B4 mission- ers, school board and city council members heard a brief over view from Thomas- vUle City Manager Kelly Graver and County Commission Chair Dr. Max Walser at Colonial Country Club Thursday, as part of the Thomasville Area Graver Chamber of Coni- m erc e’s State of the City and County. “We’re very for- timate to have lead ers in our community that are pas sionate about our com munity,” said Keith To bin, superintendent of Thomasville City Schools and chamber board chair. Walser “I feel blessed to be in this community because of the leaders we have. I’m excited about the di rection m which we’re headed.” Graver took the podium with a fairly somber de meanor. “I’d like to say I’m com ing to you with all the an swers to all of the ques tions in our community,” he told the crowd. “But we’re really facing the elusive question of, what is the new normal?” 'I'd like to say I'm coming to you with all the answers ... But we're really fac ing the elusive question of, what is the new normal?.' — Kelly Graver , City Manager With the hard economy marching right on the heels of the departure of ThomasviUe’s once-thriv ing furniture and textile industries, the Chau- City has struggled to find an identity to recover the thriving bustle of city life It once had. Sales tax revenues have declined 11 percent m See TIMES, Page f EDO looks to a brighter economic future . BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer LEXINGTON — With a dismal decade m the rear-view mirror, the Da vidson County Economic Development Commis sion is focusing its sights on the future in hopes of turning around the local economy. During the annual EDC meeting at Sapona Coun try Club 'Tuesday execu tive director Steve Googe said Davidson County has taken several economic hits since 2000. A double digit unemployment rate, a slumping housing mar ket, high foreclosures and shrinking employ ment opportunities have plagued the county in recent years, but Googe said there may be sighs of recovery. “We didn’t have a great year but there were some significant new and ex panding industries to come to Davidson Coun ty,” Googe said. “We ranked fourth in the state in jobs announced with 1,360 and sixth in job in vestments. We also have been in the top 10 of the 780 micopolitans in the country just about every year. Although it’s a very See FUTURE, Page 6 Riding the Rails TIMES PHOTO/DAVID YEMM Sveral rail fans from Colorado visited Thomasville Thursday to watch the passing trains. Their guide was Bruce Faulkner froni Raleigh who had been told that Thomasville was one of the better places to watch trains in the area. Faulkner said because of the Bandstand, Depot and shade from nearby trees, it was a great place to take photos and video of the trains. Visiting from Colorado was John Parker, Doug Geiger, Bill Wood and Police urge motorists to slow down in school zones BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer Getting accustomed to a new school year is dif ficult for just about ev eryone. Students have to wake up early parents have to make sure their children get up on time and motorists heading to work have to account for the extra traffic sur- roimding school buses and' their many stops along the way Schedule changes, par ticularly in the morning, can often lead to hurry ing, both at home and on the roads. One of the big gest changes surround ing the start of school are the speed limits in school zones. Every year, for the first few weeks of school, motorists forget that going 35 or 40 mph m a school zone is speed ing and will lead to a tick- See ZONES, Page ^ Sand mining threatens Rich For Creek water quality BY ERIN WILTGEN Staff Writer LEXINGTON — Despite wastewater from three cities pouring Into Rich Fork Creek, Davidson County Board of Commissioners learned Thursday that the most imminent problem for the stream’s water quality actually comes as a result of sand mining. According to Tetra Tech, a third-par ty firm brought in to study water qual ity at Rich Fork Creek, sand mining has widened and deepened the stream, slowing stream flow and reducing the quality of the aquatic environment. Tetra Tech analyzed the water’s dis solved oxygen levels and looked at the 79-square-mile discharge coming from Westside wastewater treatment plant. “If we break this down, what we see is most of the tune oxygen up stream of the plant and down stream of the plant is wen above state standard,” said Tetra Tech Director Trevor Clements. “But all of a sudden, between Highway 109 and Middle School Road there is a small de crease, and that is significant In water quality terms.” After collecting this data, Clements and his staff walked the stream, search ing for clues pointing to the decrease in water quality. What they found was sand mining at'three bridges crossing over the river. “In each of those areas, instead of ^ the stream looking like it should, it had ' been carved out,” Clements said. “It had extra width and the stream bank was very steep.” A normal stream boasts a bed 20 to 30 feet wide with a sloping bank and cov- See QUALITY, Page 6 Davidson County Schools to pursue construction bonds BY ERIN WILTGEN Staff Writer Davidson County Board of Commissioners gave Davidson Cqunty Schools the go-ahead to apply for more Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB) to use to buUd a new middle school. QSCB bonds are federal bonds that came out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and can only be used to finance construction or renovation of public schools. Davidson Coim- ty Schools applied for and received $3 million in QSCB bonds at the end of July, but the 2010 QSCB fund had about $50 million remaining even after all off the applicants received their bid. School systems are able to apply for up to $10 million of the excess, and applications must be received by Sept. 8 — the reason why commis sioners approved the application Thursday rath er than waiting for the next regular meeting on See BONDS, Page 6 At Thomasville Medical Center, we are proud of our physicians and staff who deliver iemarkable?are for out Mtiehts'""'-' We invite you to ^eck Ae North Carolina Hospital Quality Performance Report and compare hospimls across our region «d state, ^ Get the facts. And get the care you deserve. r r 6 ^ www.thomasvillemedicalcenter.ore/aualitv ThoiIlftSyillc} MEDICAL CENTER —~ — &—J i— Remarkable People, Remarkable Medicine. Thomasville, North Carolina • Your Town. Your Times.
The Thomasville Times (Thomasville, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 4, 2010, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75