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Satufuay, September 11,2010
r I 1 THOMASVILLE
llMES
• This-n-Thats
with Larry Murdock,
n«»Ai
• Unde Bill's
Corner, n«iM
noth Year - No. 136 50 Cents
minor injuries
BY ERINWILTGEN
Staff Writer
A pair of crashes Fri
day morning on Old US.
Highway 64 — one involv
ing a school bus — left
several students with mi
nor injuries and one man
in serious condition.
At about 7:35 a.m., ■ a
school bus traveling east
on Old Hwy 64 was rear-
ended by an SUV, and a
pickup that stopped be
hind the collision was
rear-ended soon after.
“The school bus from
Reeds Elementary School
had just picked up a stu
dent and had started to
move forward and was
rear-ended," said Sgt.
Ben Stalvey of N.C. High
way Patrol.
The driver of the Ford
Explorer that struck the
school bus was trans
ported to Wake Forest
University Baptist Medi
cal Center in Winston-Sa
lem. Stalvey said the man
was in serious condition
-at the time but did not
know his status Friday
afternoon.
Of the 30 students on
the bus, six were brought
to Lexington Memorial
Hospital, said Meredith
Pahner, director of com
munications for David
son County Schools.
“There were six stu
dents transported to the
hospital for precaution
ary checking, none of
whom had serious inju
ries and none of whom
were admitted,” she said.
Ah of the students were
released to their parents
Friday
Stalvey said that al
though the preliminary
report on the accident
won’t be released unth
Monday, the main cause
for the accidents seems to
be the sun.
“It’s possible that both
drivers were blinded
by sunlight since they
were driving directly
into the sun, both driv
ing east-bound,” Stalvey
said. “They’ve stUl been
charged with faUure to
reduce speed.”
The accident occurred
about, a half-mhe west
of where Old Hwy 64
intersects with N.C.
Highway 150. Witnesses
reported that the SUV’s
front end smashed in
when it crashed into the
school bus, and the driver
climbed out of the car to
lie down in the road.
few other witnesses, in
cluding the driver of a
2007 Chevrolet pickup.
Gene Kliunp, stopped to
caU for help or assist the
Explorer’s driver.
As soon as Klump got
out of his car, his vehicle
was struck by a 1998 Ford
Contour. Kristin Jarvis,
18, a senior at West Da
vidson High School, was
driving the car. Jarvis
escaped without serious
injury sustaining only a
scratch on her thumb.
Davidson County
Schools staff was present
both at the scene of the
accident and at the hospi
tal to ensure the safety of
the students on the bus.
“We were able to get
plenty of people there,”
Palmer said. “We work
so hard to be safe, and we
win continue to do that.”
Ministry for
youth needs
aid to keep
doors open
BY ELIOT DUKE »
Staff Writer
When Andre MarlneUi
first met pastor Ed Shortt,
he was a 14-year-old boy
whose parents were go
ing through a divorce. He
had’ started experiment
ing with drugs and al
cohol and his life slowly
spiraled out of control.
All that changed when
MarineUi walked through
the doors at Whilrwind
Ministries on Sedgehfil
Drive and finally found
the family he felt he nev
er had.
“I saw so many qualities
in Ed that reminded me
of my father,” MarineUi,
19, said. “He gave me the
family I always wanted.
Now, I have a wife and
chUdren of my own, and I
don’t know if that would
have happened without
Whirlwind Ministries.”
MarineUi’s story is one
of many. For the past five
See DOORS, Page A3
INDEX
Weather
A2
Focus
A4
Opinion
A4
Obituaries
A6
Religion
A8
Sports
B1
Comics
B3
Today's Weather
Mostly Cloudy, 82/64
f > ^
^•OOO
„ 4.000
98 4.000
96 4.000
3.875
TIMES PHOTO/ELIOT DUKE
Thomasville High School Principal Deboy Beamon stands next to a grade-to-GPA conversion chart at the
school. Beamon Is pushing students to work toward a GPA high enough to compete for college entry.
G THE BAR
THS Principal holds high standards for students
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
T homasviUe High
School Principal De
boy Beamon doesn’t
believe in making ex
cuses. He realizes the
chaUenges some of his students
face on a daUy basis, but using
that as an excuse to not try or
not succeed is simply unaccept
able.
“The worst thing I can do is
make excuses for faUure and
not trying,” Beamon said. “I can
sit here and say this kid doesn’t
have a father in his life and
doesn’t know how to behave, but’
at the end of the day, the world
doesn’t care. When you apply for
jobs, you can’t give aU these rea
sons for why you didn’t do some
thing. Somebody else is going to
come in with their Ts crossed
and get the job. We love these
kids but we hold them to a.high
standard.”
Some may caU this tough love,
but for Beamon, hearing stu
dents talk about just “getting
by” makes the hair on his arms
stand up. Beamon’s background
'The Worst thing I can
do is make excuses
for failure and not
trying.'
— Deboy Beamon
Thomasville High School
Principal
is in the Ohio steel Industry
and he saw first-hand what hap
pens to people who brush school
off in favor of the local miU or
plant, especially when those
jobs are no longer there,' “In
1976, I worked in a steel plant
that had 10,000 employees,” said
Beamon. “When I left in 1999,
there was 2,000. I’ve seen it. You
get out of high school, you work
in the plant. That’s gone. What is
happening at ThomasviUe Fur
niture Industries, I saw in the
1980s. When I hear a student say
‘weU, I’m passing,’ and they’re
passing with a 70 and not study
ing, it drives me crazy.”
Entering his second year as
THS’ principal, Beamon is feel
ing more comfortable by the day.
THS has made AYP and high
growth under his leadership,
and the school is finaUy moving
forward with its one-to-one lap
top initiative. For Beamon, this
is only the beginning. As the re
quired grade point average for
students hoping to attend col
lege continues to climb, Beamon
See BAR, Page A3
Bridges of
Hope helps
children cope
with grief
BY ERINWILTGEN
Staff Writer
Songs, arts and crafts,
and animals aside. Bridg
es of Hope doesn’t exact
ly emulate a typical day
camp.
The event — offered
by Hospice of David
son County on Saturday,
Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to 2
p.m. — wUl help grieving
children in first through
eighth grade cope with
the loss of a loved one.
The camp wiU be facUi-
tated by experienced pro-
BRIDGES OF HOPE
WHAT: A day camp for
grieving children
WHERE: Hospice of
Davidson County
WHEN: Sept. 25,
9 a.m, to 2 p.m.
FEE: $10 cost.
For more information,
contact Hospice of
Davidson County at
(336)475-5444.
fessionals and is open to
the community at large.
“We’re reaUy excited,”
said Director of Commu
nications and Develop
ment Laura Owen of the
first-time event, adding
that the need arose in
the community as more
chUdren had to deal with
death. “Our patients
are getting younger and
younger, and their chU-
dreh are getting younger
and younger.”
Bridges of Hope is fund
ed mostly through a dona-
See HOPE, Page A3
Remarkable things are
Thon^^^c™. www,thomasviltemedicalcentefx^g
jMEDICAt CENTER
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