Former Tobs coach Jeff
Steele named head
coach of HiToms.
THOMASVILLE
Thursday, September 16,2010
• Marilyn Taylor follows up with a client
seeking a change connection,
• This week's Mini Page looks at
NASA astronauts and the
space shuttle program, I
www.tvilletimes.com
mm
119th Year - No. 138 50 Cents
PI ipi ir.. AR.r
tWOMASVILLE, NC 27
Voters to decide if feions can run for sheriff
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
LEXINGTON — Whether or
not a convicted felon can run for
sheriff will finally be up to voters
come November.
House BUI 1307, otherwise
known as No Felon as Sheriff, is
a proposed state constitutional
amendment that will appear on
the Nov. 2 general election ballot.
Ifpassedby voters, the legislative
bUl would prohibit any convicted
felon from running for sheriff in
North Carolina. Seven sheriffs
from nearby counties expressed
solidarity and support for the bill
Tuesday in the Davidson County
Governmental Center, and also
'When you have bail
bondsmen who are
held to a higher cred
ibility than a sheriff,
who has 200 deputies
under him, there's a
problem.'
— Stan Bingham
recognized Sen. Stan Bingham
(R-Davldson) for his efforts in
getting the legislation ready for
a vote.
“The Important issue is profes
sionalism, integrity and respect
of the public,” Eddie CaMweU,
vice president and general coun
sel with the North Carolina Sher
iff’s Association, said. “That’s
what has motivated us to pursue
this legislation. We have regula
tions in place to keep convicted
felons from being law enforce
ment officers. But because this
legislation is in the constitution,
a change had to made. Once this
is passed, we can put this issue to
rest.”
During the May Republi
can primary, former Davidson
Coimty Sheriff Gerald Hege at
tempted a comeback after he was
removed from office in 2004, fol
lowing a guUty plea to six counts
TIMES PHOTO/ELIOT DUKE
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page presents Stan Bingham
See VOTERS, Page 6 with an plaque honoring his introduction of House Bill 1307.
Holocaust
survivor
shares tales
of terror
BYERINWILTGEN
Staff Writer
LEXINGTON — Nesse
Godin lives a fairly quiet
life in a Washington D.C.
suburb, volunteering at
the United
States Ho
le c a u s t
Memorial
Museum
and spend
ing time
with her
grandchil
dren.
But the
83-year-old Godin’s past
wasn’t quite as peaceful
as her present, and she’s
not quiet about that fact.
Godin is a survivor of the
World War II Holocaust.
She has spent the years
since her freedom shar-
See TERROR, Page 3
Godin
INDEX
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Mostly Sunny, 91/66
COURTESY PHOTO
THE TEMPEST
From left. Jack Wetherall (Prospero), Warren Jackson (Ariel) and Nikki Coble (Miranda) perform dur
ing dress rehearsal for the N.C. Shakespeare Festival's presentation of 'The Tempest.' The play will
run Sept. 18 - Oct. 3. To purchase tickets, visit www.highpointtheatre.com or call 336-887-3001.
Wil-Cox Bridge cosmetic repairs approved
BYERINWILTGEN
Staff Writer
LEXINGTON — WU-Cox Bridge cosmetic re
pairs wOl tag-team with the bridge’s structural
repairs under the same contractor that’s leading
the Interstate-85 bridge project, though the deci
sion just squeaked by Davidson County Board
of Commissioners at their meeting Tuesday
Flatiron-Lane Construction, the contractor
leading work on the Interstate-85 project and
chosen by the N.C. Department of Transporta
tion to provide $3 mOlion in structural repairs
to WU-Cox Bridge, also wUl do about $1.1 mUlion
in cosmetic repairs. Cosmetic repairs Include a
pedestrian handraU and sealing cracks deemed
not crucial to the bridge’s structure.
The board voted 4-3 to accept the bid, with
Commissioners Larry Potts, Don TrueU and
Sam Watford opposing. Davidson County wUl
be responsible for only the cosmetic repairs,
with the DOT paying the $3 mUllon.
“In my oplnioh, this is an exceUeiit deal for
the county,” said DOT Division 9 Engineer Pat
Ivey. “One of the reasons that it’s as low as it is,
is because the contractor is out there already If
you aU took that cost yourself, it would probably
be significantly higher.”
Commissioners requested the DOT discuss
with Flatiron-Lane Construction the possibU-
ity and cost estimate of doing cosmetic repairs
along with structural repairs after the last
bridge update in May
The board accepted ownership of the bridge
See BRIDGE, Page 6
Thomasville
Ford closes,
falls victim
to economy
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
ThomasvUle Ford Inc. closed its
doors Wednesday, adding another
company to the long list of local
businesses who have been hit hard
by the national recession.
Kim CecU, general manager of
ThomasvUle Ford Inc., said em
ployees were informed of the deci
sion on Monday and the reaction
was sorrow as many of the people
had been with the car dealership
for more than a decade. Declining
sales and the current national re
cession proved too much to over
come for ThomasviUe Ford, CecU
said, despite aU the efforts made to
keep the doors open.
“Ford didn’t do it, this was our
decision,” CecU said. “We did not
get a letter. We made the decision
to close based on the business
we had. We just weren’t getting
enough business to function. Be
tween service and sales, we just
didn’t have enough revenue to op
erate. There’s businesses closing
aU over the place and we’re not
any different. We are a for-profit
business and it just wasn’t there.
Business has been slow so I don’t
think anyone was reaUy shocked.
The fact that it’s actuaUy here has
been hard for us. It has been very
emotional.”
Wednesday’s closing leaves ,19
people out of work and marks the
second major auto manufacturer to
leave ThomasvUle in 2010. Thom-
asvUle GM Superstore, a staple in
the Chair City for generations, be
came a casualty of the struggling
auto industry earlier this year.
“Customers go to where there’s a
lot of choices,” said CecU. “It’s not
far to drive to surroimding com
munities and shop around. It’s not
just the Ford and Chevrolet com
petition, there are a lot of brands.
As sad as it for us, it should be sad
for the entire community because
there’s going to be less people who
are going to buy, shop and live
around here.”
CecU feels more people are sim
ply holding on to their money right
See FORD, Page 3
Remarkable things are happening here.
336475-7148
Thatnasville) medical cbtter
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