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 Weather Business Opinion Obituaries Sports Comics Classifieds Today's Weather 2 4 5 6 7 8 10 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 JtMmrtfWmViw mpttt ArRHinUloiHr mHfNTpHk www.thomasvilleinedicalceiiter.org j Thomasville. North Carolina • Your Town. Your Times.

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