Catch previews
for Friday night
football games.
ay, September 23, 2010
THOMASVILLE
. more days
until Everybody's
Day. Find
vendor listings
and locations
inside today.
^ I SSnS
eVei^Jjjs ■
119th Year
www.tvilletimes.com
TIMES PHOTO/ERIN WILTGEN
Virgil Morris sits on the lot where her home once stood as Habitat for Humanity volunteers work to build the foun
dation to her new house.
Rising from the ashes
Habitat for Humanity rebuilding woman’s home lost to fire
- BY ERIN WILTGEN
Staff Writer
D espite an all-but-
empty lot and de
bris-strewn yard,
the family still finds
comfort at the remains
of Virgil Morris’ home.
Children and grandchil
dren alike have wandered
to the gravel driveway to
]uSt sit and muU over
life’s problems,
“It was home to them,
too. When they get down
and out, they come over
here and sit,” said Mor
ris, who admitted even
she has come over to the
old lot in the past few
weeks for a bit of ponder
ing. “I thought how peace
ful it is. It feels like home,
even to just sit here in the
driveway”
'When you live somewhere that long,
it's home... I guess nowhere else feels
like home.'
-Virgil Morris
And the property, lo
cated on Foster Street in
ThomasvlUe, used to be,
in fact, home — before it
burnt to the ground in an
electrical fire in January
2009. With no homeown
ers Insurance to speak of,
Morris found herself at a
loss. Her church original
ly took up the project, but
found the financial bur
den too difficult to tackle.
That’s when Habitat
for Humanity stepped in,
working to raise money*
and rebuild a home for
.Morris and her partner,
Harold Prince, who are
currently renting on
Boyles Street.
“We knew the need was
there,” said Greg Rice
of Habitat. “We’re not
an extreme makeover,
but we’re right here ev
ery day, working trying
to help with these situa
tions.”
The day of the fire
dawned like any other,
though a bit colder than
average, it’s true, Morris
says she had two electric
heaters, a furnace and
an electric fireplace run
ning. She woke up to cook
breakfast for her mother,
who was staying for the
weekend. The oven and
coffee maker started
without a jolt, but when
Morris turned on the mi
crowave, the system blew
a fuse.
“It was bad about blow
ing fuses,” Morris said.
“The wiring in the house
was old. The home was
old.”
After trying a few new
fuses — all of which blew
— Morris called for an
electrician. After trying
a fourth fuse to no avail,
the electrician went to
See ASHES, Page 4
Tdap vaccine
deadline for sixth
graders today
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
Hundreds of sixth graders across Davidson Coun
ty may be held out of school Friday if they don’t re
ceive a Tdap vaccination by the end of today
Today is the deadline for aU sixth graders to pro
vide documentation that they received the state re
quired Tdap vaccination or they wUl not be allowed
to attend school. As of Wednesday evening, more
than 450 students in Davidson County either hadn’t
gotten the shot yet or have not provided proper
documentation to their school that they had. A 2008
state law required all sixth graders who had not re
ceived a Tdap vaccination since July 2005, to get a
booster shot by the time school started.
“The number I’ve got is approximately 480 chil
dren have not provided documentation yet,” Jen
Hames, public Information officer with Davidson
County Health Department, said. “That is for aU
three school systems combined — ThomasvlUe
City Schools, Lexington City Schools and David
son County Schools. That’s 480 chUdren who have
''^5rti;^Yfek4PtW»C;.S@l8H^DLINE, Page 12
Ji.Ph STFig^fj i
Competition heats up for
annual Chili Cook-off
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
ThomasviUe’s annual chUl cook-off is returning
this year and the field is wide open.
First Presbyterian Church at 21 Randolph St. is
hosting its Fifth annual ChUi Cook-off on Oct. 2
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., where area chefs wUl com
pete for bragging rights while helping raise money
for local community-assistance agencies. Two-time
defending champion Double D’s wUl not be com
peting this year, opening the door for a new Grand
ChUi Pepper to be crowned.
“We’ve got a lot of new entries this year,” PhU
Griffin, event organizer with First Presbyterian
Church, said. “It’s always a fun time.”
Nine teams vied for the title in 2009, and Griffin
said at least that many wiU participate this year.
Some of the early entries Include Waffle House,
Calvary United Church of Christ, Hospice of Da-
See CHILI, Page 6
High
Flyers
Kings BMX Stunt Show
will perform at 10:30
a.m. and 12:30 and 2
p.m. Saturday during
the Everybody's Festi
val. This is the high-fly
ing stunt show's first
appearance at the an
nual festival, but sure
to be crowd favorite.
The festival runs from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
COURTESY PHOTO
Circle of Parents allows child
rearers chance to share ideas
INDEX
BY ERIN WILTGEN
Staff Writer
Fairgrove Family Resource
Center seeks to expand re
sources offered to community
child rearers through its Circle
of Parents, an extension of par
enting classes designed to give
adults more freedom to touch
on topics they’re experiencing
right now.
Formatted more as an open
discussion, circle of parents
is endorsed by Prevent Child
Abuse North Carolina and led
by trained facilitators. The free
sessions follow parenting class
es, spanning from 7 to 8 p.m.
at Fair Grove United Method
ist Church. Refreshments and
child care are provided.
“Circle of Parents is a sup
port group where the parents
pick the topics they want to dis
cuss,” said Terri Nelson, execu
tive director of Fairgrove Fam
ily Resource Center. “It’s not
instruction-based, it’s support
group-based. It’s truly a group
of people that get together to
talk and support each other.”
While parenting classes have
a particular focus, with materi
als and goals each week. Circle
of Parents ebbs and flows more
with whatever issues the par
ticipants are currently facing.
The support group also doesn’t
require weekly attendance to
See CIRCLE, Page 4
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iL
2
3
5
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8
10
Mostly sunny, 91/S5
V44.0 D ,5 UU i: ,3 S-
Remarkable things are happening here.
Thcmaasville) /vsdical center
Hrmarkabh Pfopk. RtmivrkabU MedUine.
336-475-7148
www.thoinasvillemedicalcenter.org
ThomasvlUe, North Carolina • Your Town. Your Times.