THOMASVILLE
Today from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. in
downtown Lexington!
Saturday, October 23,2010
Find the next
installment of Uncle
Bill's Corner in
Tuesday’s Times.
www.tvilletimes.com
'*^ND0LPH'
HiMAC’xrr,. ' .\TSV*0L
Winter and Wives’ Tales
Weather predictions
come from
unusual sources
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
DENTON — If woolly worms
and persimmon seeds are any
indication of what kind of win
ter is coming, Davidson County
residents should get ready for
a lot of snow in the next few
months.
Winter predicting wives tales
have been around for ages, and
they tend to make for great con
versation amidst farmers and
anyone else who has heard of
nature’s little signs of weather
to come. In Davidson Coimty, a
Denton couple has proof posi
tive that snow, and a lot of it, is
definitely in the winter forecast.
Sort of
Curt and Sarah Jack oivn The
Persimmon Branch Farm in
Denton where the couple grows
apples, peaches, asparagus and
hachiya persimmons. What
people may not know is that
persimmon seeds are thought
to be a great predictor of what
kind of winter is coming. When
a seed is split open, one of three
shapes — a fork, a knife or a
spoon — can be foimd on the in
side of the shell, and each one
carries a much different fore-
Jobless rate
continues to
decrease
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
TIMES PHOTOS/ELIOT DUKE/COURTESY
At left, Curt and Sara Jack display the inside of a persimmon seed, which is often used as a predicator for
the upcoming winter. At left, is Cole Peurifoy and his Woolly Worm Jack.
cast.
“A knife symbolizes a very
cold, icy winter,” Curt Jack said.
“A spoon means heavy snow and
you’U have to dig yourself out.
A fork is an Indication of a mild
weather.”
What have the Jacks seen the
most of so far? Spoons.
“Everything here has been
spoons,” said Curt Jack. “We
had few that we opened up that
had the knives. We’U have to
wait and see. We’ve had a lot
of people ask if we’ve been see
ing the same thing. We’ve been
See TALES, Page A6
Education, business support a priority for Williams
BYERINWILTGEN
Staff Writer
Kevin Williams entered into politics in
spired by his children — and their future.
A Democrat from Lexington, Williams
will face seven challengers for the four Da
vidson County Commissioner seats in the
Nov. 2 election, and though neither of his
kids have started kindergarten, that age is
fast approaching.
“Education is important, it’s the No.
reason families might stay in a county
other than jobs,” waiiams
said. “We need to make sure
that schools continue to
be good so people stay and
people move here. That in
itself wfil raise some money
— people spending more
money here, more sales tax,
more property tax.”
With that in mind, Wil
liams says that ensuring
quality education rests on the shoulders of
county commissioners.
Williams
“I think the county should have the pri
mary responsibility of educating the citi
zens and making sure the schools hold pace,
are not overcrowded, and making sure that
there is enough staff to teach the kids,” Wil
liams said.
Part of that involves an aggressive stance
in securing grant money for schools and in
advocating for higher teacher pay, he add-
North Carolina’s un
employment rate contin
ued its downward trend
in September, but experts
feel the state isn’t out of
the woods quite yet.
According to statistics
released Friday by the
Employment Security
Commission of North
Carolina, the state unem
ployment rate dropped
to 9.6 percent in Septem
ber, marking the seventh
straight month in which
the rate has dipped. It
also marks the first time
the state rate is not above
the national rate since
March 2008.
Employment in Sep
tember increased by
10,100 jobs with the larg
est growth occurring
in government. Manu
facturing, however, lost
3,800 jobs, and the fact
the state isn’t experienc
ing a broader range of
job growth is one of the
reasons experts feel the
recession wiU linger.
“The bigger thing we’re
looking at is overall job
growth,” ESC spokesper
son Larry Parker said.
“We’ve had so much up
and down from month to
month throughout a lot
of the job sectors. But
something we’re start
ing to notice is that some
of these job sectors are
having some pretty good
gains, albeit small ones.
Construction and manu
facturing are down but
pretty much every other
job sector is up. I think
it’s just going to be a slow
process. Over the last six
or seven months, we’ve
just had inconsistent job
sectors.”
Unlike the recession
from 2001-02, when the
See WILLIAMS, Page A6 I See JOBLESS, Page A4
INDEX
Weather
Focus
Opinion
Obituaries
Religion
Sports
Business
A2
A3
A4
A5
A6
B1
B6
Empowerment Week reaching out to community
BY ERINWILTGEN
Staff Writer
Today's Weather
Sunny, 73/49
Emmanuel Baptist
Church has taken its mis
sion of empowerment to
a whole new level.
When the Rev. P. Mi
chael McNair sat down
with church leaders to
plan the 2011 calendar,
he voiced the idea of cre
ating a week of empow
erment. Even then, he
hadn’t envisioned any
thing as complex as what
it has become.
Combining five days
fun of enrichment ac
tivities, Empowerment
Week 2010 — which spans
from Wednesday, Oct. 27,
to Sunday, Oct. 31 — will
seek to educate the entire
community about health.
family the economy, jobs,
outreach, and friends.
“Every day is a possible
life-changing opportuni
ty,” McNair said. “That’s
how powerful informa
tion is. The right infor
mation to the right per
son at the right time can
change your life. No one
should miss out on this
opportimity.”
The week kicks off
Wednesday with a health
awareness fair from 3 to
8 p.m. This fair features
booths from a variety of
health institutions from
the ThomasvUle Medical
Center to the Dragonfly
House to the March of
Dimes. Different groups
win provide blood pres
sure checks, HIV testing
and dental screenings free
of charge. The Red Cross
wfil bring its mobile unit
for blood donations since
the blood bank rests at a
critical low.
“It’s just a wealth of
health organizations
and information that we
as a city, a community,
a county need,” McNair
said. “I’m an advocate
for information. Lack of
knowledge is probably
America’s biggest en
emy”
Aside from the agen
cies looking to improve
individual health, the
falr.also wfil host insur
ance companies to offer
options to those who may
not be able to afford the
costs of health care.
“It’s rough to hear that
you need to do this with
your teeth and this with
my body but at the end
of the day you don’t have
the money to afford it,”
McNair said. “We’re not
going to leave you out
there.”
In a jump to less cere
bral activity. Family Day
See WEEK, Page A6
TIMES PHOTO/ERIN WILTGEN
Brenda Green of Emmanuel Baptist Church holds one of
the many items that will be given to those in need.
I AM A BUSY MOM, STYLIST, PET LOVER,
SPORTS FAN. I AM A SURVIVOR
Thomasville) medical center
Remarkable People. Remarkable Medidr\e.
Hear more stories & learn how you can customize your cancer care
. 336.476.2572
www.thomasvillemedicalcenter.org/SurvivorStories
Thomasville, North Carolina • Your Town. Your Times.