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14RANDOl„mSTR6eT
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
Theresa Munyon
doesn’t consider herself
handicapped.
Retinitis Pigmentosa
may have claimed her
sight some three decades
ago, but Munyon, 55, re
fuses to let her condition
be an excuse. She cooks
and crochets, and this
year has been spent fish
ing, horseback riding and
tubing down a river.
“It’s not a handicap
for me, it’s an inconve
nience,” Munyon said of
being blind. “I can do ev
erything except drive and
read my own mail. Some
times I do forget to turn
the lights on.”
Munyon’s light-heart
ed approach toward life
shouldn’t come as a sur
prise. Those close to her
can’t remember a time
when Munyon was in a
bad mood. As a member
of the Denton Lions Club,
Munyon stays active with
the organization, help
ing raise funds so oth
ers like her can enjoy
life as much as she does.
Munyon is known for be
ing one of the top ticket
book sellers for Camp
Dogwood, a recreational
facility located on Lake
Norman that serves more
than 600 blind or visually
impaired campers.
“If we had more Lions
like her we could do a lot
more,” said Gordon Mc
Adams, a member of the
Fairgrove Lions Club. “I
don’t think I’ve ever seen
her have a bad or day or
get down. You won’t find
a nicer human being than
Theresa.”
Gordon and his wife,
Dixie, met Munyon five
years ago, and the en
counter changed the cou
ple’s lives and how they
feel toward the visually
impaired. The McAdams
are heavily involved in
the Lions Club’s efforts to
assist Davidson County’s
blind population, and one
of their more anticipated
endeavors happened just
two weeks ago. Lions
Clubs from across the
state get together every
year for an annual fishing
trip to North Carolina’s
coast where volunteers
assist hundreds of blind
and visually Impaired
people enjoy a weekend
near the water.
“It’s great,” Munyon
said. “I don’t usually get
down to the shore very of
ten and it’s a great vaca-
See LIFE, Page A6
COURTESY PHOTO
Theresa Munyon stands on a pier at the Outer Banks
during a recent Lions Club fishing trip.
Watt faces 2
challengers in
House race
BY ERINWILTGEN
Staff Writer
With elections right
around the corner, can
didates across the nation
have begun kicking cam
paigns into high gear.
In Davidson County,
candidates for U.S. House
District 12 are taking out
a few last newspaper ads
and making last-minute
changes to campaign
websites as Incumbent
U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, a
Democrat from Charlotte,
prepares to face Libertar
ian candidate Lon Ver
non Cecil and Republican
candidate Greg Dority.
With the economic re
cession standing top of
the priority list, Watt,
a 65-year-old who has
served in Congress since
1982, defended his vote for
See HOUSE, Page A6
CORTESY PHOTO
INDEX
Weather
A2
Focus
A3
Opinion
A5
Obituaries
A6
Sports
B1
Comics
B4
Business
B6
TMS-ING Running Club students completed a Culminating Event on'Oct. 23 at Oakview Baptist Church in
High Point. Twenty-six students, along with two faculty members, participated in the Bonzer/Outback 5K and
1-mile Fun Run to help benefit the WE Foundation. Along with benefitting a national charity, students and
faculty made themselves 'better' by fighting obesity.
County unemployment rate falls
Today's Weather
Sunny, 63/39
Vito J UU il J »
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
Davidson County’s unemploy
ment rate fell last month as it
appears more jobs are becoming
available.
Statistics released Friday by the
Employment Security Commis
sion of North Carolina show that
Davidson County’s unemploy
ment rate dropped to 10.8 percent
in September, which is down from
11.6percent and continues a recent
pattern that has seen the number
fan steadily since March. The un
employment rate decreased in 97
of the state’s 100 counties.
.“Unemployment rates de
creased in nearly every county,”
ESC Chairman Lynn Hohnes said.
“Economic challenges continue to
impact communities across North
Carolina. We stUl have more than '
Our Staff continues
to step up the effort to
find work'for job seek
ers.'
— Lynn Holmes
ESC Chairman
a third of the state’s counties with
over 10 percent unemployment.
Throughout our offices statewide,
our staff continues to step up the
effort to find work for job seekers
and assist those qualify for ben
efits.”
While Davidson Coimty’s labor
force shrimk by 23, a result of
people exhausting their unem
ployment benefits, the number of
employed workers rose by 73 and
the number of unemployed went
down by 97 to 1,285. ThomasviUe’s
labor force, however, increased
by 24 with the number of people
employed increasing by 462. The
amount of unemployed Chair
City workers also dropped by 438.
“It’s positive news,” said Karen
Michael, assistant manager of the
ESC office in Lexington. “We’re
pretty much in line with the rest
of the counties across the state
and that’s encoimaging. From
what we’re hearing from other
government offices is that the
economy is improving. We’re glad
to the rate continue to drop.”
Michael pointed out that the
Lexington office currently has
several job openings throughout
the area, and wants to remind
people that the ESC is there to
See RATE, Page A4
Coble
Coble, Turner
battle for
District 6 seat
BY ERINWILTGEN
Staff Writer
Seeking his 14th term
representing U.S. House
District 6, Rep. Howard
Coble (D-NC) faces inde-
pendent
Democrat
challeng
er Sam
Turner in
Tuesday’s
election.
Serving
the district
for 26 years,
Coble, 79,
of Greens
boro, pits
his legis
lative ex
perience
against the
49-year-old
Turner, of
Salisbury,
who has no
previous stints in politi
cal office.
Coble hopes to return
to Washington ready to
reverse the nation into a
different direction than
it has been headed under
a previously Democratic
Congress. In opposition
of the stimulus pack
ages, Coble wUl seek to,
implement more sensible
business regiilations and
formulate partnerships
between businesses and.
government,
“He thinks govern
ment has gotten too big
and Washington spends
too much,” said spokes
man Ed McDonald. “His
idea to improve the eco
nomic climate is to come
up with a saner business
and regulatory system
that wiU allow businesses
to flourish.”
Turner, once a conser
vative Republican, says
that in the context of a
government as restricted
See SEAT, Page A4
Turner
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