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Thursday, December 23,2010
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WWW.tvilletimes.com
Pope named ‘Civilian of the Year'
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
Cindy Pope never saw it com
ing.
When Thomasville Police De
partment named Pope its Civil
ian of the Year for 2010 at its an
nual Christmas dinner earlier
this month, the former furni
ture worker couldn’t believe it.
“This never even, crossed
my mind,” Pope said. “Actu
ally 1 was shocked, it was very
simprising. I’ve been with the
department for only five years
so it was really amazing that I
received that kimlof recogni
tion.” THDr-*
Pope came to
TPD in 2005 fol
lowing a career
in furniture.
When the in
dustry started
outsourcing jobs
overseas. Pope
embarked on a
new career at
TPD, where her
husband works as a detective.
She started out in communica
tions and worked her way to the
records department, where she
says her job presents different
challenges on a daily basis.
“It’s very interesting and
never a dull moment,”
said Pope. “There’s something
going on aU the time.”
While Pope is not a sworn offi
cer, much of what she does is vi
tal to the day-to-day operations
at TPD. She processes evidence
seized by detectives, and gets it
ready for the State Bureau of
Investigation or simply logs the
information into the computer
system for upcoming court
dates. Pope also works with
Chair City citizens who come
to TPD for various police or ac
cident reports. Receiving such a
recognition by the department
makes Pope feel like she’s doing
her part.
“The award actually makes
you feel like part of the team,”
Pope said. “Even though I’m
not a sworn officer it makes
you feel like part of the group.
I work with a wonderful group
a people and it’s an honor to be
able to do so.”
Since chief Jeff Insley came
to TPD in 2008, Pope said she has
adapted to aU the new changes
that have been implemented
within the agency
“There’s a difference and
there has been a lot of adapting
but it has been good,” said Pope.
“It’s very easy to get up and
come to work. You never know
See POPE, Page 4
Main Street
reports good
holiday sales
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
Forecasts of a solid holiday
shopping season seems to be
trickling down to Main Street
Thomasville.
With only a few hours of
shopping left before Christmas,
stores on Main Street continue
benefiting from an upward
swing in consumer spending
this holiday season.
“This week has been reaUy
good as people do last minute
Christmas shopping,” Diane
Floyd, manager at Shoppes on
Main, said. “Last week was
pretty good too, so I would say
December overall has been posi
tive for us. We’re pretty happy
so far.”
Holiday shoppers meandered
in and out of Shoppes on Main
Tuesday night, looking for
those last-minute gifts in a store
that truly does have a little bit
of everything. Floyd said toys
have been the biggest sellers so
far this season, in addition to
Christmas ornaments and oth
er stocking-stuffers. Shoppes
on Main appears on track to at
least match last year’s, holiday
season, and Floyd is happy peo-
TIME5 PHOTO/ELIOT DUKE
Thomasville resident Brent Byerly looks for a toy for his daughter Tuesday at Shoppes on Main. Byerly also
sells his wood nautical crafts at the popular shopping destination on Main Street.
pie are spending their money in
town.
“More Thomasville people
have been in this week for
sure,” said Floyd. “We’re try
ing to build up Thomasville so
it’s real important for people to
come in and see what we’ve got.
It would help us build Thom
asville. I hope other stores on
Main Street are doing weU, too.
It’s very Important.”
Floyd said Shoppes on Main
plans on staying open until
Christmas Eve, but they wIU
close a little early Brent Byerly,
who spent a little time looking
for a special stuffed animal for
his daughter Tuesday night,
also feels it’s important that
chair City residents support
their local businesses. Byerly
sells some of his goods through
Shoppes on Main and he says
business is picking up as Christ
mas draws closer.
“For me, it’s just a small con
tribution to downtown,” Byerly,
who owns Caylin’s Island Origi
nals, said. “I’ve always wanted
to own a business in downtown.
I’m an advocate of downtown.
It’s just what I can contribute,
and it’s as much that as any
thing else.”
Byerly specializes in nautical
collectibles and wood-working
pieces, and said it’s a welcomes
sight seeing downtown alive
with activity It’s nice to come
See SALES, Page 4
Local pizza favorite nears reopening
BY ERINWILTGEN
Staff Writer
Good things always come to an end. But
once in a while, they just happen to come
back around again.
Mr. Gatti’s pizza restaimant ranks among
those rare delights. Though the business
closed its doors Friday, Dec. 17, it w'iU again
fling them wide in a reopening celebration
as Gatti’s Pizza on Wednesday, Dec. 29, from
11 a.m. to 9 p.m. During the event, 50 per
cent of sales wUl be donated to the United
Way of Davidson County
“What we’re looking to do is embrace the
community a little more and give a facelift
to the outside and definitely the inside as
weU and just kind of make it unique hj its
own right,” said new restaurant manager
Ronnie Herriott. “The people of Thomas-
vUle have embraced Gatti’s for a number
WANT TO GO?
What; Grand reopening of Gatti's Pizza
Where; 839 Julian Ave.
When; Wednesday, Dec. 29, from 11
a.m. to 9 p.m.
During the event, 50 percent of sales
will go to the United Way of Davidson
County.
of years, and they just love it. We want to
move it into modern-day times, keep the
food the exact same and just kind of spruce
it up a bit.”
The original Mr. Gatti’s began 40 years
ago, the brain chUd of Colonel Eure. Eure
opened The Pizza Place in September 1964
in StephenviUe, Texas, and later opened
Mr. Gatti’s in Austin in tribute to his wife’s
maiden name.
A franchise company Mr. Gatti’s expand
ed to more than 140 stores nationwide. Re
cently it was sold to Pizza Southeast, a com
pany based out of NashvUle, Tenn., which
changed the restaurant name to Gatti’s
Pizza.
Herriott says that donating half of the
restaurant’s sales during the opening wUl
be a step toward becoming more involved
in the ThomasvUle community, something
the franchise hopes to continue in the fu
ture.
“We want to embrace our community,”
Herriott said. “United Way is always look
ing to help people within the community to
get things that they need and bring the com
munity together as a whole. We thought it
was an advantageous nonprofit to help.”
See PIZZA, Page 6
SANE unit
helps sexual
assault
victims
BY ERINWILTGEN
Staff Writer
With the plethora of
crime shows on televi
sion, the general public
has become immersed in
the technical and tedious
procedures of analyzing
a crime scene, becoming
well-versed on forensic
jargon and considering
themselves experts on
the latest technology.
But all the cool calcu
lation from the comfort
of a La-Z-Boy disappears
when the crime scene
becomes your body — ex
actly the scenario for
victims of sexual assault
and domestic violence.
“The first thing wom
en report wanting to do
is shower,” said Amy
Gunter, a nurse at Thom
asville Medical Center
(TMC). “But the first
thing they need to do if
they are sexually assault
ed Is dial 9-1-1 or report to
the emergency room for
treatment.”
TMC’s Sexual Assault
Nurse Examiner (SANE)
program has worked to
make the traumatic ex
perience of assault or
abuse more manageable
for victims, collaborating
with Family Services of
Davidson Family, David
son County Sheriff’s De
partment and local police
departments. Operating
since 2002, SANE seeks
to combine all stages of
treatment — from medi
cal exams to counseling
to testifying in court — a
seamless process.
“Two of the largest
hurdles domestic vio
lence victims face are
identification and a lack
of appropriate and com
prehensive services,”
said Gunter, herself a
trained SANE nurse. “By
providing trained staff.
See SANE, Page 4
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