Friday, November 13, 2009, Forest City, N.C.

All on the lineEast Rutherford and R-S Central head out of town as the 2009 NCHSAA Football Playoffs begin

Page 7

50¢

DA aims for February decision on Easley case — Page 2

CDC: Millions struck by swine flu so far

Page 12

Low: $2.48High: $2.65Avg.: $2.57

NATION

GAS PRICES

SPORTS

Panthers try to make the most of season

Page 7

DEATHS

WEATHER

RutherfordtonJohn Rutland, Sr.

MooresboroTim Cole

ElsewhereVan Abernethy, Jr.Avonell Kingsmore

Page 5

Today, mostly sunny. Tonight, clear.

Complete forecast, Page 10

Vol. 41, No. 271

Classifieds. . . 15-16Sports . . . . . . . . 7-9County scene . . . .6Opinion. . . . . . . . .4

INSIDE

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Now on the Web: www.thedigitalcourier.com

Sports

Jean Gordon/Daily CourierAll spruced up and ready for business, the Washburn Community Outreach Center opens Saturday, Nov. 14, at 9 a.m. to serve the people in the area. The thrift store will be open until 2 p.m. Saturday for shopping and also receiving clients. The center is the former Washburn Community Club and over the past months had undergone extensive renovation.

Celtic musician Ian Morris Bruce performed for stu-dents at Forrest Hunt and Mount Vernon-Ruth ele-mentary schools on Thursday, delighting the youngsters with traditional Scottish music. Forrest Hunt music teacher Norman Moore played along on drums.

By JEAN GORDONDaily Courier Staff Writer

BOSTIC — The Washburn Community Outreach Center opens Saturday at 9 a.m. for shoppers and clients. The new thrift store, located off Piney Mountain Church Road, will be open until 2 p.m. Saturday.

Regular hours after Saturday will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. A grand opening will be on Saturday, Dec. 5.

Funding for the center has come from The Duke Endowment, the First United Methodist Church as well as several other organiza-tion. Some people have adopted the new center as a Christmas project and will help with food and clothing donations.

“We are so grateful for every

Please see Washburn, Page 6

Jean Gordon/Daily CourierCandy McKelvey, 26, of Forest City, is assisted by emergency personnel at the scene of an accident Thursday afternoon at West Main Street in Forest City. McKelvey was driving a VIP moped east on U.S. 74B when she lost control of the moped when a vehicle had stopped in front of her and she couldn’t stop. McKelvey was taken to Rutherford Hospital by Rutherford County EMS. There were no other vehi-cles involved in the accident at the scene. Forest City police and fire departments, and North Carolina Highway Patrol also assisted.

By ALLISON FLYNNDaily Courier Staff Writer

SPINDALE — The Rev. Robert E. Coleman believes that if each individual does his or her part, a change can be made.

Coleman, who along with other community lead-ers worked to clean up the neighborhood around Hoppers Chapel Baptist Church in Shelby, spoke at a Community Engagement Team meeting at Spencer Baptist Church Thursday.

The Community Engage-ment Team was organized last year after a county-wide United Way survey revealed substance abuse in its many forms as the second most serious issue in the county, just behind the lack of jobs and employment.

According to United Way of Rutherford County Executive Director Faye Hassell, since the organization can’t bring jobs to the county, commu-nity leaders began to address the substance abuse problem.

“Community Engagement Team – I like the way that sounds,” Coleman said. “If you engage, then you are involved.”

Coleman spoke to those in attendance on some of the things his community dis-covered and learned along the way. Coleman came to Shelby five years ago to lead Hoppers Chapel, which is located in the Ramblewood area of Shelby, an area Coleman said was riddled with drug problems.

“When I came to Hoppers Chapel, there was gunfire daily,” he said. “Our church was in a community where there were drug dealers on every corner.”

At one point, members were afraid to come to Bible stud-ies because of the crime.

Receiving phone calls from parishioners asking for prayer for their family mem-bers who were in jail for drug use or pregnant, Coleman said he sat in his office pray-ing and God’s answer was “Why don’t you do something about it?”

“It’s easy to talk about how bad things are,” he said. “What are you willing to do

Please see CET, Page 6

By SCOTT BAUGHMANDaily Courier Staff Writer

FOREST CITY — Students from Forrest Hunt and Mount Vernon-Ruth elementary schools were dancing a jig Thursday when Scottish musician Ian Morris Bruce performed.

A 30-year veteran of the Celtic music scene, Bruce said it was his first time performing at an elementary school.

“Well, I haven’t had to change my songs too much,” Bruce said. “But I have made sure to keep it a little more rhythmic than usual. I have

my friend Norman Moore to play drums for me.”

Moore is the reason Bruce was performing at the school. The two have been friends for some time and Moore — music teacher for Forrest Hunt — invited the Scotsman to sing for the students. Although there was technically no language barrier for Bruce and the students, the various accents did play some havoc with the English language.

Please see Musician, Page 6

MOPED RIDER INJURED

Scott Baughman/ Daily Courier

Celtic musician entertains kids

Washburn thrift store opens this week

Minister tells CET change possible

1/front

2 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009

LocaL/StateCBS TO AIR LOCAL STORY

Larry Dale/Daily CourierA film crew from CBS was in Rutherford County last week shooting footage of the Foothills Connect farm initiative. Here, cameraman David Gladstone, right, and soundman Neal Gettinger, left, tape Kirk Wilson, Farm Fresh manager, on the Foothills Connect loading dock in Rutherfordton. Some sources say the segment is scheduled to air nationally tonight on the CBS Evening News. The Daily Courier could not confirm that the footage will be shown tonight. A CBS representative said earlier this week that the episode might be delayed because of the Fort Hood Army base shootings coverage by the network.

RALEIGH (AP) — The prosecutor handling the campaign finance case of former Gov. Mike Easley said Thursday he wants to decide by February whether to seek criminal charges against the two-term Democrat.

Rowan County District Attorney Bill Kenerly, appointed to examine the case when the Wake County DA recused himself, told The Associated Press he’s still getting up to speed with the details presented in the State Board of Elections hearing completed two weeks ago.

A district attorney can seek felonies through a grand jury or misdemeanor charg-es through a magistrate.

Kenerly also could decide not to pursue charges.

“My assumption is going into this it is in everybody’s best interest that it be resolved as quickly as pos-sible,” Kenerly said.

The board on Oct. 30 ordered Easley’s campaign committee to pay $100,000 for failing to report in cam-paign filings dozens of air-plane flights carrying Easley and piloted by a political ally. The board also referred the case to prosecutors to con-sider whether crimes were committed by Easley or oth-ers.

McQueen Campbell, the pilot, testified under oath at the hearing that Easley sug-

gested to him that he fal-sify flight invoices so that he could be reimbursed for repairs to Easley’s Raleigh home that Campbell said reached $11,000. Easley, who left office in January, denied it vehemently to the board.

Easley’s campaign did pay Campbell on the invoices. Filing false campaign reports is illegal.

The board asked Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby to sort out who was telling the truth and if charges were war-ranted. Willoughby asked for someone else to step in because he and Easley are longtime friends.

Kenerly said he under-

stands Easley and the public want the matter resolved quickly. But he said the investigation will be sand-wiched around two upcom-ing first-degree murder trials he’s prosecuting, including one right after Thanksgiving.

“I still have a regular trial schedule,” Kenerly said. He said he hoped to make a decision on Easley’s case by mid-February.

Kenerly will meet Friday with representatives of other agencies involved in inves-tigating The Mike Easley Committee. He also expects to receive the board hear-ing transcript the week after Thanksgiving.

Federal prosecutors have

been interested in the activi-ties of Easley and Campbell, who was appointed by Easley to the trustee board at North Carolina State University and became chairman. A federal grand jury has been hearing testimony about a coastal subdivision where Easley and his wife pur-chased a lot and N.C. State’s hiring of former first lady Mary Easley.

Kenerly said he expected federal and state prosecutors would cooperate.

Kenerly, a Republican first elected as a district attor-ney in 1990, already has announced he won’t seek another four-year term in 2010.

Search halted for missingCAPE MAY, N.J. (AP) — The Coast

Guard has suspended its search for three commercial fishermen missing since their boat went down 20 miles off the Cape May coast.

Boats, planes and helicopters searched the storm-tossed ocean for 19 hours before halting just after 5 p.m. Thursday. A spokeswoman says there are no plans to resume search-ing Friday morning, when weather conditions are expected to be even worse.

Forty-nine-year-old Kenneth Rose Jr., the captain of the Sea Tractor; his 75-year-old father, Kenneth Sr., and 55-year-old crew member Larry Forrest were aboard the 44-foot fish-ing boat Wednesday night.

All are believed to be from North Carolina.

Their presumed deaths bring the toll of Cape May commercial fish-ermen so far this year to nine. The Lady Mary sank in March, killing six.

Health plan claims upRALEIGH (AP) — The health

insurance plan for North Carolina state employees is still paying out more claims than budgeted for the first three months of the fiscal year.

Lawmakers received State Health Plan data Thursday showing paid medical claims are 4 percent higher than expected through Sept. 30. That’s better compared to an 8 per-cent increase through August.

Plan leaders attribute higher pay-outs to patients going to the doctor before higher payment schedules took effect July 1. Chief financial officer Mona Moon said she’s waiting for more figures to determine wheth-er expense levels will come down.

The plan is on track to have $130

million on hand next summer. It was in danger of running out of cash last spring before the Legislature approved a $675 million bailout.

Suspect found hangedWAYNESVILLE (AP) — A Georgia

woman arrested in the deaths of two men in North Carolina has been found hanged in her jail cell.

The Asheville Citizen-Times report-ed that Jada McCutcheon of Decatur, Ga., apparently hanged herself in the Haywood County jail in Waynesville on Wednesday afternoon.

McCutcheon was one of six people charged in the death of two men in Swain County last year. Thirty-three-year-old James David Scott Wiggins and 34-year-old Michael Heath Compton were found shot to death in their home Aug. 5, 2008.

Haywood County Sheriff Bobby Suttles says McCutcheon died at Haywood Regional Medical Center around midnight.

Film Council reinstatedWILMINGTON (AP) — Gov.

Beverly Perdue has signed an execu-tive order that keeps the North Carolina Film Council in business.

Perdue signed the order reautho-rizing the council Thursday at EUE Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington. Earlier this year, she signed a bill allowing production companies a 25 percent tax credit for film projects in North Carolina, up from the previous credit of 15 percent.

The order adds duties for coun-cil members, including assisting in developing a marketing strategy for the film office.

The governor appoints members of the film council, which is made up of film-industry professionals, business leaders, and citizens.

DA aims for February decision on Easley case

Carolina Today

2/

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The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009 — 3

local

“Lights of Love” will be placed around Lake Imogene Saturday, Nov. 14, as the Pilot Club of Rutherford County hosts its annual picturesque event. Luminaries have been purchased in memory of and in honor of friends and fam-ily and the candles will shine throughout the evening. Luminaries can be bought on Saturday. Members of the Pilot Club will be work-ing at Isothermal beginning at about 11 a.m. Saturday. To purchase a luminary call Donna Ohmstead, 245-8867.

A Cruise In with Santa & Toy Drive will be held Saturday, Nov. 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Rollins Cafeteria, Forest City. Everyone is asked to bring a new unwrapped toy and help Santa bring toys for children. For more informa-tion call Rollins Cafeteria, 245-9999.

At KidSenses children’s mu-seum today, children will be tested during a Trivia Night from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. On Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. “Super Engineering Satur-day” is from 1 to 3 p.m.

Help us Help Golf Tour-nament: Saturday, Nov. 14 begins at 11 a.m. An em-ployee initiative at Rumbling Bald Resort to help provide Christmas to children in care of Social Services who otherwise would not be able to celebrate a traditional family Christmas. At Bald Mountain Golf Course. Call 877-868-0083 or cpadgett@rumblingbald.com if inter-ested in participating.

The premiere of “Columns & Porches: Architectural Treasures of Rutherford County” by Robin Lattimore will be held Sunday, Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. at St. John’s His-toric Church. All proceeds from the book will benefit the endowment fund for the restoration and maintenance of St. John’s Historic Church. Copies of the book will be available for sale.

Saturday, Nov. 14 , 10 a.m. Celebration of Blue Ridge Parkway, Folk Art Center, Asheville; A panel discus-sion on the history of the landmark campaign to route the Blue Ridge Parkway in

Western North Carolina. Features craft demostrations, traditional music and book signings. A second panel on the routing issue convenes at 1 p.m,

At the Thomas Wolfe Audi-torium, Asheville. A musical tribute to the Parkway and its presence in Western North Carolina. Includes award winning singer/songwriter Nanci Griffith as well as renowned musicians Doyle Lawson, Sammy Shelor, Bryan Sutton, Tim Surrett and Jim VanCleve. The dra-matic and colorful Warriors of AniKituhwa perform. All hosted by Grammy winning David Holt; tickets are $35.

Carolina Wrestling Super-stars will present Desperate Measures on Saturday, Nov. 21, at the old Mooresboro Gym. Doors open at 7 p.m. Bell time 8 p.m. Matches in-clude Krank vs. Major Crunk; Kid Krazy vs. The Russian Bull with manager Ivan; Axl Knight vs. Max Corteze and Miss Felonie; and New Era

and Rockie Saiki. Admission is a new unwrapped toy or $3 to be donated to the Salva-tion Army Christmas Cheer Center. For more information call 828-205-9374 or visit www.carolinawrestlingsuper-stars.tk.

M Squared Restaurant, located at 125 West Main St., Spindale., offers the following entertainment/events: Tuesday — Alex Thompson on keyboard, soup/sandwich nightWednesday — Trivia at 8 p.m. (half price bottled wine)Friday — DJ MelodiousSaturday — No entertain-ment Sunday Brunch and Bloody Mary BarWeb site www.msquaredres-taurant.com.

Legal Grounds, 217 North Main St., Rutherfordton, offers the following enter-tainment:Nov. 13 — ContagiousNov. 14 — SharkadelicsWeb site www.legalgrounds.net.

Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria, 115 W. Main St., Spindale, (no cover charge) announces the following entertainment:Nov. 13 — Valerie MillerNov. 14 — Big Daddy LoveWeb site www.barleystap-room.com.

LuLu’s Country Club & Karaoke has karaoke and dancing every week, Thurs-day - Saturday. Doors open at 7 p.m. Cover charge $3 on Thursdays, and $5 Friday and Saturday (BYOB). Ages 18 and up with valid ID. The club is located off Railroad Ave., at 156 Sunset Street in Rutherfordton.

Live music is played every Friday and Saturday from 4 to 10 p.m. at Jake’s Barbecue (the former Golden Valley Music Park). Karaoke every Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. The Matt Ryan Band plays on Fridays, and the Lonesome Road Band on Saturdays. For more information call 248-2223. Jake’s is located at 136 Music Row, Bostic.

Club L.A. is a private club for members and guests, located at 319 W. Main St., Spindale. Admission — members free, guest $5. Saturdays from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. Each Thursday is ladies’ night and Karaoke from 8 to 11 p.m. Shagging every Friday night from 8 to 11 p.m. Wagon Wheel Country & Western Dance Club, W.E. Padgett Rd., Ellenboro area, hosts the following enter-tainment:Nov. 14 — Broken Axle Band, 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Admission $5. Concessions, game room, family enter-tainment. Dance lessons every Tuesday night from 7:30 to 10 p.m., $3 per per-son. Web site www.wagon-wheeldanceclub.com.

Off the Beaded Path, located at 120B West Trade St., For-est City, offers Try-it-Tues-days (every Tuesday) which features brief jewelry-making demos. The following classes are also available: Nov. 16 — Bead Knitted Clutch, 6 to 8 p.m.Nov. 17 — Planet Ring, 6 to 8 p.m.

Bracelet, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Clutch, Part II, 6 to 8 p.m.Web site offthebeadedpath-beadstore.com.

Next Level Gamez, 118 E. Main St., Forest City, offers:Tuesdays — Magic the Gathering League, 4 to 8 p.m.Wednesdays — New comic books arrive, Star Wars Miniatures, 6 to 9 p.m.Thursdays — Dungeons & Dragons, 5 to 8 p.m.Fridays — Friday Night Magic starts at 4:30 p.m.Saturdays — Magic the Gathering tournament from 1 to 5 p.m.Web site nextlevelgamez.com.

Union Mills Learning Center is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings to assist the com-munity with its computer and printing needs. The gymnasium is also open Saturdays at 4 p.m. for pick-up basketball games and shoot-arounds. Web site unionmillslearningcenter.org.

9th Annual Carolina Pot-tery Festival: Saturday, Nov. 14, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Cleve-land County Fairgrounds, Hwy. 74 Bsn., Shelby; more than 100 local and regional potters showing and selling traditional and contemporary works; admission is $3, chil-dren 12 and under admitted free; a portion of the pro-ceeds benefits the Cleveland County Arts Council; for information visit www.caro-linapotteryfestival.blogspot.com.

Black Pearls Farm in Bostic, a non-profit Equine and CSA Learning Center, announces the following events:Open horse lessons — Sat-urdays beginning at 10 a.m., (call ahead)Contact Barbara Henwood at 245-0023. Web site black-pearlsfarm.com.

Blue Mother Tupelo, the husband and wife duo of Ricky and Micol Davis will perform Friday, Nov. 13, at the Lake House Lodge & Spa, 447 Lilly Pad Lane, Flat Rock. Music begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15. Call 828-693-5070.

At Your Leisure

Contributed photo The Tryon Little Theater will present its second show of the sea-son, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged),” at the Workshop, Nov. 13-15 and 19-22. A cast of six actors, includ-ing Nancy Winker and Linda Roberts, of Rutherfordton, squeeze all 37 of the Bard’s plays into about an hour and 45 minutes of mayhem. Other actors include TLT veterans Nathan Bartlett, Connie Clark, Elvin Clark and Hamilton Goodman. Complete Works is not your normal play. TLT’s Workshop is located at 516 South Trade St., Tryon. For tickets call 828-859-2466.

CHIMNEY ROCK — Santa Claus makes his annual stop at Chimney Rock on Saturdays, Dec. 5 and 12 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To ready himself for clambering down chim-neys across the world, Santa will practice on 315’ Chimney Rock. He’ll rappel down the 535 million-year-old rock face, then head back to the top and do it all over again. Last year, USA Today named “Santa on the Chimney” one of the top 10 places to see Santa in the U.S.

Mrs. Claus will join her husband on Saturday, Dec. 5 visiting with children and keeping a list of what good little boys and girls want for the holi-days.

Guests may also catch Santa in the Park’s gift shops taking advantage of great shopping deals. From Dec. 1-24, Annual Passes for adults are just $20 (regularly $25) and Grady’s Kids Club Passes are $8 (regularly $10).

Santa will climb the Chimney on Dec. 5, 12

3/

You’re Invited To The 13th Annual Festival Of Trees

Drop In Celebration from 5:30 pm until 7 pm Thursday December 10th

This year Hospice volunteers are making hundreds of clay “pineapple” ornaments to signify hospitality and opening the Hospice House addition and Carolina Event and Conference Center. The name of persons honored or memorialized will be attached to each hand-made ornament. The money raised will provide the highest quality care for terminally ill patients and their families, also provide grief counseling for anyone in the community who lost a loved one. To request an order form call (828)245-0095 or come by 374 Hudlow Road Forest City NC.

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4 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009

■ A daily forum for opinion, commentary and editorials on the news that affects us all.

James R. Brown/ publisherSteven E. Parham/ executive editor

601 Oak Street, P.O. Box 1149,Forest City, N.C. 28043Phone: 245-6431 Fax: 248-2790E-mail: dailycourier@thedigitalcourier.com

The efforts of citizens in Rutherford County to take back their communities are to be

highly commended.Among those deserving of these acco-

lades are the people in Forest City who are working to revitalize Grahamtown, the members of the United Way-sponsored Community Engagement Team who are involved in a number of efforts to combat substance abuse and its accompanying problems, and the people of Spindale who are putting together efforts to start community watch.

These people are showing through their actions that they are not willing to accept the status quo. They are putting themselves out front in a bid to stem the tide of decline.

If we are to win the fight against sub-stance abuse, crime and community disintegration, it will be because people get actively involved in the effort.

If people sit on the sidelines, expect-ing someone else to solve the problem, nothing will ever be accomplished.

Our Views

People make the difference

Our readers’ viewsPraises extension agent for Courier articles

To the editor:It is always with interest that I

read Tracy Davis’s articles in The Daily Courier.

Tracy is a very capable and intelligent person who works with our county extension pro-gram. She seems to be in the know on a lot of subjects. That being said, her recent article on “families eating together” struck a chord with me.

Recently on a weekend trip to Knoxville to visit my son, this subject came up. He told me how much he appreciated the values and culture that I tried to bring into their lives. I am not seeking credit, but trying to make my point.

He said the evening meal was always one of his favorite times. It was a time when the three chil-dren and I sat down to a home cooked meal and talked about our day. Sometimes, I would refer to an article I had read in the Reader’s Digest or National Geographic magazines.

He recalled that sometimes I would use the best tablecloth, candlelight and best utensils. He said it meant a lot to him because I did it just for our family.

I am glad I could give him those memories. Now, he eats alone in the kitchen while his wife (a career woman) eats in front of the television because that is the way her family was raised. My heart goes out to him because I can see and feel the loneliness in him.

In those days, being a single mother meant that you more-or-

less went by your “gut feelings” on how to do things. Today, we have classes on living through divorce, parenting, cooking nutri-tious meals and how to stretch a dollar. It is amazing that most of the people who could benefit from these classes never take advantage of them.

Thanks again to Tracy for all the hard work she does. Believe me, she goes like a buzzsaw.

Wilma HolmesRutherfordton

Questions closing of convenience centers

To the editor:This past summer there was a

survey done asking us taxpayers if we wanted the Convenience Centers closed on Sundays or one hour less each day during the week.

I fail to see where we had any choice. It looks like you already had your minds made up as to what you where going to do and that was to close the centers on Sundays as well as one hour less each day during the week.

And now you are asking these county employees to cut their hours again by taking three unpaid days off.

This plan of yours is hurting the part-time employees big time. They are the ones that work the evening shift and weekends.

Now rumor has it that the centers will be closed one day in November one in December and one in April. Leaving everyone without a paycheck for those days.

And for the record part-time employees at the centers only

work every other week, so they are not taking home a big fat pay-check to begin with.

I attended the last Commission-ers’ meeting and what I heard was the three days off without pay was only to effect full time employees.

I did not hear that the Con-venience Center would be closed to achieve this.

Maybe you guys would like to kick in some of your county paycheck to help off set the $350,000 budget shortfall.

JT RussellRutherfordton

Addresses lawmakers about health care bill

To the editor:This letter is to our lawmakers

who voted against the health care reform bill.

I am a senior and have wit-nessed past attempts for a health bill.

I have also witnessed much suf-fering to children.

I say to you nothing is perfect in life and this bill may have some weak points, but it is our only hope at this time that some-thing will be done for our future generations.

Do not dilly dally for another 50 more years.

You have an opportunity now to do something great for your country.

I ask you to reconsider your position for the sake of our chil-dren and future generations.

There are two votes in this house Democratic and Republican and both want this bill passed.

Laura BishopBostic

Novel writing contest may be the spark for someNovember is National

Novel Writing Month. As much as I enjoy seeing local authors on our book page (and enjoy seeing their work for sale at a locally-owned bookstore even more) I decided I’d take some time and space here in my old column to share the contest with y’all.

You can find out more at www.nanowrimo.org, their official Web site, but here’s their mission statement in a nutshell:

“National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing Nov. 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, Nov. 30. Valuing enthusiasm and persever-ance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writ-ing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved. Because of the limited writing win-

dow, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quanti-ty, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.”

Lower your expectations? Write on the fly? Sign me up!

Well, actually, I’ve already signed up, but you get the idea. It is a little intimidating for me to think about 50,000 words in one month. I have several friends who are also trying to do the NaNoWriMo thing, but they all seem to have a jump start on me. My buddy Will Hawkins — an English teacher in Gaffney — has over 5,000 words by now, and he’s the father of three, a teacher and has a

new baby on the way.He’s making me look bad

as a guy who has virtually no free time but is way ahead of me on word count.

Now, on the other end of the spectrum, my buddy Nathan Miracle — who owns Next Level Gamez over in Forest City and is single — seems to have nothing but free time and yet is behind me on word count (or at least he was as of Thursday) so what’s the difference?

I think it is that Hawkins needs that outlet of creativity when he’s stifled at work in the school system and such. Or maybe he’s just more hard working and organized than me and Nathan are. Yeah, that second one is probably it.

The more I sat and thought about the 50,000 words that needed to fill up that page (or, 175 pages) the more intimidated I got. I put off starting my novel until after I finished a few more articles for the paper. After all, I still have to make sure I

have some output for ye olde Courier if I intend to stay gainfully employed during this experiment.

And believe me, I intend to stay gainfully employed. My opinion of my own novel writing skills are not so high that I think it is a new career. The old saying, “Don’t quit your day job” certainly applies here.

After pounding out another two or three stories for the paper, I decided to get down to work. And then it hit me. With about 500 words per article in the paper, I prob-ably wrote well over 50,000 words just last month!

Granted, this is by no means the same kind of writing as that for a novel, but when you throw out the idea of making the manu-script polished and perfect, it becomes a lot easier just to focus on the output, as they say.

This just left me with only needing one thing — a plot. I decided that since it was already an experiment, I

should really jump into the deep end on something like this. I’m writing a novel that is almost completely differ-ent than any book I’ve ever read or even any short story I’ve written before.

There would be no space-ships...no magic powers...no chosen ones who are the result of prophecy coming to slay the dragon/dark war-rior/evil magician/maniacal emperor/etc. Nope, this is going to be a romantic com-edy.

Granted, it’ll probably be the worst novel ever written, but I’m going to make it to 50,000 words by the end of November if it kills me. And it may.

But still, it’s going to be a great exercise in creativ-ity, and the contest is open to anyone. Give it a try, you might find some genius sit-ting behind that keyboard.

And that’s some good news.

Contact Baughman via e-mail at sbaughman@thedigitalcourier.com.

Scott Baughman

Some Good News

4/

The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009 — 5

LocaL/obituary/State

John Rutland Sr.John Thomas Rutland

Sr., 83, of Green Hill, died Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, at Rutherford Hospital.

Arrangements are incom-plete and will be announced by Harrelson Funeral Home.

Tim ColeTimothy Wayne Cole, 44,

of 3375 Humphries Road, Mooresboro, died Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009 at his resi-dence.

A native of Pageland County, S.C., he was a son of Marshall Cole of Ellenboro and Shirley Amos Holland of Mooresboro.

He was of the Baptist faith. In addition to his par-

ents, he is survived by a son, Charlie Cole of Rutherfordton; four broth-ers, David Cole of Ellenboro, Dwayne Cole of Morganton, Keith Cole of Ellenboro, and Billy Cole of Forest City; a sister, Wendy Carpenter of Mooresboro; stepmother, Lorianne Cole; and one granddaughter.

A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, at Heaven Bound Baptist Church, Ellenboro, with the Rev. Donald Dover officiat-ing. The family will receive friends immediately follow-ing the service at the church. Interment of his ashes will be held at a later time in the church cemetery.

Memorials may be made to Heaven Bound Baptist Church, P.O. Box 462, Ellenboro, NC 28040.

The Padgett and King Mortuary is in charge of cre-mation arrangements.

Online condolences www.padgett-king.com.

Avonell Kingsmore

Avonell Vess Kingsmore, 87 of Williamsburg Village, Knoxville, Tenn., formerly of Lavender Road, Ellenboro, died Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville.

Born in Union County, S.C., she was a daughter of the late Frank and Jessie Murphy Vess, and also preceded in death by her husband, Blane Kingsmore who died in 1995.

She was a homemaker, a member of Corinth Baptist Church, Ellenboro, and a member of the Order of Eastern Star in Virginia and North Carolina, where she served as worthy matron. She was also awarded a commen-dation by the North Carolina Governor for her work with Meals on Wheels.

Survivors include her son, Wyndle Kingsmore of Knoxville, Tenn.; a daugh-ter, Gayle Leslie of Chapin, S.C.; a brother, Dean Vess of Union, S.C.; six grandchil-dren; and two great-grand-children.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Corinth Baptist Church with the Revs. David Jendrey and Ad Hopper officiating. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service in the church sanctuary.

Memorials may be made to Corinth Baptist Church, 767 Pinehurst Road, Ellenboro, NC 28040.

The Padgett and King Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Online condolences www.padgett-king.com.

Charles Abernethy Jr.Charles Vance “Van” Aber-

nethy Jr., 62, of Charlotte, died Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2009, at Presbyterian Hospital.

Born in Forest City, he was a son of Dr. Charles Vance Abernethy Sr. and Joyce Bell Abernethy.

He earned a BA at Appalachian State University and in recent years attended the Community Culinary School of Charlotte (CPCC). After graduation he returned as a chef instructor. He fur-thered his culinary career at Central Piedmont Community College, where he graduated cum laude with an associates degree in

applied science in culinary technology. For the past four years, he was a Culinary Lab Facilitator/American Culinary Federation (ACF) Certified Culinarian on the faculty of CPCC.

In addition to his parents, he is survived by his wife, Patrice Patterson Abernethy of the home; a daughter, Amy Ralph Brogdon of Indian Trail; one brother, Rod Abernethy of Raleigh; two grandchildren; and a niece and nephew. He was a member of the Sharon United Methodist Church of Charlotte, where a memo-rial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday. The family will receive friends immedi-ately following the service. Interment will take place at 4 p.m. in the Cool Springs Cemetery in Forest City.

In lieu of flowers, memo-rials may be made to Sharon United Methodist Church, 4411 Sharon Road, Charlotte, NC 28211; or to the Charles Vance (“Chef Van”) Abernethy Jr. Culinary Arts Scholarship, c/o CPCC Foundation, P.O. Box 35009, Charlotte, NC 28235.

Carolina Funeral Service & Cremation Center is in charge of arrangements.

Online condolences www.caroli-nafuneral.com.

Earl CooleyMISSOULA, Mont. (AP)

— Earl Cooley, a pioneering smoke jumper who took the Forest Service’s first leap into a flame-riddled wilderness, died Monday in Missoula. He was 98.

Cooley made the jump into the Nez Perce National Forest in Idaho on July 12, 1940. His chute nearly failed to open and he landed 140 feet above ground, stuck in a spruce tree. Still, Cooley and fellow jumper Rufus Robinson had the fire under control by the next day.

Cooley was interviewed extensively by famed author Norman Maclean for the book Young Men and Fire, which focused on the Mann Gulch tragedy north of Helena that killed 12 jumpers in 1949. Cooley was the spot-ter on that fire.

Cooley once told a news-paper reporter the only bad part of parachuting into a forest fire was the walk home.

In 1958, Cooley was named the smoke jumper base superintendent in Missoula. He retired from the Forest Service in 1975 to start Cooley Realty.

Elijah Williams BLUFFTON, S.C. (AP) —

The father of former NBA star Jayson Williams has died.

The Brice W. Herndon and Sons Funeral Home said Elijah Joshua “E.J.” Williams died Tuesday. He was 76.

Christopher Adams, an attorney for Jayson Williams, said E.J. Williams died at his son’s home in Bluffton, S.C.

E.J. Williams was a long-time resident of Ritter, S.C., and owned a construction company with his son.

Bomb threat still being investigated

RUTHERFORDTON — The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department is still investigating a bomb threat that was called into R-S Central High School, Nov. 6.

Students and faculty were evacuated from the school after an anonymous bomb threat was called into the school around 12:23 p.m. The sheriff’s department was on the scene by 12:29 p.m.

Deputies first searched the football stadium, and once it was deemed clear, students were evacuated to that loca-tion before being formally dismissed at 2 p.m.

A search of the building yielded no explosives, said Chief Deputy Jeff Buchanan. The department is currently running leads, he said, and investigating who might have made the call.

According to the North Carolina Department of Public Insturction’s Crisis Resources, any person who communicates a false bomb threat or perpetrates a hoax is guilty of a Class H felony. The penalty for a Class H fel-ony is up to 10 years impris-onment or fine. Additionally students could be suspended for an entire year and lose their driver’s license.

Sheriff’s Reportsn The Rutherford County

Sheriff’s Department responded to 121 E-911 calls Wednesday.n Vandalism to a mailbox

and a newspaper box was reported at American Miso.n Rosa Nell Logan report-

ed the theft of checks and money.n The theft of chain saws

and tools was reported at Rutherford Machine Shop, 1452 U.S. 221 North, Rutherfordton.n Alan Keith Brooks

reported the theft of a 1993 Eagle Vision and golf equip-ment.

n Rubye Lee Straughan reported the theft of tools.

Rutherfordtonn The Rutherfordton Police

Department responded to 14 E-911 calls Wednesday.

Spindalen The Spindale Police

Department responded to 18 E-911 calls Wednesday.

Lake Luren The Lake Lure Police

Department responded to four E-911 calls Wednesday.

Forest Cityn The Forest City Police

Department responded to 69 E-911 calls Wednesday.

n An employee of McDo-nald’s on Oak Street reported an incident of indecent expo-sure.n An employee of Aaron’s

Rent Inc. on Hilltop Way reported a larceny.n An employee of Ivey’s

Pawn Shop on West Main Street, reported an incident of obtain property by false pretenses.n Alice Wells reported

damage to property.n An employee of the Town

of Forest City reported an incident of breaking and entering and larceny after breaking and entering. The incident occurred on Learning Parkway.

Arrestsn Shawn McEntire, 28, of

Holland Street, Forest City; arrested on warrants for fail-ure to comply and resisting a public officer; placed under a $1,500 secured bond. (FCPD)n Lorcan Morris, 27, of

Cherry Mountain Street, Forest City; arrested on war-rants for worthless checks and was served with two show cause orders for fail-ure to pay monies; released on a $500 unsecured bond. (FCPD)

n James Frederick Howard, 38, of 1178 Freeman Town Road; charged with driving while impaired; freed on a custody release. (LLPD)n Benjamin Donald

Kennedy, 18, of 361 Rock Corner Road; charged with disorderly conduct; released on a $1,000 unsecured bond. (RCSD)n Floyd Rosco Dotson, 43,

of 136 B Big Springs Ave.; charged with domestic vio-lence protective order viola-tion; no bond listed. (RCSD)

Citationsn Elijah Geer, 28, of

Oakland Road, Rutherford-ton; cited for begging; released on a written prom-ise to appear. (FCPD)n Martha Crawford, 55,

of Oakland Road, Ruther-fordton; cited for begging; released on a written prom-ise to appear. (FCPD)n Debbie Keeter, 49, of

Holland Street, Forest City; cited for resist, obstruct and delay; released on a written promise to appear. (FCPD)

EMS/Rescuen The Rutherford County

EMS responded to 24 E-911 calls Wednesday.

n The Volunteer Life Saving and Rescue, Hickory Nut Gorge EMS and Rutherford County Rescue responded to six E-911 calls Wednesday.

Fire Callsn Bills Creek firefighters

responded to a fire alarm, assisted by Lake Lure fire-fighters.n Cliffside firefighters

responded to a power line fire.n Chimney Rock firefight-

ers responded to a fire alarm.n Hudlow firefighters

responded to a motor vehicle crash and to a fire alarm.n Spindale firefighters

responded to an electrical fire.

FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — A North Carolina man charged with kidnapping a 5-year-old girl told a judge he is not guilty Thursday as investiga-tors scoured the town for any sign of the missing child and said they assume she is in danger.

Cumberland County Judge Tal Baggett asked Clarence Coe, 30, during an afternoon hearing if he understood why he was in court.

“No, but I’m not guilty, sir,” Coe said. He did not enter a formal plea and Baggett said the court would appoint an attorney.

Baggett also said Coe was also accused of “terrorizing” the child’s mother, although

he did not elaborate. Coe has been formally charged only with kidnapping.

Fayetteville Police spokes-woman Theresa Chance said a witness spotted Coe tak-ing Shaniya Davis out of the trailer park where she was reported missing around 7 a.m. Tuesday.

“I think it’s safe to say this is not a random occurrence,” Chance said.

Barbara Davenport, proper-ty manager at Sleepy Hollow Mobile Home Park, said Coe is dating Shaniya’s mother, Antoinette Davis, and has visited the trailer park sev-eral times.

Investigators said police dogs did not pick up the child’s scent during a search of the neighborhood.

“Our hopes are that she’s close by,” Chance said.

Coe was being held at the

Cumberland County jail. He has several criminal charges on his state record, includ-ing an April conviction for misdemeanor breaking and entering, and he was released from prison in mid-August, according to Department of Correction records.

Coe was previously con-victed of assault on a female, felony breaking and entering, larceny, robbery and other charges dating back to 2001.

Investigators found a blan-ket that may have belonged to Shaniya in a garbage can outside a neighbor’s home. Lt. Alex Thompson said investigators also found other items Shaniya may have been wearing.

Davis and Shaniya’s father, who flew in from out of state, have been speaking with investigators.

Obituaries

Deaths

Police Notes

AP Photo/The Fayetteville Observer, Andrew Craft Clarence Coe makes his first appearance before Judge Tal Baggett Thursday in Cumberland County District Court in Fayetteville. Coe is charged with kidnapping five year-old Chaniya Davis, who is still missing.

Man charged with kidnappingn Girl, 5, taken from

Fayetteville home is still unaccounted for

5/

THE DAILY COURIERPublished Tuesday through Sunday mornings by Paxton Media Group LLC dba The Daily Courier USPS 204-920 Periodical Postage paid in Forest City, NC.Company Address: 601 Oak St., P.O. Box 1149, Forest City, NC 28043.Phone: (828) 245-6431Fax: (828) 248-2790Subscription rates: Single copy, daily 50¢ / Sunday $1.50. Home delivery $11.75 per month, $35.25 for three months, $70.50 for six months, $129 per year. In county rates by mail pay-able in advance are: $12.50 for one month, $37.50for three months, $75 for six months, $150 per year. Outside county: $13.50 for one month, $40.50 for three months, $81 for six months, $162 per year. College students for school year subscription, $75.The Digital Courier, $6.50 a month for non-subscribers to The Daily Courier. Payment may be made at the website: www.thedigitalcourier.comThe Daily Courier is not responsible for advance subscription payments made to carriers, all of who are independent contractors.

6 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009

Calendar/loCal

to make them better?”Coleman said he began by advertis-

ing through local media outlets that if people wanted to see a change in the city to meet at the church. One hundred people from all backgrounds showed up, including the mayor and city manager.

From there, community members worked to clean up a wooded area near the church and Coleman invited drug dealers to come to the church, telling them they could do that or he could call cops on them.

The biggest change to any commu-nity, he said, is changing the people.

“People don’t care how much you know until they know you care,” he said. “You can paint the buildings, but

if you don’t transform the hearts you are just throwing money away.”

Coleman took questions from the crowd, including how to get churches involved in the effort.

“If you are a lay person, don’t tell the pastor what you would like to see, tell them what you want to do,” he said. “I told the churches in my area ‘I know you’re big on missions – I have a mis-sion field in my backyard.’”

As far as community involvement, Coleman said that once the commu-nity decides it’s had enough, change can begin.

“Once you make up your mind for a positive change, it will happen,” he said. “Everybody wants to know the secret. The secret is – You give people their hope back and show them love.”

For more information on the Community Engagement Team, contact United Way of Rutherford County at 286-3929.

“Now, you all might think I talk a little funny,” Bruce said, with a light Scottish Brogue lilting his words. “But remember, to me you all sound funny as well.”

The students from both schools got into the act by clapping along on many songs and even trying to sing back and forth with the showman.

“I do live in Edinburgh, but I have spent some time in the U.S.,” Bruce said. “If you add it all up, I’ve prob-ably spent about five years in the U.S.

And I’ve enjoyed performing around North Carolina before. This is my first elementary school and it’s prob-ably the most nerve wracking thing I’ve done in many years.”

Bruce had the children sing along on the chorus of a traditional Scottish song about a whaling ship named “The Diamond” and many students even tried their hand at singing with a Scottish accent. On other songs, they clapped in rhythm as their music teacher banged along.

“I have played at some of the Scottish and Celtic festivals around the area,” Bruce said. “But I haven’t really gone in for many of the tra-

ditional gatherings. I’m not really a tartan guy. You know, when people hear you’re Scottish, they immediately try to throw a tartan on you and go that route. But I’m myself first and Scottish second.”

Bruce will be releasing a three-in-one album soon to celebrate his 30 years in the businesses and said he may be more open to the tartan soon.

“You know, it turns out there’s a lot of good money to be made in those festivals,” Bruce said. “So maybe I’ll put on a kilt and go for it.”

Contact Baughman via e-mail at sbaugh-man@thedigitalcourier.com.

HospiceHospice of Rutherford County offers the following services: G.R.A.C.E. Caregiver Support Group for anyone caring for a loved one. Offered at two locations. Friday afternoons at the Senior Center and Tuesday evenings at Rutherford LifeCare. Stress Management for Care-givers: Friday, Nov. 20, 1 to 2 p.m., with Tracy Davis, Cooperative Extension.Survival Tips: For Dementia Patient Caregivers: Tuesday, Dec. 1, 4 to 5:30 p.m., with Larry Hedgepath, MD. Stress Management: “Self care, Stress Management, and Sharing Experiences”; Friday, Dec. 18, 1 to 2:30 p.m., Patty Olson, BSW, Facilitator.Adult sitting services: Free adult sitting services available on Tuesday evenings. Sponsored by Hospice of Rutherford County, the Senior Center, and Rutherford Lifecare. Contact Patty Olson, Hospice Social Worker, at 245-0095 to register.The Hospice Library is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Anyone can check out a book dealing with caring for a loved one, grief, children and loss, and other relevant topics. Hospice also has a special Alzheimer’s sec-tion in the library dedicated to help-ing people care for people with the disease.For information or to register for any of the above events, call 245-0095.

Meetings/otherCHS awards program: Chase High School Fall Sports Awards program; Tuesday, Nov. 17; refreshments 6:30 to 7 p.m., in the commons area; program at 7 in the auditorium; all fall sports participants and their parents are invited and asked to bring items for the food drive.

Hope Group kick off: Hope Group of Rutherford County (Helping Others Parent the Exceptional) will meet Thursday, Nov. 19, at Bubba’s Fun Park, at 6 p.m. For families of children with special needs. Admission is free. For fur-ther details contact Julie at 828- 288-1900.

CHS Boosters: Chase High Athletic Boosters will meet Monday, Dec. 7, at Mud Bones in Rutherfordton. Dutch treat. Meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.

MiscellaneousLow-cost rabies clinic: Saturday, Nov. 14, noon to 1 p.m.; Thunder Road Animal Hospital; $9 cash, one-year rabies; $10 cash, three-year rabies; other discounted vac-cines available; call 286-0033.

Food drive: Tuesday, Nov. 17, at Chase High School; drop boxes will be in the school lobby from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for canned goods and other non-perishable foods; items may also be dropped that night from 6:30 to 8 during the awards banquet.

Artisan show: 4th annual Foot-hills Antique & Artisan and Old Fashioned Holiday Open House; Nov. 20 and 21. Show hours — Friday 3 to 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1 to 3 p.m. Downtown merchants will also extend shopping hours. Hosted by Spindale Merchants Association. For more information call 288-4875 after 6 p.m.

The Central Landfill and all convenience centers will be closed Nov. 25 and 26 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Regular hours will resume Friday, Nov. 27.

FundraisersBreakfast: Saturday, Nov. 14, 7:30 to 10 a.m., Union Mills Learning Center; adults $5; ages 6-12, $3; under 6 free; all you eat; fall book sale also.

Poor man’s supper: Saturday, Nov. 14, 4 to 7 p.m., New Bethel Baptist Church, Harris; adults $6; ages 4-12, $4; under 4 free.

Bingo: Saturday, Nov. 14, 5 p.m., at the old Gilkey School; hot dogs, fries and drinks will be sold; spon-sored by Rutherford County Traffic Control; proceeds for equipment.

Fish fry: Saturday, Nov. 14, 4:30 to 8 p.m.; Concord Community Clubhouse; adults $10; ages 6-12, $5; under 6 free; includes dessert and drink; all take outs $9.

religionRevival: Nov. 15-18, Trinity Weselyan Church; guest speaker, Rev. David Shrum; Sunday services 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.; MTW, 7 nightly; church located at 291 Harmon St., Forest City.

Revival: Nov. 15-18, Smith Grove Baptist Church; guest evangelist, Rev. Frank Walker; Sunday services 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.; MTW, 7 nightly. 50th Anniversary revival: Nov. 16-22, Full Gospel Revival Church, 4799 Hwy. 64/74A, Rutherfordton; Monday - Saturday, 7 nightly; Sunday service 10 a.m., guest min-ister, Evangelist David Tolbert from Milton, Fla.; special music by The Lamberts at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

one’s support,” said the Rev. Lynda Ferguson, Salem United Methodist Church, Bostic, which is also a pri-mary supporter of the new center.

“God’s hand is all over this ministry, and God is doing a great work,” she said.

Formerly the Washburn Community Center, the property was sold to Salem United Methodist Church ear-lier this year to become an ecumeni-cal outreach ministry for the com-munities, similar to Yokefellow and Chase Corner Ministries. The minis-try is not only an outreach program of Salem, but is a ministry of the areas of Bostic, Sunshine, Golden Valley and Ellenboro.

Prior to opening the outreach cen-ter, SUMC was operating a small food pantry from the church building, but

it was not sufficient to serve all the communities.

The clubhouse, owned by the com-munity, was originally built for the purposes of serving the community and down through the years, youth groups, 4-H, community clubs and the community have utilized the building. Country ham suppers were held several times in the fall and win-ter to fund the operating cost.

In addition to operating the minis-try as a clothing and food donation area, there will also be a re-sale cat-egory where people can buy house-hold wares and other items with the money being returned for operating costs.

Donations for the center are being accepted. Call 245-8518 for more information.

Contact Gordon via e-mail at jgordon@the-digitalcourier.com.

AdministrationJames R. Brown/publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . .209Steven E. Parham/executive editor . . . . . .210Lori Spurling/ advertising director . . . . . . .224Pam Dixon/ ad production coordinator . . . 231Anthony Rollins/ circulation director . . . . .206

NewsroomScott Bowers, sports editor . . . . . . . . . . . . .213Jean Gordon, features editor . . . . . . . . . . . .211Abbe Byers, lifestyles editor . . . . . . . . . . . . .215Allison Flynn, editor/reporter . . . . . . . . . . . .218Garrett Byers, photography . . . . . . . . . . . . .212Scott Baughman, reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216Larry Dale, reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217Bobbie Greene, typesetting . . . . . . . . . . . . .220Virginia Rucker, contributing editor

Circulation

Sally Glover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208Virle Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208

Business officeJessica Higgins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202Cindy White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200

AdvertisingChrissy Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226Jill Hasty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227Jessica Hendrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228

ClassifiedErika Meyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205

MaintenanceGary Hardin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222

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CeTContinued from Page 1

WashburnContinued from Page 1

MusicianContinued from Page 1

Allison Flynn/Daily CourierThe Rev. Robert E. Coleman, pastor of Hoppers Chapel Baptist Church in Shelby, addressed members of the Community Engagement Team Thursday about how he and others in his community worked to clean up the Ramblewood area of crime and drug problems. Coleman told those in attendance the key to success is to give people back hope and show them love.

By SCOTT BAUGHMANDaily Courier Staff Writer

FOREST CITY — Free advice for local businesses will be easier to obtain thanks to a new grant to the Small Business Technology Development Center.

The state run SBTDC will receive about $396,000 from the North Carolina Rural Center for their Distressed Rural County Project. The money will be used to help about 150 to 200 companies each with between ten and 100 employees.

“This is a pilot program and Rutherford and Cleveland counties are part of those pilot sites,” said Jim Edwards of Isothermal Planning and Development Commission. “This will provide additional personnel and resources for the SBTDC to provide business counseling and technical assistance to those businesses.”

The pilot project also includes Anson, Montgomery, Richmond, Green, Wayne and Wilson counties. The funds will help the center follow their overall mission to “help small business owners (and those interested in starting a business) meet the chal-lenges of today’s business environ-ment, manage that ever-changing world, and plan for the future of their business. We do this by providing management counseling and educa-tional services to small and mid-sized businesses throughout North Carolina from our 16 offices across the state — each affiliated with a college or uni-versity. Most of our services are free of charge, and all SBTDC services are confidential.”

Rutherford County’s area SBTDC office, located in Asheville, is affiliat-ed with Western Carolina University. A full list of affiliates and further program details can be found at the SBTDC Web site at www.sbtdc.org.

“There won’t be funds directly to companies, this will be to staff up the counseling efforts of the SBTDC,” Edwards said. “Basically, it is designed to let the staff meet with and counsel more small businesses to meet with the SBTDC so they can help them to be better prepared and survive in the economy.

“I suspect they probably have more demand for counseling services than they have staff to meet it,” Edwards said. “Working with the NCRC, this was a way to increase the staff at cer-tain locations so they could meet the needs of businesses here in the west in Rutherford and Cleveland counties.”

Contact Baughman via e-mail at sbaugh-man@thedigitalcourier.com.

Businesses may benefit from SBTdC center help

6/

The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009 — 7

Inside

Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . Page .8Golf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page .8Gridiron .Great . . . . . . . Page .9

On TV

Local Sports

Plumlee .out .for .Duke .with .broken .wrist

DURHAM (AP) — One of No. 9 Duke’s projected starters is out indefinitely with a bro-ken wrist.

Team officials said Thursday that freshman Mason Plumlee fell hard during practice a day earlier and broke his left wrist. They say he injury will not require surgery, and will be evaluated weekly by the team’s medical staff.

The 6-foot-10 newcomer was expected to join his older brother Miles Plumlee in the Blue Devils’ bulked-up front-court. He averaged 12 points and eight rebounds in a pair of exhibition routs.

That makes two projected starters who won’t be in the lineup Friday night when Duke opens the season against North Carolina-Greensboro. Guard Nolan Smith must sit out two games for playing in an unsanctioned summer league.

Morgan .to .examine .NFL .draft .options

ATLANTA (AP) — Derrick Morgan soon could be chasing NFL quarterbacks.

Morgan, Georgia Tech’s junior defensive end who ranks among the nation’s sack lead-ers, says he will “definitely” examine his NFL draft status after the season.

Some early NFL mock drafts list the junior as a first-round pick in 2010. He is pro-jected as the No. 13 pick by MyNFLdraft.com and he’s No. 27 on Bleacher Report’s mock draft.

Morgan this week made ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s “Big Board” of players who could be picked high in the draft.

Morgan ranks fifth in the nation with 11 1/2 sacks and is a major reason No. 7 Georgia Tech can wrap up the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division title with a win at Duke on Saturday.

FOOTBALL7:30 p.m. 3A NCHSAA First Round Playoffs: R-S Central at South Rowan7:30 p.m. 2A NCHSAA First Round Playoffs: East Rutherford at Thomasville

2 p.m. (ESPN2) NASCAR Racing Sprint Cup — Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Prac-tice. 5:30 p.m. (ESPN2) NASCAR Racing Sprint Cup — Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Qualifying. 7 p.m. (FSS) College Bas-ketball UNC-Greensboro at Duke. 7 p.m. (TS) College Basket-ball Alabama A&M at South Carolina. 8 p.m. (ESPN) NBA Basket-ball Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics. 8 p.m. (ESPN2) College Foot-ball West Virginia at Cincin-nati. 9 p.m. (TS) College Basket-ball Austin Peay State at Ten-nessee.10:30 p.m. (ESPN) NBA Basketball Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets.

On RadioFOOTBALL

6:45 p.m. (WCAB AM 590) The Countdown to Kick Off Show7:30 p.m. (WCAB AM 590) R-S Central at South Rowan

It’s .Time .To .Win .Or .Go .Home

Central, East face road challengesR-S Central’s Jacob Kinlaw (9) East Rutherford’s Tyler Hamilton (3)

By SCOTT BOWERSDaily Courier Sports Editor

FOREST CITY — For the football teams at East Rutherford and R-S Central, tonight will either mark the end of the road, or the beginning of something special.

The first round of the 2009 North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) Football playoffs will be held at high schools across the state and both the Cavaliers and Hilltoppers will be on the road.

R-S Central (8-2) will travel to China Grove to bat-tle South Rowan (9-1), while East Rutherford (4-6) will travel to Thomasville (7-3).

Both games have a scheduled 7:30 p.m. kick off.

Weather advisory: Due to heavy rains that have fallen throughout the week in central North Carolina, both home schools (South Rowan, Thomasville) for tonight’s games may have to make late cancellations. Please contact either East Rutherford or R-S Central

Please see Football, Page 9

To .South .Rowan:Take US 74, through Shelby, to I-85.

Take I-85 N to NC 152 Exit 168 (China Grove).Turn left and follow NC 152.

Take a slight left onto US 29A/NC 152.Go 1 mile, turn right onto West Church St./NC 152.

Go 2.6 miles, turn left onto Patterson St.South Rowan High is at 1655 Patterson St. on right.

To .Thomasville .High:Take US 64N to I-40 East.

Take I-40 E to Exit 195/Clemmonsville Rd./NC 109 N.Stay straight, and merge back into I-40.Take right onto Thomasville/NC 109 S.

Go 14 miles, turn left onto Unity St.Thomasville High is at 410 Unity St. on left.

Directions

By MIKE CRANSTONAP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE — The Carolina Panthers are trying to fix a dysfunc-tional passing game and replace a key defensive player as they hold out hope of salvaging their season.

Practicing on a cramped field with no football lines and a low ceiling while toddlers run around nearby and

U2 blares from the speakers above isn’t the most ideal place to do it.

With the remnants of Hurricane Ida stubbornly hovering over Charlotte and with the Panthers one of only 10 NFL teams without an indoor practice facility, the team’s workplace the last two days has been a small artificial turf field at a nearby indoor sports complex.

“For obvious reasons, you’re limited,” coach John Fox said Thursday. “You can’t punt the ball. You can’t throw deep passes.”

Carolina’s opponent Sunday, Atlanta, has been hit with the same storm that dumped about four inches of rain on both cities. But the Falcons are one of

Please see Panthers, Page 9

Panthers trying to salvage season

Carolina Panthers’ receiver Dwayne Jarrett (80) cannot hold on to a pass from quarter-back Jake Delhomme as New Orleans Saints player Jabari Greer (32) defends in the second half of their NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009.

Associated Press

7/

8 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009

sports

FOOTBALLNational Football League

AMERICAN CONFERENCEEast

W L T Pct PF PANew England 6 2 0 .750 225 115N.Y. Jets 4 4 0 .500 177 134Miami 3 5 0 .375 193 204Buffalo 3 5 0 .375 123 169

South W L T Pct PF PAIndianapolis 8 0 0 1.000 217 108Houston 5 4 0 .556 215 188Jacksonville 4 4 0 .500 157 198Tennessee 2 6 0 .250 148 238

North W L T Pct PF PACincinnati 6 2 0 .750 180 135Pittsburgh 6 2 0 .750 195 139Baltimore 4 4 0 .500 206 154Cleveland 1 7 0 .125 78 209

West W L T Pct PF PADenver 6 2 0 .750 150 124San Diego 5 3 0 .625 206 179Oakland 2 6 0 .250 78 201Kansas City 1 7 0 .125 126 205

NATIONAL CONFERENCEEast

W L T Pct PF PADallas 6 2 0 .750 217 152Philadelphia 5 3 0 .625 219 153N.Y. Giants 5 4 0 .556 232 204Washington 2 6 0 .250 113 154

South W L T Pct PF PANew Orleans 8 0 0 1.000 303 174Atlanta 5 3 0 .625 202 166Carolina 3 5 0 .375 148 196Tampa Bay 1 7 0 .125 134 231

North W L T Pct PF PAMinnesota 7 1 0 .875 244 174Green Bay 4 4 0 .500 215 172Chicago 4 4 0 .500 180 191Detroit 1 7 0 .125 133 237

West W L T Pct PF PAArizona 5 3 0 .625 198 164San Francisco 3 5 0 .375 174 174Seattle 3 5 0 .375 167 167St. Louis 1 7 0 .125 77 221

Thursday’s GameChicago at San Francisco, lateSunday’s GamesBuffalo at Tennessee, 1 p.m.Denver at Washington, 1 p.m.Tampa Bay at Miami, 1 p.m.Jacksonville at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.New Orleans at St. Louis, 1 p.m.Atlanta at Carolina, 1 p.m.Detroit at Minnesota, 1 p.m.Kansas City at Oakland, 4:05 p.m.Dallas at Green Bay, 4:15 p.m.Philadelphia at San Diego, 4:15 p.m.Seattle at Arizona, 4:15 p.m.New England at Indianapolis, 8:20 p.m.Open: N.Y. Giants, HoustonMonday’s GameBaltimore at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m.Thursday, Nov. 19Miami at Carolina, 8:20 p.m.Sunday, Nov. 22Cleveland at Detroit, 1 p.m.Atlanta at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m.Washington at Dallas, 1 p.m.San Francisco at Green Bay, 1 p.m.Indianapolis at Baltimore, 1 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Kansas City, 1 p.m.New Orleans at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.Buffalo at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.Seattle at Minnesota, 1 p.m.Arizona at St. Louis, 4:05 p.m.N.Y. Jets at New England, 4:15 p.m.San Diego at Denver, 4:15 p.m.Cincinnati at Oakland, 4:15 p.m.Philadelphia at Chicago, 8:20 p.m.Monday, Nov. 23Tennessee at Houston, 8:30 p.m.

BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association

EASTERN CONFERENCEAtlantic Division

W L Pct GBBoston 8 1 .889 — Philadelphia 4 4 .500 3 1/2Toronto 4 4 .500 3 1/2New York 1 8 .111 7 New Jersey 0 8 .000 7 1/2

Southeast Division W L Pct GBMiami 6 1 .857 — Atlanta 6 2 .750 1/2Orlando 6 3 .667 1 Charlotte 3 5 .375 3 1/2Washington 2 6 .250 4 1/2

Central Division W L Pct GBMilwaukee 4 2 .667 — Cleveland 5 3 .625 — Chicago 4 4 .500 1 Detroit 4 4 .500 1 Indiana 3 3 .500 1

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Southwest Division W L Pct GBDallas 5 3 .625 — Houston 5 3 .625 — San Antonio 4 3 .571 1/2New Orleans 3 6 .333 2 1/2Memphis 1 8 .111 4 1/2

Northwest Division W L Pct GBDenver 6 3 .667 — Portland 6 3 .667 — Oklahoma City 4 4 .500 1 1/2Utah 3 5 .375 2 1/2Minnesota 1 8 .111 5

Pacific Division W L Pct GBPhoenix 8 1 .889 — L.A. Lakers 6 1 .857 1 Sacramento 4 4 .500 3 1/2L.A. Clippers 3 6 .333 5 Golden State 2 5 .286 5

Wednesday’s GamesToronto 99, Chicago 89Indiana 108, Golden State 94Boston 105, Utah 86Atlanta 114, New York 101Philadelphia 82, New Jersey 79Detroit 98, Charlotte 75Milwaukee 108, Denver 102Cleveland 102, Orlando 93Portland 107, Minnesota 84Houston 104, Memphis 79San Antonio 92, Dallas 83Phoenix 124, New Orleans 104Oklahoma City 83, L.A. Clippers 79Thursday’s GamesCleveland at Miami, latePhoenix at L.A. Lakers, lateFriday’s GamesNew Jersey at Orlando, 7 p.m.Utah at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Golden State at New York, 7:30 p.m.Atlanta at Boston, 8 p.m.Dallas at Minnesota, 8 p.m.Portland at New Orleans, 8 p.m.Houston at Sacramento, 10 p.m.L.A. Lakers at Denver, 10:30 p.m.Toronto at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

HOCKEYNational Hockey League

EASTERN CONFERENCEAtlantic Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GANew Jersey 16 12 4 0 24 42 34Pittsburgh 18 12 6 0 24 54 47N.Y. Rangers 18 10 7 1 21 56 48Philadelphia 14 9 4 1 19 52 37N.Y. Islanders 18 6 6 6 18 48 55

Northeast Division GP W L OT Pts GF GABuffalo 15 10 4 1 21 43 34Ottawa 15 8 5 2 18 46 45Boston 17 8 7 2 18 41 41Montreal 18 8 10 0 16 45 55Toronto 16 3 8 5 11 41 60

Southeast Division GP W L OT Pts GF GAWashington 18 11 3 4 26 70 56Tampa Bay 15 6 4 5 17 39 47Atlanta 14 7 6 1 15 48 45Florida 15 5 9 1 11 40 55Carolina 17 2 12 3 7 34 64

WESTERN CONFERENCECentral Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GAChicago 17 10 5 2 22 50 41Columbus 17 9 6 2 20 52 63Detroit 16 8 5 3 19 52 49St. Louis 16 6 6 4 16 39 41Nashville 16 7 8 1 15 34 47

Northwest Division GP W L OT Pts GF GAColorado 19 12 4 3 27 58 46Calgary 16 11 4 1 23 53 43Vancouver 19 10 9 0 20 53 52Edmonton 19 8 9 2 18 56 60Minnesota 17 7 10 0 14 41 51

Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts GF GASan Jose 19 13 4 2 28 65 45Los Angeles 19 11 6 2 24 63 56Phoenix 17 10 7 0 20 45 39Dallas 17 7 4 6 20 54 52Anaheim 16 6 8 2 14 46 52

Wednesday’s GamesWashington 5, N.Y. Islanders 4, SOLos Angeles 5, Carolina 2Detroit 9, Columbus 1Buffalo 3, Edmonton 1New Jersey 3, Anaheim 1Chicago 3, Colorado 2, SOThursday’s GamesFlorida 1, Boston 0, SOAtlanta 5, N.Y. Rangers 3Philadelphia 5, Ottawa 1New Jersey 4, Pittsburgh 2Vancouver at Detroit, lateMinnesota at Tampa Bay, lateNashville at St. Louis, lateMontreal at Phoenix, lateDallas at San Jose, lateFriday’s GamesN.Y. Islanders at Carolina, 7 p.m.Anaheim at Columbus, 7 p.m.Minnesota at Washington, 7 p.m.Calgary at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.Los Angeles at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.Toronto at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.

Scoreboard

Reynolds To East Carolina Thomas To Western Carolina

Garrett Byers/Daily CourierEast Rutherford’s Drew Reynolds signs his letter of intent to attend East Carolina in the fall of 2010 on a baseball scholarship. Reynolds was joined at the signing by his parents, Susan, left, and Bobby Reynolds, athletic director and head base-ball coach for East Rutherford. East’s Principal Tony Smith (l to r) and Assistant Baseball Coach Chuck Walker joined the Reynolds at the signing.

Garrett Byers/Daily CourierEast Rutherford’s Dakotah Thomas signs his letter of intent to attend Western Carolina in the fall of 2010 on a baseball scholarship. Thomas was joined by his parents, Terry Thomas, left, and Suzanne Hinkle. East’s Principal Tony Smith (l to r), Coach Bobby Reynolds and Coach Chuck Walker joined the family at the signing.

Tyson arrested after shuffle with photographerLOS ANGELES (AP) —

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson and a photographer are being inves-tigated for misdemeanor bat-tery after an airport scuffle that injured the paparazzo, police

said Thursday.Tyson and Tony Echeverria,

50, made citizens’ arrests of each other after a confrontation at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport, airport police Sgt. Jim

Holcomb.Police were called and they

were fingerprinted and photo-graphed, then released without bail, Holcomb said. The city attorney will decide whether to file criminal charges.

FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — A North Carolina judge has issued a temporary restraining order which will allow a high school football team to partici-pate in the state playoffs.

The Fayetteville Observer reported that Cumberland County Superior Court Judge Jack Thompson met with lawyers for the players from Terry Sanford High School and the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Thursday after-noon.

Lawyers for the players said the judge issued a temporary restraining order around 5:45 p.m., meaning the school will face Pine Forest High School in a game scheduled for Friday.

Terry Sanford’s team was ruled ineligible on Monday after the discovery of problems with a player’s credits and attendance.

About 70 football players, students, parents and others gathered at the courthouse. One player led the group in prayer, asking that “the right thing is done.”

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Seve Benson has never seen so many people on a golf course. Some 10,000 fans lined both sides of the 10th fair-way Thursday morning as the sun was still climb-ing over Melbourne.

Never mind that they didn’t come to watch him.Tiger Woods, who teed off behind the 23-year-

old Englishman, made the Australian Masters feel like the one at Augusta National. Tournament officials said 21,356 people came through the turn-stiles, an enormous crowd for the size of this golf course. Most of them scooped up tickets months ago after learning the world’s No. 1 golfer would compete Down Under for the first time in 11 years.

Woods delivered a performance that matched the hype, even if it fell slightly short of his own stan-dards.

Despite a few loose shots with short irons and spending most of the round lag putting on greens that were softer than he expected, Woods had a birdie chance on every hole except his last, eas-ily handled the par 5s, nearly drove one of the par 4s and wound up in a three-way tie for the lead at 6-under 66.

He was tied with Branden Grace of South Africa and James Nitties, an Australian who eas-ily kept his PGA Tour card after his rookie season in America. Nitties gets extra credit for his 66 because he had to play behind Woods.

Most players in the group behind Woods have to cope with the media. Nitties couldn’t see them through a wall of fans who were allowed to stand in the crossing areas as Woods putted. The way the fans surrounded each green, nine-deep behind the green and four-deep in front, it made every hole look like the 72nd hole at the British Open.

Tiger opens with 66, tied for Aussie lead

Judge says NC high school can play in state playoffs

8/

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R-S Central at South Rowan

RUTHERFORDTON — The Hilltoppers will make the long road trip to China Grove to face the Red Raiders of South Rowan, tonight.

The two 3A schools have one thing in common — neither one has won a playoff game in the last five years. Of course, for Central that five-year streak is under Coach Mike Cheek — the real streak for Central now mea-sures 28 years without a playoff win.

“Oh, yeah, it would be huge for us, no doubt about it,” said Cheek, about winning the school’s first playoff game in three decades. “We must take care of the football and play four quarters and we can be alright.”

Ironically, neither team was really happy with the playoff draw.

South Rowan Coach Jason Rollins told the Salisbury Post, “They’re (Central) big, they’re fast and they’re a very good foot-ball team, but that’s OK. We know we’ll be challenged, but our guys like to be challenged. We’ve had to fight all year.”

Central would have had the No. 5 seed with a win over Burns in the regular season finale, but to Coach Cheek that is all water under the bridge.

“We can’t go back, we can only go forward,” said Cheek.

Central will face a South

Rowan team that sports a three-headed monster in its’ backfield.

Quarterback Blake Houston leads an offense that gets most of its yardage from run-ning backs D’Andre Harris and Thomas Lowe.

Harris is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound bruiser that has played under the shadow of West Rowan’s K.P. Parks. Parks enters the 3A play-offs needing just 452 yards from becoming the state’s career lead-er in rushing yards, and should the Hilltoppers exit tonight with a win they would most likely face Parks and West Rowan in the second round.

Lowe measures 5-foot-8, 205-pounds and his low center of gravity makes him tough to bring down.

Harris, like Central’s Oddie Murray, has been slowed by a hamstring injury, but both power backs are expected to be at 100-percent when the game kicks off.

“They (South) have twenty-eight seniors and we have twenty-one,” said Cheek. “To my mind, it comes down to our twenty-one going out and play-ing like we are capable of play-ing.”

Key to the game: Make it count. The 2009 season has been a good one for R-S Central. A win tonight makes it special.

East Rutherford at Thomasville

FOREST CITY — It’s kind of hard to imagine that the Cavaliers could have drawn a tougher first round opponent than the Thomasville Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs have won four state titles, all in 1-AA, over the last five seasons, including last year’s perfect team.

With realignment, Thomasville

moved back into 2A and the Bulldogs won three state titles as a 2A team in the 1980s and 1990s.

“We have told them that it is like playing Shelby,” said East Rutherford Coach Clint Bland. “What you see is what you get. They run I-formation, they line up and they come to play.”

The Bulldogs will be lead to the line by senior quarterback Sam Nelson. Nelson is a rare left-handed passer and he has a speedy target in Brandon Lucas (33-735-9) to throw too.

But, the Bulldogs, like many high school teams, want to establish the run first and they will try and do that with tail-backs Kesean Green and Quan Riley. Green lead the team with 835 yards (5.96 per carry) and eight touchdowns, while Riley rushed for 771 yards (5.47 per carry) and seven touchdowns.

The strength of the Bulldogs, however, isn’t the offense, but a defense that has allowed just 20 points in the team’s final five games.

“Shelby’s defense is very similar and we know that we will play a brand of defense that is very good,” said Bland.

East Rutherford should have RB Adrian Wilkins, who has been slowed by a high ankle sprain, back at the field, and if the junior is unable to make an impact, the majority of the offense will fall onto the shoul-ders of seniors Mikhail Baxter and Tyler Hamilton.

“He has run well and that is on our wet and sloppy field,” said Bland. “We hope he’ll be okay.”

Key to the game: Just believe. Certainly, the 2009 season has been filled with ups-and-downs for the Cavs, but the team has the talent to play with anyone if they’ll just believe in themselves.

22 teams with an indoor facility, ranging from bubbles to airplane hangar-like buildings.

“You’re probably trying to take me down a path I’m not going to go,” Fox said when asked about the disadvantage his team faces. “I’m kind of (staying) in my lane.”

A lack of an indoor facility usually isn’t an issue here, where the sun shines more than 60 percent of the time and there’s only an average of only 43 inches of rain a year.

The Panthers have three full outdoor practice fields next to their stadium, and have used the lone artificial turf field for a couple workouts in the rain earlier this season. The trouble this time has been the extent of the rain and the high winds. Gusts were over 20 mph on Thursday.

“I think you get more production going inside and being able to focus than out there with the wind flying, the rain and everything,” receiver Muhsin Muhammad said. “You can’t do much out there. You can’t throw the ball down the field in that situation.”

Jake Delhomme, who has struggled all season, couldn’t throw the ball deep the past two days at the Charlotte Sports Center, either. The facility, a 10-minute drive from Bank of America Stadium, has a field that’s 72 yards long and 32 yards wide. An NFL field is 120 yards long and 53 yards wide.

The width forced the Panthers to run plays side-ways, with the equipment staff putting tape where the hash marks should be. Cones marked a virtual sideline.

“It’s somewhat like an NFL field,” Fox said.Thursday’s practice included curious onlookers as

they climbed off nearby exercise bikes. Left tackle Jordan Gross paused for a picture with a child as Pearl Jam played from above, hardly the normal secret atmosphere of an NFL practice.

The lack of space has given some banged-up play-ers more time to heal. Running back DeAngelo Williams practiced on a limited basis after sitting out Wednesday with a sore left knee. But there was no room for his signature sprint the length of the field on each run.

Defensive end Julius Peppers practiced in full despite a hand injury. Landon Johnson, expected to start at weakside linebacker after Thomas Davis’ season-ending knee injury, got his work in, too.

But with a low ceiling, punter Jason Baker mostly stood around, unable to work on what is normal-ly the busiest day of the week for special teams. Kickoff specialist Rhys Lloyd was idle, too.

“If it was Week 2 or something I would probably say I don’t really need that,” Baker said of the rest. “But at this time of the season I’m good with it.”

Kicker John Kasay did attempt some field goals during a special teams drill by kicking into a net that surrounded the field.

Other teams in colder areas (Cincinnati) and hot-ter (Arizona and Dallas after the Cowboys’ bubble recently collapsed) don’t have indoor facilities, so the Panthers are hardly at the front of the com-plaint line.

Players mostly shrugged off the schedule change, with linebacker Jon Beason joking that he’d like a bubble — but at their training camp site in steamy Spartanburg, S.C.

“It’s hot, it’s 90 degrees in Spartanburg,” Beason said. “Who cares about rain and hurricanes and stuff?”

Lori Falkner/Daily CourierEast Rutherford’s Mikhail Baxter (10) is the Daily Courier/Edward Jones Gridiron Great. Baxter completed 8-of-13 passes for 116 yards and a tochdown toss in overtime to lift the Cavaliers over rival Chase, Friday, Nov. 6. East’s Justin Barksdale (8) was selected, by the coaches at East Rutherford, as the Daily Courier Lineman of the Week. Joining Baxter and Barksdale are Edward Jones’ David Smith, left, East Rutherford’s Preston Allen and Edward Jones’ Frank Faucette.

FootballContinued from Page 7

RALEIGH (AP) — Kellie Harper’s coaching instincts tell her there’s so much left to do before North Carolina State’s season opener that she’d love another month of practice.

Then again, Harper can’t wait to get started.

“It’s exciting,” she said. “You coach basketball because of the games. This is why we do what we do: the competition. You have

to love the competition or this is not the occupation for you.”

For months, everything Harper has done — from recruiting trips to preseason drills to unpack-ing a box at a time at her new home — has built toward Friday night’s game against Florida International.

It’ll be the first time she paces the sideline where Kay Yow spent three decades building a

Hall of Fame career and becom-ing a nationally known figure for her courageous fight against the cancer that ultimately took her life in January.

It’s a massive change for a pro-gram that has long been defined by Yow’s success. Harper, 32, wasn’t even born when Yow became N.C. State’s coach in 1975. She is only the third coach in the program’s history.

NC State starts new era with Harper’s debut

PanthersContinued from Page 7

Nationals select Jim Riggleman as manager

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jim Riggleman waited a decade for another chance to be a full-fledged manager in the major leagues — no interim tag attached. He finally earned that job with the Washington Nationals.

The Nationals are sticking with Riggleman after promoting him from bench coach midway through last season, announcing at a news conference Thursday that he’ll be their manager in 2010.

Riggleman replaced fired skipper Manny Acta in July on an interim basis.

The Nationals were 26-61 (a .299 winning per-centage) at the time and went 33-42 (.440) under Riggleman, finishing with a majors-worst record of 59-103.

Clearly, this is a rebuilding — or as general man-ager Mike Rizzo prefers to say, “building” — team, and the Nationals apparently appreciated the signs of progress that came in the second half of 2009.

Riggleman also made it known he wanted the job.

9/

Toby MaxwellAgenttoby.maxwell@ncfbins.com

AttorneyBrian King

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10 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009

Weather/State/NatioN

Delta suspends pilotGRIFFIN, Ga. (AP) — Delta Air

Lines has suspended a pilot who was charged with trying to strike officers with his plane at a Georgia airport.

Delta spokesman Anthony Black said Thursday that 48-year-old Dan Wayne Gryder is suspended pend-ing the investigation’s completion. Gryder is a Delta pilot and private aircraft instructor.

The Griffin-Spalding Airport was shut down for 45 minutes Wednesday after police said Gryder drove his car across the runway and taxiway, boarded his private plane and threatened to strike officers with the aircraft.

Deputies ordered him to stop but he continued to taxi. He tried to take off but didn’t have enough fuel. Gryder is charged with aggravated assault and obstruction.

Conviction tossed outNEW YORK (AP) — A judge

Thursday threw out a murder case against a man imprisoned for nearly two decades and declared he was innocent, saying a key witness lied and others influenced one other into identifying him as the shooter.

Fernando Bermudez cried and hugged one of his lawyers as the judge took the unusual step of not only overturning his 1992 convic-tion but dismissing the charges, rather than calling for a retrial.

Bermudez “has demonstrated his actual innocence,” state Supreme Court Justice John Cataldo said. “This court wishes to express its profound regret over the past

18 years. I hope for you a better future.”

With his parents, wife and other relatives sobbing and applauding in the courtroom, Bermudez was led away after the ruling.

The 40-year-old remains behind bars for now because of an unrelat-ed federal drug-sale conviction that carried a 27-month sentence. His lawyers plan to ask federal authori-ties to credit him for the time he has served and release him.

Five bodies foundPEARCY, Ark. (AP) — Authorities

say they found four bodies in a burning mobile home in southwest Arkansas and another person was found dead inside a nearby house.

Officials say around 2:30 Thursday morning authorities in Pearcy received a report of a house fire and nearly 15 miles away, the fire department in Hot Springs received a report of a vehicle on fire.

Authorities then discovered the deaths and the truck fire were con-nected.

Mumps hits northeastATLANTA (AP) — U.S. health

officials say the largest U.S. out-break of mumps in three years is occurring in New York and New Jersey.

About 180 cases were identi-fied in those two states from the time an investigation began in August through the end of October. Another 15 cases tied to the same outbreak have been reported in Canada.

Three people have been hospital-ized but no deaths were reported.

Nation Today

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A drench-ing, wind-driven rain lashed much of the Atlantic seaboard Thursday, flooding streets, closing schools and causing three deaths in hard-hit Virginia and one in North Carolina.

The torrential rains and winds gusting in excess of 30 mph were the work of late-season Tropical Storm Ida, which quickly weakened once it made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday but still soaked a swath of the southeast from Alabama to Georgia.

Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine declared a state of emergency and officials urged people in some areas to stay home. Rain and resulting floods were predicted to continue at least through Friday, especially along the state’s southeastern coast and particularly in Norfolk, a coastal city of a quarter-million people.

Officials in this city on Chesapeake Bay were watching the incoming tide closely, as winds pushed water inland and threatened to cause more flood-ing later Thursday or early Friday. Heeding Kaine’s advice, many resi-dents weathered the storm at home. Many roads were inches or feet under water.

“It’s miserable but no life or limb in danger,” said Bob Batcher, a spokes-man for Norfolk’s emergency ser-vices.

About 70 people showed up at three shelters opened for the storm.

Some hardy residents ventured out in the stinging rain, leaning into gusting winds as they walked. The few restaurants that were open were empty or, like Granby Street Pizza, busy with takeout.

“We do very well in the rain. We do a lot of deliveries,” said owner Peter Freda as hot pies were stacked on the counter for delivery.

A few blocks down abandoned Granby Street, normally a busy stretch of bars and restaurants, Glenn Goodman, 48, found a sports bar that appeared to be open, only to have a server lock up as he reached for the door. The city resident eats out each night, and this was his third or fourth stop.

“If you know what roads to take, it’s not that bad. You just don’t try to drive through big puddles,” he said.

Three motorists died in weather-related crashes in central and eastern Virginia, said Corrine Geller, state police spokeswoman.

Some motorists were rescued from their cars after getting stuck in high water, said Bob Spieldenner, Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokesman.

Flooding closed several area streets, bridges and a major tunnel as winds worsened high tides that were already 6 to 7 feet above normal.

In western Virginia, officials reported flooded streets and some

people being pulled out of low-lying areas. The Roanoke River also was expected to flood Thursday.

Dominion Power reported more than 77,000 customers without electricity in Virginia and North Carolina, with nearly 70,000 of them in southeast Virginia. Most Hampton Roads schools and universities can-celed classes, and many businesses closed for the day.

The Port of Hampton Roads closed Thursday afternoon. The Norfolk Naval Station and all other area Navy installations, Langley Air Force Base and Fort Eustis trimmed operations down to essential personnel, officials at the bases said.

Meanwhile, Coast Guard officials suspended a search for three com-mercial fishermen whose boat sank in churning seas 20 miles off the coast of New Jersey. A spokeswoman says there are no plans to resume searching Friday morning, when conditions are expected to be even worse. There were no serious prob-lems elsewhere in the state, though emergency management officials were bracing for tidal flooding along the shore.

In North Carolina, thousands of residents lost power at some point during the deluge, flood warnings were posted from the mountains to the coast, and some roads were closed. Schools in several districts opened late.

And an elderly man standing in his yard was killed when a pine tree was snapped off by strong winds and fell on him, said Mooresville Fire Department Assistant Chief Curt Deaton. Mooresville is about 30 miles north of Charlotte.

The Coast Guard on Wednesday plucked two people from a sailboat off the North Carolina coast, where seas had churned and winds gust-ed near 30 mph. Two other people remained with the boat as it was towed back to shore.

The National Weather Service said Thursday morning that rainfall in some places on the coast was near 6 inches.

In South Carolina, state health officials blamed the heavy rains for overwhelming sewage plants in the Columbia area, dumping some raw sewage into three rivers.

In suburban Atlanta, streets and yards that border the Chattahoochee River filled with water as the river spilled over its banks from the rain. The area is still waterlogged from historic flooding in September, which swamped homes and businesses.

In Delaware, power outages were reported and at least two inches of rain had fallen in parts of the state. Some low-lying areas were already flooded, and wind gusts were as high as 55 mph.

Ida’s torrents trigger flooding along coast

Associated PressWorkers with a bull dozer try to shore up the beachfront damaged by erosion from the pre-dawn high tide in South Nags Head on Thursday.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — The parents accused of pulling a spec-tacular hoax by reporting that their 6-year-old son had floated away aboard a helium balloon have agreed to plead guilty in a deal that could send them both to jail but protect the wife from deportation.

Richard Heene will plead guilty Friday to attempting to influence a public servant, a felony, said his attorney, David Lane. Heene’s wife, Mayumi, a Japanese citizen who

could be deported if convicted of more serious charges, will plead guilty to a lesser charge of false reporting to authorities, a misde-meanor.

Lane said the threat of deportation “fueled” negotiations with prosecu-tors. An attorney for Mayumi Heene said her immigration status was a factor in reaching the deal but would not comment further.

Prosecutors announced criminal charges against the couple Thursday.

Balloon boy parents to plead guilty

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The Daily Courier Weather

Moon Phases

Almanac

North Carolina Forecast

Today’s National Map

New11/16

First11/24

Full12/2

Last12/8

Today

Mostly SunnyPrecip Chance: 5%

68º

Tonight

ClearPrecip Chance: 0%

44º

Saturday

SunnyPrecip Chance: 0%

72º 45º

Sunday

SunnyPrecip Chance: 0%

73º 45º

Monday

Mostly SunnyPrecip Chance: 5%

65º 44º

Tuesday

Partly CloudyPrecip Chance: 10%

61º 43º

Sun and Moon

Local UV Index

Sunrise today . . . . .7:01 a.m.Sunset tonight . . . . .5:23 p.m.Moonrise today . . . .3:45 a.m.Moonset today . . . . .3:13 p.m.

TemperaturesHigh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53Low . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49Normal High . . . . . . . . . . . .63Normal Low . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Precipitation24 hrs through 7 a.m. yest. .0.90"Month to date . . . . . . . . .5.58"Year to date . . . . . . . . .49.40"

Barometric PressureHigh yesterday . . . . . . .30.03"

Relative HumidityHigh yesterday . . . . . . . . .82%

City Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx

Asheville . . . . . . .62/39 s 70/42 sCape Hatteras . . .66/57 ra 68/60 mcCharlotte . . . . . . .62/45 ra 71/46 sFayetteville . . . . .57/49 mc 69/48 sGreensboro . . . . .56/46 mc 71/46 sGreenville . . . . . .59/49 ra 64/53 pcHickory . . . . . . . . . .65/44 mc 70/46 sJacksonville . . . .61/51 ra 65/55 pcKitty Hawk . . . . . .63/53 ra 65/57 mcNew Bern . . . . . .61/51 ra 65/54 pcRaleigh . . . . . . . .53/48 ra 68/47 sSouthern Pines . .57/49 mc 71/47 sWilmington . . . . .60/50 ra 70/51 sWinston-Salem . .56/46 mc 72/45 s

Around Our State

Across Our Nation

Weather (Wx): cl/cloudy; pc/partly cloudy;ra/rain; rs/rain & snow; s/sunny; sh/showers;

sn/snow; t/thunderstorms; w/windy

Today Saturday

City Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx

Atlanta . . . . . . . . .70/40 s 77/40 sBaltimore . . . . . . .53/51 ra 61/52 raChicago . . . . . . . .60/47 s 57/43 shDetroit . . . . . . . . .57/43 s 62/43 mcIndianapolis . . . .65/45 s 64/44 sLos Angeles . . . .63/52 pc 61/48 sMiami . . . . . . . . . .77/62 s 80/66 sNew York . . . . . . .51/49 t 62/53 tPhiladelphia . . . .53/49 t 64/51 shSacramento . . . . .59/42 s 60/41 sSan Francisco . . .57/48 pc 60/44 sSeattle . . . . . . . . .45/34 t 44/35 pcTampa . . . . . . . . .73/55 s 78/60 sWashington, DC .52/50 ra 61/51 ra

Today Saturday

Cold Front Stationary Front Warm Front Low Pressure High Pressure

L H

This map shows high temperatures,type of precipitation expected andlocation of frontal systems at noon.

LH

H

H

80s

70s

70s

70s

60s

60s

50s

50s

40s40s 30s

3 50 - 2 4 6 8 107 9 11+

0-2: Low, 3-5: Moderate, 6-7: High, 8-10: Very High, 11+: Extreme Exposure

Statistics provided by BroadRiver Water Authority through7 a.m. yesterday.

Elizabeth City60/52

Greenville59/49

Wilmington60/50

Greensboro56/46

Raleigh53/48

Charlotte62/45

Forest City68/44

Fayetteville57/49

Kinston59/50

Durham54/48

Asheville62/39

Winston-Salem56/46

Shown is today’s weather.Temperatures are today’s highsand tonight’s lows.

Weather

The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009 — 11

business/finance

By TIM PARADISAP Business Writer

NEW YORK — A jump in the nation’s energy inventories sent stocks falling Thursday as inves-tors worried that demand for oil and gasoline is falling because of the struggling economy.

Major stock indexes slid about 1 percent from 13-month highs, including the Dow Jones indus-trial average, which fell 94 points after six days of gains. The inventory report from the government pushed crude oil down 3 percent, below $77 a bar-rel. A gain in the dollar also weighed on prices for commodities including oil by making them more expensive for overseas buyers.

A drop in energy company stocks upended an early advance led by technology shares, which rose after 3Com Corp. agreed to a $2.7 billion takeover by Hewlett-Packard Co. and as Intel Corp. said it would pay $1.25 billion to Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to settle legal disputes.

But stocks could get a boost Friday from The Walt Disney Co., which said after the closing bell that its quarterly profit jumped 18 percent on bet-ter results at its movie studio.

The disappointing report on energy usage over-shadowed more upbeat news about the economy. The Labor Department said new claims for unem-ployment insurance fell last week to a season-ally adjusted 502,000 from an upwardly revised 514,000 the previous week. That’s the fewest claims since early January and better than econo-mists had forecast.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ expectations, though sales at stores open at least a year dropped during the quarter. The nation’s biggest retailer said sales at existing stores would range from a drop of 1 percent to a gain of 1 percent in its fourth quarter. Sales at stores open at least a year are an impor-tant indicator of a retailer’s strength.

The mammoth company is seen as a key indica-tor of consumer spending trends. Investors have worried for months that consumers are so strained by unemployment and lower home prices that they won’t spend more and help propel a recovery.

The Dow fell 93.79, or 0.9 percent, to 10,197.47. It was the biggest drop since Oct. 30 and only the second time this month it fell. The Dow had risen 519 points, or 5.3 percent, in the prior six days — its longest stretch of gains since late August.

The broader S&P 500 index fell 11.27, or 1 per-cent, to 1,087.24, after two days of gains. The Nasdaq fell 17.88, or 0.8 percent, to 2,149.02.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 12.39, or 2.1 percent, to 580.32.

Four stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.1 billion shares compared with 1 billion Wednesday.

Treasurys rose, pushing yields lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.45 percent from 3.48 percent late Tuesday. Bond mar-kets were closed Wednesday for Veterans Day.

Crude oil fell $2.34 to settle at $76.94 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold fell after eight days of gains, settling at $1,106.60.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer people are claiming unemploy-ment benefits — but still too many to signal that the economy is close to gaining jobs.

First-time claims for jobless benefits dropped last week to a seasonally adjusted 502,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the fewest claims since the week ending Jan. 3, and below economists’ estimates.

Claims would have to fall to the high 400s to indicate the econ-omy could soon produce even a slight gain in jobs, estimates Abiel Reinhart, an economist at JPMorgan Chase. That level of claims could be reached by January, he said, and the econ-omy should start gaining jobs sometime in the first quarter of 2010.

Still, Reinhart doesn’t expect the gains to be strong enough to push down the unemployment rate — now at a 26-year high of 10.2 percent — until the second quarter.

Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities, said he thinks jobless claims would need to drop to about 425,000 before jobs would be added. Pandl expects the economy to produce a net gain in jobs by January.

President Barack Obama said Thursday he’ll host a White House summit next month on combating the joblessness that continues to drag on a struggling economy.

Many private economists and Federal Reserve officials wor-ry the nation could be in for a

“jobless recovery” as the unem-ployment rate rises despite some overall economic growth. Companies would start hiring — but not enough to absorb new people seeking jobs.

For now, Pandl said the weekly jobless claims figures are “show-ing steady progress.”

“Firing activity is starting to taper off,” he said.

The four-week average of unem-ployment claims, which smooths fluctuations, dropped to 519,750, also the lowest in almost a year. It has fallen by more than 20 per-cent since its peak in the spring.

Economists closely watch ini-tial claims as a gauge of the pace of layoffs. But claims also can provide a signal about the will-ingness of companies to hire, because laid-off workers able to find jobs are less likely to request benefits.

The last time the economy saw job gains was in December 2007, when employers added 120,000 jobs. Claims that month averaged about 340,000, though Reinhart said claims don’t have to fall that far at the end of the recession to signal gains.

Many analysts estimate that job gains need to top 125,000 to account for population growth and lower the unemployment rate.

“We are open to any demonstra-bly good idea to supplement the steps we’ve already taken to put America back to work,” Obama said before taking off for a trip to Asia.

Energy stocksclimb, markettakes a dive

Associated PressIn this photo made Thursday, Nov. 5, Linda Cook, of Cranston, R.I. exam-ines job listings at a state managed employment center, in Providence, R.I.

Jobless claims fall, but hiring is not following

Supply news cuts oil prices

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil pric-es tumbled Thursday, drop-ping below $77 a barrel after the government reported that petroleum supplies continue to grow as American drivers and businesses cut way back on energy use.

Benchmark crude for December delivery gave up $2.34 to settle at $76.94 a bar-rel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that oil and gas supplies grew more than expected last week, even though many oil companies have shuttered refineries as fuel consumption slumps.

The government report said refineries have slowed produc-tion to the lowest levels since September 2008, and they’re importing nearly 15 percent less crude than last year.

Peter Beutel, an analyst at Cameron Hanover, said traders are increasingly disappointed by the lack of consumption.

For most of the year, oil pric-es increased despite tepid con-sumer demand. Prices doubled from March to October as the dollar weakened and inves-tors looked to crude and other commodities as relatively safe places to put their money. A weaker dollar also helps inves-tors holding strong interna-tional currencies buy oil con-tracts.

“It’s not the oil refineries who are buying most of these oil contracts,” said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil ana-lyst at Oil Price Information Service. “It’s the financial com-panies, the ETFs, and other people who are patient enough to sit and wait for prices to go up.”

As oil prices soared, they tugged gas and diesel prices higher, boosting fuel costs.

At the pump, gas prices have slid all month, dropping less than a penny overnight to a new national average of $2.65 a gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gal-lon of regular unleaded is 17.2 cents more expensive than it was last month and 44.8 cents more than a year ago.

STOCKS OF LOCAL INTERESTYTD

Name Div Yld PE Last Chg%ChgYTD

Name Div Yld PE Last Chg %ChgAT&T Inc 1.64 6.2 13 26.29 -.15 -7.8Amazon ... ... 77 130.53 +.62+154.5ArvMerit ... ... ... 8.82 -.18+209.5BB&T Cp .60 2.4 17 24.80 -.40 -9.7BkofAm .04 .2 ... 16.06 -.37 +14.1BerkHa A ... ... 31102000.00+240.00 +5.6Cisco ... ... 24 23.40 -.52 +43.6Delhaize 2.01 2.7 ... 75.74 -.15 +20.2Dell Inc ... ... 16 15.45 -.14 +50.9DukeEngy .96 6.0 13 16.01 -.13 +6.7ExxonMbl 1.68 2.3 17 71.90 -1.01 -9.9FamilyDlr .54 1.8 14 29.60 -.08 +13.5FifthThird .04 .4 ... 9.54 -.19 +15.5FCtzBA 1.20 .8 14 153.00 -1.00 +.1GenElec .40 2.5 14 15.75 -.08 -2.8GoldmanS 1.40 .8 21 178.48 -1.37 +111.5Google ... ... 37 567.85 -2.71 +84.6KrispKrm ... ... ... 3.31 -.08 +97.0

LeggPlat 1.04 5.3 73 19.68 -.15 +29.6

Lowes .36 1.7 15 21.47 +.17 -.2

Microsoft .52 1.8 19 29.36 +.24 +51.0

PPG 2.16 3.6 27 60.23 -.95 +42.0

ParkerHan 1.00 1.8 27 55.29 -.82 +30.0

ProgrssEn 2.48 6.5 13 37.96 -.24 -4.7

RedHat ... ... 62 27.97 +.12 +111.6

RoyalBk g 2.00 ... ... 54.24 -.32 +82.9

SaraLee .44 3.7 19 11.84 -.13 +20.9

SonicAut ... ... ... 9.12 -.48+129.1

SonocoP 1.08 3.9 20 27.53 -.51 +18.9

SpectraEn 1.00 5.3 15 18.97 -.28 +20.5

SpeedM .36 2.3 ... 15.93 -.19 -1.1

Timken .36 1.5 ... 24.34 -.19 +24.0

UPS B 1.80 3.2 34 56.83 -.79 +3.0

WalMart 1.09 2.0 16 53.24 +.27 -5.0

STOCK MARKET INDEXES

MUTUAL FUNDS

DAILY DOW JONES

10,341.97 6,469.95 Dow Industrials 10,197.47 -93.79 -.91 +16.19 +15.424,066.40 2,134.21 Dow Transportation 3,937.84 -50.16 -1.26 +11.33 +6.64

388.86 288.66 Dow Utilities 370.69 -5.30 -1.41 -.02 -2.387,241.39 4,181.75 NYSE Composite 7,063.05 -92.31 -1.29 +22.69 +23.571,887.23 1,130.47 Amex Market Value 1,808.87 -13.39 -.73 +29.43 +32.262,190.64 1,265.52 Nasdaq Composite 2,149.02 -17.88 -.83 +36.27 +34.591,105.36 666.79 S&P 500 1,087.24 -11.27 -1.03 +20.37 +19.31

717.75 397.97 S&P MidCap 691.44 -10.54 -1.50 +28.45 +31.5811,403.02 6,772.29 Wilshire 5000 11,179.45 -120.21 -1.06 +23.02 +22.58

625.30 342.59 Russell 2000 580.32 -12.39 -2.09 +16.19 +18.14

52-Week Net YTD 12-moHigh Low Name Last Chg %Chg %Chg %Chg

THE MARKET IN REVIEW

PIMCO TotRetIs CI 111,038 10.96 +0.9 +17.0/B +7.0/A NL 5,000,000American Funds GrthAmA m LG 61,982 26.72 +0.9 +37.2/C +2.9/A 5.75 250American Funds CapIncBuA m IH 56,647 47.85 +1.4 +26.6/D +4.3/C 5.75 250American Funds CpWldGrIA m WS 53,772 33.89 +1.4 +44.0/B +6.8/A 5.75 250Fidelity Contra LG 52,867 56.62 +2.0 +31.8/D +4.8/A NL 2,500Vanguard TotStIdx LB 52,578 26.68 +0.4 +33.2/C +0.9/B NL 3,000American Funds IncAmerA m MA 47,485 15.26 +2.0 +27.5/C +2.9/B 5.75 250American Funds InvCoAmA m LB 46,374 25.33 +2.1 +30.9/C +1.5/B 5.75 250Vanguard 500Inv LB 45,505 100.46 +1.2 +30.9/C +0.3/C NL 3,000Vanguard InstIdx LB 40,396 99.83 +1.2 +31.1/C +0.4/C NL 5,000,000American Funds EurPacGrA m FB 38,984 38.59 +0.3 +53.3/A +8.6/A 5.75 250Dodge & Cox Stock LV 37,893 94.18 +0.7 +39.1/A -0.3/C NL 2,500American Funds WAMutInvA m LV 37,017 24.06 +2.7 +23.1/E -0.1/C 5.75 250Dodge & Cox IntlStk FV 34,519 32.01 -1.8 +61.9/A +6.9/A NL 2,500American Funds NewPerspA m WS 31,027 25.29 +1.0 +47.1/B +6.1/A 5.75 250Fidelity DivrIntl d FG 30,991 28.09 +0.1 +44.7/D +4.7/C NL 2,500PIMCO TotRetAdm b CI 29,461 10.96 +0.9 +16.7/B +6.7/A NL 5,000,000American Funds FnInvA m LB 28,754 31.83 +0.8 +37.4/B +3.9/A 5.75 250American Funds BalA m MA 28,593 16.04 +2.0 +24.7/D +2.0/C 5.75 250FrankTemp-Franklin Income A m CA 27,892 1.99 +0.6 +33.4/A +3.4/B 4.25 1,000American Funds BondA m CI 27,597 11.85 +1.0 +16.1/C +2.6/D 3.75 250Vanguard Welltn MA 26,971 28.59 +1.3 +29.8/B +4.9/A NL 10,000Vanguard 500Adml LB 26,340 100.48 +1.2 +31.0/C +0.4/C NL 100,000Fidelity GrowCo LG 25,826 65.81 +0.8 +42.5/B +4.4/A NL 2,500Vanguard TotStIAdm LB 25,120 26.69 +0.4 +33.4/C +1.0/B NL 100,000Vanguard TotIntl FB 24,329 14.63 +0.4 +51.8/A +6.5/A NL 3,000Vanguard InstPlus LB 23,676 99.83 +1.2 +31.1/C +0.4/C NL 200,000,000Fidelity LowPriStk d MB 22,842 30.77 -0.7 +50.2/B +3.7/A NL 2,500T Rowe Price EqtyInc LV 14,422 20.51 +0.3 +31.8/B +0.9/B NL 2,500Hartford CapAprA m LB 9,041 29.55 +0.2 +47.0/A +3.9/A 5.50 1,000Pioneer PioneerA m LB 4,047 34.77 +2.6 +26.3/E +1.0/B 5.75 1,000Goldman Sachs ShDuGovA m GS 1,363 10.52 +0.4 +6.0/B +4.7/A 1.50 1,000Alliance Bernstein GrowIncA m LV 1,179 2.91 +1.4 +36.9/A -1.6/E 4.25 2,500DWS-Scudder REstA m SR 386 12.99 +0.9 +36.6/C -0.3/C 5.75 1,000Hartford GrowthL m LG 177 14.60 -0.3 +40.1/B 0.0/D 4.75 0

Total Assets Total Return/Rank Pct Min InitName Obj ($Mlns) NAV 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Load Invt

CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -Foreign LargeGrowth, FV -ForeignLarge Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA -Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV -Mid-Cap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs.others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.

NYSE7,063.05 -92.31

AMEX1,808.87 -13.39

NASDAQ2,149.02 -17.88

STOCK EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHTS

Stock Footnotes: g = Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars. h = Does not meet continued-listing standards.lf = Late filing with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50percent within the past year. rt = Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within thelast year. un = Units. vj = In bankruptcy or receivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants. Mutual Fund Footnotes: b = Fee covering market costs is paid from fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemption fee.f = front load (sales charges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = not available. p = previous day’s net asset value. s = fundsplit shares during the week. x = fund paid a distribution during the week.Gainers and Losers must be worth at least $2 to belisted in tables at left. Most Actives must be worth at least $1. Volume in hundreds of shares. Source: The Associated Press.Sales figures are unofficial.

dd dd ddGAINERS ($2 OR MORE)

Volume

Name Vol (00) Last Chg3Com 1611967 7.46 +1.77PwShs QQQ871560 43.65 -.25BrcdeCm 820713 8.08 -1.17Intel 753130 19.68 -.16Cisco 627070 23.40 -.52Microsoft 536999 29.36 +.24DryShips 339894 6.71 -.06Comcast 316083 15.33 +.23ActivsBliz 311609 11.44 +.06JDS Uniph 284835 7.71 +.51

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)

LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)

Name Last Chg %ChgNetlist h 2.07 +.73 +54.53Com 7.46 +1.77 +31.1ZionO&G wt 5.00 +.98 +24.4KandiTech 4.14 +.76 +22.5CerusCp 2.69 +.48 +21.7USecBcCA 5.54 +.94 +20.4Cyanotech 2.74 +.46 +20.2eLong h 16.94 +2.81 +19.9PatrkInd 2.45 +.40 +19.5OsageBcsh 8.50 +1.18 +16.1

Name Last Chg %ChgRadioOne 2.60 -.89 -25.5ParkBnc 5.00 -1.10 -18.0Trimeris 2.95 -.64 -17.8EdacTech 3.26 -.70 -17.7NthnStat 2.52 -.48 -16.1CardiovS n 4.51 -.80 -15.1LECG 2.89 -.49 -14.5NwtPipe 26.74 -4.49 -14.4FstDefiFn 12.00 -1.82 -13.2AtlBcGp 6.00 -.90 -13.0

DIARYAdvanced 646Declined 2,038Unchanged 120Total issues 2,804New Highs 67New Lows 50

2,113,583,385Volume

Name Vol (00) Last ChgVantageDrl 58288 1.92 +.01GoldStr g 58223 3.41 -.07CelSci 52763 1.35 +.03Sinovac 52446 9.59 +.73NwGold g 50845 3.81 -.37Hemisphrx 37096 1.01 -.08NthgtM g 35780 2.94 -.03NovaGld g 23938 5.20 -.17Oilsands g 22966 1.15 -.06HKHighpw 22357 4.38 +1.17

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)

GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)

LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)

Name Last Chg %ChgHKHighpw 4.38 +1.17 +36.4TravelCtrs 4.05 +.49 +13.8CoastD 4.07 +.41 +11.2Sinovac 9.59 +.73 +8.2TiensBio 5.35 +.32 +6.4CoffeeH 4.60 +.25 +5.7Corriente g 6.30 +.32 +5.4WellsGard 2.33 +.12 +5.4BreezeE 6.20 +.31 +5.3UnvSecInst 7.25 +.35 +5.1

Name Last Chg %ChgDocuSec 2.29 -.41 -15.2Protalix 10.25 -1.08 -9.5NwGold g 3.81 -.37 -8.9GenMoly 2.37 -.22 -8.5iMergent 6.37 -.59 -8.5Wilber 6.47 -.58 -8.2Augusta g 2.56 -.21 -7.6Invitel 3.36 -.26 -7.2ChinHldA un 9.30 -.70 -7.0LaBarg 10.75 -.80 -6.9

DIARYAdvanced 151Declined 394Unchanged 40Total issues 585New Highs 10New Lows 7

Name Vol (00) Last ChgCitigrp 1993768 4.06 -.10BkofAm 1520771 16.06 -.37AMD 1517297 6.48 +1.16SPDR 1440150 109.03 -1.12DirFBear rs 982178 19.72 +.93SPDR Fncl 891085 14.69 -.28FordM 826993 8.20 -.13iShEMkts 733376 40.35 -.92GenElec 653447 15.75 -.08iShR2K 608485 58.17 -1.09

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)

GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)

LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)

Name Last Chg %ChgPlaybyB 4.07 +1.21 +42.3PlaybyA 4.90 +1.35 +38.0MSSPMid10 6.70 +1.38 +25.9TorchEn lf 6.66 +1.35 +25.4AMD 6.48 +1.16 +21.8Ambac3-03n4.16 +.74 +21.6GSC Inv 2.25 +.35 +18.4Ambac2-03 4.25 +.64 +17.7Textr pfB 145.41+19.80 +15.8WstnAlliB 3.47 +.45 +14.9

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NatioN

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — When Lilli Lackey started college, talk of a growing teacher shortage gave her confidence that a job would be waiting for her when she got out.

Now, six months after graduating, she considers herself lucky just to find work as a substitute.

Across the country, droves of people like Lackey are unable to find teaching jobs, in large part because the economy is forcing school systems to slash positions. The teacher shortage that many feared just a few years ago has turned into a teach-er glut.

“I always thought that if I didn’t find a job, I would be able to sub. And then once that started to be more difficult, it was really kind of devastating,” Lackey, an art teacher, said during a career fair for educators at the University of Kansas.

Since last fall, school systems, state education agencies, technical schools and colleges have shed about 125,000 jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At the same time, many teachers who had planned to retire or switch jobs are staying on because of the recession, and many people who have been laid off in other fields are trying to carve out second careers as teachers or applying to work as substitutes to make ends meet.

In Texas, the Round Rock school district had more than 5,000 applications for 322 teacher openings this year and saw its pool of subs almost double to 1,200, about 2 1/2 times as many as it needs even on a particularly bad day during flu season, said spokeswoman Joylynn Occhiuzzi.

“It is a tougher job market, and you get applicants that you might not normally have because of the economy,” she said.

Just a few years ago, before the recession hit, sev-eral reports had projected a big shortage of teach-ers across a wide range of subjects over the next several years as baby boomers retired from the classroom and the strong economy lured college graduates into fields other than education.

But the nationwide demand for teachers in 60 out of 61 subjects has declined from a year earlier, according to an annual report issued this week by the American Association for Employment in Education. Only one subject — math — was listed as having an extreme shortage of teachers. In recent years, more than a dozen subjects had extreme shortages.

“We don’t see a teacher shortage now,” said Neil Shnider, executive director of the association. “The school districts aren’t hiring.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Banks will have to secure their customers’ consent before charging large over-draft fees on ATM and debit card transactions, according to a new rule announced Thursday by the Federal Reserve.

The rule responds to complaints from consumer groups, members of Congress and other regulators that the overdraft fees are unfair because many people assume they can’t spend more on a debit card than is avail-able in their account. Instead, many

banks allow the transactions to go through, then charge fees of up to $25 to $35.

Under the Fed’s new rule, which will take effect July 1, banks will be required to notify new and existing customers of their overdraft services and give customers the option of being covered.

If customers don’t “opt in,” any deb-it or ATM transactions that overdraw their accounts will be denied, Fed officials said.

Teachers are no longer in short supply

CDC: 22 million hit by swine flu

ATM overdraft changes are ordered

Customers wait in a line that stretched around the block for the H1N1 vac-cine at Bob Johnson’s Pharmacy during a drop-in flu shot clinic in Seattle’s Crown Hill neighborhood on Monday.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Swine flu has sickened about 22 mil-lion Americans since April and killed nearly 4,000, including 540 children, say startling feder-al estimates released Thursday.

The figures — a quadrupling of previous death estimates — don’t mean swine flu suddenly has worsened, and most cases still don’t require a doctor’s care. Instead, the numbers are a long-awaited better attempt to quan-tify the new flu’s true toll.

“I am expecting all of these numbers, unfortunately, to con-tinue to rise,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And tight supplies of vaccine to combat the illness continue: Not quite 42 million doses are currently available, a few million less than CDC had predicted last week.

A new Associated Press-GfK poll shows nearly one in six par-ents has gotten at least some of their children vaccinated against swine flu since inoculations began last month. Another 14 percent of parents sought vac-cine, but couldn’t find any.

Only about 30 percent of chil-dren routinely get flu vaccina-tions during a normal winter. That even this many have got-ten vaccinated against the new

flu that scientists call the 2009 H1N1 strain despite the shortage suggests CDC’s target-the-young message has gotten through.

But three times as many adults have tried and failed to find vac-cine for themselves as have suc-ceeded.

“I know they’re trying their hardest,” Joy McGavin of Pittston, Pa., said of the CDC’s vaccine efforts. She hasn’t yet found vaccine for her three chil-dren despite a persistent hunt — even though she and her youngest child are at extra risk because of chronic illnesses.

“But it is kind of frustrating, being as my children’s school already shut down” because of a big outbreak, McGavin said.

And interest among the young adults who also are at high risk is waning fast, found the AP-GfK poll of 1,006 adults nationwide.

Thursday, Schuchat again urged patience in seeking vac-cine.

“It’s a marathon and not a sprint,” she said.

Until now, the CDC has con-servatively estimated more than 1,000 deaths and “many mil-lions” of new H1N1 infections. The agency was devoting more time to battling the pandemic than to counting it, and earlier

figures were based on laborato-ry-confirmed cases even as doc-tors largely quit using flu tests months ago — and experts knew that deaths from things like the bacterial pneumonia that often follows flu were being missed.

Thursday’s report attempts to calculate the first six months of the new H1N1 strain’s spread, from April through mid-Octo-ber. The CDC said:n Some 98,000 people have

been hospitalized from this new flu or its complications, includ-ing 36,000 children, 53,000 adults younger than 65 and 9,000 older adults.n Deaths could range from

a low of 2,500 to as many as 6,100, depending on how the data’s analyzed.n Some 8 million children have

become ill, 12 million adults younger than 65 and 2 million older adults.

The estimate of child deaths may seem especially surprising, considering the CDC’s conser-vative count of lab-confirmed deaths a week ago was 129.

“We don’t think things have changed from last week to this week,” Schuchat stressed, explaining the importance of looking beyond those lab counts. It’s “a better estimate for the big picture of what’s out there.”

12/

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The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009 — 13

NatioN/world

President Barack Obama greets troops and their families at Elmendorf Air Force base in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday. The President is traveling to Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea.

Associated Press

Charges filed in Ft. Hood caseFORT HOOD, Texas (AP) —

The Army psychiatrist accused of killing fellow soldiers at the Fort Hood military base was charged with 13 counts of pre-meditated murder Thursday as he lay in a hospital bed.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama ordered a review to determine if the government fumbled warning signs of the shooter’s contacts with a radical Islamic cleric.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan could face the death penalty if con-victed.

Army officials said they believe Hasan acted alone when he jumped on a table with two hand guns last week, shouted “Allahu akbar” and opened fire. The dead included at least three other mental health profession-als; 29 were injured.

Additional charges were pos-sible, said Chris Grey, spokes-man for the Army Criminal Investigation Command. It had not been decided whether to charge Hasan with the death of the unborn child of a pregnant soldier who died, officials told The Associated Press on condi-tion of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case publicly.

Meanwhile, Obama ordered a review of all intelligence related to Hasan to determine whether it was properly shared and acted upon within the government. John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, will over-see the review. The first results

are due Nov. 30. Obama also ordered the preservation of the intelligence.

Members of Congress are pressing for a full investigation in why Hasan was not detected and stopped. A Senate hearing on Hasan is scheduled for next week.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, and others have called for a full examination of what agencies knew about Hasan’s contacts with a radical imam and others of concern to the U.S., and what they did with the information. Hoekstra confirmed this week that the U.S. government knew about 10 to 20 e-mails between Hasan and a radical imam, beginning in December 2008.

A joint terrorism task force overseen by the FBI learned late last year of Hasan’s repeated contact with a radical Muslim cleric who encouraged Muslims to kill U.S. troops in Iraq. The FBI said the task force did not refer early information about Hasan to superiors because it concluded he wasn’t linked to terrorism.

Hasan was charged in the hos-pital without his lawyers pres-ent, said John Galligan, his civil-ian attorney.

“What I find disturbing is that my client is in ICU, and he’s 150 miles south of his defense counsel, and he’s being served with the charges,” he told The Associated Press. “Given his sta-tus as a patient, I’m troubled by

this procedure and that I’m not there. I’m in the dark, and that shouldn’t be the case. I am mad.”

Months before the shootings, doctors and staff overseeing Hasan’s training reported view-ing him at times as belliger-ent, defensive and argumenta-tive in his frequent discussions of his Muslim faith, according to a military official familiar with several group discussions about Hasan. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the meetings and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Hasan was characterized as a mediocre student and lazy worker, which concerned the doctors and staff at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a mili-tary medical school in Bethesda, Maryland, the official said.

Even outside the military, Hasan’s behavior drew atten-tion. Golam Akhter, a civil engi-neer, said Thursday that he had spoken with Hasan about 10 times at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring before Hasan left for Texas last sum-mer.

“He used to not believe that 9/11 was solely the work of Middle East people,” Akhter said. “His main thing was, ‘America is killing Muslims in the Middle East.’ That made him very, very upset.”

Akhter said he sensed that Hasan was “a troubled man” and feels guilty for not alerting oth-ers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal deficit hit a record for October as the new budget year began where the old one ended: with the government awash in red ink.

Economists worry that if such deficits continue it could push up interest rates, further drag-ging on the fragile economic recovery.

The Treasury Department said Thursday that the deficit for October totaled $176.4 billion, even higher than the $150 bil-lion imbalance that economists expected.

The deficit for the 2009 budget year, which ended on Sept. 30, set an all-time record in dollar terms of $1.42 trillion. That was $958 billion above the 2008 def-icit, the previous record holder.

October was the 13th straight

month to show a monthly defi-cit — another record. It was the fifth-largest monthly deficit ever.

The imbalance came mostly from lower receipts of individual and corporate taxes. Receipts were $135.3 billion, a 17.9 per-cent drop from last October.

Spending dipped 2.7 percent to $311.7 billion. Last October’s outlays were inflated by the $33 billion spent on the first round of financial bailouts.

The Obama administration expects this year’s deficit to reach $1.5 trillion. That would make it the third straight record annual deficit.

In relation to the overall econ-omy, the 2009 deficit was 9.9 percent of the gross domestic product. That was the highest level since the World War II-era deficit hit 21.5 percent of GDP in

1945.The devastating effects of the

country’s worst recession since the 1930s and the government’s efforts to stabilize the financial system with a $700 billion bank bailout fund and a $787 billion economic stimulus program drove the 2009 deficit.

The administration projects the deficit will remain above $1 trillion in 2011. In fact, accord-ing to the estimates it made in August, the deficit will never drop below $739 billion over the next decade.

So far, the government has been able to borrow to finance the soaring deficits at low rates because the recession pushed interest rates down and the Federal Reserve has worked to keep them low in an effort to stimulate a rebound.

Federal deficit sets October record

Poll: Family dinner still holding strong

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pass the gravy — plus the phone and the remote control. It’s dinnertime in America.

Between the blare of the TV, the ring of the phone and Junior texting his buddies under the table or from the couch, the modern dinner comes with a heaping helping of distracting bells and whistles, an Associated Press-iVillage Food poll found.

Yet the sit-down, home-cooked family meal is an enduring tradition. And not just on Thanksgiving or other special occasions.

Most nights, most families manage to eat togeth-er, the survey found.

Democrats and Republicans do. Devout church-goers and never-goers do. Childless families and those with kids are about equally apt to have a reg-ular family meal. So are families from the suburbs and the country.

Altogether, more than 60 percent of those who live with families said they sat down with fam-ily for dinner at least five nights in the past week. Home-cooked meals were the norm, not just take-out and the like.

Hand-me-down recipes determine the menu more than any other source. Although more than half in the poll have cooked something from an online recipe and TV shows, such digital delights lag recipes clipped from newspapers and maga-zines, and none of that holds a candle to recipes passed on from family elders.

So far so good, painter Norman Rockwell, that celebrant of the idealized old-fashioned life, surely would think.

But family bonding has some competition when people are chowing down.

Television is a constant dinner companion for a quarter of families, the poll suggests. More than half have it turned on more often than rarely.

Half are pestered by phone calls — including, it must be said, from the occasional pollster like the ones who did this survey.

Texting or e-mailing on a cell phone is always going on over dinner for 5 percent of families. It’s more than a rare intrusion for 15 percent. Nearly 40 percent have the radio or stereo going, at least occasionally.

Surveys over recent decades have generally found the American dinnertime to be hanging in as fam-ily time despite the growth of households with both parents working. It might be harder to pull off these days but, in the view of Don Wells, 59, of Phenix City, Ala., it’s not that hard.

“Cooking is not rocket science,” said Wells, a gov-ernment contractor who is retired from the armed forces. He and his wife, Mary, have dinner together every night, along with kids, grandkids or “anyone else who happens to be in the house at meal time.”

Cell phones don’t interrupt. “Not in this house,” he said. But the TV is sometimes on.

In West Chicago, Ill., Judit Mohai, 34, is a musi-cian who usually cooks for her husband and kids, ages 2 and 5, four days a week. She’s working the remaining three nights. The family eats in the kitchen, where there is no TV, and no one has a cell phone.

For those who can’t pull a family dinner together regularly, it’s most often because someone is work-ing too late. Almost one in 10 family members sur-veyed had no dinners with family in the past week.

Major reasons for offering prepared food instead of a meal from scratch were that the cook was too busy or too beat.

Shelly Fry, 35, a computer programer in Truro, Iowa, says she sometimes wonders how others with full-time jobs manage to cook so much. Her hus-band, T.J., has an electrical contracting business; their kids are 13 and 14. They cook about half their dinners.

The deli counter, a precooked chicken at the gro-cery store and takeout are frequent saviors. Dinner is often at 6:30 p.m., with the TV usually on in the background. The kids share one cell phone, are not allowed to text at all and can’t take calls at dinner. “My kids are deprived,” she said wryly.

OBAMA ON THE ROAD

13/

The Gift of LoveAt the beginning of each arrangement conference I make an attempt to connect with each family emotionally. Being a funeral director does not make me an authority on human grief, but being a person who has experienced loss helps me have a certain level of compassion. One point that I try to make is that grief is the price tag for giving ourselves to someone. When a person loses a loved one, often the level of hurt is relative to our emotional investment in the life of the deceased.Our Creator has given us a unique gift that no other object of his creation is capable. That unique gift is the gift of love. The ability that we have to choose to love someone is all part of a divine plan. This divine plan brings meaning to our lives. Just imagine a world without the ability to love. Some people choose not to be vulnerable and instead live life cautiously and guarded, but life

was not meant to be lived in that manner. The greatest example of love was our Creator God giving us his only Son for our salvation. Even God knows that you cannot truly love someone without experiencing a degree of pain. Personally, I would rather suffer the emotional hurt after losing someone that I loved than not to have had the opportunity to love them at all. It is all a part of this wonderful gift called love.

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Lanny funchess––––– funeral director –––––

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14 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009

SHOE by Chris Cassat and Gary Brookins

BROOM-HILDA by Russell Myers

ARLO AND JANIS by Jimmy Johnson

THE GRIZZWELLS by Bill Schoor

DILBERT by Scott Adams

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FRANK AND ERNEST by Bob Thaves

Dear Dr. Gott: I am an 87-year-old male in good health for my age. My main problem is sleep, or rather, a lack of it. I get the most sleep in a La-Z-Boy chair because when I get into bed, I can’t stay more than a few minutes most times. I get up to go to my chair, get two or three hours sleep, wake up, go to bed, and ulti-mately get a couple of hours sleep. My doctor can’t say what is wrong.

Dear Reader: There are countless reasons for an interruption in sleep. Let’s consider some of the most com-mon ones. Do you eat your dinner later in the evening and finish with a piece of chocolate, cup of coffee or caffeine-containing products? Is your bedroom dark and quiet, or do you tend to sleep with a television or radio on? Do you use the time when you get into bed to problem-solve or go over issues of the day? Are things going on in your home that you can hear or be distracted by at the time you choose to retire for the evening?

Are you on any medications that could have an effect on your sleep patterns? Is there something in the bedroom that you find distracting that makes your recliner more com-forting? Is a situation going on that you feel you are accepting of, yet it contributes to sleeplessness?

Do you go to bed at the same time each evening, or does the schedule vary?

You may not be ready to fall asleep and stay asleep, preferring quiet activity such as reading for a short time before calling it a night.

Review your activities to determine whether a pattern develops that might provide an answer.

Sleep issues: No rest for the weary

Dear Abby: My neighbors, “John” and “Marcia,” are such a nice couple, I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know them all that well, but what’s going on is extremely upsetting.

On several occasions, I have seen a woman park her car near my home after dark and walk to the back door of their house. About an hour later, I see John let her out the front door. He even has the nerve to kiss her goodbye right on the front porch! I’m sure he is slipping this tart in for sex — right under his wife’s nose.

I want to tell Marcia what’s going on, but I’m unsure how to go about it. — Not Nosy

Dear Not Nosy: I strongly recom-mend that you mind your own busi-ness and do nothing. If there was any hanky-panky going on, I seriously doubt that John would be indulging in it while his wife was in the house — and kissing his illicit lover goodbye on their doorstep, yet. When some-one is overly preoccupied with the sex life of a neighbor, it isn’t “concern.” It IS nosy, so please get a life.

Dear Abby: I am a 79-year-old recent widow. Shortly after I was married I had a brief, intense affair with a man at work. I’ll call him “Earl.” Earl’s wife, “Lillian,” was in her third trimester of pregnancy and he was needy. We fell hopelessly in love and our affair continued after his baby was born. We were happy

together and nothing else seemed to matter. Somehow Lillian found out and left him. The divorce she said she’d seek would have solved our problems because I would have immediately divorced my husband, but it never happened. She still loved him, and he decided to do the “hon-orable thing” and reconcile with her. We swore we would love each other forever, no matter what. My husband forgave me, and we had a good life and three children. A friend kept me informed about Earl — where he was and what he was doing. She told me he has spent his life making up to Lillian for his “indiscretion” and treating her like a queen. She is now in a nursing home suffering with Alzheimer’s. She no longer knows Earl, but he goes to see her every day.

Would it be wrong of me to get in touch with him to sympathize? I still love him. Perhaps he loves me, too. — Hoping

Dear Hoping: Please accept my condolences for the loss of your hus-band, but offering “sympathy” to Earl right now would not be good.

After-dark visitor raises questions

Your Birthday, Nov. 13;

You could tap into a new stream of opportunities.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) — Not only will every-thing start out to your lik-ing; things will end up that way.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) — Think in the most expansive terms because big plans are more likely to succeed.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — When it comes to material holdings, there isn’t likely anything that can sink your finances.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Don’t be sur-prised if others are trying to imitate your popularity.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) — It isn’t likely that anyone will be able to fool you, owing to your excep-tional perceptive abilities.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) — You’ll be at your best when involved in any form of social activity.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — It’s your lucky day because Dame Fortune is apt to put you in the right spot at the right time.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — Because you’ll look at life as a game instead of a battle, everything will seem like play to you.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) — Someone with whom you have strong emotional ties could turn out to be a good friend.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — Think in terms of “we” instead of “me,” because work with others will turn out well for you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — First consider doing a repair job yourself before hiring a professional.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) — Don’t be surprised by how much attention you attract wherever you go. That marvelous x-factor quality you possess will put you smack-dab in the lime-light, regardless of where you are or with whom.

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PREMIUM CHANNELS

MAX 510 310 512 Time M } › 10,000 B.C. (‘08) Å } ›› Eagle Eye (‘08) Å Life Sin ENC 520 340 526 ›› Wildcats } › Armageddon (‘98) Å :35 } › 88 Minutes (‘07) Sur HBO 500 300 501 Meet Spar 24/7 24/7 Pac Pac } ›› The Ruins Cat Bored XCha SHO 540 318 537 In NFL Nurse Wee Cali Cali Dexter In NFL Lock Su STARZ 530 350 520 Last-Harvey National Treasure: Book Crash (N) } ›› Hancock Crash

IN THE STARSPUZZLE

Dr. Peter M. Gott

Ask Dr. Gott

Abigail van Buren

Dear Abby

14comics

The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FRIDAY, November 13, 2009 — 15

A TO Z, IT’S IN THE

CLASSIFIEDS!

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having qualified as Executor of the estate of GRACE T. PHILBECK of Rutherford County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the estate of the said GRACE T. PHILBECKto present them to the undersigned on or before the 30th day of January 2010 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment.

This is the 30th day of October, 2009.

Ruth T. Hodge, Executor958 Old Caroleen RoadForest City, NC 28043

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having qualified as Administrator of the Estate of MODENIA SHORT STROUD, late of 3320 Pea Ridge Road, Bostic, Rutherford County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at the Law Offices of Travis S. Greene, PC, 75 South Trade Street, Suite C, Tryon, North Carolina 28782, on or before Friday, January 26, 2010, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms and corporations indebted to the said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This the 23rd day of October, 2009.

Evelyn Louise Lane, AdministratorEstate of Modenia Short Stroud532 Sandy Level Church RoadBostic, NC 28018

Travis S. Greene, Esq.Law Offices of Travis S. Greene, PC75 South Trade Street, Suite CTryon, NC 28782

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having qualified as Administrator of the estate of EDITH MAE TOMS of Rutherford County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the estate of the said EDITH MAE TOMS to present them to the undersigned on or before the 6th day of February 2010 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment.

This is the 6th day of November, 2009.

Alisa Wilkerson, Administrator112 Springdale Dr.Spindale, NC 28160

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having qualified as Administrator of the estate of DEIDRE ANN LITTLEJOHN of Rutherford County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the estate of the said DEIDRE ANN LITTLEJOHN to present them to the undersigned on or before the 30th day of January 2010 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment.

This is the 30th day of October, 2009.

Annette Sweetenberg Littlejohn, Administrator231 Marshall StreetForest City, NC 28043

NORTH CAROLINARUTHERFORD COUNTY

IN THE MATTER OF THE REMOVAL OF APPROXIMATELY TEN GRAVES FROM AN UNNAMED FAMILY PLOT CEMETERY LOCATED ON PROPERTY NOW OWNED BYSTONECUTTER MILLS CORPORATION, LOCATED IN RUTHERFORD COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, STATE PROJECT/WBS NO.34400.2.2, PARCEL NO. 034, I.D. NO. R-2233AA.

NOTICENotice is hereby given to the known and unknown relatives of those persons buried in approximately ten graves in an unnamed family plot cemetery located on property now owned by Stonecutter Mills Corporation, and located in Rutherford County, North Carolina, found within the right of way of State Project/WBS No. 34400.2.2, Parcel No. 034, I.D. No. R-2233AA; that said unnamed family plot cemetery is located approximately 1,100 feet north of the Broad River, right of Survey Station 107+00, Survey Line-L, on U.S. 221 in Forest City, in Rutherford County, North Carolina; that the following persons are the named deceased buried in the unnamed family plot cemetery: J.A. Webster, Louisa Webster, John H. Webster, Ann Webster, Margaret I. Webster, foot stone with initials LW, foot stone with initials NLW, foot stone with initials ANW, and one small unmarked piece of granite; that the Department of Transportation has been able to ascertain the closest next of kin or the only known relative for the said deceased persons is Alma Jean Clark of Rutherfordton, North Carolina; that the approximate ten graves to be moved will be relocated and re-interred to the Wesley Memorial Cemetery located on SR 1116 (Hogan Road) in Harris, North Carolina; that a complete record of where the ten subject graves of the named deceased persons will be re-interred will be on file with the Register of Deeds of Rutherford County, North Carolina.

You are further notified that there are approximately ten graves found within the unnamed family plot cemetery which are being moved and the Department of Transportation will be responsible for all reasonable expenses pertaining under the provisions of North Carolina General Statute §65-13 and that the removal will begin after this notice has been published once a week for four consecutive weeks over a period of thirty (30) days in The Daily Courier newspaper in Forest City, North Carolina.

This the 26th day of October, 2009.

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONBy: E.C. Powell, Jr.Director of Field Operations

Richard G. SowerbyDEPARTMENT OF JUSTICEPublication Dates: 10/30, 11/6, 11/13, and 11/20/09.

DEADLINES: New Ads, Cancellations & ChangesTuesday Edition.............Monday, 12pmWednesday Edition......Tuesday, 2pmThursday Edition......Wednesday, 2pmFriday Edition...............Thursday, 2pmSaturday Edition................Friday, 2pmSunday Edition......................Friday, 2pm

Please check your ad on the first day that it runs. Call

us before the deadline for the next edition with corrections.We will rerun the ad or credit

your account for no more than one day.

*4 line minimum on all ads

1 WEEK SPECIALRun ad 6 consecutive

days and only pay for 5 days*

2 WEEK SPECIALRun ad 12 consecutive

days and only pay for 9 days*

3 DAY WEEKEND SPECIAL

YARD SALE SPECIALRun a 20 word yard sale ad Thurs.,

Fri., & Sat. for ONLY $20. Additional words are only 75¢ each. Deadline: Wed. at 2 p.m.

Email: emeyer@thedigitalcourier.comIn person: 601 Oak St., Forest City

Contact Erika Meyer to place your ad!Call: 828-245-6431 Fax: 828-248-2790

CLASSIFIEDS4 FOR 24

REAL ESTATE WEEKLY SPECIAL

NEED TO SELL OR RENT YOUR

PROPERTY?LET US HELP!

4 Lines • $2400

One Week In The Paper

*Private party customers only! This special must be mentioned at the time of ad placement.

Valid 6/15/09 - 6/19/09

*Private party customers only! This special mustbe mentioned at the time of ad placement.

Valid 11/09/09 - 11/13/09

YARD SALE Rfdtn Hodge St. Sat. 7A-tilFurniture & something

for everyone!

YARD SALE Ellenboro1491 Oak Grove

Church Rd. Sat. 8A-11A Free coffee! Play Station 2, guitar hero

games, guitar for PS2, household items, adult clothing, shoes, much more! No early birds,

please!

SALE Hwy 221 and Poors Ford Rd.

Sat. 8A-12P Freezer, videos, futon, holiday & gift items, name brand clothing, household!

MULTI FAMILY FC:237 Stoney Brook Dr. Sat. 7A-until Children and household items!

Multi Family FC 161 S. Magnolia St. Sat. 7:30A-til Furniture,

clothes, & household!

LARGE INDOOR SALE Rutherfordton:

2730 Maple Creek Rd. Saturday 7A-12P

Large women’s and men’s clothing.

Too many items to list.

LARGE 3 FAMILYRfdtn: 395 Washington St. Saturday starting

at daylight Nice clothes, shoes, all

sizes, lots of household items!

GARAGE SALE: Rfdtn260 Bent CreekSaturday 7A-1P

Household items, w/d, clothing, toys, gas

scooter, dog crates, much more!

Yard Sales

INDOOR YARD SALE Rfdtn: 546 Coopers

Gap Rd. Fri. 8A-12P& Sat. 8A-2PClothes, angel

figurines, furniture, household,

desk, more!

Garage sale/remnant estate sale Rfdtn:

851 Oak Springs Rd.Saturday 8A-5P

Rain or shine! Dishes, jewelry, porcelain dolls,

furniture, more!

GARAGE SALE Rfdtn: 1382 Moss Rd.

Saturday 7A-untilTools, automotive,

ladders, yard items, Christmas decor, household items,

books, & glassware!

BIG YARD SALE FC 679 East Main St. Sat.

8A-until Furniture, toys, T.V., glassware,

adult & children’s clothes & more!

ATTIC CLEAN OUT FC: 161 Woodfield

(off Old Henrietta Rd.) Saturday 7A-Noon Large assortment!

5 FAMILY 127 HamrickRd., Goodes Creek

Community Fri. & Sat. 7A-until Household,

kids clothing, toys, tree stands, hunting,

fishing, propane heater

3 FAMILY Greenhill: 362 Moss RoadFri. & Sat. 8A-2P

Huge variety! Books, furniture, collectibles

and much more!

2 Family Yard Sale242 State Line Rd. (off Hwy 221S) Sat. 7:30A-

til Household items, clothes, etc.

Yard Sales

Lg. male white lab puppy wearing blue

collar. Found 11/8 near E. Church & Kiser Rd.

Call 245-4490

F Bassett Hound mixwhite with brownish

red spots. Found 11/7 in FC, Henson Rd.

area. Call 657-9541

Found

REWARD! JackRussell Terrier off State Line Rd. Sun 11/8, male, brown

collar Call 245-1007

Lost

Free: Adorable Kittens Male & female May be able to provide

spay and neutering. Call 828-202-5760

CKC Fawn BoxerPups Shots, dewclaws removed, tails docked.

$250 Serious calls only! Call 287-5153

Pets

95 Dodge Dakota ExtCab Manual trans.,

good shape, 1 owner, 153,000 mi. $3,200Call 828-447-1336

Trucks

WILL BUY YOUR JUNK Cars & Trucks

Pick up at your convenience!

Call 223-0277

Want To Buy

Bassett bed frame,dresser w/mirror,computer desk.

828-748-7561 after 5

1 Whirlpool washerand 2 Whirlpool dryers $40 each Desk $20.

Call 289-5290

For Sale

Searching for PT Minister of Musicfor adult and youth

choirs. Send resume to: Mt. Vernon

Baptist Church, 2676 Hudlow Rd.,

Forest City, NC 28043

Judys Childcare has PT position for person with good supervisory and

communication skills Office experience

desirable. 245-5308

Looking for someone to sit with elderly

gentleman, light housekeeping. Ref’s.

req. 828-245-8406

Help Wanted

Physical Therapist & Physical Therapist Assistant FT days,

CPR Certification, NC License as PT/PTA;

outpatient setting with strong interest in

Orthopedics desired. All levels of experience encouraged to apply. Submit resume to:

smcdermott@saintlukeshospital.com

or mail to: St. Luke’s Rehab Dept. Attn: Scott McDermott 799 B West Mills St. Columbus, NC 28722

Part time choirdirector at Walls

Baptist Church. Sendresumes to 822

Walls Church Rd., Bostic, NC 28018

Experienced buffet style cook needed.Apply in person at

Spindale Restaurant 411 West Main Street

Help Wanted

Will keep 2 childrenin my home, full or part

time. Call 429-9442 for more information

Work Wanted

3BR/2BA MH in Rutherfordton!

RENT TO OWN!Will Finance! No Banks! Hurry! You pay no lot

rent, taxes, or insurance!

NEG. $99/wk + dep

704-806-6686

SPACIOUS & PRIVATE3BR/2BA in Rfdtn.

$650/mo. + securities.748-0658 or 286-1982

2BR/2BA on large lot in Rfdtn area. Refrig. & stove. $375/mo. +$300 dep. 286-4333

Mobile Homes

For Rent

14x76 - 1996 3BR w/fireplace

Needs TLC!

$5,700 cash704-484-1677

ModularOffice Unit 28x66 1850 sqft.

$25,000 takes it704-484-1640

Mobile Homes

For Sale

3BR/2BA in Rfdtnnear R-S Central, bigyard, lg. ranch home.$650/month + deposit 429-6946 or 657-5100

2BR/1BA House inFC. Cent. h/a, range, refrig. No pets! $500/

mo. + ref’s. & sec. dep.Call 245-9247

2BR/2.5BA home on64/74 1 mile from Lake Lure Beach, Chimney Rock and Ingles. Lake Lure view. $650/mo.

Also, 2BR/2BAon 2 ac. in Rumbling Bald Resort, washer

/dryer, cent. h/a, wood burning stove $750/mo.

Call Eddy Zappel 828-289-9151 or

Marco 954-275-0735

2BR/1BA Dual pane windows, ceiling fans,

window a/c, w/d hookup. East Court

St., Rfdtn. 1.5 blocks to downtown

$310/mo. application 828-748-8801

Huge House for Rent Forrest Hills 4BR/3BACent. h/a., appl. incld., w/d hookup. No pets! Ref’s req. $1,200/mo. + $500 dep. 289-8105

Homes

For Rent

Nice 2 Bedroom Townhouse Apt &

1 Bedroom Aptacross from Super 8

Motel in Spindale $385/mo. & $515/mo.

Call 828-447-1989

3BR/2BA single level town home, withattached garage,

great neighborhood, conveniently located

inside Rfdtn city limits. No pets! 828-429-4288

Richmond Hill Senior Apts. in Rfdtn 1BR Units w/handicap

accessible units avail. Sec 8 assistance avail.

287-2578 Hours: Mon., Tues., & Thurs.

7-3. TDD Relay 1-800-735-2962 EqualHousing Opportunity. Income Based Rent.

1, 2 & 3BR Nice, large Townhomes

Private decks, washer/dryer hook up

Water included!Starting at $375/mo.

1-888-684-5072

1 & 2 BEDROOM APARTMENTS Some with free

utilities! Ask about NO DEPOSIT! Call 245-0016

leave message

Apartments

Homes

For Sale

Rfdtn: 1,062 sqft. 6 room house, .5 acre, outbuilding. $48,000

245-4248 or 429-3471

Mobile Homes

For Sale

LAND OWNERSBRAND NEW HOMES Well, septic, grading.

We do it all!

704-481-0895

Danieltown: Furn. 2BR Cent. h/a. No

pets! $400/mo. + dep.245-4248 or 429-3471

Work Wanted

Leaf removal, underbrushing, yard work

Call Richard Ammons288-1228

Sport Utility1998 Isuzu Amigo 2 wheel drive, soft top, 129K, 5 spd. $3,600.

Call 289-5290

Campers/RVs93 Gulfstream 18’ travel

trailer ac/heat, bath w/shower, sleeps 4,

$4,500 828-305-8365

Motorcycles

2009 Harley DavidsonSportster 1200 custom 3,000 mi., 7 yr. warranty

$9,800 289-8533

IF YOUHAVE LOSTOR FOUND

A PET,CALL USTODAY!

Place an adat no cost to

you. Runsfor 1 week.245-6431Mon.-Fri.8am-5pm

YARD SALESPECIAL

Only $20.00Comes with a 20word ad that runsThurs., Fri., & Sat., 3 yard sale signs,pricing stickers,

and a rain day guarantee!

16 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FRIDAY, November 13, 2009

TREE CARE

CarolinaTree Care& Stump Grinding

Chad Sisk(828) 289-7092Senior Citizen Discounts

10% discount on all workValid 9/17-11/1/09

• Low Rates• Good Clean Work• Satisfaction Guaranteed• Fully Insured• Free Estimates

TREE CARE

Mark Reid828-289-1871

Fully InsuredFree Estimates

20 Years ExperienceSenior Citizens &

Veterans Discounts

Topping & RemovalStump Grinding

BUSINESS SERVICE DIRECTORY&&Does your business need a boost?

Let us design an eye catching ad for your business! Business & Services Directory ads get results! Call the Classified Department!

245-6431

ROOFINGGARY LEE QUEEN’S

ROOFINGGolden Valley CommunityOver 35 Years Experience

CHURCHES & COMMUNITYBUILDINGS

ALSO METAL ROOFS

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of roofing, new & old✓ References furnished✓ Vinyl Siding

✓ 10% DISCOUNT FOR SENIOR CITIZENS

ROOFING

Todd McGinnisRoofing

FREE ESTIMATES

828-286-2306

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HOME IMPROVEMENTS

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828-245-6333828-253-9107AFFORDABLE

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Licensed Contractor with 35 Years Experience

Free Estimates & Fully Insured

LicensedContractor

Bill Gardner Construction, Inc

245-6367

WINDOWS & SIDINGENTRANCE DOORS STORM DOORS

YOURAD

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VETERINARIAN

Thunder RoadAnimal

Hospital

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Bi-Lo

Super 8Motel

74 Bypass

Denny’s

*Dog/Cat spay/neuter program*Low-cost monthly shot clinic*Flea & tick control*Heart worm prevention *SALE*

Save Up To $4600 Today

GRADING & HAULING

DAVID’S GRADING

We do it allNo job too small

828-657-6006Track Hoe Work,

Tractor Work , Dozer Work, Bobcat Work, Trenching,

Grading and Land Clearing, Hauling Gravel, Sand,

Dirt, Etc. FREE ESTIMATE

HOME IMPROVEMENT

Specializing In Metal Roofing.....Offered In Many ColorsGuaranteed Lowest Prices on Vinyl DH Windows

Wood & Vinyl Decks • Vinyl Siding • Kitchen & Bath RemodelingReface Your Cabinets, Don't Replace Them!

Website - hmindustries.com Visa Mastercard Discover

828-248-1681 704-434-9900H & M Industries, Inc.Clean up at the end of each day GUARANTEED

Vinyl Replacement WindowsDouble Pane, Double Hung

3/4" Glass, Energy-Star Rated

INSTALLED - $199*

FREE LOW EAND ARGON!

*up to 101 UI

HOME REPAIR

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* roofing * concrete* decks & steps* painting * carpentry* skirting * plumbing* sheet rock* room additions* metal roofing

NNo Job Too SmallDiscount for Senior Citizens

PAINTING

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Interior & Exterior22 years experience

Great referencesFree Estimates

TREE CARE

CarolinaTree Care& Stump Grinding

Chad Sisk(828) 289-7092Senior Citizen Discounts

10% discount on all workValid 9/17-11/1/09

• Low Rates• Good Clean Work• Satisfaction Guaranteed• Fully Insured• Free Estimates

AIR CONDITIONING & HEATING

“We’re Not Comfortable Until You Are”“Serving Rutherford & Cleveland County For 30 Years”

NC License 6757 • SC License 4299

FAST RELIABLE SERVICE ON ALL BRANDSFree Estimates • Best Warranties

All Work GuaranteedService • Installation • Duct Cleaning • IAQ

Gas / Oil / Heat Pumps / Geothermal / Boilers Residential & Commercial

245-1141www.shelbyheating.com

24 Hour Emergency

Service

LAWN CARE

* Leaf Removal

* Gutter Cleaning

223-8191

QualityLawn Care

ADVERTISEYOUR

BUSINESSfor

Less Than$5.25

Per Day!Call

245-6431Ext. 205

PAINTING

Interior & ExteriorINSURED

FREE ESTIMATESReasonable Rates

Owner Jerry Lancaster

286-0822

The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009 — 17

17/

18 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 13, 2009

nation/world

North Korea threatens South

World Today

Somali judge assassinatedMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Gunmen have

killed a top Somali judge who had sentenced many pirates and human traffickers to long jail terms, the security minister for northern Somalia said Thursday.

Mohamed Said Samatar said three men were arrested Thursday over the killing of High Court Judge Mohamed Abdi Aware. In addition to jail-ing suspected pirates, Aware also recently jailed four members of Somalia’s Islamic insurgency.

Drug lord on most powerful listMEXICO CITY (AP) — Forbes Magazine

named drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman — a fugitive reputed to be hiding in the mountains of northern Mexico — to its list of the 67 “World’s Most Powerful People” on Wednesday.

At No. 41 on the list, Guzman is ahead of presi-dents like Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev, France’s Nicolas Sarkozy and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.

Forbes noted Guzman’s profession as “drug traf-ficker” on the list published Wednesday on its Web site.

Kidnapped journalist freedOSLO (AP) — A Norwegian freelance journal-

ist kidnapped a week ago in eastern Afghanistan has been released along with his Afghan inter-preter, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

Journalist Paal Refsdal and an unnamed inter-preter were freed Wednesday night after being abducted Nov. 5 near the border with Pakistan, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said.

It is still unclear who abducted Refsdal and demanded $500,000 for his release, Stoere told journalists Thursday evening, adding that to his knowledge the demand was never met

“Norwegian authorities did not exchange money for the hostages,” he said.

Iran nuke plant seven years oldVIENNA (AP) — Iran’s recently revealed ura-

nium enrichment hall is a highly fortified under-ground space that appears too small to house a civilian nuclear program, but large enough to serve for military activities, diplomats told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Iran began building the facility near the holy city of Qom seven years ago, and after bouts of fitful construction could finish the project in a year, the diplomats said.

Both the construction timeline and the size of the facility — inspected last month by the International Atomic Energy Agency — are sig-nificant in helping shed light on Tehran’s true nuclear intentions.

Iran says it wants to enrich only to make atomic fuel for energy production, but the West fears it could retool its program to churn out fissile war-head material.

Medvedev urges modernizationMOSCOW (AP) — President Dmitry Medvedev

laid out his plan Thursday to move Russia’s econ-omy into the modern age and overcome the grim industrial legacy of the Soviet Union.

In his annual state-of-the-nation address, he took a few digs at Vladimir Putin, his predeces-sor and mentor, but made clear that the tightly controlled political system Putin created is here to stay.

Medvedev warned the opposition that any attempts to upset the current order will not be tolerated.

He ordered a sweeping modernization of the Soviet-built military arsenals. But he also called for a “pragmatic” foreign policy aimed at attract-ing investment and improving living standards, rather than “chaotic actions driven by nostalgia and prejudice.”

Palestinians vote in questionRAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian

election officials on Thursday recommended call-ing off January’s presidential vote, a step that could result in embattled President Mahmoud Abbas staying in office indefinitely.

Abbas, who must approve the recommendation, had vowed not to run for re-election because of his frustration with stalled peace efforts. But few think he will resign outright if no election is held.

Hanna Nasser, chairman of the Palestinian election commission, blamed the rival Hamas militant group for holding up the vote. He said Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, had refused to cooperate with election workers, mak-ing it impossible to hold the Jan. 24 election.

Nasser did not propose a new date for the bal-loting.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea threatened to punish South Korea follow-ing their brief-but-bloody naval firefight, though analysts said Thursday that chances of retali-ation appeared slim ahead of planned talks between the U.S. and Pyongyang.

Tuesday’s battle near the dis-puted western sea border left one North Korean officer dead and three others wounded, according to a senior South Korean military officer. Both sides have accused the other of provoking the two-minute battle and Pyongyang has threatened consequences.

“Warmongers will be forced to pay a costly price,” the North’s main Rodong Sinmun news-paper said Thursday in a com-mentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. “We never utter empty words.”

A North Korean navy patrol vessel is believed to have been towed by another North Korean ship to a nearby base after South Korean ships fired some 4,950 rounds, said an official with Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. He asked not to be identified because of the issue’s sensitivity.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies, downplayed

the significance of the North’s threats, saying they were car-ried in newspaper commentar-ies rather than in government or military statements — which carry more weight.

The North’s military issued a statement Tuesday blaming the South for the clash but has not made any threat or mention of retaliation itself.

Analysts believe a planned trip to Pyongyang by a U.S. offi-cial would make it difficult for Pyongyang to take retaliatory steps against the South anytime soon.

President Barack Obama, due to arrive in Seoul on Nov. 18 amid a regional tour, plans to send special envoy Stephen Bosworth to Pyongyang by year’s end for the first direct talks with the North during his adminis-tration.

Bosworth’s trip is aimed at per-suading communist North Korea to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament negotiations, which Pyongyang walked away from earlier this year.

The North has long demand-ed one-on-one talks with the United States before committing to the stalled talks on ending its nuclear programs. The talks also include South Korea, China, Russia and Japan, and were last held in Beijing in December.

Jeung Young-tae, a North Korea expert at the government-funded Korea Institute for National Unification, said that while some kind of retaliation is possible, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il would have little to gain from doing so.

“Any escalation of the situation would not be in the interest of the Kim Jong Il regime at a time when the North is focusing on dialogue with the U.S.,” he said.

Paik Hak-soon, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute think tank near Seoul, said it is hard to believe that Pyongyang would retaliate when it is seek-ing to improve its relations with both South Korea and the U.S.

Officials in Seoul shrugged off the North’s threats, saying they can deter any aggression and will defend the disputed sea bor-der — known as the Northern Limit Line — where the clash took place.

The line is a de facto west-ern sea border drawn up by the U.N. command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The North has long insisted it be redrawn farther south.

The Defense Ministry said Thursday that it plans to hold a meeting of top military com-manders next month to review South Korea’s defenses.

Tourists use binoculars to look at North Korea’s city of Kaepoong at a uni-fication observation post near the border village of Panmunjom, Thursday North Korea threatened South Korea on Thursday after their first naval skir-mish in seven years.

Associated Press

18/

LOVING CARE KENNELSAND GROOMING

Going Away for the Holidays?

287-7040245 Airport Rd. • Rutherfordton, NC

Make Your Pet’s Appointment forHoliday Boarding and Grooming.

LOVING CARE KENNELSAND GROOMING

Going Away for the Holidays?

287-7040245 Airport Rd. • Rutherfordton, NC

Make Your Pet’s Appointment forHoliday Boarding and Grooming.

Going Away forthe Holidays?

PamperYourself