Friday, November 20, 2009, Forest City, N.C.

Bring on the FalconsR-S Central’s long-awaited 2nd round appearance in the NCHSAA playoffs will come against one of the finest teams in the state.

Page 7

50¢

“Life” inmates cannot shorten sentences — Page 5

Flu vaccine problems cause some concern

Page 16

Low: $2.43High: $2.65Avg.: $2.55

NATION

GAS PRICES

SPORTS

Tim Lincecum wins 2nd Cy Young Award

Page 8

DEATHS

WEATHER

Forest CityJames Logan, Jr.

BosticFannie Roberson

ElsewhereMadge Hawkins

Page 5

Today, sunny. Tonight, clear.

Complete forecast, Page 10

Vol. 41, No. 277

Classifieds. . . 16-19Sports . . . . . . . . 7-9County scene . . . .6Opinion. . . . . . . . .4

INSIDE

High

66Low

42

Now on the Web: www.thedigitalcourier.com

Sports

FLIGHT TRAINING

TDA cuts budget, Page 3By JEAN GORDONDaily Courier Staff Writer

FOREST CITY — The Tourism Development Authority is look-ing for a new home and Acting Executive Director Michelle Whitaker is seeking relocation for office space.

Ideally, she told the TDA board Thursday, the new office space would be near the Rutherford County Annex in Rutherfordton. Tax collect-ing, human resource issues and finance matters are handled at the annex and it would be a cost savings to tourism to be closer to Rutherfordton.

However, a move from the Rutherford County Visitors Center at U.S. 221 and U.S. 74 does not mean the tourists in

Please see TDA, Page 3

Garrett Byers/Daily CourierStudents taking part in the Isothermal Community College Center for Pre-Hospital Medical Education EMS Program got a chance to experience first hand the how-tos of working in and around an emergency medical helicopter. Here flight nurse Barry Nelson with Carolinas Medical Center of Charlotte explains the specifics of the Medcenter Air’s patient loading bay Thursday.

From Staff Reports

FOREST CITY — North Carolina has received an “F” on the second annual March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card, but the state is making strides in improving on cri-teria that can help give all babies a healthy start in life.

The report card was released Tuesday on the Seventh Annual Prematurity Awareness Day, when the March of Dimes focuses the nation’s attention on the growing problem of premature birth – birth before 37 weeks gestation. The U.S. as a whole earned a “D” for the second consecu-tive year, demonstrating that more

Please see State, Page 6

State gets ‘F’ on infant deaths

Stimulus will fund appliance program

TDA looking to move its headquarters

Jean Gordon/Daily CourierThe Tourism Development Authority began its regular business meeting Thursday by candle light and lantern, due to a power outage. After about 15 minutes, lights were back on for the more than two hour meeting.

By SCOTT BAUGHMANDaily Courier Staff Writer

FOREST CITY — North Carolina has joined several other states in a “Cash for Appliances” program designed to get con-sumers to switch old appliances for new Energy Star efficient models.

Backed by more than $300 million in federal stimulus funds, North Carolina’s share of the money for rebates is about $8.8 million. Each new appliance pur-chased could qualify for a rebate between $50 and $200.

But unlike the “Cash for Clunkers” program from earlier this year, consumers won’t have to trade in their old clunker of a dishwasher. The rebates will be handled right at the cash regis-ter.

“The plan calls for rebates of 15 percent to be offered to replace major home appliances with Energy Star-rated appli-ances over a four-day period next spring during Earth Day weekend — Thursday, April 22, through Sunday, April 25, 2010,” said Seth Effron, Communications Director for the North Carolina Department of Commerce. “Energy Star rebates will be in addition to any store, manufacturer or other discounts being offered.”

“The Energy Star program does equate to some energy savings,” said Duke Energy Spokesperson Paige Sheehan. “We have calcula-tors on our Web site and you can learn about the savings in your energy bill and how quickly you can pay off that upgraded appli-ance. Depending on how much energy efficient stuff you have in your house you can even qualify for a special rate from Duke Energy. In the coming months you’ll see Duke Energy offer

Please see Program, Page 6

From staff reports

FOREST CITY — The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has approved a $300,000 21st-Century Community Learning Center grant to support innovative after school program-ming in Rutherford County.

Rutherford County Arts Council, Rutherford County Schools, Isothermal Community College, Realize Rutherford

and the County of Rutherford are part-nering on the project, which is entitled “Playing For Keeps.”

The program will run for four years. Sites selected for the first year of the pro-gram include: Chase Middle School, East Middle School, R-S Middle School, Forest City-Dunbar Elementary School, Forrest Hunt Elementary School and Pinnacle Elementary School.

The program is designed to enhance

the academic success of students in core subjects by sharpening their skills and encouraging their creative development, through project-based, enjoyable activi-ties scheduled during the three-hour period after the regular school day.

The activities are divided into five-week sessions focusing on six areas: mathemat-ics and science, literature and public

Please see Grant, Page 6

After school program gets $300,000

1/front

2 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 20, 2009

LocaL

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.

“Elmo & Friends”: The 30th season of Sesame Street Live touring productions will bring “1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo & Friends” to the Spartanburg Memorial Au-ditorium, Dec. 10-13. Tickets are $15, $18, $22 and $29. Opening night prices are $12 and $29. Price does not include service charges. For more information, visit www.sesamestreetlive.com. Visit www.ticketmaster.com. Tick-ets may also be purchased at the SMA Box Office.

Colbie Calliat in concert: Popular recording artist Col-bie Calliat will be in concert Tuesday, Dec. 1, beginning at 7:30 p.m., at Spartan-burg Memorial Auditorium. Tickets are $35, $30 and $25. Visit www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets may also be purchased at the SMA Box Office.

Kenny G The Holiday Show: Wednesday, Dec. 18, at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are $39, $49 and $59. Visit www.ticket-master.com. Tickets may also be purchased at the SMA Box Office.

Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria, 115 W. Main St., Spindale, (no cover charge) announces the following

entertainment:Nov. 21 — Secret B-SidesNov. 28 — Selky CelticWeb 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.

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)Saturday — no entertainment Sunday Brunch and Bloody

Mary Bar (weekly)Web site www.msquaredres-taurant.com.

Legal Grounds, 217 North Main St., Rutherfordton, offers the following enter-tainment:Nov. 20 — Snake Oil Medi-cine ShowNov. 21 — Crocodile SmileNov. 25 — The Undecided/ Mike Roger & FriendsNov. 27 — Mad Tea PartyNov. 28 — Mountain Still with David Via and TaterWeb site www.legalgrounds.net.

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 infor-

mation 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 from 8 to 11. Wagon Wheel Country & Western Dance Club, W.E. Padgett Rd., Ellenboro area, hosts the following enter-tainment:Nov. 21 — 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. 21 — Triple Spiral Bracelet, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Nov. 24 — Copper Bangle Bracelet, 6 to 8 p.m.Nov. 28 — Bead Club, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.Nov. 28 — Photo Charms Class, 2 to 4 p.m.Nov. 30 — Bead Knitted 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 Gath-ering 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.

“Tellabration”: The In-ternational Celebration of Storytelling; Nov. 22, 3 p.m., Asheville Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Storytellers include Michael Reno Harrell and Jimmy Lee Clayton.

42nd Annual Southern Christmas Show: Through Nov. 22, at The Park (for-mer Charlotte Merchandise Mart). Show hours, Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is $7.50 for adults; $8 online, by phone or mail in advance; $9 at the door; youth (ages 6-12) $3; under 6 free with paying adult. For informa-tion 704-376-6594 or www.SouthernChristmasShow.com.

At Your Leisure

Contributed photoCrocodile Smile will perform at Legal Grounds on Saturday night.

2/

Friday, Nov 20th 3-7pm & Saturday, Nov 21St 9am-4pm

Come Celebrate Christmas With Us

15% off all personalized ornaments and Gift shop purchases for these two dates only*

select items are up to 50% off

Complimentary hot Cider, Coffee and Cookies

Inn Keeper - David Robinson

828-286-9030 or 1-866-firehs9

There is always room at The Firehouse Inn!

No room at home for the Holidays?

Located in historic Downtown rutherfordton in the 1925 City hall and firehouse

134 N. Washington strutherfordton, North Carolina

A place where comfort, service and

hospitality reside. Perfect for business travelers, romantic getaways, personal retreat, extended

stay, or just passing through.

828-286-9030

The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 20, 2009 — 3

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east Rutherford will be neglected.Whitaker said visitors in east

Rutherford will continue to be served at possible “mini-visitor centers” at stra-tegic locations at different times of the year.

“We want to serve the visitor, but not in a full fledged center,” Whitaker said.

The board agreed it has to cut back when programs and services are “not effective.”

TDA member and Forest City Planner Danielle Withrow said the town of Forest City could possibly set up the Santa House in January to be one of the “mini” visitors centers. Other possible locations and offers for locating visitor centers will be further studied.

The board decided Thursday since its building on U.S. 221 is too large with the reduction of TDA staff and the loss of the Heritage Tourism Office that was located in the building. The state requires its Heritage Tourism Officers to work from their respective homes. TDA rented office space to tourism officer Frankie McWhorter for several years.

The center opened about 10 years ago to serve as the TDA offices and a visitors center. The center is in the path of the U.S. 221 widening project and some day in the future, it will be affected by the highway. Also the center has not gener-ated the foot traffic desired as only about 100 people come to the center a month.

Last year about 2,000 people stopped by the center in Forest City while the Hickory Nut Gorge Visitor’s Center saw more than 50,000 visitors.

Cost to lease the building is about $800 per month and TDA also has to pay for all building repairs, maintenance and taxes on the property belonging to the Wilkins family.

TDA believes it can find a more cost effective office and also provide the visi-tors to the area with pertinent informa-tion.

On an unrelated issue, TDA approved a draft of an operating contract between TDA and the Hickory Nut Gorge

Chamber of Commerce. The contract calls for HNGCC to operate the Lake Lure and The Blue Ridge Foothills Visitor Center in Lake Lure on behalf of TDA. The contract will be reviewed by attorneys and the gorge chamber before being returned to TDA for further dis-cussion and recommendations.

TDA has discussed the contract issue for 18 months.

The facilities committee will meet Monday, Nov. 23, at 10 a.m. at the Lake Lure Youth Center to continue its discus-sion with the town officials and Hickory Nut Gorge Chamber officials.

The TDA office will be located in the same building as the gorge chamber and major renovations must be made to the building.

The town of Lake Lure has said it sup-ports the TDA office locating in the town-owned building and will work with the groups to meet that goal.

TDA staff is also working out of the chamber office and TDA pays the salary for the employee.

TDA has $50,000 in the fund balance to help with the renovations of the build-ing when the plans are finalized and the work is to begin.

The Lake Lure TDA location does not replace the recommendation for office space in downtown Rutherfordton.

Also Thursday, the board approved a job description for the executive director derived by the policy committee mem-bers Sally Lesher, Angie Growhin and Whitaker. The committee continues to work on its by-laws.

The Board voted to continue its part-nership with Chimney Rock State Park regarding fulfilling advertising leads. Several years ago, an oral agreement was made and TDA would do all fulfill-ment of Chimney Rock Park. Leads are the names and addresses the advertise-ment bring in. The agreement was made when TDA did little advertisement and Chimney Rock was doing a great deal. Chimney Rock paid for the ads and TDA was able to include its information with Chimney Rock at no cost to TDA.

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

By JEAN GORDONDaily Courier Staff Writer

FOREST CITY — As the num-ber of tourists spending the night in lodging properties con-tinues to decrease, the Tourism Development Authority voted Thursday to amend its budget, slicing nearly $96,000 from the 2009-2010 operating budget.

The budgets were reviewed line by line.

“This is a doomsday worst case scenario,” said TDA’s Acting Executive Director Michelle Whitaker as she announced the new budget was based on a 17 percent predicted decrease in occupancy taxes over the next year. The original budget was approved, based on 8.7 percent decreases.

Even with the slashing, the amended budget was balanced with $69,476 from the fund bal-ance.

“We can’t continue to oper-ate in a deficit,” member Dana Conner commented about hav-ing to balance the budget with fund balance.

There is also $50,000 budgeted from fund balance for capital improvements at the Hickory Nut Gorge Visitor’s Center, but the project may not be in this fis-cal year.

Whitaker told the board the newly amended budget, to be approved by County Commissioners, is very conser-vative and the goal next year will be to fund TDA through occupancy taxes only, without taking any money from its fund balance.

“There is no reason we can’t do

that next year,” she said.The operating budget approved

earlier was $607,000 and the amended budget is $511,441.The newly amended budget is also $108,559 less than the 2008-2009 budget.

Departmental changes from the original budget to Thursday’s amended budget include:

Employees, Salaries & Benefits: $203,203 to $143,353;

Professional Services: $133,138 to $131,638; Public Relations and Marketing: $209,559 to $186,550; Facilities: $49,400 to $43,400.

There will be other decreases in facilities departments after the board relocated its offices. The board decided Thursday to begin looking for new office space.

The board also agreed to keep about 50 percent of TDA’s oper-ating budget in the fund balance at all times and also operating funds for six months.

When Whitaker was named acting director, TDA Chair Tom Johnson and the board asked her to help answer three questions — Where are we? Where are we going? What adjustments do we need to make to react to the cur-rent situations?

“She has made a lot of adjust-ments to do this,” TDA chair Tom Johnson said. “We com-mend you for doing this.”

He added they also asked her as executive director, “to look down the road and plan. You’ve done that.”

He described the transition at TDA and its mission as “we’ve got to turn the ship around. We’re in the turning mode.”

TDAContinued from Page 1

TDA cuts budget as tax collections fall

3/

November Specials

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We are a drop off for Backpacks for kids

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Tuesday - Low Country Boil $12.99 Crab Legs, Shrimp, Polish Sausage,

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4 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 20, 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 Senate is about to take up its version of the health care reform bill and this version, like the

version in the House, is sure to be hotly debated.

There is a possibility that the Senate may even vote on its bill this weekend.

But that will not be the end of the debate, nor should it. There are many contentious issues in this health care reform effort that need to be thought-fully addressed.

President Obama says he wants a bill by the end of the year. We would like to see him rephrase that to say he wants a workable reform bill in as timely a fash-ion as possible.

This is not something that should be rushed. It should not be a politi-cal football that the democrats and Republicans wrestle over.

If indeed we are going to get mean-ingful reform in health care, all due diligence must be used to put together a bill that will serve the American people.

Our Views

Get health care reform right!

Our readers’ viewsWonders why towns not cheering on teams

To the editor: First, I would like to thank

Scott Bowers for his coverage of the High School Football games this season. His dedication has been appreciated by players, coaches and parents.

I would also like to commend the Town of Forest City for their support of their local High School teams. It is very apparent as one drives through Forest City, the community and merchant’s support for their teams.

As a resident of Rutherfordton with children in the R-S Central district involved in the school sports, I have yet to see any type of support from the towns of Spindale and Rutherfordton.

Granted, all of our towns are faced with economic challenges; however, one of the three towns manages to provide support and encouragement for their school.

My question is how difficult would it be for Rutherfordton and Spindale to recognize our high school football team as they prepare to compete for the second round of 3A NCHSAA Playoffs.

This is the first time in 22 years that a team from R-S Central has won its first round playoffs. Any type of recognition from the community would be appreciated as these young men have worked to achieve a goal to not only make themselves proud but also their coaches, parents and the

community in which they live. Every student that plays a sport in high school makes a commit-ment that requires dedication and sacrifice.

All sports deserve recognition and support from our community because they provide an activity to occupy idle hours for a young person.

Main Street in Rutherfordton and Spindale offers a wonderful venue for showing these young people that their efforts are appreciated and hopefully, this type of encouragement would motivate other young people to become involved in similar activities, quite possibly cutting down on the drop-out rates for our county.

In closing, I would like to implore our community leaders and merchants to stand behind the athletic programs offered by our high schools. It may benefit the leaders of Rutherfordton and Spindale to meet with those in Forest City, as they seem to have ongoing support for their schools.

As these young men travel through town to their next game, I hope these towns have shown some type of support. Let’s get behind our young people.

Tammy Whitener Rutherfordton

Says terror trials belong at Gitmo

To the editor:Do President Obama and

Attorney General Eric Holder

have a hidden agenda for bring-ing Khalid S. Mohammed and the other four terrorists to New York City for federal trials?

Why give Mohammed what he wants — a stage and daily public-ity around the world?

Why should we put at risk the possible disclosure of sensitive information that would affect the security of our country?

Gitmo was set up specifically for military tribunals.

This move could put the citizens of NYC in grave danger from another terrorist attack. Holder says that he will urge the federal government to reimburse NYC for the additional security needed for this trial, which could top $75 million.

Where is the common sense? The Fort Hood attack proves that no matter how good the security is, tragedy can happen.

This trial under these circum-stances could go on for years. Do we need to remind them that our country is already deep in debt? I don’t want my tax dollars benefit-ing these terrorists.

This is an outrage. Gitmo is the place for this trial and Americans should speak up.

Martha W. LedfordLake Lure

ClarificationG.W. Jones of Tiney Road in

the Corinth Community is not the writer of letters that have appeared recently in The Daily Courier’s Readers’ Views col-umns.

No need to worry now about children’s choicesYou always think you know

your kids inside and out. Then they do something that really surprises you.

This story begins when my youngest son Joseph was telling his mother how happy he was playing soccer.

Joseph is much more interested in athletics than his brother or me. Sports have never been my thing, but that doesn’t mean I was opposed to them.

I was very supportive of my oldest boy, Matthew, when he wanted to play little league baseball.

The other kids were, for the most part, engaged in the baseball game. Matthew spent most of his time fol-lowing butterflies, checking out the train that would go by every so often on the track near the field or playing with dandelions on the ground.

So, we decided to try basketball, and after sev-eral rounds of games where Matthew hung out on the other end of the court from the action, we decided that wasn’t for us.

There was a foray into soc-cer for a bit, but Matthew complained it involved too much running (eh, no wor-ries, son, I don’t think soccer counts as a real sport, does it?)

And finally, we made an effort at wrestling. I thought this would be the one sport that he was interested in, but alas, Matthew will probably not be the next Kurt Angle as he got tired of flopping around on the mat, after only a few weeks.

Not so with Joseph. He’s a regular jock-of-all-trades, at the moment enjoying bas-ketball and really enjoying soccer.

There’s the awesome pic-ture of him his mom took for Facebook that shows him celebrating like a rock star after a memorable play on

the field.“I really like this mommy,”

Joseph said. “Soccer makes me happy.”

And I was happy to hear about that. It’s nice when one of your kids finds something that makes them glad.

So, what did his 8-year-old brother Matthew say in response?

“Soccer doesn’t really make me happy, mommy,” he began. “You know what makes me happy? DESTRUCTION!”

Matthew then proceeded to wander off in a hail of imaginary machine gun fire, pantomiming a Browning .50 caliber in his hands.

When the boys’ mother relayed this to me, she was a bit taken aback by Matthew’s apparent relishing of war and destruction.

I was highly amused. I mean, what do we expect from a boy that plays Call of Duty with his step-dad, loves G.I. Joe and has a closet full of toy guns, tanks and fighter jets.

Besides, I’m sure it’s just a

phase, right? Anyway, what bad could

come of him wanting to be a soldier?

I happen to like the idea of my son as a member of the armed forces. It could give him a real constructive focus for all his creative and seemingly haphazard energy, and I have a lot of respect for America’s military.

Since the time he was very young and could first under-stand the idea, Matthew has thought that guns and army men and tanks and all of that was very interesting and was just fascinated by the idea.

I’m pretty sure a lot of it goes back to his love of video games, since so many of them are focused on military things.

But it probably has some-thing to do with the fact that his step-dad is a former mili-tary guy.

Also, I’ve made sure to teach him about his great-grandfather on my dad’s side of the family.

Gene Baughman was a WWII veteran (like so many

men of his generation) and served in the U.S. Navy. He brought home some strange pieces of weaponry from the men he fought against including a German Luger pistol and a Japanese Samurai sword.

I’ve told Matthew stories about both of these and the story of how his great-grand-father was on the first boat to sail into Nagasaki harbor after the atomic bomb was dropped.

He’s too young for me to try and explain the horrors of war, so I just tell him that it was a really big bomb that got a lot of people — some of them bad guys and some of them not. I think he gets most of it.

Of course, I’m probably over-analyzing the situa-tion. For now, I’m okay with the fact that Joseph likes to score goals while Matthew likes to see stuff blow-up.

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 20, 2009 — 5

local/obituaries/state

James Logan Jr.James H. Logan, Jr., 66, of

194 Powell St., Forest City, died Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009, at Rutherford Hospital.

Born in Rutherford County, he was a son of the late Jack and Mozell Logan.

He spent most of his life in New Jersey and worked as a boiler repairman.

Survivors include four sisters, Dorothy Hayden, Joyce Kelly, Delta Logan, and Linda Sanford, and one brother, Leevurn Logan, all of Rutherford County.

Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday at True Vine Penecostal Church in Forest City. Interment will follow in the church cemetery.

Ulysses D. Miller Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Fannie RobersonFannie Irene Queen

Roberson, 84, of the Sunshine community in Bostic, died Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, at Carolina Rehab Center in Connelly Springs.

She was a daughter of the late Cicero Queen and Lucricie Crotts Queen.

She was of the Baptist faith. In addition to her parents,

she was preceded in death by her husband, Tom Ardell Roberson.

Survivors include her children, Jessie Pearson of Morganton, Lessie Whelchel of Bostic, and Steve Roberson of Bostic; eight grandchil-dren; 15 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and two sisters, Vangie Q. Van Dyke of Bostic, and Mozell Terry of Shelby.

A celebration of Fannie’s life was held at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Mount Harmony Baptist Church in Bostic with the family con-ducting the service. Burial followed in the church ceme-tery. Visitation was held prior to the service.

Memorials may be made to Burke Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., 1721 Enon Road, Valdese, NC 28690.

Sossoman Funeral Home, Morganton, had charge of arrangements.

Online condolences www.sosso-manfuneralservice.com.

Madge HawkinsMadge Chapman Hawkins,

79, of 113 Alan Dr., Kings Mountain, died Wednesday Nov. 18, 2009, at White Oak Manor, Kings Mountain.

Born in Cleveland County, she was a daughter of the late Noah and Beulah Dixon Chapman, and widow of Joe Hawkins.

She was a member of David Baptist Church, Kings Mountain and retired from the textile industry.

Survivors include two daughters, Judy Cash of Shelby, and Marsha Baker of Bostic; sons: Phillip Summitt and Michael Summitt, both of Kings Mountain; step-children, Sallie Weatherford, Cathy Palmer, and Bill Hawkins. one brother, Jerry Chapman, Kings Mountain; sisters, Lois Parker, Hazel Graham, Mae Grigg and Rene Bolin, all of Kings Mountain, and Helen Lail of Shelby; 10 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday at David Baptist Church with the Rev. Jody Griffin officiating. Interment in the church cemetery. Visitation is Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Harris Funeral Home, Kings Mountain.

Memorials may be made to David Baptist Church, Building Fund, 2300 David Baptist Church Road, Kings Mountain, NC 28086.

Online condolences www.harris-funerals.com.

Jeanne-ClaudeNEW YORK (AP) — Artist

Jeanne-Claude, who created the 2005 Central Park instal-lation “The Gates” and other large scale “wrapping” proj-ects around the globe with her husband Christo, has

died. She was 74.Jeanne-Claude died

Wednesday night at a New York hospital from complica-tions of a brain aneurysm, her family said in an e-mail statement.

“The Gates” festooned 23 miles of Central Park’s foot-paths with thousands of saf-fron drapes hung from spe-cially designed frames.

More than 5 million people saw “The Gates,” and it was credited with injecting about $254 million into the local economy.

Christo — the more famous of the duo — was saddened, the family statement said, but remains “committed to honor the promise they made to each other many years ago: that the art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude would continue.” That includes completing “Over The River, Project for the Arkansas River, State of Colorado” and “The Mastaba” a project in the United Arab Emirates.

The Colorado project — which they had been devel-oping for decades — involves spanning miles of the river with woven fabric. They chose the location near Canon City because of its riv-er rapids and access to roads and footpaths. It is expected to be realized by summer 2013 at the earliest, pending federal approval, according to the couple’s office.

The couple also worked in Colorado in 1972, when nearly 100 construction workers and helpers strung a 142,000-square-foot orange curtain across a highway north of Rifle in western Colorado for “Valley Curtain.” Gov. Bill Ritter said Colorado officials look forward to working with Christo to real-ize the couple’s Arkansas River project.

Their other projects include wrapping the Reichstag in Germany, the Pont Neuf in Paris, the Kunsthalle in Bern, Switzerland and a Roman wall in Italy.

A 1991 project involved thousands of bright yel-low and blue umbrellas positioned across miles of inland valleys in Japan and California.

Their projects required mammoth manpower and miles of fabric and other materials. For the umbrella project, a total of 1,880 work-ers were used. They recycled all materials.

The two artists met in Paris in 1958 and had been collaborating for 51 years. They made their home in Manhattan.

David CardwellORLANDO, Fla. (AP) —

Florida baseball spring train-ing official David Cardwell has died. He was 64.

Cardwell died Wednesday from complications involving respiratory illness and swine flu.

As executive direc-tor of Grapefruit League Association, Cardwell helped coordinate Major League Baseball’s spring training in Florida.

Florida Sports Foundation spokesman Nick Gandy says Cardwell, an attorney, used his legal skills to keep teams from leaving their spring training homes in Florida.

Sheriff’s Reportsn The Rutherford County

Sheriff’s Office responded to 132 E-911 calls Wednesday.n John D. Weeks reported

the theft of tools.n Cynthia Ann Davis

reported vandalism to a vehicle.n The theft of vehicle

parts was reported by Cole Wrecker Service, 3520 U.S. 221 South, Forest City.n Scott Moss reported the

theft of a heating oil tank.n Elaine Delaforce report-

ed the theft of a trailer.n Steven Lee McCraw

reported damage to land-scaping.

Rutherfordtonn The Rutherfordton Police

Department responded to 40 E-911 calls Wednesday.

Spindalen The Spindale Police

Department responded to 13 E-911 calls Wednesday.

Lake Luren The Lake Lure Police

Department responded to three E-911 calls Wednesday.

Forest Cityn The Forest City Police

Department responded to 40 E-911 calls Wednesday.

n An employee of Wal-Mart reported an incident of larceny. (See arrest of Roberson.)n Rose Logan reported an

incident of obtain property by false pretense.

Arrestsn Michelle Roberson, 34,

of Lavender Road, Grover; charged with larceny; released on a $1,000 unse-cured bond. (FCPD)n Kevin Pruett, 23, of

Mulberry Street, Forest City; served with a criminal sum-mons for failure to pay mon-ies; released on a written promise to appear. (FCPD)n Hykeem Jefferson, 16, of

Farmside Drive, Forest City; charged with felony posses-sion of marijuana and resist, obstruct and/or delay an offi-cer; placed under a $10,000 secured bond. (FCPD)

n Jesse Taber Willets, 30, of 609 S. Oak St.; charged with operating a vehicle with no insurance; released on a $500 unsecured bond. (RCSD)n Larry Richard Fowler,

33, of 115 Downing Circle; charged with possession of stolen goods/ property; placed under a $1,000 secured bond. (RCSD)n Jeremy Shane Rowe, 32,

of 110 Old Ross Rd.; charged with true bill habitual felon

and possession of schedule II controlled substance; placed under a $110,000 secured bond. (RCSD)n Amy McDaniel, 24, of

2347 Hollis Rd.; charged with assault and battery; released on a $500 unse-cured bond. (RCSD)n Ricky Lee Connelly, 37,

of 901 Miller St.; charged with cyberstalking; released on a $500 unsecured bond. (RCSD)n James Frank Gregory,

24, of 356 Green St., Rutherfordton; charged with assault on a female and com-municating threats; placed under a 48-hour hold. (RPD)

EMS/Rescuen The Rutherford County

EMS responded to 23 E-911 calls Wednesday.n The Volunteer Life

Saving and Rescue, Hickory Nut Gorge EMS and Rutherford County Rescue responded to three E-911 calls Wednesday.

Fire Callsn Bill’s Creek firefighters

responded to a motor vehicle accident.n Forest City firefighters

responded to a motor vehicle accident.n Lake Lure firefighters

responded to a motor vehicle accident.

RALEIGH (AP) — North Carolina officials said Thursday that a group of violent inmates who were nearly set free because of a quirky 1970s law that limited a life sentence to 80 years are not eligible to receive good behavior credits that would shorten their sentences.

Gov. Beverly Perdue said the credits will only be used to improve an inmate’s chance at parole. If the pris-oners were never paroled, the earliest release would be 2054.

“I will continue to pursue all legal means of preventing the release of these inmates without any review by the parole board or any post-release supervision,” Perdue said in a statement.

Inmate Bobby Bowden had successfully argued in state courts that his life sentence was defined as 80 years —

something Perdue conceded in her statement Thursday. He had also argued that a new sentencing law that began in the early 1980s had cut his time in half and that additional credits — 210 days of good conduct credit, 753 days of meritorious credit and 1,537 days of gain-time credit — made him immedi-ately eligible for uncondition-al release.

Staples Hughes, the state appellate defender whose office represented Bowden, said it was regrettable the state was spending so much time and money pursuing an argument that has no legal basis.

“They, in essence, are con-tinuing to attempt to defy the rule of law,” Hughes said. “It has long since ceased to be a legal issue. It is simply a political issue and a mecha-nism for the governor to use

to attempt to raise her popu-larity.”

Some of the inmates, most convicted of rape or murder, were set to be released last month. Perdue later blocked the release by arguing that officials had improperly applied some of the credits.

The potential releases appalled victims and their advocates, partially because most of the inmates would be freed without any post-release supervision. Only one would have had official supervision, although those convicted of rape would have to register as sex offenders.

A handful of those inmates have been working toward time outside of prison, using volunteer or work-release programs to spend time in society. They can eventually be approved for supervised release by the parole board.

Obituaries

Deaths

Police Notes

Army limits media access at Palin event

RALEIGH (AP) — The U.S. Army now says it will allow media limited access to Sarah Palin’s appearance at Fort Bragg.

Army officials had said they would prohibit coverage of Palin’s on-post event, say-ing it would turn into politi-cal grandstanding against President Barack Obama.

The Associated Press and The Fayetteville Observer objected and the military changed its position slightly on Thursday night. It will grant a pool of reporters restricted access to Monday’s appearance.

Fort Bragg spokesman Col. Billy Buckner said mem-bers of the media will not be allowed to interview the 2008 Republican vice presi-dential nominee and will be barred from talking to her supporters on post.

Man pleads guilty to shooting at cyclist

ASHEVILLE (AP) — A for-mer North Carolina firefight-er pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill after shooting at a man riding a bicycle with his wife and 4-year-old son because he was concerned for the child’s safety.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that 42-year-old Charles Alexander Diez was

sentenced Thursday to 120 days in jail. Diez shot at cyclist Alan Ray Simons after stopping his car to confront Simons about the safety of riding his bike on a busy road with his child on the back.

Police say that when Simons turned to walk away, Diez fired at his bike helmet, narrowly missing his skull.

Woman sentenced for killing girl, 6

RALEIGH (AP) — An 84-year-old North Carolina motorist has been sentenced for hitting and killing a child at a school bus stop.

WRAL-TV reported that Geraldine Baron Deitz of Raleigh was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months’ probation. Deitz must pay a $500 fine and give up her driver’s license for one year after her car struck and killed 6-year-old Ashley Ramos-Hernandez in August.

The girl had gotten off the school bus and was cross-ing the street when she was hit by Deitz’s sport utility behicle.

A police report indicated that Deitz told police the school bus had not activated all its warning signals.

Two women found dead acquainted

GASTONIA (AP) — Friends and family say two

North Carolina women whose bodies were dumped miles apart in South Carolina knew each other.

Multiple media reports Thursday said authorities are investigating the slayings of both Gastonia women as homicides, but haven’t said the cases are connected.

The York County, S.C., Sheriff’s Office said a badly burned body spotted on Sunday by a horseback rider in Kings Mountain State Park was that of 30-year-old Randi Dean Saldana. The body of 17-year-old Heather Marie Catterton was discov-ered three weeks ago about 10 miles away.

Catterton’s father said he had seen his daughter and Saldana together.

Suspect admitted taking girl

FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — A search warrant says a man charged with kidnapping a 5-year-old North Carolina girl picked her up in front of her home and drove her to the hotel where she was last seen alive.

Multiple media reported the search warrant reveals that 29-year-old Mario McNeill told police he took Shaniya (shuh-NY-uh) Davis from her home in a Fayetteville mobile home park to the Sanford hotel last week.

The girl’s body was found Monday.

State says ‘life’ inmates cannot shorten sentences

Carolina Today

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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 20, 2009

Calendar/loCal

some additional rebates. When you couple these appliances with other energy efficient things you can do in your house — like switching to compact fluorescent light-bulbs — it really adds up. You’ve got to take a comprehensive approach if you want to get the full benefit.”

While some details are still being hammered out, the savings will be about a 15 percent rebate on clothes washers, dish washers, refrigera-tors and freezers. A second phase in June will match rebates on gas water

heaters, gas furnaces and other appli-ances.

“We have an application that we have filed and we’ve gotten a response back from the U.S. Department of Energy,” Effron said. “Sometime by the end of next month we’ll hear back if they have any questions or modifi-cations for us to make.”

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, if everyone who buys a clothes washer this year chooses an Energy Star model, the nation would save 975 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and 54 billion gallons of water. The electricity saved could power every home in Washington, D.C., for four months and the water saved could fill

the Rose Bowl stadium 638 times. If consumers buy Energy Star model refrigerators, the total energy bill sav-ings each year would be more than $101 million.

“Consumers can make smart choices by replacing older, energy-gobbling appliances with efficient new Energy Star appliances that save money, cut utility bills and grow our state’s economy,” said John Morrison, assis-tant N.C. Secretary of Commerce for Energy. “This is good for the environ-ment, will grow jobs and help manage energy consumption.”

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

than a half million of the nation’s newborns didn’t get a healthy start. The state receiving the best grade was Vermont, with a “B;” no state earned an “A.”

States are graded by comparing each state’s rate of premature birth to the nation’s objective of 7.6 percent or less by 2010. This year states were awarded a star when the rate for one of the selected contributing factors were moving in the right direction.

Contributing factors were uninsured women, women smoking and late preterm birth. North Carolina’s 2008 rate for uninsured women was 22 percent and increased to 22.1 percent in 2009. For women smoking and late preterm birth, the state saw a drop – down from 24.1 percent to 20.6 per-cent for women smoking and 9.5 to

9.2 percent for late preterm birth. “Here in North Carolina we are

proud of our hard work in smok-ing cessation and the decline in late preterm birth, and we hope that this will be the start of a decline in our preterm birth rate,” said Tara Owens Shuler, March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign chair.

“We have a long way to go before all babies in America get a healthy start in life and we are committed to working with state health officials, hospitals and health care providers to continue to fight for preemies.”

North Carolina’s overall preterm birth rate has stayed around 13 per-cent for the past several years.

In the U.S., more than 540,000 babies are born preterm, which costs the country more than $26 million annually, according to the Institute of Medicine. It is the leading cause of newborn death, and babies who sur-vive an early birth often face the risk

of lifetime health challenges, such as breathing problems, mental retarda-tion and others. A March of Dimes report released in October found that 13 million babies worldwide were born preterm and more than one mil-lion die each year.

In North Carolina the March of Dimes is collaborating with the Perinatal Quality Collaborative of NC and UNC Healthcare to reduce the rate of late preterm birth through its “39 Weeks Project.” The initiative will reduce late preterm birth by reducing elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks gestation. Forty hospitals across the state have joined the initiative, been trained and have pledged to review every elective induction and cesarean section, including Carolinas Medical Center and Blue Ridge Regional Hospital.

For more information, visit www.marchofdimes.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 Caregivers: 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 reg-ister. For information or to register for any of the above events, call 245-0095.

Meetings/otherDemocrat meeting: Rutherford County Democrat Club will meet Monday, Nov. 23, at Democrat Headquarters, Main Street, Forest City. Meeting begins at 7 p.m.

Christmas party: Thursday, Dec. 3, 6:30 p.m., Union Mills Community House, 6097 Hudlow Road, Union Mills; bring a covered dish and fruit, candy or nuts for Christmas Cheer boxes and shut-ins; also bring Bingo prizes.

Annual meeting: S.D.O. Fire Department will hold its annual Board of Directors meeting Saturday, Dec. 5, from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., at the fire department; all tax payers in the S.D.O. District are eli-gible to vote; bring picture ID and proof of property owned.

MiscellaneousFree community dinner: Thurs-day, Nov. 26, (Thanksgiving Day) from 9 a.m. until noon; Thomas Jefferson Classical Grammar School, 421 Hardin Rd., Forest City; free hot meal, canned goods and clothing for anyone in need; for more information call (864) 461-7178.

Yokefellow Service Center will hold a Pre-Thanksgiving and Christmas sale on Tuesday, Nov. 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. Storewide half-price. The store is located at 102 Blanton St., Spindale.

Chase Corner Ministries will be closed Friday, Nov. 20, to restock with Christmas merchandise and reopen Monday, Nov. 23. The store will be closed Nov. 26 and 27 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Regular hours resume Nov. 30. Located on Chase High Road, directly across from the high school.

Fundraisers‘Soup’er supper: Friday, Nov. 20, 4 to 8 p.m., Long Branch Road Baptist Church, 621 Long Branch Road, Forest City; potato soup, chili and more, with cornbread, dessert and drink; no set price; donations accepted; proceeds for a new fellow-ship hall.

Turkey supper: Saturday, Nov. 21, 4 p.m., Bill’s Creek Community Center, Lake Lure; turkey and dressing with all the trimmings; adults $9; ages 4-12, $5; take outs available; raffle tickets $1, 1st prize $500 in cash; proceeds for the Bill’s Creek VFD.

Yard sale: Saturday, Nov. 21, 7 a.m. until noon, Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church, 250 Hudlow Road, Forest City; breakfast, baked goods, relishes and a large number of yard sale items.

Pre-Thanksgiving dinner: Saturday, Nov. 21, begins at 11 a.m., at Unionville Masonic Lodge Hall, Spindale; $6 per plate; children under 12, $3; drawing for door prize; take outs available. Buffet breakfast: Saturday, Nov. 21, 7 to 10:30 a.m., Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, Mt. Pleasant Church Road, Forest City; $5 per person; all you can eat.

Annual Pre-Thanksgiving dinner: Sunday, Nov. 22, serving begins at 1230 p.m., Caroleen First United Methodist Church; turkey/dressing and trimmings; homemade des-serts; adults $6; children $3; ages 3 and under free; take outs available, call 657-6416.

Music/concertsSinging/Prayer Day: The Little White Country Church will host a singing and prayer day for our nation on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 9 to 10 a.m., on the courthouse lawn in Rutherfordton.

Gospel singing: Sunday, Nov. 22, 4 p.m., Zion Hill Faith Temple, 159 Ragtown Road, Henrietta.

Singing: Sunday, Nov. 22, 6 p.m., Piney Mountain Baptist Church; guest singer, Angel McGinnis.

speaking, drama, music, filmmaking and visual arts. The balance of aca-demic and artistic projects has been shown to improve students’ overall performance in core subjects, improve conduct and interest in learning and to develop creative skills and talents in students. Each session will con-clude with a performance or presen-tation of work carried out during the five-week period.

The program is hosted by Rutherford County Schools, and is designed to encourage parental and family involvement, and it also includes learning opportunities for adults through the programs of Isothermal Community College. In addition, there will be two large presentations during the year at the Foundation Performing Arts Center. These larger presentations will involve the students from the six after school sites, but will also include students from other schools in the county, families, and the general pub-

lic. Realize Rutherford will provide volunteers for the individual sites and Rutherford County will be fiscal agent for the program.

Dr. John Kinlaw, superintendent of Rutherford County Schools, com-mented “We are pleased to be able to help provide these extended learn-ing opportunities for our students; in today’s challenging environment, this kind of effort can be especially positive in helping improve students’ academic success by creatively con-tributing to their overall personal development.”

Mike Gavin, director of Marketing and Community Relations at Isothermal Community College said “Isothermal is pleased to be a partner in this program. We believe it will present a good opportunity for the college to share information about our adult high school, adult basic skills and other programs with a wid-er audience. We are always looking for ways to let the community know what’s available through the college and assist them in becoming involved.

Realize Rutherford Chairman Vernon Hoyle stated “We are delight-

ed to have this opportunity to partner on this important project. Our com-mitment to helping facilitate com-munity programs in the areas of edu-cation, quality of life and economic development are a good fit here.”

County Manager John Condrey observed, “In these difficult economic times, it is especially helpful to bring in outside resources to assist with community needs – especially those that benefit young people, their edu-cation and personal development;. We are pleased to play a role in bringing this about.”

Rutherford County Arts Council director Matthew McEnnerney com-mented “We have been working for several years now with our partners on developing creative and exciting after school programming which con-tributes to the general educational success of students, as well as their personal creative development, and involves them directly in the creation of art. We are pleased with the prog-ress thus far, but are tremendously excited about the advances that will be made possible by this 21st Century Community Learning Center grant.”

ProgramContinued from Page 1

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

An operator will direct your call during business hours, 8 a .m . to 5 p .m ., Monday-Friday . After business hours, you can reach the person you are calling using this list . As soon as you hear the automated attendant, use your Touch Tone phone to dial 1 and the person’s extension or dial 3 for dial by name .

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Phone: 245-6431 Fax: 248-2790 www.thedigitalcourier.comE-mail: dailycourier@thedigitalcourier .com

StateContinued from Page 1

GrantContinued from Page 1

Shown here after learning of the $300,000 grant for the schools are, front row from left, Janet Mason (Rutherford County Schools), Steven Helton (Rutherford County Schools), Joey Glenn (Chase Middle School), Renn Dominguez (Rutherford County Schools), Sally Blanton (Forest City-Dunbar Elementary School); second row — John McSwain (R-S Middle School), Brad Teague (East Rutherford Middle School), La’Ronda Whiteside (Pinnacle Elementary School), Brad Richardson (Forrest Hunt Elementary School), John Kinlaw (Rutherford County Schools), Mike Gavin (ICC) and Matthew McEnnerney (Arts Council).

Contributed photo

6/

The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 20, 2009 — 7

Inside

Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . Page .8NL .Cy .Young . . . . . . . . Page .8Gridiron .Great . . . . . . . Page .9

On TV

Local Sports

Central .wrestlers .fall .to .Newton-Conover

RUTHERFORDTON — R-S Central’s wrestling team lost to Newton-Conover, 45-24, in the season’s first match Wednesday.

The following individual results were reported:

103-pound: Ian Canrobert (NC) fall Dylan Hemphill (RSC); 112-pound: Adam Van Wormer (RSC), forfeit win; 119-pound: Austin Elfers (RSC) decision (13-8) Kenny Roundy (NC); 125-pound: Ben Reinhardt (NC) deci-sion (4-3) Evan Boggs (RSC); 130-pound: Josh Stephens (RSC) decision (10-5) Tyler Knopp (NC); 135-pound: Addison Klutz (NC) decision (7-4) Tyler Lowery (RSC); 140-pound: Eric Holbrook (NC) fall Chris Noffke (RSC); 145-pound: Randy Ortega (NC) decision (7-6) Angelo Nunez (RSC); 152-pound: Joel Lowery (RSC) fall Eric Cernuda (NC); 160-pound: Brandon Chancy (RSC) fall Terrell McCombs (NC); 171-pound: James Darty (NC) fall Cole Taylor (RSC); 189-pound: Tyler Benfield (NC) forfeit win; 215-pound: Joseph Platt (NC) forfeit win; 285-pound: Andrew Tremain (NC) forfeit win.

Rusty .Wallace .to .field .Toyotas .next .season

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Rusty Wallace Racing is mov-ing its Nationwide Series team from Chevrolet to Toyota next season.

Wallace, who is a NASCAR analyst for ESPN, also will rep-resent the Toyota brand on a national basis. His team will field cars for Steve Wallace and Brendan Gaughan. RWR had used Chevrolets the past two seasons.

Wallace says he toured Toyota’s racing facility in North Carolina and became con-vinced that the manufacturer has the best products for the Nationwide Series.

FOOTBALL7:30 p.m. (WCAB AM 590) 2nd round 3A NCHSAA Playoffs: R-S Central at West Rowan

3 p.m. (ESPN2) NASCAR Racing Sprint Cup — Ford 400 Qualifying. 5 p.m. (ESPN2) College Basketball Coaches vs. Cancer Consolation Game — Teams TBA. 7 p.m. (FSS) College Basket-ball Clemson at UNC-Greens-boro. 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) College Basketball Coaches vs. Cancer Final — Teams TBA. 7:30 p.m. (TS) NBA Bas-ketball Houston Rockets at Atlanta Hawks. 8 p.m. (ESPN) NBA Basket-ball Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics. 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2) College Football Boise State at Utah State. 10:30 p.m. (ESPN) NBA Bas-ketball Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Clippers. 11 p.m. (SHO) Strikeforce Challenger Series

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 West Rowan

Hilltoppers vs. Falcons

R-S Central faces toughest challenge

Central’s Oddie Murray

By SCOTT BOWERSDaily Courier Sports Editor

RUTHERFORDTON — R-S Central’s football team became the first Rutherford County gridiron squad to win a playoff game since the 2005 East Rutherford Cavaliers.

The Hilltoppers (9-3) could also become the first county team to play in the third round of the play-offs since those same Cavaliers with a win tonight over West Rowan.

But, the Falcons (11-0) are the finest football team Central will have faced all season long.

Please see Football, Page 9

n Second round opponent West Rowan is the defending 3A champ and they carry a 26 game win streak.

Directions

By JACOB CONLEYSports Reporter

BOILING SPRINGS — For Coach Steve Patton, the message to his team this week is simple: A 6-5 record looks a lot better than 5-6.

“The team has done a good job staying motivated even with a tough loss against Liberty,” said Patton. “These guys know that a winning record is very important and the seniors want to leave with good memories.”

Standing in the way of that winning season are the winless Presbyterian Blue Hose. While on paper a team with an 0-10 record may not seem to provide much of a challenge, Patton knows dif-ferent.

“They have a running back that has been the freshmen of the week in con-ference for the past two weeks,” said Patton. “They can gash you to death and have been very close in all the league games. Fans just look at records and think this will be an easy one, but PC is a talented team that is going to fight all the way.”

One circumstance that will make the game even tougher for GWU is the inju-ry situation.

The ‘Dogs are down to the third-string players at two of the linebacker posi-tions.

“Our backups played very well against

Please see Gardner-Webb, Page 9

Associated PressCarolina Panthers’ Steve Smith (89) is tackled by Miami Dolphins’ Vontae Davis (21) during the first half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, Thursday. As of press time, the Carolina Panthers trailed 14-3 in the third quarter.

Gardner-Webb to host winless Presbyterian

Panthers .Host .Dolphins

West .Rowan .High .School

Go US 64 N to I-40 East.Go I-40 East to I-77 South.

Go I-77 South to Exit 149A Salisbury US 70.Take a slight right on US 70/Industrial Boulevard.

Go 10 miles on US 70 to NC-801, turn right.Take NC-801 to 8050 NC Hwy. 801.

West Rowan High on right.

Expect roughly a 2-plus hour drive time.Kick off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

7/

8 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 20, 2009

sports

FOOTBALLNational Football League

AMERICAN CONFERENCEEast

W L T Pct PF PANew England 6 3 0 .667 259 150Miami 4 5 0 .444 218 227N.Y. Jets 4 5 0 .444 199 158Buffalo 3 6 0 .333 140 210

South W L T Pct PF PAIndianapolis 9 0 0 1.000 252 142Jacksonville 5 4 0 .556 181 220Houston 5 4 0 .556 215 188Tennessee 3 6 0 .333 189 255

North W L T Pct PF PACincinnati 7 2 0 .778 198 147Pittsburgh 6 3 0 .667 207 157Baltimore 5 4 0 .556 222 154Cleveland 1 8 0 .111 78 225

West W L T Pct PF PADenver 6 3 0 .667 167 151San Diego 6 3 0 .667 237 202Kansas City 2 7 0 .222 142 215Oakland 2 7 0 .222 88 217

NATIONAL CONFERENCEEast

W L T Pct PF PADallas 6 3 0 .667 224 169Philadelphia 5 4 0 .556 242 184N.Y. Giants 5 4 0 .556 232 204Washington 3 6 0 .333 140 171

South W L T Pct PF PANew Orleans 9 0 0 1.000 331 197Atlanta 5 4 0 .556 221 194Carolina 4 5 0 .444 176 215Tampa Bay 1 8 0 .111 157 256

North W L T Pct PF PAMinnesota 8 1 0 .889 271 184Green Bay 5 4 0 .556 232 179Chicago 4 5 0 .444 186 201Detroit 1 8 0 .111 143 264

West W L T Pct PF PAArizona 6 3 0 .667 229 184San Francisco 4 5 0 .444 184 180Seattle 3 6 0 .333 187 198St. Louis 1 8 0 .111 100 249

Thursday’s GameMiami at Carolina, lateSunday’s GamesCleveland 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’s GameTennessee at Houston, 8:30 p.m.Thursday, Nov. 26Green Bay at Detroit, 12:30 p.m.Oakland at Dallas, 4:15 p.m.N.Y. Giants at Denver, 8:20 p.m.Sunday, Nov. 29Miami at Buffalo, 1 p.m.Carolina at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.Seattle at St. Louis, 1 p.m.Tampa Bay at Atlanta, 1 p.m.Indianapolis at Houston, 1 p.m.Cleveland at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.Washington at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.Kansas City at San Diego, 4:05 p.m.Jacksonville at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m.Arizona at Tennessee, 4:15 p.m.Chicago at Minnesota, 4:15 p.m.Pittsburgh at Baltimore, 8:20 p.m.Monday, Nov. 30New England at New Orleans, 8:30 p.m.

BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association

EASTERN CONFERENCEAtlantic Division

W L Pct GBBoston 9 3 .750 — Philadelphia 5 6 .455 3 1/2Toronto 5 7 .417 4 New York 2 9 .182 6 1/2New Jersey 0 12 .000 9

Southeast Division W L Pct GBAtlanta 10 2 .833 — Orlando 9 3 .750 1 Miami 7 4 .636 2 1/2Washington 3 7 .300 6 Charlotte 3 8 .273 6 1/2

Central Division W L Pct GBCleveland 8 4 .667 — Milwaukee 6 3 .667 1/2 Chicago 6 4 .600 1 Indiana 5 4 .556 1 1/2Detroit 5 7 .417 3

WESTERN CONFERENCESouthwest Division

W L Pct GBDallas 9 3 .750 — Houston 7 5 .583 2 San Antonio 4 5 .444 3 1/2New Orleans 4 8 .333 5 Memphis 3 8 .273 5 1/2

Northwest Division W L Pct GBDenver 8 3 .727 — Portland 9 4 .692 — Oklahoma City 6 6 .500 2 1/2Utah 5 6 .455 3 Minnesota 1 11 .083 7 1/2

Pacific Division W L Pct GBPhoenix 10 2 .833 — L.A. Lakers 8 3 .727 1 1/2Sacramento 5 5 .500 4 L.A. Clippers 4 9 .308 6 1/2Golden State 3 8 .273 6 1/2

Tuesday’s GamesCleveland 114, Golden State 108Indiana 91, New Jersey 83Oklahoma City 100, Miami 87New Orleans 110, L.A. Clippers 102Phoenix 111, Houston 105Denver 130, Toronto 112Chicago 101, Sacramento 87L.A. Lakers 106, Detroit 93Wednesday’s GamesPhiladelphia 86, Charlotte 84Orlando 108, Oklahoma City 94Atlanta 105, Miami 90Washington 108, Cleveland 91New York 110, Indiana 103Boston 109, Golden State 95Memphis 106, L.A. Clippers 91Houston 97, Minnesota 84Milwaukee 99, New Jersey 85Utah 104, Toronto 91Dallas 99, San Antonio 94, OTPortland 87, Detroit 81Thursday’s GamesPhoenix at New Orleans, lateUtah at San Antonio, lateChicago at L.A. Lakers, lateFriday’s GamesMemphis at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.Cleveland at Indiana, 7 p.m.Miami at Toronto, 7 p.m.Houston at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.Washington at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.Orlando at Boston, 8 p.m.Sacramento at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.Charlotte at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.Portland at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.Denver at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday’s College BasketballMajor Scores

EASTBuffalo 63, Navy 53Lafayette 88, St. Francis, Pa. 77Pittsburgh 71, E. Kentucky 60

SOUTHCoppin St. 72, Columbia Union 61Kentucky 102, Sam Houston St. 92Mississippi St. 82, SE Louisiana 67Morgan St. 72, ETSU 61Old Dominion 73, Liberty 41S. Carolina St. 88, Allen 81Virginia 79, Rider 46William & Mary 78, Richmond 71Wofford 81, Lees-McRae 39

MIDWESTCleveland St. 78, Florida A&M 64Notre Dame 82, Long Beach St. 62Valparaiso 78, Ind.-South Bend 56

SOUTHWESTTexas A&M-Corpus Christi 77, Texas-Pan American 55

TOURNAMENT2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic

First RoundSyracuse 95, California 73

Carolina ClassicFirst Round

Miami 74, Tulane 54South Florida 65, Davidson 58UNC Wilmington 80, Penn St. 69

O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-First Round

Dayton 63, Georgia Tech 59Mississippi 89, Indiana 71Villanova 69, George Mason 68

HOCKEYNational Hockey League

EASTERN CONFERENCEAtlantic Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GANew Jersey 19 14 5 0 28 53 40Pittsburgh 21 14 7 0 28 66 58Philadelphia 18 12 5 1 25 65 45N.Y. Rangers 21 11 9 1 23 63 58N.Y. Islanders 21 8 6 7 23 60 64

Northeast Division GP W L OT Pts GF GABuffalo 18 12 5 1 25 50 43Ottawa 18 9 6 3 21 51 54Montreal 21 10 11 0 20 52 61Boston 20 8 8 4 20 47 52Toronto 19 3 11 5 11 47 71

Southeast Division GP W L OT Pts GF GAWashington 21 13 4 4 30 79 64Tampa Bay 18 8 4 6 22 48 53Atlanta 17 10 6 1 21 63 50Florida 19 8 9 2 18 55 65Carolina 20 3 12 5 11 44 75

WESTERN CONFERENCECentral Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GAChicago 19 12 5 2 26 57 46Columbus 19 11 6 2 24 58 67Detroit 19 10 6 3 23 63 57Nashville 19 10 8 1 21 43 51St. Louis 18 6 8 4 16 41 47

Northwest Division GP W L OT Pts GF GAColorado 22 13 6 3 29 67 62Calgary 19 12 5 2 26 61 50Vancouver 21 11 10 0 22 62 57Edmonton 22 9 10 3 21 66 70Minnesota 21 7 12 2 16 51 66

Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts GF GASan Jose 23 14 5 4 32 76 57Los Angeles 23 13 8 2 28 71 70Phoenix 21 12 9 0 24 54 51Dallas 20 9 5 6 24 62 58Anaheim 19 6 10 3 15 54 67

Tuesday’s GamesWashington 4, N.Y. Rangers 2Montreal 3, Carolina 2, SOOttawa 3, Toronto 2Nashville 4, San Jose 3Colorado 3, Calgary 2Wednesday’s GamesFlorida 6, Buffalo 2Dallas 3, Detroit 1Phoenix 3, Minnesota 2Edmonton 6, Colorado 4Philadelphia 3, Los Angeles 2Thursday’s GamesBoston 4, Atlanta 3, SOCarolina 6, Toronto 5, SOOttawa 6, Pittsburgh 2New Jersey at Nashville, latePhoenix at St. Louis, lateColumbus at Dallas, lateChicago at Calgary, lateTampa Bay at Anaheim, lateFriday’s GamesMontreal at Washington, 7 p.m.Boston at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.Florida at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.N.Y. Islanders at Minnesota, 8 p.m.Colorado at Vancouver, 10 p.m.Philadelphia at San Jose, 10 p.m.

Scoreboard

NEW YORK (AP) — Talk about a freak — Tim Lincecum needed just 15 wins to bag another NL Cy Young Award.

Yup, throw out those old baseball cards. Wins and losses don’t mean much anymore when it comes time for voters to pick baseball’s best pitch-ers. It’s all about WHIP, FIP, BABIP and other lines of alphabet soup.

“It’s turned into a game of complete numbers and statistics and what people do with that,” Lincecum said.

Lincecum won the Cy Young Award on Thursday for the second straight year, emerging from one of the tightest votes in the history of the honor to become the first repeat winner since Randy Johnson.

Only 10 points separated the top three vote-getters. Chris Carpenter was second and St. Louis teammate Adam Wainwright finished third despite getting the most first-place votes.

Lincecum, nicknamed “The Freak” for his giant stride, led the NL with 261 strikeouts and tied for the league lead with four complete games and two shutouts.

The wiry right-hander attracts plenty of attention on the mound with his shoulder-length brown hair and twisting delivery. But it was his 15 victories — the fewest for a Cy Young starter over a non-short-ened season — that were really noticeable for the award winner.

The 2009 honors for Lincecum and Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke reflect a recent shift in how pitchers are evaluated. The focus has changed to more developed statistics, including some that even take into account team defense.

Greinke equaled the previous low of 16 wins for a non-shortened season when he won the AL award on Tuesday. Afterward, he talked all about FIP, a mathematician’s dream that stands for Fielding Independent Pitching.

Lincecum has his own favorite indicator.“To say which one I look to the most, I would just

say WHIP,” he said, referring to walks plus hits allowed per inning, “just because you just limit the amount of baserunners that can hurt you.”

Lincecum is facing misdemeanor marijuana charges stemming from a traffic stop in his home state of Washington on Oct. 30. No questions were allowed about the incident in his conference call, but he acknowledged making a mistake and apolo-gized in a prepared statement.

DUBLIN (AP) — Soccer-mad Ireland is fighting mad — and demanding justice for a disputed goal that had fans here crying “Oui were robbed.”

A blown call by referees cost the luckless Irish a spot in the World Cup in a loss to star-stud-ded France.

Ireland played the game of its life Wednesday night in a Paris stadium rocking to the cheers of visiting Irish fans. But with momentum on their side and facing a penalty shootout within minutes, the Irish saw the ball fall near their goal — and into the outstretched palm of cel-ebrated French striker Thierry Henry.

He slapped it not once but twice, guiding it to his foot and passing to teammate William Gallas for the winning overtime goal. Ireland’s squad slapped their hands and some screamed “Handball, ref!”

Keeping your hands off the ball is the most basic rule in soc-cer, and endless replays dem-onstrated beyond doubt to bil-lions worldwide that the goal should not have counted. But the Swedish referee, Martin Hansson, and his assistants claimed to see nothing wrong — inspiring fury and conspiracy theories on the wintry, rain-sod-den streets of Dublin.

More than one Dublin tab-loid christened it the “Hand of Frog” — wordplay using slang

for a Frenchman and comparing the event to another handball, the goal by Argentina’s Diego Maradona against England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfi-nal. Asked afterward if he had touched the ball, Maradona said it had been guided by “the hand of God.”

Henry quickly came clean about his sleight of hand, well aware that no video review can keep him from soccer’s grandest stage in June.

“I will be honest. It was a handball,” Henry said. “But I’m not the ref. I played it. The ref allowed it.”

Some accused the Swiss-based world governing body of soccer, FIFA, of bending its rules to suit the sport’s big guns like France because of the money and mar-kets involved. France, a country of 65 million, won the world championship in 1998 and were runners-up in 2006. Ireland, population 4.4 million, chroni-cally struggles even to qualify.

“They do video replays in rugby, American football, ten-nis, you name it — but not the biggest of them all, the World Cup. You tell me why,” said Robbie Nolan, a 40-year-old cabbie nursing a pint after work in a sports-themed Dublin pub bedecked in Irish soccer memo-rabilia. His cheeks still bore traces of the green, white and orange facepaint from the night before.

“I’ll tell you why,” he said, jab-bing his finger at the Dublin Evening Herald’s front page pic-turing Henry beneath the head-line: “YOU CHEAT.”

“Video replay wouldn’t allow FIFA to fix key matches, that’s why. They wanted France in the World Cup and they got their wish. The Irish can play their socks off, but we’re nobodies. The French stars and the mil-lions must go to the World Cup.”

As callers flooded Ireland’s airwaves from morning to night-fall, rival radio stations raced to produce their own mock-pop tributes to the dubious goal by Henry. Dublin’s 98FM offered a take on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” retitled “He Cheated.”

Until now, Henry has been known in the United States mostly for appearing in a Gillette ad with Tiger Woods and Roger Federer. And he has talked about perhaps finishing his career in Major League Soccer with the New York Red Bulls.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said he would lobby his French counterpart, President Nicolas Sarkozy, at a European Union summit in Brussels.

“We’ll probably have a chat about it away from the table,” said Cowen, who lauded ordi-nary French soccer fans for “making it clear in great num-bers that there would be a lot of disquiet about the manner of the goal.”

Associated PressSan Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum smiles at the conclusion of his press conference after winning the National League Cy Young Award at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Thursday.

Giants’ Lincecum wins 2nd consecutive Cy Young

RALEIGH (AP) — Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen scored in the shootout and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied from three goals down to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 on Thursday night.

The latest meeting of the NHL’s worst teams had a wild finish. Ian White put the Maple Leafs ahead 5-4 with 29.9 seconds remaining, but Erik Cole tapped in a rebound with 2.9 seconds left to force overtime.

After an uneventful overtime, Ruutu and Jokinen beat Jonas Gustavsson with wrist shots and Manny Legace stopped Phil Kessel and Lee Stempniak to preserve his first victory with the Maple Leafs.

Alexei Ponikarovsky had a goal and an assist, and Matt Stajan, Lee Stempniak and Mikhail Grabovski also scored for the Maple Leafs, who led 3-0 after one period but extended their winless streak to five.

Tim Gleason scored twice in the third period, Matt Cullen had a goal and an assist, and he and Stephane Yelle scored 43 seconds apart in the sec-ond to lead Carolina. Legace stopped 27 shots, and Ruutu finished with four assists for the Hurricanes in their club-record fourth straight overtime game.

Gustavsson finished with 40 saves — and assist-ed on Ponikarovsky’s third-period goal — for Toronto, which picked up points for the first time since Nov. 7, having lost four straight in regulation since.

When these teams last met two weeks ago, the Hurricanes were in the midst of their club-worst-tying 14-game winless streak and lost to the Maple Leafs to claim the indignity of being the worst team in the NHL. Since then, Carolina lost two goalies to injury, including franchise cornerstone Cam Ward, and Legace was brought in to stabilize things for a while.

The situation in the standings hasn’t improved much for either team: Carolina entered winless in 15 of its last 16 and haven’t won a game in regula-tion since Oct. 9.

Ruutu lifts Canes past Leafs, 6-5 in shootout

Irate Irish cry foul after ref hands win to France

8/

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The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 20, 2009 — 9

sports

West Rowan, unlike Shelby or Tuscola, two teams that defeat-ed Central this season, are a defending state champion and the Falcons enter the game with a 26 game win streak.

“They are what they are,” said Coach Mike Cheek. “They have every reason in the world to be confident. They didn’t win 26 straight games with one guy ... they are a football team. A com-plete team and we will have our hands full.”

The ‘one guy’ Coach Cheek references is West Rowan’s all-everything running back, Kevin P. (K.P.) Parks. Parks needs just 233 yards to set a new state record for career rushing yards (the current record is 10,242 yards), and the swift-footed, smooth-moving senior is only the second running back in state history to break 10,000 yards in a career.

The ‘complete team,’ also ref-erenced by Cheek, includes a Division I linebacker, a junior quarterback who has thrown 18 touchdown passes, a wide receiv-er with over 1,000 yards, who is closing in on a Rowan County record for receiving yardage, and an offensive line that is big, quick and strong.

It simply doesn’t get easier in the playoffs.

“We have to do the kinds of things that we did in the win over South Rowan,” said Cheek. “But we must really just come out and play. Of course, we can’t make too many mistakes, but I want our kids relaxed and hav-ing fun. We don’t get here every day and they need to enjoy this, and play as hard as they can.”

The Key Matchupsn Patrick Bearden vs. Chris

Smith. West’s Smith is a speed rusher

who has accounted for 38 1/2 sacks over the last two seasons. 28 of those sacks came in 2008 and the Falcons have used Smith in a variety of roles this season. Teams are forced to scheme for the speedy Smith and that has often meant preparing to throw two blockers at him, in order to slow him down. Smith, though, has the speed and athleticism to drop into coverage, allowing the Falcons’ coaches to send pres-sure from elsewhere.

Bearden, who plays left tackle,

will have Smith lined up across from him and this will clearly be the toughest challenge that the senior tackle has faced. The best defense for a speed rusher? Run right at him. The Hilltoppers may use their strength to push Smith back and try and wear him out over the course of the game.

n Kevin P. Parks vs. Anthony Walke.

West’s Parks enters as the most talked about, and most writ-ten about, prep star in the state. Perhaps, only Independence’s Anthony Carruthers gets as much attention as Parks, but with good reason.

Parks has a strong nose for the end zone, having sniffed it out 142 times during his four-year career at West.

Central’s Walke plays middle linebacker for the Hilltoppers and leads the team in total tackles. Often, through out the course of tonight’s game, the Central defensive line will be tied up with the Falcons’ O-line and that will leave Walke responsible for making the tackle. Walke must be careful of Parks’ moves and jukes and play the hips of the Falcons’ star.

n Jacob Kinlaw vs. Falcons’ DBs.

Central’s Kinlaw has thrown for just over 800 yards with six TD passes this season. The junior signal-caller has also

added nearly 400 yards on the ground with seven rush-ing touchdowns. This is clearly the biggest game Central has played in two decades and the biggest in Kinlaw’s prep career. Tonight, will come down to deci-sion making and strong throws — two things that Kinlaw can do very well. Kinlaw doesn’t need to ‘force’ the throw into cover-age, or else the Falcons will be rewarded with extra possessions.

n Oddie Murray vs. Falcons’ Defense.

The senior tailback in Mike Cheek’s Wing-T has been dinged up for four weeks with a ham-string injury. The injury lim-ited his action in games against Shelby and Burns. Tonight, Central will need Murray to be at his best.

Murray has tallied a team leading 12 touchdowns (9 rush-ing, 2 receiving, and one kick off return) on the 2009 season, while rushing for a team leading 731 yards (6.2 ypc).

Murray ran hard and strong in last week’s win over South Rowan and he must continue that tonight.

Wild CardCentral’s Cameron Green.

Green just a sophomore is sec-ond on the team with 615 yards and eight touchdowns. The full-back has back-to-back 100-yard games and tonight would be a perfect place for his third cen-tury mark effort.

Odds and EndsPrior to the K.P. Parks era at

West Rowan, the starting tail-back in the Falcons’ I-formation offense was none other than Forest City Owls’ centerfielder Wade Moore. Moore was a start-ing tailback in football and the West shortstop and No. 1 start-ing pitcher in baseball. Moore eventually accepted a baseball scholarship at N.C. State before playing for the Owls.

Key to the game Shock the state, fellows.

Central enters the second round as the lowest remaining seed in the 3A playoffs and they are fac-ing the defending state champ. And, when the whistle blows — none of that matters. If the Hilltoppers can play full-tilt for 48 minutes they will have a chance to be around for next Friday.

Gridiron Great

FootballContinued from Page 7

Garrett Byers/Daily CourierR-S Central’s William Lynch (43), back row, second from left, is this week’s Daily Courier/Edward Jones Gridiron Great. Lynch ran for 93 yards, including a 27 yarder that kick-started a 12-play, 92-yard drive in Central’s 28-21 win over South Rowan. The Daily Courier/Edward Jones Linemen of the Week, as selected by Central’s coaches, are the Blue Dozers: William Brown (40), Nick Beaver (76), Jacob Yant (74), Derek Wilson (58), Cody Sellers (61), and Patrick Bearden (71). Joining Lynch and the Blue Dozers are Edward Jones’ Frank Faucette (back, left), Coach Mike Cheek, and Edward Jones’ David Smith.

Wayne Hinshaw/Special to the CourierCentral’s Dominique Petty (20) picks off a pass during the foot-ball game against South Rowan. Petty also forced a fumble for the Hilltoppers.

Liberty, especially Devin Johnson,” said Patton. “The defense just got worn down in the second half against a big Liberty offensive line. But the defense is going to have to play just as well against PC because they can put up some points.”

The Bulldogs can put up some points as well, but they have struggled in recent games in the second half. During their three-game losing streak, GWU has had a lead at the half, but have only registered one offensive touchdown after coming out of the locker room.

“We have got to close out games,” said Patton. “But at the same time we are getting better. Two years ago, we would not have had those leads ... so, it’s a process.”

This process will continue far after the season finale ends.

“Ours seniors have laid a great foundation for the program to be successful for a long time to come,” said Patton. “We still have one to go in 2009 and if we play well, we can end the season on a good note.”

Kick off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., and the game can be heard on 88.3 FM.

Gardner-WebbContinued from Page 7

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — For Hendrick Motorsports, this NASCAR season might seem easy as 1-2-3.

OK, maybe it only looked easy.No matter if Jimmie Johnson or Mark Martin

leaves Homestead-Miami on Sunday with the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, Hendrick Motorsports — which owns both cars — will have plenty to celebrate. The title, whomever delivers it, will be Rick Hendrick’s ninth in NASCAR, tying him with Petty Enterprises for the most. And it will be his record-setting 12th overall, joining three truck titles.

But there’s a piece of history still out there for Hendrick to chase.

Johnson, Martin and Jeff Gordon, all of whom race under the Hendrick flag, enter the finale 1-2-3 in the standings. If they finish in those spots, Hendrick Motorsports would become the first team in NASCAR history to truly pull off that feat.

“I hate to be greedy when you think about really wanting to be 1-2-3, but we’re sitting there right now with one race to go,” Hendrick said Thursday. “That would be so good for the organization. If it happens, it’ll be just icing on the cake. We’ve all thought about it. We’ve all talked about it. That’s our goal.”

Has it happened before?Depends on perspective, really.Buck Baker, Herb Thomas and Speedy Thompson

finished in the top three spots in the 1956 stand-ings after a 56-race schedule. Baker and Thompson both raced for Carl Kiekhaefer, as did Thomas for much of that season. But NASCAR records show Thomas started that season listed as his car’s own-er-driver, plus also spent some time that year with Smokey Yunick as his team owner.

So technically, if Hendrick pulls this off Sunday, he would stand alone.

“I’m actually living a dream,” Hendrick said. “I grew up and all I knew was racing and cars and working on cars. You didn’t get paid to do it. You did it because you loved it and you take whatever you made to do it. So to be able to look back and see what we’ve been able to accomplish, I’ve just been really fortunate being around a lot of great people.”

His team is often likened as the Yankees of NASCAR, with good reason.

The results, especially of late, show that what-ever is going on in the Hendrick garage tops what everyone else is doing.

At 50, Martin is having what he calls the hap-piest season of his life. Gordon will likely finish fourth or better in the final standings for the 10th time. And Johnson is on the brink of history, need-ing only a 25th-place finish to clinch his fourth straight title, breaking the record he shares with Cale Yarborough.

Johnson often tells the story how Hendrick once sat across the table from a team of Lowe’s execu-tives, convincing those potential and eventual sponsors how the driver really would be good enough to win a race someday. Johnson never for-got the faith Hendrick showed that day, and has paid it back many times.

“Somehow, some way, what he possesses in con-necting with people, looking for the right skills, the desire, the drive that an individual may have to perform well and do well, there’s something that he can see and recognize,” Johnson said. “I think it speaks volumes to the company and the success of the company.”

For Hendrick, a 1-2-3 finish might make history

9/

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Clemency bid declinedHUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) —

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has refused to spare a man facing execution for his role in a fatal robbery, rejecting a parole board recommendation that the death sentence of 34-year-old Robert Lee Thompson be com-muted to life in prison.

Perry’s decision Thursday eve-ning came about 30 minutes before Thompson was set to be taken to the death chamber for lethal injec-tion.

On Wednesday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles made the rare recommendation for Thompson, who was not the triggerman in the fatal shooting of a Houston conve-nience store clerk 13 years ago.

The shooter, Sammy Butler, was convicted and is serving life in prison.

‘Elves’ fighting post office ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A

group of volunteer “elves” in Alaska’s frigid interior has set out to save a popular holiday letter service fea-turing the North Pole’s most beloved icon.

The group is looking to counter a decision by the U.S. Postal Service to end a program begun in 1954 in the small town of North Pole, where volunteers respond to thousands of letters addressed to “Santa Claus, North Pole” each year.

Chief elf Gabby Gaborik says he met with Postal Service officials this week to come up with an alter-native.

He’s now working with local government officials to gain pos-session of 101 Santa Claus Lane as an address for his group. That way children will have a specific destina-tion for their letters, allowing vol-unteers to run their own program and bypass strict rules implemented by the Postal Service after security

issues arose in a similar program in Maryland.

Spacewalk goes wellCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) —

A pair of spacewalking astronauts, one of them a surgeon, hustled through antenna and cable work outside the International Space Station on Thursday and even whipped off an extra chore.

Atlantis crewmen Michael Foreman and Dr. Robert Satcher Jr. had a spare antenna installed in just two hours after venturing out on the first spacewalk of their mission. They also hooked up cables and a handrail, and greased some mecha-nisms, zooming two hours ahead at one point.

“You guys are rocking the house,” astronaut Randolph Bresnik called from inside the linked shuttle-sta-tion complex.

Suspect listed odd hobbyJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) —

On an Internet site, 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante listed her hob-bies as “killing people” and “cutting.” It may have sounded like a teenage exaggeration, but authorities say she fulfilled her words.

Even as new details emerge about the teenager charged with killing 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, many facts about the crime continued to be kept secret Thursday — and may never be released by authorities unless Bustamante goes to trial for murder.

Bustamante, who had been in juvenile custody since leading police to Elizabeth’s body Oct. 23, was certified Wednesday as an adult and indicted on charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. She is accused of strangling Elizabeth, cutting her throat and stabbing her.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — When an ambulance brought Daniel Webb home from the hospital after he hurt his knee in March, paramed-ics warned the then 550-pound man he probably wouldn’t be able to get up from his recliner if they put him there, his wife said.

Webb told them to leave him there anyway. He would sit in that recliner, slowly dying, for the next eight months. Finally, paramedics were called back to his Greenwood home on Wednesday because he was in a lot of pain.

Webb’s body was physically stuck to the power recliner and firefighters had to cut him from the chair to take him to the hospital. He died a few hours later, his body covered with sores and a “very bad odor,” accord-ing to a police report.

Webb, 33, didn’t ask for help for all those months, because he was ashamed and didn’t have health insurance, said his wife, Ada. He slept and used the bathroom in his chair and she cleaned it every day. The former preacher would post ser-mons online from the chair, and it wasn’t long before he decided he was ready to go home to the Lord, she said.

“After he sat there in that one spot for a week, he was embarrassed. It was like he already knew what was going to happen,” Ada Webb said.

Webb’s mother was the one who placed the final call to paramed-ics. Not only did crews have to cut apart the chair, but they had to cut a hole in the wall of the couple’s mobile home about 70 miles west of Columbia to get him out. A police report said he weighed about 800 pounds, but his wife said he was closer to 500 pounds.

The hospital told Daniel Webb’s wife he died from a heart attack, she said. The coroner’s office isn’t investigating the death and referred all questions to Greenwood County deputies, who sent their report, but didn’t respond to a phone message.

Webb died on the couple’s second anniversary. They met four years ago on MySpace, and Ada Webb said she didn’t see a man who weighed more than 500 pounds, but instead saw a guy who loved the Lord and had a big heart.

Daniel Webb drove school buses for nearly 15 years, until his weight made it impossible. His health kept get-ting worse, and Ada Webb said she begged hospital officials to keep him after doctors treated his knee injury in March. But the couple had no way to pay and were sent home.

Daniel Webb spent the rest of his days playing with his four dogs and talking about religion to other people on the Internet.

CHICAGO (AP) — “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” an iconic broadcast that grew from a local Chicago talk show into the foundation of a multi-billion dollar media empire, will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air, Winfrey’s production com-pany said Thursday night.

Winfrey plans to announce the final date for her show during a live broadcast Friday, Harpo Productions Inc. said. A Harpo spokeswoman declined to comment on Winfrey’s future plans except to say that “The Oprah Winfrey Show” will not be transferred to cable television.

Winfrey is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is expected to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 70 million homes.

CBS Television Distribution, which distributes “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to more than 200 markets blanketing the United States, held out hope that it could continue doing business with Winfrey, perhaps pro-ducing a new show out of its studios in Los Angeles.

“We have the greatest respect for Oprah and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors,” the unit of CBS Corp. said in a statement. “We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success. We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully

afterwards as well.”Winfrey’s 24th season opened

earlier this year with a bang, as she drew more than 20,000 fans to the city’s Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue for a Chicago block party with the Black Eyed Peas.

She followed up with a series of blockbuster interviews — Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, exclusives with singer Whitney Houston and ESPN’s Erin Andrews, and just this week, former Alaska governor, GOP vice presidential candidate and best-selling author Sarah Palin. She found time between shows to lobby the International Olympic Committee in Denmark for Chicago’s failed bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

The loss of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” would be a blow to CBS Corp. because it earns a percentage of hefty licensing fees from TV stations that use it.

On a conference call with analysts two weeks ago, CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said the contract with the show ran through most of 2011 and “if there’s a negative impact, it wouldn’t hit us until ’12.”

CBS continues to sell several top shows into syndication, however, including “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy.” But many TV stations are struggling with falling advertising revenue and were unlikely to pay the same fees as in the past for Winfrey’s show, which has seen ratings slip 7 percent from a year ago and saw its average viewership slip below 7 mil-lion last season.

Associated PressDemonstrators chant as they sit on a road on the UCLA campus to block a van holding attendees from driving away from the Covel Commons building where University of California regents were scheduled to vote on a 32 percent student fee increase on Thursday. The UC Board of Regents is considering boosting under-graduate fees, the equivalent of tuition, by $2,500 by summer 2010.

Oprah will end show in 2011 after 25-years

Obese S.C. man dies after after 8 months in recliner

Nation Today

STUDENTS PROTEST

10/

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In Loving Memoryof

Harry Truman Whitesides Jr.Nov. 20th 1973 to Oct. 12th 2004

The Miller, Whitesides and Wilkins Families

We miss you,

Their proud parents are Derek and Joy Smith of Rutherfordton.

Their grandparents are Lorena Fowler of Rutherfordton and the late Roy Fowler; Ned Hendrick of Rutherfordton and the late Barbara Hendrick; and Hal Smith of Bat Cave. Their great- grandmother is Johnnie Harris of Rutherfordton.

Happy Birthday Noah Smith - Sept. 24 • Savannah Smith - Dec. 22

The Daily Courier Weather

Moon Phases

Almanac

North Carolina Forecast

Today’s National Map

First11/24

Full12/2

Last12/8

New12/16

Today

SunnyPrecip Chance: 0%

66º

Tonight

ClearPrecip Chance: 0%

42º

Saturday

Partly CloudyPrecip Chance: 10%

60º 42º

Sunday

Rain LikelyPrecip Chance: 60%

50º 41º

Monday

Mostly SunnyPrecip Chance: 5%

64º 41º

Tuesday

Mostly SunnyPrecip Chance: 5%

63º 40º

Sun and Moon

Local UV Index

Sunrise today . . . . .7:07 a.m.Sunset tonight . . . . .5:19 p.m.Moonrise today . . .10:35 a.m.Moonset today . . . . .8:33 p.m.

TemperaturesHigh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53Low . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50Normal High . . . . . . . . . . . .61Normal Low . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Precipitation24 hrs through 7 a.m. yest. .0.29"Month to date . . . . . . . . .5.91"Year to date . . . . . . . . .49.73"

Barometric PressureHigh yesterday . . . . . . .30.21"

Relative HumidityHigh yesterday . . . . . . . . .88%

City Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx

Asheville . . . . . . .61/35 s 58/40 pcCape Hatteras . . .67/53 mc 63/55 sCharlotte . . . . . . .66/42 s 62/44 pcFayetteville . . . . .70/43 s 65/48 pcGreensboro . . . . .66/40 s 62/43 sGreenville . . . . . .68/43 s 65/46 sHickory . . . . . . . . . .64/41 s 59/42 pcJacksonville . . . .70/46 s 66/49 pcKitty Hawk . . . . . .65/51 mc 61/54 sNew Bern . . . . . .70/44 s 65/49 sRaleigh . . . . . . . .68/41 s 63/45 sSouthern Pines . .69/42 s 64/46 pcWilmington . . . . .71/50 s 67/50 mcWinston-Salem . .65/39 s 61/42 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 . . . . . . . . .66/43 s 62/49 shBaltimore . . . . . . .62/42 pc 60/43 sChicago . . . . . . . .52/43 mc 53/42 pcDetroit . . . . . . . . .49/41 cl 52/39 mcIndianapolis . . . .53/39 pc 54/40 pcLos Angeles . . . .71/51 s 68/50 sMiami . . . . . . . . . .82/73 mc 83/72 pcNew York . . . . . . .62/43 ra 56/44 sPhiladelphia . . . .60/42 ra 59/43 sSacramento . . . . .56/42 ra 54/42 sSan Francisco . . .59/48 ra 58/51 pcSeattle . . . . . . . . .52/41 sh 48/42 raTampa . . . . . . . . .80/64 s 81/66 mcWashington, DC .62/41 s 60/43 s

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.

HH

80s

70s

70s

70s 60s

60s

50s50s

50s

40s

40s 40s

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 City68/43

Greenville68/43

Wilmington71/50

Greensboro66/40

Raleigh68/41

Charlotte66/42

Forest City66/42

Fayetteville70/43

Kinston69/43

Durham68/41

Asheville61/35

Winston-Salem65/39

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

Weather

The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 20, 2009 — 11

Business/finance

NEW YORK (AP) — Signs of a subdued econom-ic recovery sent investors out of stocks Thursday and in search of safer assets like the dollar.

Major indexes tumbled about 1 percent, includ-ing the Dow Jones industrial average, which lost 94 points but ended well off its low. Energy and material stocks logged some of the biggest losses as a jump in the dollar sent commodity prices tumbling. Meanwhile, an analyst’s downgrade of the chip industry pulled technology shares sharply lower.

As stocks fell, investors flocked to the dollar and Treasurys. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, tumbled to its lowest level since December. The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Volatility Index, also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, rose more than 4 percent.

Overseas markets also fell sharply.The day’s trade was a shift out of riskier assets

and back into safe havens like the dollar and Treasurys. After amassing significant gains dur-ing an eight-month rally in stocks, investors are hesitant to take on too many extra risks as the year ends, worried that the economy’s rebound might not be sustainable.

For much of this year, investors have been selling dollars and putting their money in riskier assets like stocks and commodities that have the poten-tial to earn higher returns.

Now, investors are wondering whether the dol-lar’s slide has run its course and whether other markets have gotten overheated considering the many challenges to the economy including high unemployment.

Reports on the economy gave investors little incentive to hold on to stocks. Figures from the Labor Department indicated that employers are still shedding jobs, and the Mortgage Bankers Association reported a surge in foreclosures.

Still, analysts warn that the dollar’s rise Thursday doesn’t necessarily mark the beginning of a long-term move. Record-low U.S. interest rates could continue to weigh on the dollar.

Jon Biele, head of capital markets at Cowen & Co., said investors are searching for direction.

The Dow fell 93.87, or 0.9 percent, to 10,332.44, after being down as much as 170. It was the Dow’s biggest point drop since Oct. 30.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 14.90, or 1.3 percent, to 1,094.90, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 36.32, or 1.7 percent, to 2,156.82.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 14.47, or 2.4 percent, to 585.68.

Bonds rallied as stocks fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.34 percent from 3.37 percent late Wednesday. The yield on the three-month T-bill was flat at 0.02 percent after falling as low as 0.005 percent.

The ICE Futures US dollar index, which mea-sures the dollar against other major currencies, gained 0.3 percent, weighing on commodities. Gold inched higher, while oil prices dropped $2.12 to settle at $77.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A gauge of future economic activ-ity and a report on unemploy-ment benefits signaled Thursday that the recovery likely will remain weak in the coming months.

The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators rose less in October than ana-lysts had expected. The index forecasts activity by measuring consumer expectations, building permits and other data.

And the number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemploy-ment benefits, unchanged last week, remains above the level that would indicate the economy is adding jobs.

Together, the two reports sug-gested that the lack of job cre-ation is dampening consumer expectations and prospects for an economic rebound. Uneasy consumers likely will curtail their spending, which powers about 70 percent of the U.S. economy.

New jobless claims have fallen about 22 percent since spring. But companies’ reluctance to hire is weighing down the hous-ing market — and the economy’s fledgling recovery.

A separate report Thursday found that a rising proportion of fixed-rate home loans made to people with good credit are sink-ing into foreclosure.

Driven by rising unemploy-ment, such loans accounted for nearly 33 percent of new fore-closures last quarter. That com-pares with just 21 percent a year ago, when high-risk subprime loans made during the housing

boom were the main reason for default.

And the proportion of hom-eowners with a mortgage who were either behind on their pay-ments or in foreclosure hit a record high for the ninth straight quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

The latest data on the econo-my gave investors little incen-tive to hold on to stocks. Major indexes tumbled about 1.5 percent Thursday.The Labor Department’s report on jobless benefits said first-time claims amounted to a seasonally adjust-ed 505,000 last week. That was the same as the previous week’s revised figure, and it matched analysts’ expectations. A year ago, there were 533,000 initial claims.

The four-week average, which smooths out volatility, fell for the 11th straight week to 514,000, the lowest level in nearly a year.

Some economists said the report was at least an encour-aging sign that job losses in November will decline from last month’s total. Employers cut a net total of 190,000 jobs in October, down from 219,000 the previous month.

Economists at Deutsche Bank are forecasting that net job losses will fall to 125,000 in November. But the economy needs to add about 125,000 jobs a month just to keep the unem-ployment rate from rising.

Separately, the Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.3 percent last month, indicating a slow, bumpy recovery next year.

A gauge of consumer expecta-tions, which are dropping as unemployment continues to rise, weighed down the index.

While the steady decline in claims is evidence that firings are decreasing, most economists say weekly claims would have to fall to about 425,000 for several weeks to signal that the economy is actually adding jobs. Some economists put the number higher, around 475,000.

Even as claims are falling and the economy has started grow-ing, the unemployment rate is rising. It jumped to 10.2 percent in October from 9.8 percent, the highest level in more than 26 years, the government said ear-lier this month.

The economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, the govern-ment said last month. But many economists expect growth to slow in the current quarter.

The number of people continu-ing to claim benefits, mean-while, dropped by 39,000 to 5.6 million for the week ending Nov. 7, the department said. The fig-ures on continuing claims lag behind initial claims by a week.

But the continuing claims fig-ure does not include millions of people that have used up the regular 26 weeks of benefits typically provided by states. They are receiving extended benefits for up to 73 additional weeks. Nearly 4.2 million people were receiving extended ben-efits in the week ended Oct. 31, an increase of 120,000 from the previous week.

Associated PressIn this Nov. 13 file photo, Michigan state Department of Human Services caseworker Sandy Satchel, foreground, works at the Family Independence Agency in Detroit. The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemploy-ment insurance was unchanged last week, remaining above the level that would indicate the economy is adding jobs.

Strong dollar, weak data slam stock markets

Latest reports back slow recovery

11/

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STOCKS OF LOCAL INTERESTYTD

Name Div Yld PE Last Chg%ChgYTD

Name Div Yld PE Last Chg %ChgAT&T Inc 1.64 6.3 13 26.11 -.20 -8.4Amazon ... ... 76 128.99 -2.30+151.5ArvMerit ... ... ... 8.56 -.43+200.4BB&T Cp .60 2.4 17 24.68 -.41 -10.1BkofAm .04 .2 ... 16.08 -.27 +14.2BerkHa A ... ... 32103895.00+20.00+7.6Cisco ... ... 24 23.68 -.32 +45.3Delhaize 2.01 2.6 ... 76.99 -.27 +22.2Dell Inc ... ... 17 15.87 -.19 +55.0DukeEngy .96 6.0 14 16.10 -.06 +7.3ExxonMbl 1.68 2.3 17 74.65 -.62 -6.5FamilyDlr .54 1.8 15 30.29 -.25 +16.2FifthThird .04 .4 ... 10.05 -.11 +21.7FCtzBA 1.20 .8 15 155.25 +.25 +1.6GenElec .40 2.5 14 15.76 -.33 -2.7GoldmanS 1.40 .8 20 172.83 -4.07+104.8Google ... ... 37 572.99 -3.66 +86.2KrispKrm ... ... ... 3.41 +.01+103.0

LeggPlat 1.04 5.3 73 19.62 -.45 +29.2

Lowes .36 1.7 18 21.49 -.10 -.1

Microsoft .52 1.7 19 29.78 -.33 +53.2

PPG 2.16 3.6 27 59.48 -1.03 +40.2

ParkerHan 1.00 1.8 26 54.31 -1.50 +27.7

ProgrssEn 2.48 6.5 13 38.13 -.20 -4.3

RedHat ... ... 62 27.87 -.49 +110.8

RoyalBk g 2.00 ... ... 54.27 -.81 +83.0

SaraLee .44 3.6 20 12.20 -.18 +24.6

SonicAut ... ... ... 9.21 -.42+131.4

SonocoP 1.08 3.8 20 28.11 -.29 +21.4

SpectraEn 1.00 5.3 15 19.01 -.24 +20.8

SpeedM .36 2.2 ... 16.05 -.31 -.4

Timken .36 1.4 ... 25.01 -.40 +27.4

UPS B 1.80 3.1 34 57.16 -.21 +3.6

WalMart 1.09 2.0 16 54.54 +.39 -2.7

STOCK MARKET INDEXES

MUTUAL FUNDS

DAILY DOW JONES

10,438.17 6,469.95 Dow Industrials 10,332.44 -93.87 -.90 +17.73 +36.814,066.40 2,134.21 Dow Transportation 3,956.09 -72.53 -1.80 +11.84 +32.36

388.86 288.66 Dow Utilities 370.70 -4.96 -1.32 -.02 +10.427,266.51 4,181.75 NYSE Composite 7,117.64 -109.07 -1.51 +23.63 +53.031,887.23 1,130.47 Amex Market Value 1,805.36 -20.29 -1.11 +29.18 +55.982,205.32 1,265.52 Nasdaq Composite 2,156.82 -36.32 -1.66 +36.76 +63.881,113.69 666.79 S&P 500 1,094.90 -14.90 -1.34 +21.22 +45.51

717.75 397.97 S&P MidCap 691.39 -14.50 -2.05 +28.44 +65.7511,470.47 6,772.29 Wilshire 5000 11,254.92 -173.23 -1.52 +23.86 +50.64

625.30 342.59 Russell 2000 585.68 -14.47 -2.41 +17.26 +52.00

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

THE MARKET IN REVIEW

PIMCO TotRetIs CI 111,038 11.00 +1.2 +19.0/C +7.1/A NL 5,000,000American Funds GrthAmA m LG 61,982 26.93 -0.4 +46.7/C +3.1/A 5.75 250American Funds CapIncBuA m IH 56,647 48.08 +0.1 +31.7/D +4.5/C 5.75 250American Funds CpWldGrIA m WS 53,772 34.07 -0.6 +52.0/C +7.1/A 5.75 250Fidelity Contra LG 52,867 56.82 +0.2 +38.4/D +5.0/A NL 2,500Vanguard TotStIdx LB 52,578 26.87 -0.8 +42.4/B +1.2/B NL 3,000American Funds IncAmerA m MA 47,485 15.37 +0.8 +34.0/C +3.1/B 5.75 250American Funds InvCoAmA m LB 46,374 25.54 +0.5 +38.5/D +1.8/B 5.75 250Vanguard 500Inv LB 45,505 101.21 -0.1 +39.2/C +0.7/C NL 3,000Vanguard InstIdx LB 40,396 100.58 -0.1 +39.4/C +0.8/C NL 5,000,000American Funds EurPacGrA m FB 38,984 38.77 -1.8 +62.2/A +8.8/A 5.75 250Dodge & Cox Stock LV 37,893 94.55 -1.0 +48.1/A -0.1/C NL 2,500American Funds WAMutInvA m LV 37,017 24.29 +0.9 +30.6/D +0.4/C 5.75 250Dodge & Cox IntlStk FV 34,519 31.92 -4.2 +74.0/A +6.8/A NL 2,500American Funds NewPerspA m WS 31,027 25.53 -0.2 +57.2/B +6.3/A 5.75 250Fidelity DivrIntl d FG 30,998 28.07 -2.2 +55.1/D +4.7/C NL 2,500PIMCO TotRetAdm b CI 29,461 11.00 +1.2 +18.7/C +6.8/A NL 5,000,000American Funds FnInvA m LB 28,754 32.14 -0.7 +47.1/B +4.2/A 5.75 250American Funds BalA m MA 28,593 16.19 +1.2 +31.4/D +2.4/C 5.75 250FrankTemp-Franklin Income A m CA 27,892 2.01 +0.6 +43.5/A +3.6/B 4.25 1,000American Funds BondA m CI 27,597 11.90 +1.2 +18.7/C +2.7/E 3.75 250Vanguard Welltn MA 26,971 28.83 +0.5 +34.7/C +5.3/A NL 10,000Vanguard 500Adml LB 26,340 101.24 0.0 +39.4/C +0.8/C NL 100,000Fidelity GrowCo LG 25,826 65.80 -1.2 +51.3/B +4.5/A NL 2,500Vanguard TotStIAdm LB 25,120 26.88 -0.8 +42.5/B +1.3/B NL 100,000Vanguard TotIntl FB 24,329 14.65 -2.1 +62.5/A +6.3/B NL 3,000Vanguard InstPlus LB 23,676 100.59 0.0 +39.5/C +0.8/C NL 200,000,000Fidelity LowPriStk d MB 22,842 30.84 -2.1 +60.7/B +3.8/A NL 2,500T Rowe Price EqtyInc LV 14,422 20.65 -1.0 +41.0/B +1.2/B NL 2,500Hartford CapAprA m LB 9,041 29.87 -0.4 +61.0/A +4.1/A 5.50 1,000Pioneer PioneerA m LB 4,047 35.01 +0.6 +33.8/E +1.4/B 5.75 1,000Goldman Sachs ShDuGovA m GS 1,363 10.54 +0.7 +6.4/B +4.8/A 1.50 1,000Alliance Bernstein GrowIncA m LV 1,179 2.93 0.0 +45.2/B -1.2/E 4.25 2,500DWS-Scudder REstA m SR 386 13.21 +2.1 +68.7/C +0.7/B 5.75 1,000Hartford GrowthL m LG 177 14.71 -1.7 +49.0/B +0.5/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.

NYSE7,117.64-109.07

AMEX1,805.36 -20.29

NASDAQ2,156.82 -36.32

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 ChgETrade 1314778 1.63 -.06Intel 1063794 19.30 -.82PwShs QQQ1015004 43.66 -.69DirecTV 810819 31.50 +.46DryShips 564041 6.53 -.61Microsoft 507197 29.78 -.33Cisco 375174 23.68 -.323Com 368982 7.44 -.05Dell Inc 305985 15.87 -.19Comcast 263912 15.04 -.09

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)

LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)

Name Last Chg %ChgVlyNBc wt 2.39 +.55 +29.9BonTon 12.66 +1.94 +18.1Netlist h 5.67 +.84 +17.4SecNtl lf 3.93 +.57 +17.0AmIndep 4.92 +.60 +13.9HeritOkB 4.54 +.54 +13.5pSivida 4.01 +.45 +12.6BerkshBcp 6.78 +.73 +12.1SuprtlH pfA 7.51 +.79 +11.7CitzSoBk 6.15 +.63 +11.4

Name Last Chg %ChgMicrvisn 3.27 -.84 -20.4FCtyBFL 2.28 -.50 -17.9Tufco 2.91 -.59 -16.9FidelSo 2.55 -.43 -14.4ChinaMed 12.98 -2.17 -14.31stCnstBn 6.03 -.97 -13.9CmwlthBsh 3.13 -.48 -13.4EagleBulk 5.87 -.88 -13.0HotTopic 5.80 -.87 -13.0Parkrvsn 2.01 -.29 -12.6

DIARYAdvanced 557Declined 2,133Unchanged 118Total issues 2,808New Highs 34New Lows 32

2,173,907,491Volume

Name Vol (00) Last ChgNwGold g 134847 3.65 -.70GoldStr g 62989 3.57 +.04NthgtM g 37531 3.23 +.07GrtBasG g 29830 1.56 -.04CelSci 28084 1.29 -.06NovaGld g 26635 5.33 -.03ChinaGrn n 26598 16.14 -.49GranTrra g 23558 5.72 -.02Oilsands g 21677 1.15 -.04CFCda g 19305 14.37 +.17

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)

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Name Last Chg %ChgAmLorain n 2.98 +.44 +17.3ChMarFd n 5.79 +.69 +13.5SinoHub n 4.17 +.22 +5.6DocuSec 2.19 +.11 +5.3VirnetX 2.80 +.14 +5.3NvNCDiv3 15.55 +.69 +4.7Chrmcft 2.09 +.09 +4.5AlphaPro 5.14 +.21 +4.3SoCTBcp 3.70 +.15 +4.2TrioTch 2.46 +.10 +4.2

Name Last Chg %ChgLannett 4.95 -.95 -16.1NwGold g 3.65 -.70 -16.1UnivPwr 2.97 -.33 -10.0SuprmInd 2.00 -.21 -9.5SwGA Fn 8.76 -.74 -7.8TravelCtrs 4.71 -.39 -7.6AmO&G 2.83 -.23 -7.5Invitel 3.24 -.25 -7.2PionDrill 6.45 -.49 -7.1SearchM wt 2.65 -.20 -7.0

DIARYAdvanced 163Declined 355Unchanged 54Total issues 572New Highs 7New Lows 3

Name Vol (00) Last ChgCitigrp 2200002 4.26 -.03SPDR 1740099 109.82 -1.45BkofAm 1566269 16.08 -.27iShEMkts 1153794 40.82 -.77DirFBear rs 885818 19.64 +.95FordM 867583 8.73 -.21SprintNex 799628 3.85 -.10SPDR Fncl 737885 14.69 -.29GenElec 690889 15.76 -.33iShR2K 690868 58.66 -1.50

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)

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LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)

Name Last Chg %ChgNY&Co 4.45 +.70 +18.7SunriseSen 3.16 +.40 +14.5Headwatrs 5.08 +.53 +11.6Ambac3-03n6.10 +.57 +10.3MS LTD33 19.18 +1.63 +9.3Ambac2-03 6.09 +.51 +9.1GLG Ptr un 3.00 +.25 +9.0MLEMkt1-1010.63 +.84 +8.6Donldson 44.73 +3.27 +7.9DirxSCBear12.29 +.86 +7.5

Name Last Chg %ChgPrepaidLg 33.27 -7.86 -19.1Natuzzi 2.95 -.53 -15.2GSC Inv 2.79 -.39 -12.3Talbots 7.12 -1.00 -12.3ExcelM 7.40 -1.00 -11.9Technitrl 5.35 -.69 -11.4GencoShip 25.10 -3.15 -11.2MLSel10 11 5.63 -.67 -10.6VoltInfo lf 8.58 -.92 -9.7NYMAGC 15.77 -1.62 -9.3

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10,440Dow Jones industrialsClose: 10,332.44Change: -93.87 (-0.9%)

10 DAYS

have you reviewed your life insurance lately?

12 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 20, 2009

nation

WASHINGTON (AP) — The foreclosure crisis likely will per-sist well into next year as high unemployment pushes more people out of homes, pulls down housing prices and raises con-cerns about the broader econom-ic recovery.

The latest evidence was a report Thursday that a rising proportion of fixed-rate home loans made to people with good credit are sinking into foreclo-sure. That’s a shift from last year, when riskier subprime loans drove the housing crisis.

The report from the Mortgage Bankers Association also found that 14 percent of homeown-ers with a mortgage were either behind on payments or in fore-closure at the end of September. It was a record-high figure for the ninth straight quarter.

The data suggest the housing market and the broader recov-ery will remain under pressure from the surge in home-loan defaults, especially as unemploy-ment keeps rising. Lost jobs are the main reason homeowners are falling behind on their mort-gages.

After three years of plung-ing prices, the housing market started to rebound this summer. That lifted hopes for the overall economy. But analysts say there are too many foreclosed homes that have yet to be dumped on the market and expect further

price declines.Among states, the worst dam-

age is still concentrated in the states hardest hit from the start: Florida, Nevada, California and Arizona. Together, they account-ed for 43 percent of new foreclo-sures.

One in four mortgages in Florida were either past due or in foreclosure, the most in the U.S. Nevada was close behind at 23 percent.

“There’s no indication in this data that foreclosures are going to abate anytime soon,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, who projects that nationwide home prices will fall up to 10 percent before bottoming next fall.

Driven by rising unemploy-ment, prime fixed-rate loans to borrowers with good credit accounted for nearly 33 percent of new foreclosures last quarter. That compares with 21 percent a year ago.

Many laid-off homeowners might be able to survive on their savings for a while, but “the lon-ger the economic situation stays in place, the less likely they are to hold on,” said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association.

In markets where foreclosures already are high and still ris-ing, prices likely will remain soft. That will cause develop-ers to keep their bulldozers idle

and prevent the industry from making a big contribution to the economy’s recovery.

“Builders only start homes when they can make money,” said John Burns, an Irvine, Calif.-based real estate con-sultant. “In a lot of areas, until prices go back up, construction doesn’t make any sense.”

The crisis has struck people like Betty Wilson of San Diego. She was laid off a year ago from her job at an insurance company.

Since then, Wilson has man-aged to pay her $1,090 mortgage bill from collecting unemploy-ment benefits, renting out a room and dipping into savings. But money is running low. She fears she won’t make her pay-ment for December.

Wilson, 56, said she has tried to get her mortgage company, GMAC Mortgage, to lower her 6.25 percent interest rate or give her a temporary break from pay-ments. Many mortgage com-panies will let a borrower skip up to six months of payments, though they require that the money be paid back eventually.

After The Associated Press inquired about her case, a GMAC spokeswoman said Thursday that the company would offer Wilson reduced pay-ments for four months, “while we continue to review her financials for a permanent solution.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 314,000 tax-payers made inaccurate claims for a popular tax credit that helps pay college expenses, getting $532 million they weren’t entitled to receive.

The Hope Credit provides up to $1,650 a year to help pay expenses for the first two years of col-lege. The taxpayers claimed the credit for the same student for three consecutive years, instead of the two years available, said a report. About 58,000 claimed the credit for a fourth consecutive year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government watch-dog overseeing economic stimulus spending said Thursday that, in its rush to take credit for saving hundreds of thousands of jobs, the Obama admin-istration was overly confident in its job-counting and did not acknowledge significant errors in the figures.

Numbers released last month identified more than 640,000 jobs linked to stimulus projects around the country. Despite warning signs that the numbers were flawed, the White House said the public could have confidence in them and they proved the administration was on track save or create 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year.

Since then, tens of thousands of problems have been documented, from the substantive to the clerical. Republicans have been able to use those flaws to attack what so far is the signature domes-tic policy of Obama’s presidency.

The criticism has resonated, even though eco-nomic data shows that overall government efforts, from President George W. Bush’s bank bailout to President Barack Obama’s stimulus, have improved the economy.

The White House said Thursday that it had been up front about the errors.

The Obama administration has expressed vary-ing degrees of confidence in the numbers, depend-ing on who was talking and when:

n Sept. 23, White House communications direc-tor Anita Dunn: “It is not going to be a perfect pro-cess here at the beginning.”

n Oct. 29, press release: “These reports have been reviewed for weeks, errors have been spotted and corrected, and additional layers of review by state and local governments have further improved the data quality.”

n Oct. 30, Biden: “These reports are strong con-firmation that the Recovery Act is responsible for over one million jobs so far.”

n Oct. 30, White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein: “Focusing on (mistakes in the reports) risks obscuring a key point: Real-time reporting about job creation, with reports coming from thou-sands of projects all across the country, has never even been attempted before.”

n Oct. 31, Obama: “It is clear that the recovery act has now created and saved more than a million jobs.”

n Nov. 1, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, when asked by NBC News whether the 640,000 figure was fact or spin: “This is a fact.”

In this 2008 file photo, a foreclosure sign stands outside an existing home on the market in Denver.

Associated Press

Foreclosures now hitting more people who have good credit

Tax credit abuse reported

Job claims still controversial

12/

ATTENTIONADULTS AGE 55+

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EASTWOOD VILLAGEHwy. 74 East, Forest City, NC

In addition to the 34 existing homes, lots are available for theconstruction of your custom retirement home.

For information or a tour, please contact:John Cilone, Broker — 245-9095

Ruby Lowery, Broker — 248-2018Mack McKeithan, Broker — 245-9095

Surviving The HolidaysThe upcoming holiday season will offer many challenges for those of you who have lost loved ones in the last year. It will be the first Thanksgiving, or Christmas without your loved one. Family traditions will be changed; perhaps the location of the family meal or special activities will no longer be possible.With these changes will be a void and reminiscing of holiday’s past. However, you must not allow the absence of your loved one to take away the joy of those left behind.It will be difficult but you must find new traditions for the family and focus yourself on the blessings of today. You must realize that your loved one would want you to enjoy these special times and value your family as never before.

There is nothing wrong with remembering your loved one and the good times that you shared together during the holidays. But, let me challenge you to not allow feelings of grief to take away the joy of the season and the hope that it brings. It is a time to reinvest yourself in making the upcoming holidays memorable. We must learn to cherish the moment.

“Quality Service withCompassionate Care”

HarrelsonFuneral Home1251 Hwy. 221-A,

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Points ToPonder

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

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Pajama PartyDec. 5th, 12th, 19th 1-3pm

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offer Expires Dec 15th

H1N1 Flu Vaccine ClinicSaturday November 21,2009 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

Rutherford County Health Department 221 Callahan Koon Rd Spindale, N.C. 28160 828-287-6100

H1N1 Flu Mist will be available for the following people: — Healthy people ages 2 through 49 years of age who are not pregnant and do not have certain health conditions

According to CDC H1N1 nasal mist is a safe and effective way for healthy non-pregnant people ages 2-49 years of age to prevent flu.

H1N1 Vaccine (Injectable) is available for the following people: — Children ages 6 months to 18 years — Anyone ages 19 through 24 years — Pregnant Women — Anyone who lives in the house with or takes care of an infant under 6 months of age — Health Care workers and EMS personnel — Anyone ages 25-64 years of age with certain chronic medical conditions or a weakened immune system

Please bring your insurance card, Medicaid card and social security number. There will be no charge to individuals for this vaccine.

The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 20, 2009 — 13

nation

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s an issue that Democrats would rather not deal with as they shape a health care overhaul. Yet a new Associated Press poll says most Americans support curbs on medical malpractice lawsuits.

The AP poll found that 54 percent favor mak-ing it harder to sue doctors and hospitals for mis-takes taking care of patients, while 32 percent are opposed. The rest are undecided or don’t know.

But congressional Democrats are reluctant to press forward on the issue. They don’t want to upset a valuable political constituency — trial law-yers — even if President Barack Obama says he believes that fear of being sued leads doctors to practice defensive medicine, driving up costs for everyone.

Support for limits on malpractice lawsuits cuts across political lines, with 58 percent of inde-pendents and 61 percent of Republicans in favor. Democrats are more divided. Still, 47 percent said they favor making it harder to sue, while 37 per-cent are opposed.

The survey was conducted by Stanford University with the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Limits on jury awards in malpractice cases could reduce the federal deficit by $54 billion over 10 years, says the Congressional Budget Office, because doctors caring for Medicare and Medicaid patients would order up fewer tests to guard against being sued.

“In this country, there are just too many people who are just out for a quick buck,” said Christine Vasquez, 67, a retiree from Clarkston, Mich., in a followup interview. “I think our insurance costs would go way down if (doctors) didn’t have to be so scared to be sued all the time.”

In the poll, 59 percent said they thought at least half the tests doctors order are unnecessary, ordered only because of fear of lawsuits.

The issue pits two of the most powerful lobbies in Washington against each other: doctors and trial lawyers.

Doctors complain that fear of frivolous lawsuits prompts them to order tests that patients don’t really need: an MRI for back pain, for example, when an X-ray would suffice. They say malprac-tice insurance premiums are so high in parts of the country that some doctors avoid certain areas, even relocate.

Lawyers argue that limits on lawsuits infringe on the constitutional right of each citizen to have his or her day in court. And they point out that 44,000 to 98,000 people die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors — from misdiagnosis to getting the wrong medication — a glaring problem for a country that prides itself on the world’s most advanced medical care.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Soup kitchen workers are seeing new faces in line and charities are taking more calls for help as the recession makes for a less-than-bountiful Thanksgiving.

Hunger relief advocates came to Congress on Thursday and painted a bleak picture of a country struggling to meet an increased need for food assis-tance at a time of high unem-ployment.

“In our 42-year history, we have never witnessed a demand for our services like we are see-ing now,” said Josh Fogt, public policy manager for Northwest Harvest in Seattle. The orga-nization operates Washington state’s largest food bank.

Charities and nonprofit groups called on lawmakers to give peo-ple tax incentives to donate to charities, expand federal nutri-tion programs and spend more on programs to help people pre-pare for work.

The Northwest Harvest pantry in Seattle gets more than 2,500 visitors on busy days, up from a peak of 1,800 early last year, Fogt told members of the House

Ways and Means Committee.“Hunger relief is truly a growth

industry and we are increasingly being asked to do more with less,” Fogt said.

Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., said Americans are facing a time of uncertainty.

“As we approach the holiday season, we all have grave con-cerns about how these difficult times are generating unprec-edented need for life’s basic necessities: food, clothing, shel-ter,” Boustany said.

The congressional hear-ing on food banks followed an Agriculture Department report that more than one in seven households struggled to put enough food on the table in 2008 — the highest rate since the agency began tracking food security in 1995.

That’s about 49 million people, or 14.6 percent of U.S. house-holds counted as lacking the food for an active, healthy life.

“Hunger is not just touching the urban homeless, but it is touching the suburban house-wife,” Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said. “It is touching the middle

class. It is touching our children and seniors.”

Candy Hill of Catholic Charities USA said local agen-cies are getting more requests from first-time clients.

The Catholic Charities office in Youngstown, Ohio, is getting 70 calls a day for help with food and utilities — up from 100 a month last year, Hill said. “It will not only take government being our partner, but it will also take all of us — corporations, philan-thropy and individual donors — to solve the extreme problem of hunger in our country today.”

“Those we serve are now our neighbors, our former colleagues and hard-working individuals struggling to make ends meet,” Hill said.

In October, the Catholic Charities of Central Texas’ food pantry fed 2,637 people — its largest monthly number, the agency reported. Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada saw its number of food bank clients double from July to September, compared with the same period last year.

Associated PressIn this Nov. 11 file photo, volunteer Ken Newman sorts donated food at the Cherry Street Food Bank, run by Northwest Harvest, in Seattle. A week before many Americans will sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, hunger relief advocates on Thursday told members of Congress that food banks and charities are struggling.

Food banks struggle to meet need

Malpractice reforms have public’s support

13/

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.

Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce

Reverse Raffle December 4, The Foundation, ICC.

Win $10,000 Cash! Prizes!

One ticket costs $100, admits two, covers food, drinks and

an evening of fun, entertainment and good fortune. Only 500 tickets are sold.

Proceeds are used for the advancement of Rutherford County and its people.

287-3090Mon, Tue & Wednesdays THRU November

Located behind Tri-City Mall828-245-7715

Going Out of Business Sale

Everything Must Go!!

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14 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 20, 2009

NatioN

WASHINGTON (AP) — They call it the “Botax.”

The White House and Senate Democrats have turned to a proposal to tax breast implants, tummy tucks, wrinkle-smoothing injections and other proce-dures as they search for ways to pay for costly health care overhaul plans.

Vanity was an easy target as lawmakers scraped for cash for the nearly $1 trillion plan to expand health care to millions of Americans who lack insurance. But it’s no joke to the drug makers and people who perform the cosmetic nips and tucks. And they’re fighting back.

Skin-smoothing Botox injections could be hard-hit. There were some 4.7 million last year and an average cost per visit of about $400, some including several injections.

“It is a random hit on an easy target that is only puni-tive and not corrective,” said Caroline Van Hove, a spokes-woman for Allergan Inc., the maker of Botox Cosmetic. “The bottom line is that tax-ing cosmetic procedures is unnecessarily punitive on people who have merely decided to enhance their appearance.”

At issue is a proposal in the 10-year, nearly $1 trillion health care draft unveiled by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that would slap a 5 percent excise tax on elective cosmetic sur-geries and procedures. The plan, projected to raise $6 billion, wouldn’t apply to surgery to fix a deformity or injury, but would include procedures such as face lifts, liposuction, cosmetic implants or teeth-whitening.

The plastic surgeons may have seemed like an appeal-ing bunch to pick on given that they had already been skeptical of the Democrats’ overhaul proposal. But they say it will be a blow to count-less American women — of every income level.

“The common miscon-ception is that this is going

to tax wealthy, suburban Republican women,” said Dr. Phil Haeck of Seattle, Wash., the president-elect of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. In fact, he said, of the 86 percent of cos-metic surgery patients who are female, 60 percent of them have incomes between $30,000 and $90,000.

In addition, he said the tax would be especially hurt-ful in tough economic times that have prompted many newly jobless women to look for ways to make themselves more marketable to pro-spective employers. He said, “They’re competing with people 10 to 15 years younger than them and they want to look better.”

The emergence of the tax in the latest Senate health legislation shows what can happen when an industry or

company that’s in Congress’ cross-hairs isn’t vigilant enough.

Dr. Daniel Russo, the Birmingham, Ala., plas-tic surgeon who heads the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, said his group first heard of the cosmetic proce-dure tax idea over the sum-mer. But after being assured by several lawmakers and senior congressional aides that it was not being seri-ously considered, the group opted not to engage in a major lobbying battle against it, he said.

“On multiple fronts, we were assured that this was not something that any one of the senators or representa-tives wanted to pursue. This is something that we did not foresee,” Russo said in an interview.

“We feel it’s unfair to those

people who’ve saved hard-earned moneys to have something to improve their appearance, and now may not even be able to afford it,” he said.

His group isn’t registered to lobby, although the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported spending nearly $400,000 this year trying to influence Congress. The soci-ety, which has two in-house lobbyists, didn’t list a plastic surgery tax among its legisla-tive priorities in disclosures filed on Capitol Hill.

Haeck, president-elect of the society, said indus-try players whose products would be affected took the lead lobbying against it.

Allergan’s shares were down more than 2 percent Thursday after news of the tax broke. The company, which recently projected net product sales for this year of

more than $4 billion, expects the injectible wrinkle-smoothing medicine to rake in $1.3 billion in 2009. It has spent $1.4 million lobby-ing Congress on health care issues this year.

Medical device and phar-maceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, a maker of breast implants, also saw its shares slide. The company has spent more than $3 million lobby-ing Congress this year on a wide range of issues, many related to the health over-haul. It was a major player in a successful fight by the medical device industry to get lawmakers to cut in half a proposed $40 billion tax on their products.

Lobbyists and aides famil-iar with the proposed 5 per-cent cosmetic surgery tax said Allergan and Johnson & Johnson along with others in the industry helped persuade lawmakers to slash it from a 10 percent levy, which had been projected to cost about $11 billion over a decade.

Accounts vary on who first dreamed up the Botax. It came out of a late-July meeting on health care that included Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the Finance Committee chairman, and Peter Orszag, Obama’s bud-get director, although neither man’s staff acknowledges having hatched the scheme.

Now that it’s in the Senate legislation, plastic surgeons and the cosmetic product industry are dusting off their arguments against it. Opponents cite as a caution-ary tale a similar 6 percent tax in effect in New Jersey. Haeck contends that tax has cost the state $3.39 for every $1 collected.

Whatever money would be raised, he said, would come from doctors and patients at a time they can ill-afford it, given the recession and ris-ing unemployment.

“These women come in, they’ve lost their jobs, they don’t have the money for a facelift,” he said.

‘Botax’ eyed as one way to pay for health plan

Associated PressSenate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill., second from left, speaks during a health care reform news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday. From left are, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Durbin, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Local NewsSports Local Events

Weather Advertising World News

14/

The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 20, 2009 — 15

15comics

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

THE BORN LOSER by Art and Chip SansomGIL THORP by Jerry Jenkins, Ray Burns and Frank McLaughlin

FRANK AND ERNEST by Bob Thaves

Dear Dr. Gott: I am a 73-year-old female on no regular medications. I eat a healthful, balanced diet but sometimes indulge in pastries and candies, especially around the holi-days, when I bake for my friends and family. I participate in senior water aerobics at my local community cen-ter and try to walk every day.

I recently noticed a burning sensa-tion on my face near my right eye. Within a day or so, my eyelid started swelling and became red and painful. I immediately called my physician and was seen that same day.

I was diagnosed with shingles of the eye.

The doctor gave me eye drops and pills to take every day. She said because I had come in before the infection had taken a real hold, I should expect to get better within a few weeks. Thankfully, I did, but it was painful.

Could you please tell me more about this condition? Should I get

the shingles vaccine?Dear Reader: Herpes zoster oph-

thalmicus (HZO) is an outbreak of shingles that occurs around the eye and may involve the eye itself.

Initially, the patient may experi-ence pain or itching for up to a week before a rash appears.

The rash consists of small blisters on the forehead and around the eye on one side of the face. If the eye is involved, it often causes pain, red-ness and swelling of the lid, such as you experienced and may lead to per-manent eye damage if left untreated.

Fortunately, only 10 percent of patients with HZO develop infection in the eye rather than just around it.

Dealing with shingles of the eye

Dear Abby: I’m 32 and a “large girl.” I am also intelligent, witty and fun to be around. I make friends wherever I go.

The problem is my mother — who is also big — keeps telling me that heavy women are not desirable and we must “settle” when it comes to choosing a mate.

My mother has had two long, unhappy marriages.

She’s always saying I think too highly of myself and my standards for men are out of my reach.

Abby, I would rather remain single than marry someone I’m not happy with just to have a man.

I’m not looking for a movie star; I just want to find someone I’m attracted to and who has the same values and ideals that I have.

Is Mother right? Am I setting my sights too high? — Happy Being Me

Dear Happy Being Me: I don’t think so. If you want to achieve the same level of satisfaction in your life that your mother has, then follow her roadmap. However, if you want more, then cross your fingers and keep looking.

Meeting “The One” is a matter of putting yourself out there, and luck and timing. There are worse things than being alone, and having two long and unhappy marriages ranks right up there. Just look at your mother.

Dear Abby: A year ago, my boss was diagnosed with cancer. She had major surgery and a round of radia-tion therapy.

Last week, her doctor discovered a mass, and after biopsy, she may be going in for more surgery.

I am finding it difficult to show much empathy for my boss. Despite having had the disease she continues to live an unhealthy lifestyle.

She still smokes, has a couple of drinks a day and eats a lot of red meat. I don’t drink or smoke and I’m a vegetarian, so I can’t understand why a person would risk her health by doing these things.

What do I need to do to be more sympathetic? — Trying

Dear Trying: You don’t know what caused your boss’s cancer and neither do I. Some people who live a healthy lifestyle get cancer anyway — and that includes teetotalling, nonsmok-ing vegetarians. Please try to remem-ber that — and then think about karma. If you do, it may help you become more sympathetic and less judgmental.

Woman’s size won’t stop her looking for love

Your Birthday, Nov. 20;

In the year ahead, it could be your good luck to experi-ence a vast improvement in your financial affairs.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) — Don’t hold back if you have something important to discuss.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) — There’s no reason to be alarmed if someone close to you appears to be poking his nose in your finances.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — There’s a strong possibility that an appealing member of the opposite gender could enter your life.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Desire is a more powerful force than you might imagine.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) — You might not attempt to do so conscious-ly, but you may show off your charisma.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) — People are drawn to you, it’s a good time to aim higher than usual.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — It’s important to you that people think you are a fair person.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — You will be involved in an arrangement with another that could prove exceptionally rewarding.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) — Getting involved with an energetic friend will make you happy.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — Pursue an endeavor that requires imagination and an artistic touch. You’re endowed with both, and it will refurbish your being.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — If you don’t waffle at the first sign of opposition, everything you undertake will work out wonderfully.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) — When shopping for a big-ticket item, check out as many stores as time per-mits. There’s a great deal waiting for you.

EVENING NOVEMBER 20 DSH DTV 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30

BROADCAST STATIONS

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$ WYFF 4 8182 4 Enter Inside Law & Order Dateline NBC Jay Leno News Tonight Show Late

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) WSOC - 8650 9 Inside Enter } ›› Shrek the Third (‘07) 20/20 (N) News Foot Night Kim

WLOS 13 8180 13 For Jeop } ›› Shrek the Third (‘07) 20/20 (N) News Night Kimmel

0 WGGS 2 8192 16 In Touch-Dr Nite Line Wis Praise the Lord Å Good Tonight

5 WHNS 12 8183 21 Two Sein House Å Bones Å News Blitz Sein Frien Frien Jim

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Æ WYCW 10 8185 62 Fam Offi ce Smallville (N) Next Model News Offi ce Fam 70s Name LopezCABLE CHANNELS

A&E 23 118 265 Criminal Criminal Criminal Criminal CSI: Miami Criminal BET 17 124 329 106 & Park The Unit The Unit The Unit Mo’Nique W. Williams COM 46 107 249 Daily Col Scru Scru Bill Engvall Pre Pre Gotham Pre Pre CNN 27 200 202 Lou Dobbs Camp. Brown Larry King Anderson Cooper 360 Å Larry King DISC 24 182 278 Dirty Jobs Dirty Jobs Lobstermen Lobstermen Dirty Jobs Lobstermen ESPN 25 140 206 Sport NBA NBA Basketball: Magic at Celtics NBA Basketball ESPN2 37 144 209 Score College Basketball College Football Boise State at Utah State. NAS FNC 15 205 360 FOX Report O’Reilly Hannity (N) On Record O’Reilly Hannity FSS 20 - - College Basketball SEC Gridiron UEFA Final ACC Final Top 50 FX 36 137 248 6:00 } ›› Click } ››› 13 Going on 30 (‘04) Anarchy ManHouse FXM 38 133 258 Poseidon Leg How Green Was My Valley Leg How Green Was My Valley HALL 16 187 312 MASH MASH Gaither } Flower Girl (‘09) Å Gold Gold Gold Gold HGTV 29 112 229 House House Prop Prop House Buck House House Un First House Buck HIST 43 120 269 WWII in HD WWII in HD Ancients Lock N’ Load Ancients WWII in HD LIFE 35 108 252 Grey’s Anat. DietTribe Runway Runway Mod Will Fra Me NICK 40 170 299 Spon Spon The The Chris Chris Lopez Lopez Nanny Nanny Nanny Nanny SPIKE 44 168 241 Ways UFC UFC 106 Cnt UFC 89: Bisping vs Leben Super Ways SYFY 45 122 244 Sanctuary Stargate Stargate Sanctuary (N) Stargate Sanctuary TBS 30 139 247 Name Name Fam Fam } ››› Mean Girls (‘04) :10 } Secondhand Lions TCM 42 132 256 Falcon } One Potato, Two Potato } ›› The Landlord (‘70) Great White TLC 28 183 280 Dress Dress Dress Dress Dress Dress Hap Hap Dress Dress Hap Hap TNT 19 138 245 Bones Å Bones Å } ›› Shooter (‘07) Å } U.S. Marshals TOON 14 176 296 Po Bat Star Ben De John King King Chick Amer Offi ce Squid TS 33 437 649 My NBA Basketball: Rockets at Hawks Post 3 Race FIGHTZONE USA 32 105 242 NCIS Å NCIS Å Monk (N) White Collar Burn Notice Monk Å WGN-A - 239 307 Home Videos } Gone in Sixty Seconds WGN News Scru Scru S. S.

PREMIUM CHANNELS

MAX 510 310 512 Journey-Center } ›› Dr. Dolittle 2 } › Fool’s Gold (‘08) Å Life Sex ENC 520 340 526 Josie Texas Chnsaw } No Country for Old Men Conspiracy Theory HBO 500 300 501 Hairspray } ››› Wanted (‘08) Å } › Rush Hour 3 :35 } The Rocker SHO 540 318 537 In NFL Nurse Wee Cali Cali Dexter Strikeforce Challenger STARZ 530 350 520 6:20 } Traitor (‘08) :20 } Step Brothers Crash (N) } › Fired Up (‘09) Crash

IN THE STARSPUZZLE

Dr. Peter M. Gott

Ask Dr. Gott

Abigail van Buren

Dear Abby

16 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FriDay, November 20, 2009

NatioN

ATLANTA (AP) — When the nation’s swine flu vac-cination program began in early October, health officials predicted it was going to be “messy.” They were right.

The program has been plagued with problems and information gaps:

—Health officials have been terrible at predicting when and how much vac-cine would be available. Only about 44 million doses have been shipped so far. Initially, officials said more than three times that would be out by now.

—At times vaccine ship-ments have been inexplica-bly lopsided. For example, smaller counties in Illinois and California have received the same amount delivered to counties with seven times as many people.

—Health officials have stressed that people most at risk for swine flu complica-tions should go to the head of the line, but they haven’t tried to make sure that actu-ally happened.

—And despite pledges that they would be transparent about the vaccine program, some health officials have refused to disclose where all the doses are going, and they have held back on public ser-vice announcements telling people who should be com-ing in for shots. Also, many states were slow to establish Web sites that give vaccina-tion locations.

To be fair, health officials say, the government deserves credit for a herculean effort to develop and distribute a safe and effective vaccine against a deadly virus that was first identified only sev-en months ago.

“You have a brand-new dis-ease that gets identified in April. By October, you have a vaccine for it. By any stan-dards, it’s a miracle,” said Dr. Diane Helentjaris, director of the Virginia Department of Health office handling swine

flu response.But complaints have been

mounting, with lawmakers this week holding hearings in Washington and elsewhere, pressing for explanations.

“Calls are still coming in to me about, ’Why can’t I get the vaccine?”’ said Andrea Stillman, a Connecticut state senator speaking at a Wednesday hearing in Hartford.

She noted reports of uneven distribution within her state, and of places where vulnerable patients can’t get the vaccine. “Obviously we’re very frustrated in southeast-ern Connecticut,” she said.

People are frustrated everywhere, said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. At a hearing in Washington on Tuesday, she complained of “layers of misinformation and miscommunication.”

Arthur Caplan, direc-tor of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics, said health offi-cials should have done more to make sure limited doses get to the people most at danger from the virus. And he said they should have been tougher on nurses and other health-care work-ers who are putting their patients at risk because they declined to get a shot.

In their defense, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said that the main issue is insufficient vaccine from manufacturers — something CDC can’t control — and that health authorities are doing the best they can.

The new swine flu, also called 2009 H1N1, has not turned out to be the deadly global disaster that experts

have long feared. But it has sickened an estimated 22 million Americans, hospital-ized about 98,000 and killed 4,000. It has proved to be similar to seasonal flu but a much bigger threat to chil-dren and young adults.

There was no vaccine to protect against the new virus, so manufacturers had to create a new one. In July, a government health official estimated 120 million vac-cine doses would be avail-able by late October. Later, the government backed away from that estimate when manufacturers couldn’t crank out vaccine so rapidly.

The CDC has been coordi-nating the vaccine campaign, but it is not fully in charge. As a matter of tradition and law, states have had more public health authority than the federal government. Each state health department has made decisions about which clinics, doctor’s offices and other sites get vaccine from a federally contracted distribu-tor.

“It’s a little bit of a messy process and we expect it to be somewhat bumpy in the first few weeks,” CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said in early October.

The bumps lasted more than a few weeks.

Health officials seem to have a poor idea of how many doses to expect. Two weeks ago, they predicted 8 million doses in the follow-ing seven days; it turned out to be 5 million.

Blown delivery promises have had ripple effects at the state and local level. In Alaska, deliveries have lagged significantly, and oth-er states report similar expe-riences.

Demand has far exceeded supply in many places, and hundreds and even thou-sands people have waited hours in line. Many have been turned away when the vaccine ran out or the clinic

hours ended.Supply problems have

forced states to make hard decisions about where to send the doses and which patients should get it.

Tennessee kicked off its campaign by targeting health-care workers, and many rejected the offer. Georgia emphasized getting initial doses to pediatricians and clinics that serve chil-dren. Minnesota randomly sent vaccine to clinics across the state as it became avail-able, and then let the pro-viders decide which patients should get it first.

“We haven’t tried to micro-manage the administration of the vaccine,” said Buddy Ferguson, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Health.

Authorities made few attempts to police the crowds to make sure priority groups — like pregnant women, young people and those with certain health problems — got vaccine first.

Also contributing to public mistrust are health officials themselves. CDC officials have stressed repeatedly that they are striving to be transparent. But the CDC has refused to release infor-mation about where all the publicly financed vaccine has been going. The agency punt-ed the question to states, but some states have been tight-lipped, too.

If swine flu had turned out to be deadlier, the delays and communication problems might have been catastroph-ic. Now, cases are declining across much of the country.

Indeed, health officials are now beginning to worry that demand for the vaccine may wane, just as vaccine is becoming more plentiful, just as states are perfecting Web sites that help people locate providers, just as new efforts are under way to encourage more health workers to get vaccinated.

Swine flu vaccine program plagued with issues

Associated PressA nurse prepares the doses of H1N1 vaccine at the Balboa Park Community Center in Encino, Calif., Friday, Oct. 23.

16class

16 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FRIDAY, November 20, 2009

The Daily Courier office will be closed on Thursday, November 26th

in observance of Thanksgiving Day

Classified Advertising deadline for new ads, cancellations, and changes to existing ads for

the Thursday, November 26th andFriday, November 27th editions are as follows:

LINE ADS:Deadline is Wednesday, November 25th at 2:00 PM

DISPLAY ADS:Deadline is Tuesday, November 24th at 2:00 PM

DISPLAY AD DEADLINE for Saturday, November 28th and Sunday, November 29th editions will be

Wednesday, November 25th by 2:00 PM

BUSY MEDICAL Practice seeks Medical Office Assistant

Part time, Monday - Thursday

Medical office experience required. Applicant must be well organized and have excellent communication skills. Duties include: answering phones, insurance authorizations, filing charts, and other general office duties.

Fax resume and references to: 704-487-7258

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

Homes

For Rent

GREAT STARTER inCleveland County!

3BR/1BA Brick ranchw/great features - brick

fireplace in family room, large eat-in

kitchen, hardwoods, in-ground pool, large

fenced backyard, swing set and

2 storage sheds remain. $94,900 #45277 Coldwell Banker Mountain View Real Estate Contact Marsha

Brown 704-284-0137

Homes

For Sale2BR/1BA APT in FC Newly updated!

$425/mo. + sec. dep. Contact 828-228-5873

Apartments

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.

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

great neighborhood, conveniently located

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

1 & 2 BEDROOM APARTMENTS Some with free

utilities! Ask about NO DEPOSIT! Call 245-0016

leave message

Apartments

Nice 2 Bedroom Townhouse Apt &

1 Bedroom Aptacross from Super 8

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

Call 828-447-1989

Apartments

Special $100 dep.! 1, 2 & 3BR Nice,

large TownhomesPriv. decks, w/d hook

up. Water incld.! Starting at $375/mo.

Sec. 8 welcome!1-888-684-5072

Apartments

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: 828-248-2790C ll 828 245 6431 F 828 248 2790

CLASSIFIEDS

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

Valid 11/16/09 - 11/20/09

Apartments

Beautiful 2BR/1BA on 3.5 ac. on Hudlow Rd. Hdwd floors & carport.

$500/mo. 704-376-8081

3BR/2BA in FC401 Old Ross Rd.

$650/mo. Real nice!Call 704-472-3100

SUBSCRIBE!

FILLUP ON

VALUEShop the

Classifi eds!

Call828-245-6431

to placeyour ad.

TheDaily

Courier

CALL TODAY

The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FRIDAY, November 20, 2009 — 17

FILL UP ON VALUE

The Daily CourierCall 828-245-6431 to place your ad.

Shop the Classifieds!

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINACOUNTY OF RUTHERFORD

NOTICE OF SALEFile No: 09 SP 435

TAKE NOTICE THAT: William Richard Boyd, Jr., Substitute Trustee, has begun proceedings to FORECLOSE under the Deed of Trust described below, and by under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in such Deed of Trust, and an Order entered by the Clerk of Superior Court of the above County, will sell the below described property at public auction as follows:

1. The instrument pursuant to which such sale will be held is that certain Deed of Trust executed by Iysha Adell, a single person, original mortgagor, and recorded in the Office of the Rutherford County Register of Deeds in Deed of Trust Book 949, at Page 170. The record owner of such property, as reflected on the records of the Register of Deeds not more than ten (10) days prior to posting this Notice of Sale, if not the original mortgagors, is: N/A

2. The property will be sold by the Substitute Trustee at 11:30 a.m. on the 30th day of November, 2009 at the Rutherford County Courthouse door in the City of Rutherfordton, North Carolina.

3. The real property to be sold is generally described as Lot #4 Cherry Mountain Trails, Bostic, NC 28018 and described as follows:

BEING all of Lot 4, Phase 1 of CHERRY MOUNTAIN TRAILS, as recorded in Plat Book 25 at Page 44, in the Office of the Register of Deeds for Rutherford County.

THIS PROPERTY IS CONVEYED subject to the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for CHERRY MOUNTAIN TRAILS recorded in Book 917, Page 864, Rutherford County Registry.

Any property described in the Deed of Trust which is not being offered for sale is described as follows: Subject to any and all Release Deeds of Record in the Rutherford County, North Carolina Registry.

4. Any buildings located on the above-described property are also included in the sale.

5. The property will be sold by the Substitute Trustee to the highest bidder for CASH. The highest bidder will be required to deposit IN CASH with the Substitute Trustee at the date and time of the sale the greater of five percent (5.0%) of the amount of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty and no/100 Dollars ($750.00).

6. All bidders bid for the property AS IS on the date of sale. Absolutely no warranties are made as to the condition, value or title of the property. While the Substitute Trustee believes the title to be good, all bidders are advised that they should obtain independent counsel to examine record title as the property is sold subject to prior record interests. The Noteholder has reserved the right to withdraw the sale up to and until the Deed is delivered by the Substitute Trustee.

7. The property will be sold subject to all unpaid taxes and special assessments.

8. The property being sold is all of that property described in the Deed of Trust except as specifically set forth above. It is the intention to extinguish any and all rights or interests in the property subordinate to the Deed of Trust.

9. Additional Notice Where the Real Property is Residential with Less Than 15 Rental Units: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the Clerk of Superior Court of the County in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the Notice of Sale, terminate the rental agreement upon 10 days’ written notice to the landlord. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a bona fide lease or tenancy may have additional rights pursuant to Title VII of 5.896- Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act which became effective May 20, 2009.

THIS the 28th day of October, 2009.

__________________________William Richard Boyd, Jr. Substitute Trustee474 Mountain Cove RoadWaynesville, North Carolina 28786Dates: November 20, 2009 and November 27, 2009

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING REGULATIONS

Town of Lake Lure, North Carolina

Notice is hereby given that a Public Hearing will be held by the Lake Lure Town Council at the Lake Lure Municipal Center, 2948 Memorial Highway, Lake Lure, North Carolina on the 8th day of December, 2009, at 7:00 pm or shortly thereafter, for the purpose of considering an amendment to Title IX, Chapter 92, Zoning Regulations, Town of Lake Lure, amending Appendix B, the Forest Coverage Table – Significant Tree Density and Canopy Coverage.

The public is advised that it has the right to appear at said public hearing and present information with regard to the proposed ordinance. A copy of the proposed ordinance, identified as Ordinance Number 09-12-08, is on file at Town Hall for inspection by all interested persons.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having qualified as Executor of the estate of PAULJAMES of Rutherford County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the estate of the said PAUL JAMES to present them to the undersigned on or before the 21st 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 21st day of November, 2009.

Dennis Wayne James, Executor627 Pheasant St.Lake Lure, NC 28746

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 Executor of the estate of NELLIE EARLENE HENSON of Rutherford County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the estate of the said NELLIE EARLENE HENSON to present them to the undersigned on or before the 20th 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 20th day of November, 2009.

Frances Juanita Henson, Executor105 Turpin TrailForest City, NC 28043

Rfdtn: 268 BentTree Drive,

Sat. 7:30A-until. Antique Walnut table,

white chest anddresser, white criblike new, little girlsand other clothes,

toys, variety of items286-2046

Multi-family: Rfdtn, 244 S. Main St.,

Fri. & Sat. 7A-untilTread mill, bikes, tool box for truck, books,

clothes, more

Huge Yard/Bake SaleFC, McNair Field,Sat. 7:30A-until

Appliances, furniture, clothes, toys, much more. Sponsored by

Forest City Youth Council

Big SaleRfdtn:121 General

Griffith Circle (Rutherford Towne Sub.) Sat 8A-3P

Highchair, strollers, children’s clothing,

bikes, toys and more

4 Family Rfdtn: Rock Road near Tanners Sat. 8A-until Brand name clothes, home

interior, Princess House & much more!

Yard Sales

Small male dog,night of Nov. 7,

Thunder Rd., Hwy 74 area. Camouflage

collar Call 748-1093

Female lg. declaweddark orange tabby cat Found around

10/31 near Rutherford Hospital Call 980-4260

Found

F Red Bone Coon hound puppy 4 mo. old. Lost 11/17 from

Cedar Creek Rd., LakeLure 828-625-0402

M German Shepherd/ chow mix Brown/black,

long hair, has collar.Lost 11/12 FC/Caroleen

area. Call 429-5103

German Shepherd, brown/black, female

sweet, loving, blue fleacollar, Rfdtn, Pine St.

area. 447-3147

Lost

FREE TO A GOOD HOME ONLY! Female1/2 Border Collie & 1/2 Australian Shepherd

White w/brownish black, 6-8 months old.

Good with children, needs room to run!

Call 248-5658 lv msg

Pets

2001 Yamaha 650 Classic 12,600 mi. A1 cond.! New back

tire, new battery & new windshield. Comes w/2 new helmets. $3,000 firm Call 429-2474

Motorcycles

2001 Lakefront, Montana 5th wheel

camper w/12x40 deck at Lake James

Landing, fire pit, storage building, nice

yard, nice golf cart $26,000. Also 2005fishing deck boat by

Tracker used very little, garage kept. Total $43,000 289-4531

Campers/RVs

2001 Toyota CamryLE 1 owner, auto.,

123k mi. Exc. cond.! $3,800 828-245-4250

or 704-472-3262

Autos

WILL BUY YOUR JUNK Cars & Trucks

Pick up at your convenience!

Call 223-0277

I PAY CASH FOR DIABETIC TEST

STRIPS Up to $10 per 100 ct. Call Frank

828-577-4197

Want To Buy

1977 Kimball Spinet Piano Pecan finishedGood working cond.!

287-5802 or 289-0131

Musical

Instruments

Gazelle Elliptical Exercise Bike. Like new! Cost $450, will take $100 248-9117

For Sale

PIANIST NEEDEDfor Kistler’s Chapel UMC Call 286-2520

leave message

Help Wanted

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

(LCSW): FT position for Gero-Psych Unit.

We have a great team providing exceptional

care. Minimum 2 years experience.

Please send resume to: choneycutt@

saintlukeshospital.comor mail to:

St. Luke’s Hospital Attn: Crystal Honeycutt

101 Hospital DriveColumbus, NC 28722

MasterCorp Inc. is now hiring

housekeepers in the Lake Lure area for weekend help only. We offer excellent

wages, training, and weekly pay.

Call 828-551-5463 to make an appointment.

NO Walk ins!!

Help Wanted

Will do all types of home repairs andremodeling. Call

429-4100 or 286-0246Please leave message

Sunshine Service Housekeeping,

business cleaning, and/or elder care

assistance, general cleaning, cooking. Ref.avail. 828-305-0705

Work Wanted

2 Bedroom Nice,clean, quiet place to live! $200/mo. + dep. Call 828-657-5974

3BR/2BA MH in Rutherfordton!

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

rent, taxes, or insurance!

NEG. $75/wk + dep

704-806-6686

3BR/1.5BA Ellenboro Refrig., stove, cent. h/a

$450/mo. + deposit. Call 305-4476

Nice 3BR/2BA MH in nice park in Ellenboro. Appl., a/c. $450/mo. Deposit & ref’s req.

Call 248-1909

Mobile Homes

For Rent

$39,900 obo2001 Horton 28x52

3BR/2BA Doublewideon 3 acres, 8 mi. S of Hwy 74 & Alexander

Mills, just off Hwy 221, between FC, NC and Chesnee, SC. Brick

underpinned, cent. air. Cash buyers only!

704-471-2005 www. homereposales.com

Property #223374

Mobile Homes

For Sale

Yard sales are a great place to find a deal!

SUBSCRIBE!

18 — The Daily Courier, Forest City, NC, FRIDAY, November 20, 2009

A TO Z, IT’S IN THE

CLASSIFIEDS!

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

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

NORTH CAROLINA,RUTHERFORD COUNTY

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE09 SP 444

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by BILLYJ GREENE AND KENDELL L GREENE, HUSBAND AND WIFE to JOHN H. KORNEGAY,Trustee(s), which was dated May 30, 2003 and recorded on June 2, 2003 in Book 0732 at Page 0528, Rutherford County Registry, North Carolina.

Default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Brock & Scott, PLLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Rutherford County, North Carolina, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on December 1, 2009 at 2:00PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Rutherford County, North Carolina, to wit:

Situate, lying and being in High Shoals Township, Rutherford County, North Carolina, and being all of Lot 22 of Byers Grove Subdivision, Phase III, as shown on Plat recorded in Plat Book 21, Page 58 (incorrectly referenced as Page 59 on Deed recorded on 6-2-2003 in Book 821 at Page 557 and Deed of Trust recorded on 6-2-2003 in Book 732 at Page 528), Rutherford County Registry; reference to said plat being made for a more complete description.

Subject to Restrictive Covenants as recorded in Deed Book 734, Page 710, Rutherford County Registry.

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as:276 Andy Drive, Forest City, NC 28043

Third party purchasers must pay the excise tax, and the court costs of Forty-Five Cents (45¢) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) pursuant to NCGS 7A-308(a)(1). A cash deposit (no personal checks) of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing.

Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Billy J. Greene and Kendell L. Greene.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement upon 10 days’ written notice to the landlord. The notice shall also state that upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

THIS IS A COMMUNICATION FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR. THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMMUNICATION IS TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE, EXCEPT IN THE INSTANCE OF BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION. IF YOU ARE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE BANKRUPTCY COURT OR HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED AS A RESULT OF A BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING, THIS NOTICE IS GIVEN TO YOU PURSUANT TO STATUTORY REQUIREMENT AND FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND IS NOT INTENDED AS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT OR AS AN ACT TO COLLECT, ASSESS, OR RECOVER ALL OR ANY PORTION OF THE DEBT FROM YOU PERSONALLY.

Substitute TrusteeBrock & Scott, PLLCJeremy B. Wilkins, NCSB No. 323465431 Oleander Drive Suite 200Wilmington, NC 28403PHONE: (910) 392-4988FAX: (910) 392-8587File No.: 09-19391-FC01

NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S FORECLOSURE SALE OF REAL PROPERTY09 SP 436

Under and by virtue of the power and authority contained in that certain Deed of Trust, dated October 25, 2005, and recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds for Rutherford County, North Carolina, in Book 867 at Page 608, and because of default having been made in the payment of the indebtedness secured by said Deed of Trust and failure to do and perform the stipulations and agreements therein contained, and pursuant to demand of the Owner and Holder of the indebtedness secured by said Deed of Trust, the Substitute Trustee, Arlene Daley, will expose for sale at public auction to the highest bidder for cash the property therein described, to wit:

EXHIBIT "A"

Situate, lying and being in Chimney Rock Township, Rutherford County, North Carolina and being shown on Tax Map 522, Block 1, a portion of Parcel 41 shown in the Office of the Tax Supervisor of Rutherford County, North Carolina, and being designated as Lot No. 9 on a plat entitled "The Falls at Chimney Rock, Section 2" by Professional Surveying Services on December 29, 2004, and recorded in Plat Book 26 at Page 205, Rutherford County Registry, and containing 0.539 acres according to said survey,

SUBJECT TO restrictions recorded in Deed Book 883, Page 853, Rutherford County Registry.

SUBJECT TO all disclosures and restrictions as set forth on plat recorded in Plat Book 26, Page 205, Rutherford County Registry.

Reference Cross Easement Agreement recorded in Deed Book 864, Page 818, Rutherford County Registry.

Reference water system easement to Chimney Rock Village recorded in Deed Book 883, Page 167, Rutherford County Registry.

Tax Map 522-1-41 1.

Present Record Owner: Niels W. Lausten and wife, Solveig Lausten

The terms of said sale are that the real property hereinbefore described will be sold for cash to the highest bidder and that the undersigned may require the successful bidder at the sale to immediately deposit cash or a certified check in the amount of five (5%) percent of the last bid or $750.00, whichever is greater. Any successful bidder shall be required to tender the full balance purchase price so bid in cash or certified check at the time the Substitute Trustee tenders the bidder a Deed for the property, or attempts tender of such Deed. Should the successful bidder fail to pay the full balance of the purchase price bid, the bidder shall remain liable as provided in N.C.G.S. § 45-21.30(d) and (e). The owner and holder of the indebtedness secured by the Deed of Trust may make a credit bid.

The real property described in the attached Exhibit "A" will be sold subject to any and all superior liens, including taxes, special assessments, right-of-ways, and restrictions of record. The property, together will all buildings, fixtures and improvements thereon, is being sold "as is, where is" without warranty.

The Owner and Holder of the Note and Deed of Trust reserves the right to withdraw this Notice of Sale, without cause, until the date and time of final transfer of the property.

The sale will be held open for ten (10) days for upset bids as by law required.

Date and hour of sale: December 2, 2009 at 11:00 a.m.

Place of sale: Rutherford County Courthouse Steps, Rutherfordton, North Carolina.

This the 27th day of October, 2009.

By:_________________________Arlene DaleySubstitute Trustee10 White Cedar DriveWeaverville, NC 28787POSTED BY:_____________DATE:_____________

NORTH CAROLINA,RUTHERFORD COUNTY

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE09 SP 456

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Jack E. Speaks, an Unmarried Person to PRLAP, INC., Trustee(s), which was dated December 20, 2005 and recorded on December 20, 2005 in Book 877 at Page 190, Rutherford County Registry, North Carolina.

Default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Brock & Scott, PLLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Rutherford County, North Carolina, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on December 1, 2009 at 2:00PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Rutherford County, North Carolina, to wit:

BEING all of Lot 376 as shown on survey by R.L. Greene, PLS entitled " Greyrock Subdivision Phase 2B as recorded in Plat Book 26 at Page 123, said plat being one of a series of plats recorded in Plat Book 26, Page 119 through 123 of Rutherford County, NC Registry, reference to said recorded plat being made for a more particular description of said Lot 376.

TOGETHER WITH AND SUBJECT TO all easements, restrictions and rights of ways of record and non-exclusive appurtenant easement for ingress, egress and regress is conveyed over and upon all private subdivision roads for GreyRock at Lake Lure as shown on the above described plats and the plats for Phase 1A as shown on plats recorded in Plat Book 25, at Pages 188 through 192; Plats for Phase 1B as shown on plats recorded in Plat Book 25, at Pages 205 and 208 and Plats for Phase 2A as shown on plats recorded in Plat Book 26, at Pages 114 through 118 and to the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for GreyRock as recorded in Book 858, at Page 122 of the Rutherford County, NC Registry and also being recorded in Book 3827, page 764 of the Buncombe County, NC Registry.

BEING a portion of that property conveyed to LR Buffalo Creek, LLC by deeds recorded in Deed Book 855, at Page 816 of the Rutherford County, NC Registry and as recorded in Deed Book 3793, at Page 665 of the Buncombe County, NC Registry.

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as:Lot 376 Rolling Ridge Trail, (Grey Rock Subdivision), Lake Lure, NC 28746

Third party purchasers must pay the excise tax, and the court costs of Forty-Five Cents (45¢) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) pursuant to NCGS 7A-308(a)(1). A cash deposit (no personal checks) of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing.

Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Jack Speaks.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement upon 10 days’ written notice to the landlord. The notice shall also state that upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

THIS IS A COMMUNICATION FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR. THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMMUNICATION IS TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE, EXCEPT IN THE INSTANCE OF BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION. IF YOU ARE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE BANKRUPTCY COURT OR HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED AS A RESULT OF A BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING, THIS NOTICE IS GIVEN TO YOU PURSUANT TO STATUTORY REQUIREMENT AND FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND IS NOT INTENDED AS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT OR AS AN ACT TO COLLECT, ASSESS, OR RECOVER ALL OR ANY PORTION OF THE DEBT FROM YOU PERSONALLY.

Substitute TrusteeBrock & Scott, PLLCJeremy B. Wilkins, NCSB No. 323465431 Oleander Drive Suite 200Wilmington, NC 28403PHONE: (910) 392-4988FAX: (910) 392-8587File No.: 09-19596-FC01

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.

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nation/world

U.S. woos skeptical PakistanisISLAMABAD (AP) — Faced with an escalat-

ing insurgency, Pakistan increasingly views U.S. efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan as critical to its own security — but is worried enough about the chances of American failure that it continues to hedge its bets.

That skepticism represents a key obstacle for Washington’s emerging Afghan strategy, which envisages Pakistan targeting Taliban and al-Qai-da-linked militants using its territory to launch cross-border attacks against Western forces in Afghanistan.

The U.S. sent national security adviser Gen. James L. Jones to Pakistan last week to make that point as the Obama administration nears the end of a months long debate over military proposals to send 10,000 to 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan next year.

Suicide bomber kills 10 civiliansKANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan

officials say a suicide bomber targeting an Afghan security forces convoy in the south of the country has killed 10 civilians and wounded another 13.

The deputy police chief of Uruzgan province, Gulad Khan, says the suicide bomber was on foot and blew himself up in a busy market, before reaching the convoy.

Khan says three of the dead are boys aged between 12 and 14 who were selling shopping bags in the market. He says four of the wounded are in critical condition. Seven shops were also damaged in the Thursday afternoon bombing.

Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary says a policeman had tried to stop the suicide bomber, who then detonated his explosives. Bashary also said the dead and wounded were civilians.

Ship freeing itself from iceMOSCOW (AP) — A Russian icebreaker carry-

ing more than 100 tourists, scientists and jour-nalists on an Antarctic cruise was approaching open water Thursday after being halted by unex-pectedly thick ice, its owners and a travel agency said.

The icebreaker Captain Khlebnikov had trouble freeing itself from sea ice earlier this week near Snow Hill Island in the Weddell Sea. It was sup-posed to return to Ushuaia, Argentina, two days ago but now is not expected until this weekend at the earliest.

Fareastern Shipping Co. spokeswoman Tatyana Kulikova said Thursday the icebreaker was about 100 meters (330 feet) away from clear water.

She said a deep fog and a rising tide prevented the ship from immediately moving freely into open water.

Militia leader sentenced to deathBAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi court on

Thursday sentenced the Sunni leader of a gov-ernment-allied paramilitary group to death for murder and kidnapping in a case that highlight-ed tensions over the treatment of former insur-gents who turned against al-Qaida.

The ruling against Adel al-Mashhadani coin-cided with political uncertainty in Iraq, as law-makers planned to vote Saturday on how to break a deadlock over an election law after a vice president vetoed it. The crisis could delay a national vote planned for January and affect the timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Diplomats say EU leaders have opted for little-known compromise candi-date Belgian Premier Herman Van Rompuy to become the bloc’s first full-time president.

Envoys added that the 27 leaders have also agreed to appoint Britain’s EU commissioner Catherine Ashton as the bloc’s new foreign policy chief, replacing Spaniard Javier Solana. Ashton has been the EU’s trade com-

missioner since last year.They spoke on condition of ano-

nymity because the decision had not yet been formally announced at sum-mit talks Thursday.

The choice of Van Rompuy signaled the leaders were not eager to have a high-profile personality represent the EU abroad.

The two new posts are meant to bolster the EU’s influence overseas.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — President Barack Obama said Thursday the United States has begun talking with allies about fresh punishment against Iran for defying efforts to halt its nuclear weapons pursuits.

Obama’s tough talk came as Iran indicated it would not ship its low-enriched uranium to Russia for processing, the centerpiece of deal aimed at a peaceful resolution to Iran’s con-tested nuclear program.

“They have been unable to get to ‘yes’, and so as a consequence, we have begun discussions with our international partners about the importance of having conse-quences,” Obama said in a brief news conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Obama said a new package of punitive steps will likely be developed “over the next several weeks.” He did not get more spe-cific about the nature of any new sanctions, which would require commitments of international support that are hardly clear yet.

Standing side by side, Obama and Lee signaled impatience over another nuclear threat, North Korea. They both declared fresh, united steps in getting that nation to give up its own nuclear weapons.

Lee and Obama rallied behind the South Korean’s idea for a one-time “grand bargain” with North Korea of aid and con-cessions in exchange for de-nuclearization, rather than the stalled step-by-step process. And Obama said his envoy would travel to North Korea early next month for the first bilateral talks with the communist government since he took office.

The South Korea stop was the final dash of diplomacy

for Obama on a weeklong Asia trip, and although he and Lee trumpeted the strength of their nations’ alliance, a stalled trade deal continues to vex them.

The ambitious South Korean-U.S. pact has bogged down over U.S. lawmakers’ worries it could hurt the struggling American auto industry.

Differences on the trade mat-ter between Obama and Lee, though muted, were on display.

Obama offered public assur-ances that he was committed to getting the deal and that teams from both countries were working on the troubling issues. He gave some ground, saying Congress must recognize that U.S. doesn’t have the same imbalances as with other Asian nations, and they shouldn’t be lumped together.

Lee prodded, too, saying there are misperceptions in the U.S. that such a deal would only benefit South Korea and hurt American consumers.

On Iran, Obama advanced the prospect of sanctions but held out the option of diplomacy.

He said Iran must get a “clear message” and described a “pack-age of potential steps that we could take that will indicate our seriousness to Iran.

“I continue to hold out the prospect that they may decide to walk through this door,” Obama said, although U.S. hopes for agreement with Iran were dim-ming.

A senior administration official later said Obama was purposely vague on Iran to leave a tiny door open for Tehran and to not undermine the search for inter-national consensus that remains in an embryonic phase. The offi-cial spoke on condition of ano-nymity to discuss the president’s

thinking.The U.S. supports peaceful

uses of nuclear technology in Iran but has long suspected that part of the Iranian nuclear development program is aimed at covert production of a weap-on.

Obama indicated that nego-tiations on new sanctions were already under way before Iran’s statement Thursday that it would reject a U.N. plan for shipping uranium out of the country for processing.

That give a hint to the timeta-ble Obama foresees. He has held that Iran has until the end of the year to make a move, and the complicated process of unifying nations around one approach can take a while. Given the time-frame involved with crafting this year’s tough sanctions on North Korea, for instance, it wouldn’t be likely that any new Iran pun-ishments would be out of the United Nations before spring.

During Obama’s trip, he received no assurances that China would go along with new sanctions against Iran. As for Russia, whose support would also be vital, White House offi-cial Mike McFaul said days ago that the U.S is “exactly on the same page with the Russians” in exploring diplomacy and a new set of consequences.

North Korea is an area where there is little daylight between Obama and Lee. They are united in their impatience with North Korea’s habit of making over-tures, getting rewards and then backtracking to raise tensions again.

The U.S. has been a partner with South Korea, Russia, China and Japan in trying to end the impasse over North Korea’s nuclear weapons.

Talks begun on Iran sanctions

World Today

Belgian tapped as EU president

President Barack Obama exits Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland Thursday.

Associated Press

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