High Point news from the News & Record

Free health screening in High Point next month

John Newsom — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:18:41 -0500

HIGH POINT — Free cholesterol and blood pressure screenings will be available Feb. 7.

The screenings will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Washington Terrace Park & Community Center at 101 Gordon St.

Medical professionals from Carolina Regional Heart Center in High Point will be on site to answer questions. The free screenings are limited to the first 200 people who register. To register, call 878-6888 by Jan. 30.

High Point committee postpones recommendation on sex-offender ban

mgrossman — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:52:04 -0500

After some discussion, the High Point public safety committee decided Wednesday morning to postpone recommending a sex-offender ban for public parks and recreation centers. The committee wants to find out if the city parks and recreation commission supports the ban before taking action.

The committee learned that the Jessica Lunsford Act, a state statute that went into effect in December, could make the local ban unnecessary because police can enforce the state statute without a local ordinance.

High Point Regional relinquishes trauma center designation

mgrossman — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:53:52 -0500

High Point Regional Health System has voluntarily relinquished its Level III Trauma Center designation, the hospital announced Wednesday.

But the level and type of care will not change, hospital officials said. In fact, patients won't notice any difference.

The hospital treated 775 trauma patients last year.

Designations as trauma centers are voluntary and something hospitals seek for extra certification.

HPU campus going tobacco-free

mfuchs — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:16:04 -0500

HIGH POINT - High Point University will become tobacco-free this year.

The transition begins June 1. Enforcement of the policy will begin Sept. 1.

The university will be offering smoking cessation classes during the spring and fall semesters.

The decision followed surveys sent out to students, faculty and staff in March that revealed more than 70 percent of more than 1,000 people favored a tobacco-free campus, according to a university press release.

The plan received unanimous support from the High Point University Board of Trustees.

Bittersweet moments as troops deploy

Holly Lux — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

HIGH POINT — Feb. 10, 2010.

That’s the date that will be on Priscilla Kenna’s mind for the next year. That’s when the Burlington woman’s husband, Kevin, is scheduled to come home from war after being deployed Friday to Iraq.

The year will be long. Their fifth anniversary will pass. Their 4-year-old son will wonder how long his father will be gone.

But it’s not as simple as just waiting on the clock. Missing him won’t be easy, but there is pride as well.

Local Guard unit holds deployment ceremony

mfuchs — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:22:13 -0500

HIGH POINT - More than 130 area soldiers will be heading out to Iraq in the coming months after a deployment ceremony Friday in High Point.

The National Guard unit will first head to Mississippi for training, then to Iraq in April.

The deployment is the second in the last five years for the unit, which previously went to Iraq in 2004.

Friday's ceremony at First Wesleyan Church in High Point was a bittersweet moment for many of the soldiers and their families.

Update: Man fatally shot in High Point; stepfather arrested

mgrossman — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 08:34:50 -0500

HIGH POINT — Police charged a 58-year-old man in the shooting death of his stepson on New Year’s Eve in High Point.

Officers responded to 619 Radford St. at 11:15 p.m. on a report of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found James Michael McLean, 51, lying inside the residence with a gunshot wound.

McLean died of his injuries, police said.

Talmadge Lee Killens, 58, was charged with murder. He was placed in the Guilford County Jail in High Point under a $200,000 bond.

High Point company donates holiday trees

Andrew Leeco — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500

HIGH POINT - Even if some people didn't have enough money to buy their loved ones expensive gifts, they could get them one that they may cherish for a long time: a real Christmas tree.

And for free.

Kersey Valley Christmas in High Point gave away tall, stocky Fraser fir trees Wednesday to anyone who made the trip.

Nearly 20 cars lined up Wednesday morning before the lot at 1615 Kersey Valley Road opened at 10 a.m.

High Point lot offers free Christmas trees

Jennifer Fernandez — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:13:43 -0500

HIGH POINT -- Even if you don't have enough money to buy your family or friends expensive gifts, you can get them one that they'll remember for a long time: a real Christmas tree.

And for free.

Kersey Valley Christmas in High Point is giving away 1,000 tall, stocky Fraser fir trees to anyone who makes the trip, said owner Tony Wohlgemuth.

Nearly 20 cars lined up Wednesday morning before the lot, at 1615 Kersey Valley Road, was supposed to open at 10 a.m.

High Point police to offer citizens' academy

John Newsom — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:56:48 -0500

HIGH POINT — The High Point police department will hold a Citizen's Police Academy starting Jan. 27.

The 14-class program will let participants learn about the department and interact with officers. Classes will meet Tuesday nights at either 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. and will last until 10 p.m. The program will end May 5.

Participants must be 18 or older, have no felony convictions and have no serious misdemeanor convictions in the past 10 years.

High Point approves Washington Drive plan

mgrossman — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:25:52 -0500

High Point City Council approved the Core City Steering Committee's plans for revitalization on Washington Drive Monday night.

Plans for the area include a museum, extension of the city's greenway, plazas and a park.

The Washington Drive project includes the area from Gaylord Court to Centennial Street.

Klan-style hoods hung at Central

David Hurt — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500

Two teens are facing criminal charges after four Ku Klux Klan-style hoods were found on the campus of High Point Central on Monday morning.

Central students David Lee Hughes, 16, and Mitchell James Dawkins, 16, are charged with placing exhibit with intention of intimidating another person.

High Point police Capt. Tony Hamrick said the hoods are made of white vinyl used with traffic cones. The vinyl had holes cut in them to resemble hoods. Three of the hoods were hung near the bus parking lot at the school and a fourth was hung from the school's flagpole.

Update: 2 charged after Klan-like hoods found outside school

mgrossman — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:10:51 -0500

HIGH POINT - Two teens were charged with hanging four Klan-like hoods around the campus of High Point Central this morning.

David Lee Hughes, 16, and Mitchell James Dawkins, 16, were both charged with placing an exhibit with the intention of intimidating and misdemeanor larceny.

Police Capt. Tony Hamrick said the hoods are made of white vinyl and had holes cut in them. They were actually traffic cones turned inside out. The cones had recently been stolen, and other traffic cones were found in a vehicle near the school, according to a news release.

Update: Woman escapes burning home through window

mgrossman — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:04:16 -0500

HIGH POINT - A woman escaped out a window of a home on fire in High Point this morning.

The woman, whose identity was not immediately available, was taken to High Point Regional Hospital for treatment.

Her condition was unavailable Friday evening.

Semiconductor company plans expansion in High Point

mgrossman — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 09:00:24 -0500

HIGH POINT — TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. is expanding with plans to add more than 25 employees, two years after the company opened its North Carolina Design Center in High Point.

The company has doubled its square footage in High Point, moving from its original location on Piedmont Parkway to 4050 Premier Drive, Suite 200, in the Premier Office & Technology Park, in Piedmont Centre.

High Point man arrested in wife's shooting

Sonja Elmquist — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:20:46 -0500

HIGH POINT — Police have arrested a man accused of trying to kill his wife on Tuesday night.

Dennis Keith Scott, 54, of High Point, was arrested shortly after his wife, Judy Scott, was shot in the chest.

Police found Judy Scott, 52, lying on the back porch of a home at 401 Oakview Road at about 8:46 p.m. Tuesday. She remains in critical condition at High Point Regional Hospital, according to police.

Update: Police investigate High Point shooting

rseals — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:54:02 -0500

HIGH POINT — Authorities are investigating a shooting that happened Tuesday night.

A High Point police captain said this morning that one person was in critical condition at an area hospital after being found in the 400 block of Oakview Road about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday.

High Point hospital goes wireless

lalexander — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:52:36 -0500

HIGH POINT — High Point Regional Health System has begun offering free wireless Internet access to patients, visitors and vendors.

The service is available throughout the system's main campus, including patient rooms, waiting areas, lobbies and the cafeteria, to anyone with a computer equipped for wireless Internet access.

The hospital's Information Technology Service Desk also is providing technical support for those having trouble connecting.

Wireless users will not have access to the hospital's secure business network, including patient records.

Business owner believes in future

Andrew Leeco — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500

HIGH POINT - On the corner of Gary Simon's desk, below the artwork from his 5-year-old son, sits a small statue of Don Quixote.

Now, think back to your high school English class - when you didn't go to sleep.

Quixote, one of literature's greatest characters, was a bit daffy. He fought windmills, rode a skinny horse and promised his round-faced friend he could govern an imaginary island.

Yet, there he is, on the corner of Simon's desk, a sway-backed knight with the Yiddish word for guts hanging from a chain around his neck.

The word? Chutzpah.

Furniture report generates debate

Holly Lux — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500

A new plan to transform the Piedmont Triad’s furniture industry for the decades ahead is a good one, High Point’s mayor says, but it doesn’t reach far enough in asking for help.

Becky Smothers said that the plan, which was sponsored by the Piedmont Triad Partnership, the region’s economic development group, initially started as an effort to provide local help for the High Point Market.

High Point neighbors rally against crime

Jennifer Burton — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500

HIGH POINT - After a local restaurant owner was nearly beaten to death during a food delivery, Margaret and Roger Bannister began knocking on doors at Raintree Apartments on Northpoint Avenue.

Residents expecting pizza delivery men opened their doors to find the middle-aged couple handing out fliers that described the beating of 40-year-old Wang Xing, who lay in critical condition at High Point Regional Hospital.

An early Christmas gift replaces stolen guitar

Holly Lux — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500

HIGH POINT — Paul Szydlik loved that bass. He called it “The Other Woman.”

He bought it 14 years ago in California for $2,500. A 1963 Fender bass, beautiful blue, with a beautiful tone. Paul played it so much that his belt buckle rubbed the wood raw.

Today, that bass is gone. Six weeks ago, burglars stole it.

It happened on a Saturday, in the middle of the afternoon, in a middle-class neighborhood off Johnson Street. Paul was minding his family’s music store near their home as his wife Cathy sold musical accessories at a band competition at Ragsdale High.

Printing company in High Point adding up to 10 jobs

mgrossman — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:38:46 -0500

HIGH POINT - A graphic printing company in High Point is expanding and changing its name.

Graphic Printing Services Inc. is becoming Graphic Visual Solutions. The company at 4301 Waterleaf Court in High Point's Piedmont Centre, is branching out beyond its traditional printing, labels and packaging to include additional imaging and visual solutions such as digital printing and wide-format graphics and signage.

Furniture makers join to tackle labor shortage

Holly Lux — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:06:03 -0500

HIGH POINT — At the launch of a program Wednesday to attract new furniture workers, Bill Stange of Baker Furniture laid out the problem plainly and simply.

“A lot of people aren’t interested in a career in furniture anymore,” he said. “They’re scared.”

For generations it was the workers who made High Point the “Furniture City” — a world destination for design and craftsmanship.

Candle sparks High Point house fire

John Newsom — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:36:25 -0500

HIGH POINT - A local home sustained serious damage in an early morning fire today.

The High Point Fire Department said a man living at 234 Windley St. escaped injury when a candle accidentally ignited bedding material. The fire department said the resident was using the candle to keep warm.