Blandwood Tours Resume After Fixes to Air Conditioning

By Staff Reports

GREENSBORO — Operations at Blandwood returned to normal Monday, less than a week after copper thieves stole pipes from the mansion’s air conditioning units and downspouts from the adjacent carriage house.

Because of the loss of air conditioning and the recent high temperatures, the staff limited tours last week to the first floor of the mansion, which once belonged to Gov. John Motley Morehead .

“They got to enjoy some 19th-century air conditioning,” said Benjamin Briggs , executive director of Preservation Greensboro Inc. , which administers Blandwood.

The thefts occurred the night of July 14 . Damages were estimated at more than $10,000 .

County officials schedule meetings to review stats

Guilford County residents will have four chances to win $50 gas cards at upcoming meetings meant to accept feedback on a report of county statistics.

The county recently compiled figures on topics including public health, law enforcement, business statistics and other information provided by county departments.

Results of citizen surveys are also a part of the Citizen Performance Report for 2006-07. All meetings begin at 7 p.m. and will be held at the following dates and locations. Call 641-3242 for information:

l In High Point, Aug. 5 at Macedonia Family Resource Center, 401 Lake Ave.

l In Oak Ridge, Aug. 6 at Oak Ridge Town Hall, 8315 Linville Road

l In Greensboro, Aug. 12 at Greensboro Public Library, 219 N. Church St.

l In unincorporated Guilford County, Aug. 13 at the Guilford County Center barn kitchen, 3309 Burlington Road.

Magazine company to host yard sale for United Way

GREENSBORO — Pace Communications will hold a yard sale from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday benefiting United Way.

Wedding party gifts from Exclusively Weddings such as stemware, cutlery, picture frames and more will be sold. For more information, call 389-4726.

Major hurricane damage could swamp state plan

RALEIGH — Insurance companies say a major hurricane could lead them to pass billions of dollars in charges to homeowners across North Carolina because a state-created coastal insurance plan is underfunded.

North Carolina’s Beach Plan could handle about $2.5 billion in losses, but a major storm could lead to billions more in damages.

Bob Herlong, vice president of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said additional losses would be assessed to insurance companies, leading smaller ones to bankruptcy and burdening others.

State moves psychiatric patients to new hospital

RALEIGH — Patients have begun moving from John Umstead Hospital in Butner to the state’s new psychiatric facility about a mile away.

Tom Lawrence, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Human Services, says that nearly 200 Umstead patients will make the move this week to Central Regional Hospital. The transition began on Monday.

Lawrence says adolescent patients will remain at Umstead, where state officials plan to remodel part of the facility for them.

Group calls for counties to hire more poll workers

RALEIGH — An election reform group says local officials must hire more staff and open more early voting sites or people will face long lines in November.

Democracy North Carolina said that between 700,000 and 1 million more people could cast ballots than the 3.5 million who voted in 2004.

— Staff Reports

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