Personal preparedness is the focus as the 2006 hurricane season approaches
Randleman - small town with two museums
Zoo’s new carousel adds to park experience
Personal preparedness is the focus as the 2006 hurricane season approaches
RALEIGH – As North Carolina prepares for the 2006 hurricane season, the state has kicked off a public awareness campaign aimed at getting people to take personal responsibility for themselves and their families in emergency situations. The campaign features a new website – ReadyNC.org – that includes information on how to prepare for any type of emergency as well as information on what type of emergencies occur in North Carolina.
“It doesn’t take a Hurricane Katrina to cause extensive power outages, flooding and wind damage, but taking some basic preparedness steps now can make any emergency situation easier to endure,” said Bryan Beatty, Secretary of the Department of Crime Control & Public Safety, which is heading up the campaign. “An emergency supplies kit and a little time spent on developing a family emergency plan can help you in the event of a hurricane, a fire in your home, even after a terrorist attack that disrupts our normal routine.”
The ReadyNC.org website includes links on such things as emergency planning for families, seniors, the disabled and pets; first aid; home safety; power outages; how to evacuate and shelter-in-place; and where people can go for local assistance and volunteer opportunities. The site also includes information on the types of severe weather that impact North Carolina, as well as tips for dealing with terrorism, radiation and contagious diseases. The pages include links to other sources of information at the federal, state and local levels. The website will be translated into Spanish and available at ListoNC.org – which is ReadyNC.org in Spanish – early this summer.
“We’ve tried to put everything people need to know about emergency preparedness in one place,” Beatty said. “It is imperative that people take a lesson from the past and prepare before a storm hits.”
A recent Elon University poll found that 57 percent of the residents in North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida said they and their families have done nothing to get ready for the 2006 hurricane season. Only 18 percent of those polled said they were assembling an emergency kit.
“It’s hard to believe that after Hurricanes Fran, Floyd, Isabel, Frances, Ivan and some of the terrible winter storms we’ve had that so many people would not have taken some very simple precautions to be ready,” said Doug Hoell, Director of N.C. Emergency Management. “Our state has an excellent emergency response system and our partners at the county emergency management agencies will do everything they can to help in an emergency, but the fact is that people may have to take care of themselves for the first 48-to-72 hours after a disaster.”
“The N.C. Emergency Management Association, Citizen Corps and the state are combining our efforts to send a single message to the public: prepare now,” said Randy Thompson, NCEMA President and Brunswick County Emergency Management Director. “Being prepared isn’t just a good idea; it may be the difference between life and death.”
“Unfortunately, North Carolina is subject to bad weather all year round,” said Emergency Management Director Hoell. “It’s tornado season now, hurricane season is coming, and winter follows that. People should enjoy all the beauty that North Carolina has to offer, but we have to be ready for the storms that we know are going to happen.”
Vol.4 Issue 4Randleman - small town with two museums
Donna Roach
Additional photos
As a traveler visiting any town, large or small, you will find two things that the communities are proud of: - the town history and the local lad who "made it big". Randleman, with a population of just over 3500 (according to the 2000 Census), is home to two museums honoring the past and the great - St. Paul Museum and the Richard Petty Museum.
St. Paul Museum, a brick building adorned with stained glass windows, sits on a hill, surrounded by a church cemetery and shaded by large spreading trees and tall stately cedars, was built as a Methodist Episcopal Church in 1879 to house an already established St. Paul congregation. In 1944 the congregation merged with that of Naomi Methodist Church to form the First Methodist Church, eventually leaving the St. Paul Church building empty and later in disrepair.
"The North Randolph Historical Society (N.R.H.S) was formed in 1967 with the express intent of 'saving' St. Paul Church. The Western North Carolina Methodist Conference deeded the building and a small amount of land to the historical society for the sum of $1. If the historical society goes defunct, the building returns to the conference," says Louise Hudson, a N.R.H.S. member.
According to Hudson, the balcony and "the unusual art work is always interesting to visitors." Many visitors enjoy seeing old photos, a horse drawn hearse from Pugh Funeral Home, a World War II short dress jacket and a large tool exhibit. "The exhibits relate more to Randleman and the northern end of the county; but, we have items that cover all areas of the county," says Hudson.
North of Randleman, along Branson Mill Road in the Level Cross community, stands the original site of the Richard Petty Museum. Three years ago this May, the contents were moved to Randleman proper and are now housed in what was part of the former Shaw furniture building in downtown Randleman.
"In 2005, there were 17,000 to 18,000 visitors," says Richard Petty Museum employee, Barbara Davis. Davis says that attendance varies from day to day, serving 200 plus visitors some days and 60-70 visitors other days. She says there is always an increase in visitors when there are nearby races, such as Charlotte or in October during the annual Richard Petty Fan Club meeting, held the same weekend as Randleman's NASCAR Day Festival.
In addition to cars and trophies, a visitor may view personal collections from the Petty family, such as Lynda Petty's doll collection and Richard Petty's gun and watch collections. There is also a small theatre with a seating capacity of 45. During the day a variety of film clips are shown of past races.
For those folks who enjoy shopping for NASCAR items, there is a large gift shop full of Richard Petty, Kyle Petty and Bobby LaBontes gear - clothing, caps, trinkets, etc. The Richard Petty Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. and closed on Sundays.
The St. Paul Museum is open one Sunday each month, beginning in May, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. The 2006 schedule is: May 21, June 25, July 16, August 20, September 17, October TBA, November 19 and December 3.
Zoo’s new carousel adds to park experience
Tom Gillespie
Courtesy of the North Carolina Zoo
ASHEBORO, N.C.—Beginning Saturday, April 1, visitors to the North Carolina Zoo can ride the animals--new carousel animals, that is.
The carousel, a 36-foot model with animals three-across, combines both the sounds and sights of the classic carousel with modern-day technology and materials.
Replacing the normal carousel horses on the zoo’s model are custom-built animals from eagles and rhinos to frogs and mountain lions. A polar bear was custom made just for the N.C. Zoo and is the only figure of its kind.
The idea for the carousel began more than a year ago, when staff members at the zoo were looking for alternative attractions to add to the zoo experience.
The zoo’s new ride was built by Chance-Morgan, which makes rides for parks, zoos, carnivals and fairs and has hundreds of carousels across the country. The company has become a leader in fixed-location rides and developed all of Walt Disney’s original rides.
Besides the zoo’s 36-foot model, the company makes two other basic models of carousels: a 28-foot model with animals two-across and a 50-foot model with animals four-across.
The company started as two separate amusement-ride companies in the 1940s, one (Chance Rides) based in Wichita, Kan., and the other (Morgan), based in La Selva Beach, Calf. Today, the company’s design and engineering office is in California and the manufacturing facility is in Kansas.
Each carousel animal is hand painted and hand laminated, according to Todd Manoff, Chance-Morgan’s site installation manager for the zoo project.
Today’s new materials, music and designs have created a totally new type of carousel, but, according to Manoff, some things about carousels never change.
“You still get the effect of the original animals and the original rides, even though the technology has changed,” he said.
In addition to the normal admission price ($10 for adults; $8 for seniors 62+; $6 for children, ages 2-12), there is a $2 charge for the carousel.