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"The
way it is now, the store is slowly dying."
-Jerry Partin,
owner of Bynum General Store |
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Struggling Bynum General Store
to drop postal service
By Randall Rigsbee
The creaky wooden floors, the pleasing smell and warmth of
an old wood stove, and the relaxed banter from a handful of
regular customers sitting around chewing the fat at the
community store.
The images are a throwback to a simpler time but they’re
among the sights and sounds that still greet customers at
the Bynum General Store.
But the story of the old-fashioned store on Bynum Road isn’t
as rosy as its inviting first impression.
In the last few years, the general store’s business has
sharply declined to a fraction of what it once was, making
the future of the community gathering place – probably the
last of its kind in Chatham County and a rare breed
everywhere – very uncertain.
“The way it is now, the store is slowly dying,” said Jerry
Partin, who has owned and operated the business for the past
11 years. “I’m just trying to do what I can do to keep it
going, to pay the rent and the power bill.”
First opened in 1961, the Bynum General Store – like Bynum
itself – once thrived.
But times changed.
Where Bynum once supported five stores, a hot dog stand, a
movie theater and J.M. Odell Manufacturing Company, the
cotton mill on the Haw River where most of the village’s
residents worked, the community now has few businesses and
most of its residents work and shop elsewhere.
Partin, who is 56, recalls the time when “Bynum supported
Bynum.” But that’s no longer the case.
“A lot of people work elsewhere,” said Partin. “They buy
what they need at one place like Wal-Mart. I understand
that.”
The general store’s shrinking inventory is perhaps the most
visible sign that it is no longer the healthy business it
once was.
“At one time,” Partin said, “we carried just about
everything. I used to have a couple of rows of groceries
here. Now we sell a few canned foods like Beanie Weanies and
soup. Drinks and crackers and candy are what we sell most
now. We’re selling less and less.”
more- See Thursday, Jan 26
paper:
Vol 86, No. 9 |
Jeff Davis photo
The times are a-changin' . . .
Jerry Partin (seated), owner of the Bynum General Store, chats
with resident Virgil Johnson, Partin has decided to close the post
office inside the general store at the end of March, the latest
sign of change for the venerable community gathering place.
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Police seize
50 pounds of pot
A drug bust on Friday, Jan. 20 in Siler City involving
approximately 50 pounds of marijuana led to the arrest of a two
suspects on a variety of drug charges.
Police charged suspects Zitlaly Ramirez Ortiz, 26, of 643 East 4th
St., Siler City and Clark Wesley Polk, 26, of the same address
with marijuana trafficking, conspiracy to traffic marijuana and
maintaining a dwelling for controlled substance, according to
authorities with the Siler City Police Department.
The suspects were held under $70,000 bonds at the Chatham County
Jail.
During the investigation, Siler City Police officers found
marijuana in plain view and drug paraphernalia and obtained a
warrant for the residence.
The search of two residences-- 643 East 4th St. and 615
East Cardinal St.-- as well as packages that were being sent to
both residences resulted in the seizure of approximately 50 pounds
of marijuana, almost $4,000 in cash, a computer, scales, two
weapons, drug paraphernalia and other items, according to a police
department press release.
Ortiz led police to the Cardinal Street address, said Maj. Bill
Harman of SCPD.
Nuclear plant may expand
The Harris Nuclear Plant site near New
Hill, approximately 20 miles southwest of Raleigh in western Wake
County near the Chatham County line, was chosen by Progress Energy
on Monday for evaluation for possible future nuclear generation
expansion.
The company also announced it has
selected Westinghouse Electric Company to supply the reactors for
the potential future expansion of Progress Energy's nuclear
generation in the Carolinas.
The announcements, company officials
say, are important next steps in the process as the company
continues to evaluate options to meet the demands of its rapidly
growing customer base.
"Since Progress Energy last added
baseload generation in the mid-1980s in North Carolina, we have
grown by about 500,000 total customers,” said Bob McGehee,
chairman and CEO, Progress Energy in a press release issued
Monday.
“In North Carolina and South Carolina,”
McGehee said, “we have added about 29,000 new customers just in
the last year -- that's more than 550 new customers every week.
And we expect to add more than 300,000 new customers over the next
10 years."
"A renewed emphasis on conservation and
energy efficiency is an important factor in planning for the
future," McGehee said. "However, even with more conservation and
energy-efficiency programs, energy use will continue to grow as
more people move to this region. To meet that growing demand for
electricity, we'll need to add significant new power generation.
NC WARN responds
The Durham-based nuclear watchdog group
NC WARN issued a statement from its executive director, Jim
Warren, noting that “if Progress Energy actually commits to new
reactors, it will be dramatically increasing the risk to public
safety, ratepayer security, the company’s financial solvency, and
he fight against global warming.
more- See Thursday, Jan 26
paper:
Vol 86, No. 9 |
