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The death and life of Asheboro, N.C.

October 28, 2012 4:00 PM

Asheboro, N.C., was once considered a dying town, but it fought back and now exists somewhere between recovery and recession. Scott Pelley reports.

The life and death of Asheboro, N.C.
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by cmcd61 January 20, 2013 11:13 PM EST
CBS... It also needs to be stated that Purgatory Mountain is the home of the North Carolina Zoo which is best-known for its natural-habitat exhibits and a must see by everyone. Anxiously looking forward to your follow-up report.
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by lwgastil November 10, 2012 3:53 PM EST
I enjoyed your coverage of signs of life in the Asheboro economy. I was sorry that you didn't include the NC Zoo in your report. The Zoo supports nearly 1,000 local jobs and serves over 700,000 visitors a year who spend money both at the zoo and at local restaurants and hotels. Zoos are the most popular form of family entertainment in the US and have significant impact on local economies.

It's a beautiful zoo, the third largest in the country, with 500 acres of exhibits all designed to re-create the natural animal habitats. The African grasslands alone are 37 acres, where herds of greater kudu stroll and local red tail hawks gaze in wonder at the rhinos below.

The NC Zoo contributes to the community in so many ways, including a very successful "zoo school" that teaches kids about conservation and sustainability. The Zoo practices what it preaches by producing its own bio-diesel fuel to run zoo trams, has established a composting program, a picnic area with solar panels on the roof, and a wetlands project to re-purpose storm water from its parking lot. In fact, the Zoo was honored this year with the American Zoological Association's "Green" award for outstanding environmental consciousness and institutional green practices.

The NCZoo is a strong sign of life in the Asheboro economy; proof that the people here are not only contributing to the local economy, they are contributing ideas that just might save the planet.
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by AsheboroNativeSon November 7, 2012 12:19 PM EST
The segment was labeled as 'The Life and Death of Asheboro". Scott mentioned Asheboro and the surrounding area in his introduction. Later, they say "up the road" and go to an entreprenuer in Kernersville to show how innovation is slowly working. What I want to know is why they couldn't say 45 miles and a few counties away? This lady with the pickles is good! We need her here at my company working PR if she was able to make some calls and get on the show to promote her product! I'm sure she has been doing a good job and it seems as if she is succeeding at her goal. But there are a lot of companies between here and there that are implementing new ideas and changes to stay afloat, but none of them affect Asheboro's economy. And her company does not either. Her portion of the segment didn't mesh with the balance of how the economy is in Randolph County, which is going down hill like alot of other small towns in our nation.

As far as some of the negative comments I read from some of the respondents who moved to our fair town and area go, my reply would be,
"Weren't the ideas and small town charm the reason you decided to relocate to the Asheboro area?" And now that small towm "Mayberry" feel isn't what you want? You'd like a few more of the modern conveniences like congested traffic and a higher cost of living that comes with the name brand stores and restaurants? Now you want to implement some of the changes that caused you to move away from where you were so that we're a little more like where you came from. People are constantly complaining about the fact that there just aren't as many low crime, polite, safe, quiet little towns around anymore because they've all been swallowed up by larger towns. Maybe it wasn't that these communities were absorbed. Maybe they were changed by people thinking they were making things better when change isn't good if it isn't positive?

People eat a lot of fast food because it's cheap, not just fast. It's the same all over America, not just Asheboro. If it wasn't they wouldn't be building more fast food restaurants. Look at most of the studies. Wholesome, healthy food costs more than most poor people can budget. The article just talked about jobs lost and the unemployment. Alot of us were rasied on bologna sandwiches. And many times glad to get it! Wholesome and healthy isn't always affordable. We all know it's the correct way to stay healthy, but sometimes it's not our choice, it's our necessity.

Change needs to be a Win-Win for the majority, not just the elite.
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by Whistleblowerjoe November 3, 2012 9:14 AM EDT
I know I misspelled electoral please forgive me, I should have used the dictionary,
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by Whistleblowerjoe November 3, 2012 9:09 AM EDT
This is another example of why we need a third party electorial system here in the United States. I am proud to be an independent voter, and a die hard American, we need more politicians like Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma who cares more about our country than his political party. Congratulations Scott this was a wonderful program the people in North Carolina should be very proud of what they accomplished by themselves.
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by Robertj18840 November 1, 2012 4:11 PM EDT
I live in a small town that has a huge paper products plant.
This article is of interest because - it could happen here ...

People need to accept living in a world economy.

Question: If the minimum wage was Five dollars an hour, how many more jobs would there be in the U.S.?

< waiting for the shouting and profanity to die down >

Once unemployment runs out and the social programs (e.g. food stamps) are broke, then reducing the minimum wage will make more sense.

Factor in being in a lower tax bracket and being eligible for whatever low income programs remain, the disparity will reduce.

And when purchasing essentials (food and shelter) become more important than non-essentials (I-whatevers), then profit margins will be forced to decrease.

Above all, it's better to work than not work.
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by dreamweaver011 November 1, 2012 9:21 AM EDT
I am transplant who lives in the area. I grew up in small town, but have lived around the country and the world. My wife and I love the TRIAD area due to the location and climate. I do not think this segment by 60 Minutes was an attack on Asheboro or the TRIAD. It was just a snap-shot into any American town in this horrible economy with manufacture jobs being exported overseas. The segment shows the heart and resilience of the people of Randolph County during this economic crisis. It shows their ingenuity and entrepreneurship in developing new industry while being retrained in new skills at Randolph Community College or other community colleges around the county.

Now having made that point, I would like to make two other major points. I hope 60 Minutes will follow-up on their "Asheboro" segment when Energizer announces on Nov. 9th the results of its report to reduce its global workforce and improve its cost competitiveness in an effort to save up to $200 million a year. Asheboro has a large Engerizer battery operation in Asheboro. The Randolph County Economic Development Corp. (EDC) reports Energizer employs 734 people. The company also employs an unspecified number of temporary workers on a seasonal basis and is the county's seventh largest employer. If Asheboro loses these jobs, it would hurt the town tremendously. The citizens of Asheboro, Randolph County, and the TRIAD better hope the elected officials of Asheboro, Randolph County Economic Development Corp., and the Governor of North Carolina are working hard to keep these job in place and maybe see some expansions. Let's keep our fingers crossed on Nov. 9th.

Secondly, I have seen several comments about the NC Zoo. And I agree it hidden asset that has not been marketed correctly in the TRIAD, the state, and across the Southeastern United States. Yet, there are still some things that need to be done to help improve visitor growth to the NC Zoo.

a) Bring water and sewer lines closer to the zoo so hotels and restaurants can be built closer to the zoo's location. Infrastructure needs to be brought closer to the zoo so people can stay at the zoo,
b) Hire a better marketing firm to promote the NC zoo better. The zoo's wildlife space and African Savannah are world class.
c) Focus on privatizing the zoo and getting out from under the state's thumb on how to run the zoo.

Like the writer before me, we need to recapture that magic and gain some pride back for what we stood for-- focus on the things we can change and control locally rather whine about things in Washington DC out of our control.
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by asheborotennisgal November 1, 2012 8:01 AM EDT
As always, when presented by the media, reality is manipulated to suit the angle. The reality is most communities in the U.S. have suffered losses in the past few years. Few have not had to make adjustments in their lives to accommodate these losses. As a relatively new member of this community, I see some very positive qualities about Asheboro and see growth here as well. We relocated here from the wealthiest county in the nation. The schools were top notch. The homes one more beautiful than the next. Money was not hard to make in our business because there was so much disposable income. Those are all wonderful things, but our children's perspective on how most of America lived was skewed and we lived is a very secular community, where material wealth and success constantly chipped away at our spiritual lives and tethered us to our possessions and earthly gains in academics, sports, you name it. Our children went to wonderful schools where few arrived hungry and poorly cared for due to lack of money. Upon our arrival, we saw that Asheboro was a community based more on spiritual and family constructs than on material goods. Instead of lavish goods to welcome us, people brought meals, offered to drive our children places, and invited us into their homes. Since we arrived, anyone who has offered to help us with their time and talents has always pulled through, much to our benefit. Our children have attended a mix of public and parochial schools that have more diversity economically and racially than they ever did where we previously lived. Our children have been exposed to children who have much less materially and live in homes that are smaller than most garages where we used to live. They have gained compassion from exposure and interaction with those who have less material wealth and have established good friendships with some. Our church, though poor, is rich in spirit, participation, and activities. We are active participants in the church despite the fact that, upon my first mass I promised never to return to such a pitiable structure. In two years, I've never attended another church's Sunday mass. We also attend friends' churches on a regular basis for seasonal activities. We have been warmly welcomed at all of these activities. What's funny is that before moving here I did not know that people gathered at churches for such fun and community building events. For better or worse, our lives are simpler here. For better, we focus on playing sports, not dominating sports. We focus on being a part of the community, not competing with it. We rely on local businesses to manage our website, produce advertising and signage, and make our promotional clothing and club wear.

That said, there is that downside. We have found challenges in educating our children, running our business, and finding common ground with some residents. We have found that some of the schools underserve our children. We don't want our children labeled as gifted and different. We want them to learn solid basics. The education system here is weak in its reading, writing, and arithmetic. But, I think that is changing. Our business is growing but slowly. We work hard and produce a good product, but we have found this population to be more attracted to food and entertainment than fitness and physical wellness. Almost half of Asheboro's revenue is from food and beverage establishments. When I run through Asheboro, there are lines to the street at every fast food restaurant from dawn to dusk. As one who practices good health and nutrition and sees the nation's growing girth, this astounds me. We have made good inroads with the community but are viewed as outsiders and yankees by many. We are here to stay and are confident that when people get to know us, this may change. But, this is a tight-knit community, and it will take time.

We love what we do. We have embraced this community. We trust this community. We believe that families looking to give their children a simpler life with an interest in devoting more time to parenting will find Asheboro a very livable place. This community, like others, has forward-thinking individuals with great ideas. As the economy endures a slow recovery across the nation and here, the people in Asheboro will have to learn to go outside their comfort zone at times to create a new kind of economy. Critiquing and watching will not improve life here for anyone. Waking up to a new horizon, taking chances, reaching out to others is how to proceed to a new level.
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by ermills October 31, 2012 12:24 AM EDT
Walmart kills many of Asheboro's small business jobs (also true in Randleman). Before Walmart came to town in Randolph County there was a Lowes Foods,Dollar General/Family Dollar,Sir Pizza and CVS across the street. All of these businesses closed except for CVS,which relocated further down the street away from Walmart. Asheboro used to be a "dry" town a few years and although it was a minor inconvenience to have to dry 10 minutes to buy alcohol in another city, people don't realize that this was what kept Asheboro a nice place to live and relax (Else it would be Greensboro,etc)
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by cmcdonald3 October 30, 2012 5:33 PM EDT
Unfortunately this does not surprise me in the least. My husband and I transplanted to NC form the Midwest 8 years ago so he could take a job in Greensboro. We chose to live in Asheboro because it's smaller, has an incredible zoo, at the time the schools ranked higher than most of the other smaller towns within driving distance of Greensboro, and it seemed more like home to us. I have a love hate relationship with that decision. Asheboro is a beautiful town with a lot of history and it's been a great place to raise our family but it has it's downfalls. We thought we were getting the best of both worlds with Asheboro. Someplace big enough to have a few nice restaurants, although not much of one it does have a mall, a few local shops of interest, a world class zoo, a lot of excitement over what the zoo would bring, close enough to Charlotte and Raleigh for day trips, close enough to the mountains and beach for weekend trips, without all the problems of a big city. I can't deny that Asheboro does offer all of that but the small town mentality is taken too far for the town to ever see real growth. It's sad because the potential is there but our city leaders are so stuck on what once was that they're missing what the future can be.
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