Top Charlotte Area Local News Stories
Source: MedleyStory
A convicted sex offender is back in trouble with the law after authorities say he moved and failed to notify them.
Capt. Ricky Crisp of the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office charged Bobby Lee Biddix, 33, formerly of Chestnut Oak Forest Drive in Nebo, with a sex offender registry violation. He was taken into custody in lieu of a $30,000 bond.
On Jan. 17, McDowell County Sheriff’s Office communications received information that Biddix had moved from 406 Chestnut Oak Forest Drive. Deputies verified that and issued a warrant for the suspect.
Crisp said registered sex offenders have three days to notify authorities if they move. Biddix did not do that, according to Crisp.
The captain added that Biddix was homeless after he moved out of the Nebo residence.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:43:53 -0500
McDowell Early College (MEC) has seen tremendous growth over the last six years.
The school allows students to earn college credit and even an associate degree during high school.
Lisa Robinson has been the principal at MEC since it started and has seen how the program has grown.
“The initial plan (for MEC) was for 200 students,” she said. “We hoped to take 40 students in each year for five years and have our top number of students by year five. Our first year we took basically every student that applied and we only had 33 students.”
Currently, the school has enrolled 207 students, with many more kids interested in joining MEC.
“This year we have 40 slots available,” said Robinson. “In the past, we’ve usually had twice as many applicants as spots, but this year it’s looking like we’ll have at least three times as many applicants.”
The program, which this year switched to an A-B schedule, gives kids an idea of what to expect from college classes.
“We decided to change to the A-B schedule so that our schedule could be more like a community college’s,” said Robinson.
The A-B schedule allows kids to take eight classes at one time for an entire year. Each class runs 75 minutes and students attend that class two days a week.
Even though kids are taking college courses, educators still want them to know what the high school experience is like. That’s one of the reasons Fridays are set aside as a special day filled with school-wide activities.
Fridays are known at MEC as flexible Fridays where students can meet with an advisory-type group. These groups are called families. Each one is composed of kids from different grades, and they participate in different types of fundraising activities, community projects and other events.
The school also makes it a point to meet with the entire student body and discuss the week’s happenings.
“We also have an all-school meeting on Friday, which is unusual for a school to do, but because we’re so small we can,.” said Robinson. “We meet every Friday as a whole group and during that time we do announcements. Students can also voice any concerns they have and present any presentations they have created for class.”
The last day of the week is also a time where students can attend different club meetings and have a typical high school experience with groups like the Knitting Club or Key Club.
“With such a small school, it’s hard to have a myriad of electives,” she said. “We just don’t have enough staff to equip a large number of electives. Rather than have electives, we have flexible Fridays which can be used for those clubs.”
For now, MEC will continue to have approximately 200 students because of the space currently available.
Even with limited space, Robinson knows that in order to grow the school, she will still have to work to attract students,
Applications are currently being accepted for students interested in attending MEC. Applications can be found on the school’s website and must be postmarked or turned in at MEC by Feb. 28.
After being received, applications will be looked over and then students will be randomly selected to attend MEC.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:34:38 -0500
Grading crews are already prepping the site for the fourth fast-food restaurant off Exit 42 in Troutman.
Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits in Charlotte plans to open a 3,800 square foot eat-in/drive thru restaurant along Charlotte Highway in Troutman sometime between May and June.
Bojangles’ Executive Vice President Eric Newman described the design and layout as the "Classic Bojangles’" with a state of the art architectural design. It will seat up to 78 people.
"Troutman is something that we’ve been looking at as a concept for a number of years," he said.
Within the Greater Charlotte Region, which is Bojangles’ home market, there are more than 130 restaurants, Newman said.
The plot the restaurant is on was originally slated to be within the Troutman Town Center with a Walmart Supercenter as its anchor store. Those plans were halted by the recession, but Bojangles was not.
Newman said the restaurant chain wasn’t slowed down by the recession, but did have to go through the process of finding a suitable location and prioritizing the project. The typical Bojangles’ restaurant costs $1.7 million to build, he said. The regional chain has around 514 locations.
"I continue to be amazed by our reach in this area," Newman said.
Other retail notes
- Sherwin Williams will be moving from its location at 218 E. Front Street to its new home on Sullivan Road next to Sonic Drive-In.
- Events Unlimited is in the process of moving from its location on Signal Hill Road next to the mall to East Front Street next to Piedmont Bank.
- A new Mooresville area business is focused on helping you find some extra time. Jan Hansen recently started Timefinders, which provides personal assistance and concierge type services to busy people. The business offers assistance in residential short-term projects such as light housekeeping, home organization, errands and shopping, party help, appointments, packing/unpacking, new mom assistance and some business services. For further information please call 704-929-6214 or go to www.timefinders-service.com.
- A new funeral home recently opened in Cleveland. Boone-Carroll Funeral Home owner Annie Boone-Carroll is bringing her 22 years of experiences in different roles in the funeral home industry to her new venture, located at 111 Railroad Street in Cleveland. Her employees at Boone-Carroll Funeral Home include Vice President Clifton E. Harrell and Contractor Embalmer Dennis Milner. For more information, call Boone-Carroll or her staff at 704-278-3640.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:23:01 -0500
The walls started coming up this week on a new Statesville retail center next to the Home Depot on Turnersburg Highway that is slated for completion by June.
The $8 million project – which will include PetSmart, Michaels, Staples and T.J. Maxx – is one of the biggest retail developments to come to town in years.
The retailers chose Statesville as the best place to set up shop, something that hasn’t happened as often as it perhaps should, said Shawn McCleskey, Planning and Engineering Services Director for the shopping center’s developer, RealtyLink Development Properties of Greenville, S.C..
In some ways, McCleskey said, Statesville reminds him of Florence, S.C. It is a regional area where interstates converge, and has easy access to multiple locations.
In Statesville’s case, Interstates 77 and 40 give residents access to regional retail locations like Birkdale Village in Huntersville, Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem and Valley Hills Mall in Hickory.
But, for the most part, retail traffic hasn’t flowed both ways along those interstates, McCleskey said.
“You don’t see as much of that in Statesville,” McCleskey said.
Large retailers are going to look at the quality of the investment over time, traffic patterns and certain demographics, said Julia Wilson, vice president of G.L. Wilson Building Company, which is the general contractor for the new shopping center.
For instance, Target’s customer base has a median age of 40; median household income of $64,000; 43 percent have children; and around 57 percent have completed college.
A recent editorial in The Salisbury Post indicated the county seat for Rowan County faces similar challenges. It has easy access to the interstate, which freely allows its local residents to go shopping in Concord.
Within the city limits of Statesville, the population reached 24,532, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.
Salisbury’s city population is actually closer to the town of Mooresville’s. Salisbury ended up with 33,662 residents, while Mooresville had around 32,711 people. Both these populations are lower than Concord, which has 79,066 people.
McCleskey said population is just one factor. Another is median income. The higher the median income of a town, the more attractive it is, he said.
In Statesville, the median income is $33,426, which was very similar to Salisbury’s.
Mooresville’s median household income was $52,865 in 2010, which was still higher than Concord’s $47,726.
Based on the demographics published by Target, Concord and Mooresville’s median household incomes would fit the retailer’s criteria.
It is almost a cookie-cutter approach, said Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce President David Bradley.
“They know how it’s going to work and they aren’t going to go to a play until they know its going to work,” he said.
A few years back, Bradley said the chamber and others in the city were trying to recruit a restaurant or another retailer for the land near Outback Steakhouse and Marquee Cinema. They found that many of the companies were already familiar with Statesville’s numbers.
Bradley believes some retailers are responding to market changes by reducing the size of their buildings and moving into retail centers like the one now being built.
Staples, for example, will move from its 24,000-square-foot space next to Lowe’s Home Improvement Center to its new 15,764-square-foot facility in the third quarter of 2013, said Staples Spokeswoman Carrie McElwee.
She said Staples had a market footprint in the larger store, but the company was moving into the smaller store to match the size of the market to the size of the store.
PetSmart’s space will be just over 14,000 square feet and Michaels is slightly larger at 14,293 square feet.
T.J. Maxx, which will take up 23,600 square feet, will be the anchor for the new shopping center near Home Depot.
Wilson said the parcel of land isn’t large enough for any outlier businesses.
This center was one of the first retail projects G.L. Wilson has worked on in Statesville in several years, Wilson said.
“It is an indication of our economy and how things are becoming more positive,” she said.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:19:16 -0500
Check your lottery tickets for Friday's Mega Millions game.
Someone has won $250,000 in the multi-state lottery game.
The ticket was purchased in Stanley, according to lottery officials.
Check back for updates.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:13:37 -0500
A police officer in Lenoir is recovering after a crash at a major intersection caused traffic delays Monday morning.
The accident happened around 7:30 a.m. at the intersection of Highway 321 and Nuway Circle.
The Highway Patrol said an SUV turned into the path of the patrol car, causing the accident.
No one was seriously injured, but the officer was taken to a hospital to be checked out.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:09:37 -0500
Julie Emmons began collecting items relating to the late Ronald Reagan in 1994.
That was the year the former two-term president announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, writing, “I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”
Ten years later, Reagan died at the age of 93. A large figure in Republican politics and in the conservative movement since the 1960s, he continues to be a dominant force in the party.
The centerpiece of Emmons’ collection is a signed campaign poster from the 1980 presidential race. It also includes campaign buttons and ribbons, postage stamps, books, and magazines, such as the issue of Time magazine detailing the 1981 assassination attempt.
“I’m always digging through bookstores,” she said. “Anything I can find with Reagan on it.”
Emmons filled a small jar with red, white and blue jellybeans to be part of the collection, since Reagan was known for his love of the sweet snack.
Monday was the 101st anniversary of Reagan’s birth. For the 100th anniversary in February 2011, she loaned part of her collection to the Mebane Public Library for a display.
Her most recent addition to the collection is a replica of a plaque that sat on Reagan’s desk in the Oval Office. It proclaims “It CAN be done.” Among future additions Emmons is eyeing for the collection is a perhaps better-known plaque that sat on the Oval Office desk: “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”
Emmons is pretty sure her collection will grow in size this year. She’s planning a trip to the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., along with her husband, Karl Emmons, and their 8-year-old son, Jacob.
“Jacob wants to see Air Force One,” she said about the version of the presidential plane Reagan used while in office. It was used by American presidents from 1973 to 2001.
Emmons is former chairwoman of the Alamance Republican Women. She is county chairwoman for the campaign of Dan Forest, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor.
Among other reasons, Emmons said, she admires Reagan for his belief in the greatness of America and his role in the end of the Cold War. She said his success as a political leader guarantees his name is mentioned frequently every time the Republican Party chooses a presidential candidate.
“There’s been a lot of talk lately about Reagan passing the torch to a presidential candidate,” Emmons said. Reagan’s adopted son, Michael Reagan, has endorsed Newt Gingrich, and there’s been debate over whether Gingrich, as a young congressman, was or was not part of the so-called Reagan Revolution.
But there will never be another Reagan, Emmons said, and his legacy belongs to no one person.
“I believe he passed the torch to all of us,” she said.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:03:06 -0500
More than 18,000 people have downloaded a new app from the North Carolina Department of Justice that allows users to search for registered North Carolina sex offenders.
The app was unveiled last week and is currently available for iPhone. The Attorney General’s Office is working on developing an app that will work on other platforms.
Offenders' addresses are pinpointed on the app's map, and users can search for all offenders within a one, three or five mile radius. Clicking on an offender's name allows users to view information including photos and a physical description. An additional click on the offenses button pulls up a list of the offender's crimes requiring registration, including the age of the victim.
Users can also sign up to receive email alerts whenever a registered offender moves near their home, local school, day care center or any other address they choose.
You can find the app for iPhone right here.
To search the Android Market for sex offender apps, click here.
To search the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry, click here.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:59:00 -0500
With the new year comes new needs.
Shelby city officials said two projects will need to be started this year, both directly related to environmental regulations.
The Shelby wastewater treatment plant will need a major overhaul, costing an estimated $8 to $10 million, to meet more stringent permit regulations and the implementation of Shelby’s Phase II stormwater permit will begin.
Years ago, as was a custom of the times, the city of Shelby dumped raw sewage directly into creeks and rivers.
Today, once the toilet flushes, that water goes through a series of steps at the wastewater treatment plant to remove pollutants before it heads back into the environment.
Even without the permit regulations, city officials said Saturday that the plant is in need of both upgrades and renovations.
Brad Cornwell, public utilities director, talked about the issue Saturday during the second day of the city’s annual retreat held at the Shelby-Cleveland County Regional Airport.
Cornwell said parts of the plant are more than 40 years old, and in order to comply with the most recent N.C. Environmental Protection Agency permit, the city will have to make changes to the existing plant by Aug. 1, 2016.
Cornwell said the last upgrades were done in the 1990s to eliminate a sludge incinerator and put a compost facility in its place. He said aeration basins were also added.
Cornwell said the state has allowed the city six years to complete the necessary upgrades and meet the more stringent permit requirements.
Six years might sound like plenty of time, but city officials said it is a multi-year project that will take a year for analysis and design, 6 to 10 months for the plan to be reviewed and approved by the state, and then an additional year or two for the bidding process and construction.
Once it has been built, the plant will have to be operated for one year to ensure the upgrades meet the new permit regulations.
City Manager Rick Howell said over the next few months, a plan will be put together, including possible financing options, and then that plan will have to be approved by City Council members before it can be put into action.
“It will probably be the most important decision that will be made regarding the city over the next several years,” Howell said. “It’s a huge investment.”
Stormwater runoff
The city will also begin educating city residents on how to prevent pollutants from entering streams and rivers.
The Phase II stormwater permit mandates that cities cut down on pollutants in water sources that come from stormwater runoff.
In compliance with a federal mandate, Shelby will be starting a stormwater utility over the next few years.
With all of the paved surfaces and parking lots, when a downpour hits, the runoff carries oil and other pollutants down city drains and into water sources.
The city has submitted its permit for review, and if it is approved, will begin plans to improve the city’s drainage system as well as educate residents to prevent oil and other pollutants from being dumped down drains.
Residents and businesses will potentially have to pay a stormwater utility fee or tax, although the amount has not been determined.
Transportation
Brad Cornwell, public utilities director, said the city will be putting together a transportation asset management plan.
Cornwell said that plan, which will include input from residents, will list all of the needs and wants when it comes to street repairs, sidewalks and other transportation issues in Shelby.
He said it will help the city prioritize what needs to be done first.
Voting
Mayor Stan Anthony raised the issue of changing the way City Council members vote.
Currently, a matter brought before the council for a vote requires a motion by a council member, a second, and then it can proceed to discussion and a vote.
That policy could change to where only a motion, with no second from another council member, is required before moving on to discussion and a vote.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:58:26 -0500
One of the teens accused of creating much of the counterfeit money that’s been circulating through Catawba County has been arrested following a joint operation between the Newton and Conover police departments.
Devin Andrew Yancey, 18, of Conover was charged with felony possession of five or more counterfeit instruments and uttering a forged instrument.
Yancey is the first suspect to be arrested in the biggest flood of counterfeit cash to hit the greater Hickory area in recent years.
More than three dozen fake bills have been passed in Hickory this year. Newton has had five cases so far and seven fake bills showed up in Alexander County in January.
“In all, we’ve had 25 at last count,” said Sgt. Jon Little of the Conover Police Department. “We know that some of the cases are related because some of Hickory’s serial numbers have shown up in Conover. I think there are still some additional counterfeiters out there.”
While clearly not the work of criminal masterminds, the bills do look convincing from a distance and have fooled a number of area clerks.
The bills found in Conover aren’t good enough to fool the pens designed to detect counterfeit money. They appear to have been made by an entry-level printer and they’re printed on white paper that’s crumpled up to make it appear aged.
One of Yancey’s associates inadvertently led investigators to the source of the fake cash when they attempted to pass a counterfeit bill at Conover’s McDonald’s.
The drive-through clerk spotted the fake money and stalled the customer. Before the officers arrived, the customer drove away, but the clerk got the vehicle description and tag number. Conover officers found the car nearby and questioned the customer, Little said.
“I believe they did know it was counterfeit at the time,” he said.
The interviews resulted in Conover taking out a felony warrant against Yancey for uttering a forged instrument.
A separate incident led Newton police to Yancey.
A Newton resident reported that someone had stolen and forged signatures on at least two checks then cashed the checks.
Yancey was named as a suspect. Officers brought him in to the Newton Police Department to interview him. When officers searched his backpack, they found several fake $20 bills and arrested him on charges of possession of counterfeit instruments. They also served Conover’s outstanding warrant, according to the police report.
“There were other people who were involved, but they were juveniles, so that’s information I can’t release,” said Capt. Kevin Yarborough of the Newton Police Department. “This investigation is not completely closed.”
Conover detectives contacted Investigator Robert Burwell of the Hickory Police Department on Friday after they arrested Yancey.
“We think at least two groups are doing this based on the materials used to make the money,” Burwell said. But he declined to divulge the methods and supplies used to make the fake cash.
He noted that because of advances in printers, scanners and paper, counterfeiting money is not as tough to do as it once was.
Little said some of the people who have passed the counterfeit money may not have known the bills were fake. Others almost certainly did.
“I think every single one of the bills passed at fast food restaurants was passed at the drive through,” Little said.
Suspects used similar techniques in Hickory’s fast food restaurants. If the clerk appeared suspicious, the suspect would drive away, said Sgt. Brett Porter of the Hickory Police Department.
Officers will meet with the District Attorney’s Office to determine whether to bring criminal charges against people suspected of knowingly passing counterfeit money.
Hickory and Conover officers encourage anyone who thinks they may have gotten stuck with a fake bill to give them a call. Officers will check the money, ask where it came from and help determine if it’s real. They’d rather do that than followup after a crime has been committed.
“If you knowingly pass one of these, you’ve just committed a felony,” Little said.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:56:01 -0500
The husband of a Conover City Councilwoman was arrested Friday night on a charge of assault on a handicapped person.
The charge stems from an incident during Monday night’s Conover City Council meeting when Kenneth Rowe Herman, 71, allegedly hit Coy Lee Hester, 58, in the back of the head with an open hand. Kenneth Herman is the husband of city council member Jan Herman.
Immediately after the alleged assault, Hester was taken by ambulance to Frye Regional Medical Center. He was released the following day.
Hester went to the magistrate’s office and took out a warrant against Herman for assault on a handicapped person.
Hester, who said he suffers from a rare blood disorder and fibromyalgia, said he is disabled and on a fixed income.
Herman says he never touched Hester.
Conover’s Chief of Police, Steve Brewer, was at the meeting. He said he didn’t see the assault, but five other people did.
The incident appears to have been brewing for about a month. Brewer said Hester made comments to the council at its January meeting about an action it had taken with which he didn’t agree. Jan Herman and Hester spoke after the meeting. Both say the other acted improperly.
Herman defended her husband and said he never assaulted Hester.
Conover officers informed Herman that he was wanted for assault and he agreed to turn himself in at the county jail where he was processed at about 7 p.m., Brewer said. He was released on a $1,000 unsecured bond.
Assault on a handicapped person is a Class A1 misdemeanor and carries a punishment of up to 150 days in jail.
Herman’s court date was scheduled for March 14.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:55:07 -0500
Photos of his family and the basketball teams he’s coached take up space on a bookcase. His walls are lined with awards and commendations. A shadow box with his patches, badges and handcuffs tell of his time with Hickory Police Department.
A copy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech is framed and mounted on a wall in his office at Catawba Valley Community College as the executive director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
Steve Hunt, 56, is a busy man.
Hunt is on a second career after spending his entire police career with the city of Hickory. He started out in patrol at 20 years old and ended up as the only African-American to retire as a lieutenant. He was 48 years old when he retired. His son, nephew and brother-in-law also are police officers, with the son and brother-in-law with the Hickory Police Department.
Hunt is a graduate of Lees-McRae College and is working on a graduate degree in strategic leadership from Mountain State University.
Hunt proudly displays photos of his family in his office and calls his wife, Sarah, his queen of 38 years. And one of the items most prominently displayed is a piece of wood with the words “I love you dad – 1985.” He tells how his son, Steven, wanted to give him a father’s day gift but he was only in third grade so he wasn’t making money. The enterprising boy found the right piece of wood and burned the words into it using a magnifying glass and the sun. It took him most of a day to do it, Hunt said. He’s told his son that it’s a gift he would have in his office even if he were president of the US. Hunt and his wife have another son, William, and a daughter, Muriel, and six granddaughters.
He is a long-time Rotary member and a two-time Paul Harris Fellow, a deacon at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, on the board of trustees for Lenoir-Rhyne University, board of directors of BB&T, United Arts Council, American Red Cross and the board of commissioners for Hickory Public Housing Authority.
Hunt knows a thing or two about Hickory Public Housing. His life today is a far cry from where he came.
On the occasions when he’s visited his childhood neighborhood, “It makes me want to pinch myself,” Hunt said, tearing up.
Some might say Hunt defied the odds of a boy who grew up in the housing projects along NC 127 in Hickory.
“I was in the projects but the projects were not in me,” Hunt said.
His grandmother lived with the family of nine children and their mother. While his mother worked two jobs, grandma was there, along with the other parents in the neighborhood who kept an eye out on more children than their own. His neighborhood was the epitome of “It takes a village,” Hunt said.
If he got in trouble with someone else’s parent in the neighborhood, he was sure to get another dose of discipline when he got home.
Hunt jokes that his grandmother invented GPS, saying if she threw something at him as he was running the item seemed to follow him even as he rounded a curve.
While he now lives in the Viewmont area of Hickory, Hunt said Ridgeview will always be home.
From a very early age — 5 or 6 years old — he wanted to be a police officer. But he never saw police officers in a positive light because they were always in enforcement mode when he saw them.
But that changed as he got older and started working with his mother and siblings in the kitchen of Howard Johnson’s Restaurant and he would see officers come in to eat.
When he would tell his friends as an older teenager that he wanted to be a police officer, they would tell him the closest he would ever get is riding in the back of a police car. He says his friends who told him that are still where they were, they are just 30 years older.
“It’s all about surrounding yourself with people who are going somewhere,” Hunt said. “I didn’t realize that until I got a little older. That’s what I try to tell young people today.”
In his job and his life he seems to push young folks to achieve because his own life is a testament of what’s possible.
In his job with the multicultural affairs office at CVCC, his job and that of his staff is to remove any obstacles that stand in a student’s way to success. If they hit a hurdle to attaining an education they might not return. Many, Hunt explained, are first-generation students who don’t know the ins and outs of college such as needing a student identification or help with getting tax information for financial aid.
Some students don’t do well in large crowds so the office offers up its space for students to prepare presentations or work on homework.
The college has the only multicultural affairs office within the state community college system, Hunt said. And it serves all students, not just minorities, he said.
“Our goal and objective in this office is to make sure everyone who sets foot on this campus feels valued and welcomed. Period,” Hunt said.
No matter whether it’s his police work, his work at the college or coaching basketball, Hunt said he wants to make a difference.
“What I’m doing now, I never dreamed I would be where I am today,” Hunt said.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:52:07 -0500
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The first magnet lottery application period for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools ends Monday night.
The online process ends at 10 p.m. CMS is providing free computer access at the Family Application Center, located at 700 Marsh Road, and at all zone offices until 5 p.m.
The district has nearly 40 magnet programs that offer specialized curriculums in subjects like math, engineering and foreign languages.
Lottery assignment notification letters will be sent to families in February.
The second magnet lottery runs from March 14 to June 4.
For more information, click here.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:48:23 -0500
A social media group spent Sunday putting up fliers to ask people for help finding a missing toddler in South Carolina.
The Facebook group Find Amir Jennings met and put up fliers around Columbia.
The 18-month-old boy has been missing since November.
Police searched Charlotte for the boy along with several other locations but have not found him.
His mother, Zinah, is in jail after she gave inconsistent reports on his whereabouts.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:20:57 -0500
The search has been suspended for a missing Mount Pleasant woman whose burned vehicle was found on a secluded dirt road last week.
About 75 people search in the Awendaw area for 30-year-old Dara Watson.
Charleston County Sheriff's Maj. Jim Brady says the search was suspended about 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Watson's burned sports utility vehicle was found in the Francis Marion Forest on Wednesday. Her mother in Boone, N.C., reported her missing Thursday, saying she was last seen Feb. 6.
Officers who searched Watson's home in Mount Pleasant on Friday found the body of her fiance, 34-year-old David Hedrick. Authorities have not said how Hedrick died.
Brady says investigators don't have any leads on other places where Watson might be.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:14:48 -0500
A local father who captured worldwide attention after posting a YouTube rant about his daughter is now making local city leaders mad.
Tommy Jordan, from Stanly County, got mad after his daughter complained about doing chores on her Facebook page.
In the video, Jordan pulls out a gun and shoots his daughter’s laptop.
The video received more than 21 million views in four days.
“Pay you for chores?” Jordan said in the video. “Are you out of your mind?”
The Daily reported in a Facebook post on Saturday, the former Marine, wrote that Child Protective Services officials came to his home in Stanly Co., and interviewed him and his daughter — separately — after viewers of the video called with concerns about his actions.
He said the police also stopped by.
Neither authority decided to pursue anything against Jordan.
“The police by the way said ‘Kudos, sir,’ ” Jordan wrote. “How’s about those apples? Didn’t expect THAT when you called the cops did you?”
Jordan also made reference to the Albemarle Police Department approving his acts, but the police chief said Jordan does not live in the city limits.
The chief said it is unfortunate that the media is identifying Jordan as a resident.
The city manager told the Stanly News and Press Jordan’s comments about the department do not reflect the opinion of the police department.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:40:44 -0500
An overnight crash blocked both directions of Independence Boulevard on Monday.
Police said a car hit a gas tanker truck near Sharon Amity Road around 2:45 a.m.
Crews had to block all outbound lanes of traffic and all but one of the inbound lanes.
The driver of the car is expected to be OK. The tanker driver was not hurt.
Independence Boulevard reopened around 5:20 a.m.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:12:18 -0500
Tuckaseegee Rd. is closed near Mulberry Church Rd. after a car crashed into a house. As of 6 a.m. a tow truck was removing the wrecked car, but there is no indication of when the police investigation will be completed. Use Mulberry Church Rd. (right) to I-85 North to Tuckaseegee Rd./Exit 34 as an alternate route.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:05:55 -0500
Two women escaped injury when a car slammed into their home on Tuckaseegee Road in west Charlotte Monday morning.
Maxine Herron and her daughter, Nikki, were inside the home, which is near Mulberry Church Road, when the car slammed into Nikki’s bedroom around 2 a.m. Nikki said the impact was so severe that it pushed the bed she was sleeping in across the room.
SLIDESHOW: Car slams into west Charlotte house
Police said Willie Simpson, the driver of the car, fled a motel parking lot after an officer approached the car. Simpson hit the officer’s cruiser while fleeing the scene, police said.
Simpson then lost control of the car, flipping it and crashing into the house, according to police.
The car smashed into the front room, which was Nikki’s bedroom, knocking the foundation loose.
Simpson was taken to a hospital for treatment of his injuries.
A tow truck was called in to remove the car. Firefighters had to be called after the car caught fire while the tow truck was removing it.
Simpson will face several charges, including hit-and-run, drug possession and reckless driving.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:57:17 -0500
Monroe Road was shut down for several hours after a deadly accident occurred overnight.
Both lanes of Monroe Road between Commonwealth Avenue and Richland Drive were closed after a car struck a utility pole, killing the driver.
Police identified the driver as Robert Lynch, 24.
Accident reconstruction investigators were at the scene trying to piece together what caused the accident.
SLIDESHOW: Driver dies after hitting power pole on Monroe Road
The road reopened around 5:45 a.m.
Police said the driver was traveling outbound on Monroe Road before losing control and hitting the light pole.
Duke Energy was at the scene earlier Monday.
Officials said the pole that was struck will not have to be replaced.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:41:17 -0500
MarshvilleNC.com
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