No regulations against chicken houses
Thursday, November 30, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
MORGANTON -- Willard Holland grew up with a view of Burke County's South Mountains, farming alongside his family and neighbors. As an adult, he moved to Charlotte to start a business, marry and raise a family of his own.
But Holland, 65, knew he wanted to return to Burke County when he and his wife retired, so, a few years ago, he started renovating his family homestead in a mostly rural neighborhood near Morganton.
In October, Holland and his neighbors began noticing large trailers moving steel and equipment through his neighborhood.
By mid-November, workers had built two, 300-foot-long, metal chicken houses within 800 feet of Holland's front porch, less than 350 feet from Connie Dufford and Camille Watts' back door and down the street from a nursing home.
Soon, the buildings will be stocked with live birds.
Holland and some of the neighbors say the chicken houses threaten their property values and the area's overall quality.
"You walk out on my deck and see these chicken buildings," he said. "There's no way you can stop the smell if the wind is blowing in your direction ... It's far different than having cornfields in your backyard."
But there is little that anyone can do to help Holland and his neighbors. State and local governments have little control over agricultural operations beyond health and safety issues. And the culture of rural areas, where property owners are fiercely defensive of their independence, means the homeowners have little recourse.
The chicken houses are being built by Daphne and Matthew Davis, who plan to raise hundreds of chickens for local poultry processor Case Farms.
The Davises, who own about 7 acres off Holland Street, according to Burke County Planning and Development, did not want to talk much about their chicken houses or the clash with their neighbors.
But they say they are free to use the land as they choose. "It's our property," Matthew Davis said, "and we can do whatever we want with it."
Holland said he has talked with officials at the state Department of Agriculture, members of the county's board of commissioners, the county manager, other chicken breeders and a spokesman at Case Farms, which is working with the Davises.
While local officials say they are sympathetic to Holland and his neighbors, they say there's not much they can do.
Marc Collins, planning director for the county, said local officials have no control over livestock. "There's nothing we can put on zoning ordinances that put (regulations) on that type of agriculture," Collins said.
The N.C. Poultry Federation has established voluntary guidelines that encourage breeders to build at least 500 feet from an occupied home or public business and a minimum of 1,200 feet from recreation centers, schools and nursing homes.
The distance, Ford said, helps curb the smell and maintain good relationships between neighbors. "There's no legal issues on (building closer)," he said. "But these are distances that seem to be working in other areas."
Burke County Manager Ron Lewis said he encourages neighbors to work together to find a compromise and would be willing to mediate the conversation.
Building fast-growing shrubs, such as cypress trees, he said, could create a buffer between the buildings. He also suggested chicken breeders follow the N.C. Poultry Federation's guidelines.
"In the spirit of being a good neighbor those kind of measures are reasonable," Lewis said.
Richard Ducker, professor of public law and government at UNC Chapel Hill's Institute of Government, specializes in land use law and said no firm standards exist when it comes to building poultry houses.
"It's largely unregulated," he said. "And (that's because) North Carolina has strikingly been an agricultural, rural state."
In the 1990 census, however, the state passed the urban threshold. For the first time, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 50 percent of the state's population lived in urban areas. Conflicts like this, Ducker said, become more common as the state becomes more urban.
Neighbors say they know the Davises are within their rights to raise chickens on the property but wish they had followed the federation's guidelines.
"I understand that these people are trying to make a living," said Jeff Tallent, who co-owns a nursing home about 800 feet from the chicken houses. "But the quality of air in that area is going to get worse."
Connie Dufford and her sister, Camille Watts, bought nearly a half acre on Holland Street more than two years ago, dreaming of retiring with a view of Burke County's rolling mountains. The 350 feet between their back door and the poultry buildings isn't enough, they said.
"If we had known the chicken houses were going in, we would have never bought," Dufford, 63, said. "We won't come anywhere near what we have invested in it if we try to sell right now."
The road the Davises built to the chicken houses runs alongside Dufford's property and about 20 feet from the trailer the sisters share. Tractor-trailer trucks and other large vehicles, they say, make deliveries late at night, rounding the corner at speeds over the limit and cutting into their yard.
They said they worry the traffic will continue as Case Farms begins dropping off the birds and feed and picking up the fattened chickens.
"We liked this place so much," Watts said. "It's not fair for one person to destroy a neighborhood."
The Davis' declined last week to discuss the details of their business but said they have followed building regulations and will abide by state and local laws.
Case Farms works with about 175 independent growers in Western North Carolina, said Director of Public Relations Ken Wilson.
Now that the houses are built, Holland said, it's only a matter of time before the buildings are stocked. It's the lack of communication between residents and the Davises, he said, that upsets him most.
"Dumping this in the middle of the neighborhood without anyone knowing what's going on isn't right," he said. "The community should have some sort of input."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
11/30/06
11/28/06
Family members seeking answers about how inmate died
Civil rights group headed by Al Sharpton investigating
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A group headed by the Rev. Al Sharpton is investigating the death of a New Jersey man who died Sunday while in custody of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office. Harold James Ledet Jr., who has family in Gastonia, died at Catawba Valley Medical Center early Sunday morning, said Lt. Roy Brown of the sheriff's office.
Ledet had been at the Catawba County jail since Wednesday, when he was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and felony conspiracy in the attempted robbery of a woman on Nov. 21, said Capt. Donald Brown of the Newton Police Department.
The woman, Donald Brown said, ran her car into Ledet as she tried to get away. Ledet was charged a few hours later and arrived at the Catawba County jail Wednesday with a broken ankle and lacerated lip, Donald Brown said.
An inmate noticed about 3:30 a.m. Sunday that Ledet was having trouble breathing and pounded on the cell door to get the guards' attention, Roy Brown said. Soon after, Ledet, who was not breathing, was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Leaders at the New York-based National Action Network, Sharpton's advocacy organization, and members of Ledet's family say they don't understand how his injuries could have led to Ledet's death.
David Taylor, his uncle, works with the National Action Network and said he wants more information about how his nephew, a father of three, died.
"We just want some closure," Taylor said. "You can understand how we're feeling right now. We don't have any answers."
John Barnett, state chairman of the civil rights organization, said the National Action Network is independently investigating Ledet's death and is working as a mediator between the family and law enforcement.
"A lot of emotions are flaring," he said.
Barnett said he and members of Ledet's family spoke Monday with Roy Brown, of the Sheriff's Office, but are still waiting for medical reports, the name of the inmate who was sharing Ledet's cell and the name of the nurse who had been giving Ledet medication. He had a prescription for the painkiller Percocet.
"We have gotten about 75 percent of what we need, but that other 25 percent is vital," Barnett said. "We had a standstill trying to get all that information from them."
Roy Brown said the Sheriff's Office would provide the information to Barnett and the National Action Network.
Barnett, who knew Ledet and has worked with Taylor for 17 years, said Ledet had a history of hypertension but, overall, was in good physical condition.
Barnett said family members told him that Ledet had a prescription for Percocet. He said he hopes the medical records will confirm the dosage of the medication Ledet was taking.
Brown said the jail had a prescription for Ledet to take Percocet but was not sure if he took the drug or how much he was given. "We obviously have those records," Brown said. "The toxicology report will tell us more."
The most frequent side effects of Percocet include lightheadedness, dizziness, sedation, nausea and vomiting, according to the Physicians' Desk Reference, a reference guide to pharmaceuticals and other medical issues.
Ledet's death is the third connected to the Catawba County jail in the past two years. Ricardo Martino Garza died in September 2004 after being strapped to a restraint chair. An autopsy found that a fractured rib punctured his lung.
In June, Robert McPherson died of trauma to the head two days after being released from custody. A pathology report showed that McPherson might have been injured while at the jail.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A group headed by the Rev. Al Sharpton is investigating the death of a New Jersey man who died Sunday while in custody of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office. Harold James Ledet Jr., who has family in Gastonia, died at Catawba Valley Medical Center early Sunday morning, said Lt. Roy Brown of the sheriff's office.
Ledet had been at the Catawba County jail since Wednesday, when he was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and felony conspiracy in the attempted robbery of a woman on Nov. 21, said Capt. Donald Brown of the Newton Police Department.
The woman, Donald Brown said, ran her car into Ledet as she tried to get away. Ledet was charged a few hours later and arrived at the Catawba County jail Wednesday with a broken ankle and lacerated lip, Donald Brown said.
An inmate noticed about 3:30 a.m. Sunday that Ledet was having trouble breathing and pounded on the cell door to get the guards' attention, Roy Brown said. Soon after, Ledet, who was not breathing, was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Leaders at the New York-based National Action Network, Sharpton's advocacy organization, and members of Ledet's family say they don't understand how his injuries could have led to Ledet's death.
David Taylor, his uncle, works with the National Action Network and said he wants more information about how his nephew, a father of three, died.
"We just want some closure," Taylor said. "You can understand how we're feeling right now. We don't have any answers."
John Barnett, state chairman of the civil rights organization, said the National Action Network is independently investigating Ledet's death and is working as a mediator between the family and law enforcement.
"A lot of emotions are flaring," he said.
Barnett said he and members of Ledet's family spoke Monday with Roy Brown, of the Sheriff's Office, but are still waiting for medical reports, the name of the inmate who was sharing Ledet's cell and the name of the nurse who had been giving Ledet medication. He had a prescription for the painkiller Percocet.
"We have gotten about 75 percent of what we need, but that other 25 percent is vital," Barnett said. "We had a standstill trying to get all that information from them."
Roy Brown said the Sheriff's Office would provide the information to Barnett and the National Action Network.
Barnett, who knew Ledet and has worked with Taylor for 17 years, said Ledet had a history of hypertension but, overall, was in good physical condition.
Barnett said family members told him that Ledet had a prescription for Percocet. He said he hopes the medical records will confirm the dosage of the medication Ledet was taking.
Brown said the jail had a prescription for Ledet to take Percocet but was not sure if he took the drug or how much he was given. "We obviously have those records," Brown said. "The toxicology report will tell us more."
The most frequent side effects of Percocet include lightheadedness, dizziness, sedation, nausea and vomiting, according to the Physicians' Desk Reference, a reference guide to pharmaceuticals and other medical issues.
Ledet's death is the third connected to the Catawba County jail in the past two years. Ricardo Martino Garza died in September 2004 after being strapped to a restraint chair. An autopsy found that a fractured rib punctured his lung.
In June, Robert McPherson died of trauma to the head two days after being released from custody. A pathology report showed that McPherson might have been injured while at the jail.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
11/26/06
Murder charge follow fatal crash
Driver also accused of DWI; he was going to holiday meal
Sunday, November 26, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Maiden man faces a murder charge after the car he was driving Thursday afternoon crashed into a steel building, killing one woman and injuring four others.
Christopher Allen Smith, 23, faces four charges, including second-degree murder, driving while impaired, driving while license revoked and failing to appropriately restrain a child younger than 5, said N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Marc Walker.
Smith was driving four of his cousins to their grandmother's home in Maiden for a Thanksgiving dinner when the rental car swerved off Henry Dellinger Road in Lincoln County, Walker said. The car rolled over and slammed into a metal building.
The car was traveling 75 to 80 mph when it swerved off the road about 2:45 p.m., and the driver's blood alcohol was "well-above" the 0.08 legal limit, Walker said.
Haley Christenbury, 19, of Charlotte was not wearing a seat belt and died after being thrown from the rear passenger seat, Walker said.
The other three passengers, a 23-year-old man, a 23-year-old woman and her 4-year old daughter, were treated for minor injuries. Smith broke his foot, Walker said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
11/25/06
Hmong celebrate New Year with mingling of cultures
Traditional dress, modern music part of scene at Lenoir festivities
Saturday, November 25, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR -- Paul "L.P." Yang held a microphone to his mouth and began, closing his eyes in concentration and waving his right hand in the air.
The smell of cooking chicken, noodles, rice and sausage wafted, and a handful of Hmong teens, some dressed in baggy pants and tank tops and others in traditional costume, stopped Friday to watch the one-man show.
Yang drove more than 10 hours from Detroit with a few fellow rappers to perform and sell CDs from his Shaolin Entertainment label at this week's Hmong New Year festivities at the Caldwell County fairgrounds in Lenoir, about 70 miles northwest of Charlotte.
The New Year festival, traditionally held after the harvest season in late November, celebrates millennia-old Hmong culture with dancing, music, games and food.
Yang, 20, said he doesn't see blending rap music with the ancient culture as a conflict. Instead, Yang said he'll rap about the Hmong people of Laos helping U.S. forces during the Vietnam War or about the hardships they endured in fleeing persecution after the battles ended.
"It's a way to introduce people in the rap community to my culture," he said. "The older Hmong don't understand it, but the youth do."
It's that kind of blending that Yang said helps younger Hmong appreciate their culture while assimilating in the United States.
For young and old Hmong, preserving their culture is one of the community's biggest concerns, said Tong Yang, executive director of the United Hmong Association of North Carolina.
More than 300,000 Hmong from Laos have sought refuge in the United States since the late 1970s, and about 15,000 have settled in North Carolina. Most of those live in Catawba, Burke, Alexander, Caldwell and McDowell counties in the Catawba Valley, where the foothills terrain and climate are similar to their Laotian homeland.
The Hmong, Yang said, have begun blending Western culture with traditional New Year activities. Religious beliefs, with Hmong thanking their ancestors for the ending of the year, have merged with more modern customs, such as talent shows and beauty pageants.
"It's something we can do to mix Hmong culture and our American culture," he said.
At the fairgrounds Friday, middle-aged Hmong men wander in black suits, eyeing booths stocked with traditional outfits, DVDs, toys and an array of food and sweets. Clinking silver coins swish against the colorful fabrics of the outfits worn by giggling teenage girls and smiling boys.
Mothers dressed in slacks and blouses push toddlers wearing traditional woven vests in strollers.
For Marissa Hang, a 23-year-old mother of two, bringing her kids to the New Year celebration is the best way to teach them about Hmong tradition. For the opening festivities Thursday, she dressed up her 1-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter in the traditional garb.
"This is the only time of the year we can see our culture in full bloom," she said. "Even if it is only for a few days."
Yang said this year's three-day celebration has brought about 10,000 Hmong from as far as California and Minnesota.
Joe Lee, 23, and his older brother, Waii, drove from Spartanburg with some friends to attend the festivities.
"I feel bad because I didn't come here dressed up," Joe Lee said. "It's good to stay connected, and a lot of (Hmong) kids don't know about it."
Though the Lees wore jeans and T-shirts rather than traditional garments, the brothers said participating in Hmong celebrations is critical to preserving the culture.
"Living in America, you learn all this new culture," Waii Lee said. "It's tough to think about everything you're losing, but we try to keep a little bit of it inside as we adapt."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR -- Paul "L.P." Yang held a microphone to his mouth and began, closing his eyes in concentration and waving his right hand in the air.
The smell of cooking chicken, noodles, rice and sausage wafted, and a handful of Hmong teens, some dressed in baggy pants and tank tops and others in traditional costume, stopped Friday to watch the one-man show.
Yang drove more than 10 hours from Detroit with a few fellow rappers to perform and sell CDs from his Shaolin Entertainment label at this week's Hmong New Year festivities at the Caldwell County fairgrounds in Lenoir, about 70 miles northwest of Charlotte.
The New Year festival, traditionally held after the harvest season in late November, celebrates millennia-old Hmong culture with dancing, music, games and food.
Yang, 20, said he doesn't see blending rap music with the ancient culture as a conflict. Instead, Yang said he'll rap about the Hmong people of Laos helping U.S. forces during the Vietnam War or about the hardships they endured in fleeing persecution after the battles ended.
"It's a way to introduce people in the rap community to my culture," he said. "The older Hmong don't understand it, but the youth do."
It's that kind of blending that Yang said helps younger Hmong appreciate their culture while assimilating in the United States.
For young and old Hmong, preserving their culture is one of the community's biggest concerns, said Tong Yang, executive director of the United Hmong Association of North Carolina.
More than 300,000 Hmong from Laos have sought refuge in the United States since the late 1970s, and about 15,000 have settled in North Carolina. Most of those live in Catawba, Burke, Alexander, Caldwell and McDowell counties in the Catawba Valley, where the foothills terrain and climate are similar to their Laotian homeland.
The Hmong, Yang said, have begun blending Western culture with traditional New Year activities. Religious beliefs, with Hmong thanking their ancestors for the ending of the year, have merged with more modern customs, such as talent shows and beauty pageants.
"It's something we can do to mix Hmong culture and our American culture," he said.
At the fairgrounds Friday, middle-aged Hmong men wander in black suits, eyeing booths stocked with traditional outfits, DVDs, toys and an array of food and sweets. Clinking silver coins swish against the colorful fabrics of the outfits worn by giggling teenage girls and smiling boys.
Mothers dressed in slacks and blouses push toddlers wearing traditional woven vests in strollers.
For Marissa Hang, a 23-year-old mother of two, bringing her kids to the New Year celebration is the best way to teach them about Hmong tradition. For the opening festivities Thursday, she dressed up her 1-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter in the traditional garb.
"This is the only time of the year we can see our culture in full bloom," she said. "Even if it is only for a few days."
Yang said this year's three-day celebration has brought about 10,000 Hmong from as far as California and Minnesota.
Joe Lee, 23, and his older brother, Waii, drove from Spartanburg with some friends to attend the festivities.
"I feel bad because I didn't come here dressed up," Joe Lee said. "It's good to stay connected, and a lot of (Hmong) kids don't know about it."
Though the Lees wore jeans and T-shirts rather than traditional garments, the brothers said participating in Hmong celebrations is critical to preserving the culture.
"Living in America, you learn all this new culture," Waii Lee said. "It's tough to think about everything you're losing, but we try to keep a little bit of it inside as we adapt."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
11/22/06
The Dart: Galloping toward a better life
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
NEWTON -- Taquitz trots casually along Boston Road's hard gravel. His white mane bounces in the crisp fall breeze, and his hoofs clatter on the pavement in cadenced clicks.
"Hear the rhythm of his footfall," says Taquitz's owner, Don Posey. "That beat. It sounds like a locomotive."
Posey watches hired trainer and friend Paul Marlowe calmly grasp the reins as the Paso Fino horse delicately and quickly lifts one hoof at a time in a four-beat gait.
The Dart landed in Newton, where Posey and Marlowe were out in the cold weather Monday training their Paso Finos, horses with Spanish roots and, unlike their Mustang relatives, never wild.
"(Paso Finos) were never feral, so their instincts are closely aligned with people," said Posey's wife, Joy. "That's one of the nice things about them as a breed. They like people."
The way the Paso Finos move, 68-year-old Don Posey said, is what distinguishes them from other breeds. The faster footwork makes for a smoother ride, compared with the loping gallop or trot of the more common quarter horse.
The Poseys have big dreams for Taquitz and the other Paso Fino horses they breed, raise and show through their company, Willaway Paso Finos. They hope for good competitors, for a good bloodline and for calm horses people can ride.
"You want to keep the breed affordable for the backyard buyer, as they call them," said Joy Posey, 59.
Like the backyard buyers, the Poseys were amateur horse enthusiasts when they moved to Newton in 1995.
They had been living in California since the 1970s and were getting tired of the earthquakes that consistently rocked the West Coast. After a massive quake in 1992 hit two miles from their Los Angeles-area condo, they were ready for a change of scenery.
North Carolina is not prone to major earthquakes, and that, with the promise of four seasons, rolling hills and the opportunity to raise horses, was enough for the Poseys.
Neither had owned horses before, but Joy Posey clung to the childhood memory of cleaning stables in exchange for riding lessons, and Don Posey had always enjoyed the rides he took on rental horses.
Not long after they moved to Newton, a nearby Paso Fino breeder got in touch with Don Posey, an attorney, about handling a few legal matters. The couple decided to take a different kind of compensation.
"He paid in horse," Joy Posey said.
Since then, the Poseys have built a business breeding Paso Finos, raising them and showing the animals at competitions across the Southeast.
Marlowe has been working with Taquitz for three months, trying to calm him and turn him into a champion show horse. While Taquitz has competed before - and done well - Don Posey is hoping Marlowe will be able to mellow the horse's brio, a Spanish word loosely translated as spirit.
"Paso Finos have a lot of brio," Don Posey said. "That's where you get the attitude and the power but sometimes a horse will have so much brio they can't control it."
Marlowe, the son of horse breeders in Virginia, has been working with Paso Finos for 14 years, when his parents gave him one of the horses for his high school graduation.
He's trained the breed full time since 2002, and his own horses have won top titles in competitions, including a nod as the 2006 national champion in Perry, Ga.
Working with the Poseys' Paso Finos, he said, is liking working with his own. "When we get into the horse world, we're just one big family," he said.
Usually, Don Posey said, they keep about eight horses on the 4-acre plot of land. It's not far from the county's Justice Center and is an unlikely neighborhood for horse breeding, with subdivisions and an old landfill surrounding the property.
But for the Poseys, who always hoped for a few horses and some land, it's a perfect place for their company..
"Where there's a will, there's a way," Don Posey said.
The Point of the Dart
The idea behind the Dart is simple: We're looking for the kind of news the media don't usually report. We throw a dart at a map of one of the counties in the Catawba Valley, and we'll write about what's happening at that spot. We hope this feature will bring out stories that too often are ignored and will help you meet some of your neighbors in the region.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
NEWTON -- Taquitz trots casually along Boston Road's hard gravel. His white mane bounces in the crisp fall breeze, and his hoofs clatter on the pavement in cadenced clicks.
"Hear the rhythm of his footfall," says Taquitz's owner, Don Posey. "That beat. It sounds like a locomotive."
Posey watches hired trainer and friend Paul Marlowe calmly grasp the reins as the Paso Fino horse delicately and quickly lifts one hoof at a time in a four-beat gait.
The Dart landed in Newton, where Posey and Marlowe were out in the cold weather Monday training their Paso Finos, horses with Spanish roots and, unlike their Mustang relatives, never wild.
"(Paso Finos) were never feral, so their instincts are closely aligned with people," said Posey's wife, Joy. "That's one of the nice things about them as a breed. They like people."
The way the Paso Finos move, 68-year-old Don Posey said, is what distinguishes them from other breeds. The faster footwork makes for a smoother ride, compared with the loping gallop or trot of the more common quarter horse.
The Poseys have big dreams for Taquitz and the other Paso Fino horses they breed, raise and show through their company, Willaway Paso Finos. They hope for good competitors, for a good bloodline and for calm horses people can ride.
"You want to keep the breed affordable for the backyard buyer, as they call them," said Joy Posey, 59.
Like the backyard buyers, the Poseys were amateur horse enthusiasts when they moved to Newton in 1995.
They had been living in California since the 1970s and were getting tired of the earthquakes that consistently rocked the West Coast. After a massive quake in 1992 hit two miles from their Los Angeles-area condo, they were ready for a change of scenery.
North Carolina is not prone to major earthquakes, and that, with the promise of four seasons, rolling hills and the opportunity to raise horses, was enough for the Poseys.
Neither had owned horses before, but Joy Posey clung to the childhood memory of cleaning stables in exchange for riding lessons, and Don Posey had always enjoyed the rides he took on rental horses.
Not long after they moved to Newton, a nearby Paso Fino breeder got in touch with Don Posey, an attorney, about handling a few legal matters. The couple decided to take a different kind of compensation.
"He paid in horse," Joy Posey said.
Since then, the Poseys have built a business breeding Paso Finos, raising them and showing the animals at competitions across the Southeast.
Marlowe has been working with Taquitz for three months, trying to calm him and turn him into a champion show horse. While Taquitz has competed before - and done well - Don Posey is hoping Marlowe will be able to mellow the horse's brio, a Spanish word loosely translated as spirit.
"Paso Finos have a lot of brio," Don Posey said. "That's where you get the attitude and the power but sometimes a horse will have so much brio they can't control it."
Marlowe, the son of horse breeders in Virginia, has been working with Paso Finos for 14 years, when his parents gave him one of the horses for his high school graduation.
He's trained the breed full time since 2002, and his own horses have won top titles in competitions, including a nod as the 2006 national champion in Perry, Ga.
Working with the Poseys' Paso Finos, he said, is liking working with his own. "When we get into the horse world, we're just one big family," he said.
Usually, Don Posey said, they keep about eight horses on the 4-acre plot of land. It's not far from the county's Justice Center and is an unlikely neighborhood for horse breeding, with subdivisions and an old landfill surrounding the property.
But for the Poseys, who always hoped for a few horses and some land, it's a perfect place for their company..
"Where there's a will, there's a way," Don Posey said.
The Point of the Dart
The idea behind the Dart is simple: We're looking for the kind of news the media don't usually report. We throw a dart at a map of one of the counties in the Catawba Valley, and we'll write about what's happening at that spot. We hope this feature will bring out stories that too often are ignored and will help you meet some of your neighbors in the region.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
11/19/06
Sidewalk ban could end
Downtown Maiden rule draws objections
Sunday, November 19, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Maiden kids might soon be able to ride their bikes to school.
Public objections to the city's rule that prohibits bicycles on downtown sidewalks has Town Council members rethinking the ban.
"We recognize that the town might want to change this," said council member George McClellan. "And we're open to it."
Last month, the council postponed making a decision on an ordinance change drafted by the city staff until council members could get more input on the issue. The change would have lifted the ban on bike riding on sidewalks.
Now, they are waiting to hear what residents have to say about the ban at a public hearing Dec. 11.
While the city does not ban bikes, skateboards or Rollerblades from the streets, many of the town's children can't ride their bikes to school or in the downtown area because their parents don't allow them to ride in the roads.
Some residents, including teachers and parents, have said the ban goes too far when it comes to bicycles and have asked that ordinance be changed to allow kids to at least ride their bikes to and from school using city sidewalks.
Safety, said Mayor Bob Smyre, is the city's main concern.
"Some of the kids on the other side (of town) couldn't ride their bikes to school," he said. "I just want them to be safe."
A 2002 resolution restricted skateboarding and Rollerblading on downtown sidewalks in Maiden. Bikes have been prohibited even longer, but city officials couldn't say precisely how long.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Maiden kids might soon be able to ride their bikes to school.
Public objections to the city's rule that prohibits bicycles on downtown sidewalks has Town Council members rethinking the ban.
"We recognize that the town might want to change this," said council member George McClellan. "And we're open to it."
Last month, the council postponed making a decision on an ordinance change drafted by the city staff until council members could get more input on the issue. The change would have lifted the ban on bike riding on sidewalks.
Now, they are waiting to hear what residents have to say about the ban at a public hearing Dec. 11.
While the city does not ban bikes, skateboards or Rollerblades from the streets, many of the town's children can't ride their bikes to school or in the downtown area because their parents don't allow them to ride in the roads.
Some residents, including teachers and parents, have said the ban goes too far when it comes to bicycles and have asked that ordinance be changed to allow kids to at least ride their bikes to and from school using city sidewalks.
Safety, said Mayor Bob Smyre, is the city's main concern.
"Some of the kids on the other side (of town) couldn't ride their bikes to school," he said. "I just want them to be safe."
A 2002 resolution restricted skateboarding and Rollerblading on downtown sidewalks in Maiden. Bikes have been prohibited even longer, but city officials couldn't say precisely how long.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
11/17/06
Updike shares novel approaches with students
His latest, 'Terrorist,' crafted with a nod to realty, imagination
Friday, November 17, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY – John Updike has written about cheating couples in suburbia, an aging high school basketball star and America's obsession with religion and fame.
Now, five years after the World Trade Center fell, Updike has invented an Islamic teenager on a quest to bomb Manhattan's Lincoln Tunnel in his most recent novel, "Terrorist."
"`Terrorist' was an attempt to see the other side of the war on terror," the Pulitzer Prize winner told students at Lenoir-Rhyne College on Thursday.
Updike has been crafting prose for more than 50 years. In an open forum at the college, he talked with students about his newest novel and offered advice on how to write a book.
"Know the ending before you begin," he said. "A writer starting out can't know every page of detail (but) it's fun to steer your climactic theme."
That's how Updike started writing "Terrorist," his most recent work of fiction, he said. A longstanding fear of New York City's dark and seemingly unstable traffic tunnels combined with the national attention on terrorism initially helped him intertwine reality with fiction.
Updike, a 74-year-old Lutheran and self-proclaimed "small-town boy" from Pennsylvania, isn't representative of the stereotypical Islamic terrorist.
That detachment helped him tell Ahmad's story.
"You make little leaps in your head when you're writing fiction," he said. "You have to go with what you have learned and what you can guess."
Updike, who attended Harvard and wrote for The New Yorker magazine, said the mystery of creating realistic and complex characters excites him. "It's all a mixed bag," he said. "The fiction writer is someone who tries to detail that mixture."
Katie Lineberry, a 19-year-old sophomore, admitted that she doesn't enjoy reading much, but she said she liked "Terrorist." After hearing Updike speak, she said, she's looking forward to reading the book again.
"You can see where he came from," she said. "It's dark and dirty, but he makes it come to life."
Updike spoke Thursday night to a larger crowd at the college.
Said Rand Brandes, director of the Lenoir-Rhyne College Visiting Writer's Series: "He's the proverbial literary legend. He has contributed to the cultural identity of the entire country."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Friday, November 17, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY – John Updike has written about cheating couples in suburbia, an aging high school basketball star and America's obsession with religion and fame.
Now, five years after the World Trade Center fell, Updike has invented an Islamic teenager on a quest to bomb Manhattan's Lincoln Tunnel in his most recent novel, "Terrorist."
"`Terrorist' was an attempt to see the other side of the war on terror," the Pulitzer Prize winner told students at Lenoir-Rhyne College on Thursday.
Updike has been crafting prose for more than 50 years. In an open forum at the college, he talked with students about his newest novel and offered advice on how to write a book.
"Know the ending before you begin," he said. "A writer starting out can't know every page of detail (but) it's fun to steer your climactic theme."
That's how Updike started writing "Terrorist," his most recent work of fiction, he said. A longstanding fear of New York City's dark and seemingly unstable traffic tunnels combined with the national attention on terrorism initially helped him intertwine reality with fiction.
Updike, a 74-year-old Lutheran and self-proclaimed "small-town boy" from Pennsylvania, isn't representative of the stereotypical Islamic terrorist.
That detachment helped him tell Ahmad's story.
"You make little leaps in your head when you're writing fiction," he said. "You have to go with what you have learned and what you can guess."
Updike, who attended Harvard and wrote for The New Yorker magazine, said the mystery of creating realistic and complex characters excites him. "It's all a mixed bag," he said. "The fiction writer is someone who tries to detail that mixture."
Katie Lineberry, a 19-year-old sophomore, admitted that she doesn't enjoy reading much, but she said she liked "Terrorist." After hearing Updike speak, she said, she's looking forward to reading the book again.
"You can see where he came from," she said. "It's dark and dirty, but he makes it come to life."
Updike spoke Thursday night to a larger crowd at the college.
Said Rand Brandes, director of the Lenoir-Rhyne College Visiting Writer's Series: "He's the proverbial literary legend. He has contributed to the cultural identity of the entire country."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Sheriff candidates waiting on 540 votes
Provisional ballot tally will decide if sheriff's race challenger concedes
Friday, November 17, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Democrat Steve Hunt, who last week suffered a narrow loss to incumbent GOP Sheriff David Huffman, is waiting until the 540 provisional ballots are tallied today before he'll decide whether to concede.
Unofficial results show Huffman beating Hunt by 418 votes, a 2 percent margin.
"There are more votes out there than I was defeated by," Hunt said, "and I hope these votes could turn it around."
To call for a recount, Hunt would have to make up about 150 votes in the provisional ballots and trim the difference by more than 330 votes, or less than 1 percent.
Huffman won 51 percent, or 17,179 votes, to Hunt's 49 percent, or 16,698 votes.
Provisional ballots are cast when information about the voter does not match information on file in the Board of Election's records. They are mostly cast by residents who recently moved within the county but didn't update their addresses, said Catawba County Elections Director Larry Brewer.
The canvass of the 540 provisional ballots was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. today, and Brewer said he expects to declare official results for the Nov. 7 election by the end of the day.
Huffman said last week that he was surprised to see such a close margin in the unofficial election results and thought he'd beat Hunt by at least 1,500 votes.
While Huffman said the 418-vote margin should be enough of a cushion, he's hesitant to declare an official victory until all the ballots are counted.
"I'm just hoping the provisionals will look good," he said.
Each candidate won exactly half of the county's 40 precincts, and about 35 percent of registered Catawba County voters cast their ballots, which officials at the Board of Elections said was higher than expected.
Lowell Ashman, a professor of political science at Lenoir-Rhyne College who has tracked election results for 30 years, said the ballots could bring Hunt within 1 percent, particularly if the majority of the provisional votes were cast in neighborhoods where Hunt did well.
Ashman said he's doubtful, however, that a recount would change the results because Huffman already holds a more than 400-vote lead. "It might be closer," he said, "But I think the outcome is going to remain as it is."
In neighboring Caldwell County, a close race for the second open seat on the Soil and Water Conservation Board could go either way after 288 provisional ballots are counted.
Incumbent Jeff Rash leads challenger Michael Willis by 19 votes. Rash secured 4,786 votes and to Willis' 4,767 votes.
Seventy-one provisional ballots were cast in Alexander County and 278 were cast in Burke County. Neither county held a close enough race for the provisional balances to change the unofficial results, according to the boards of elections in those counties.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Friday, November 17, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Democrat Steve Hunt, who last week suffered a narrow loss to incumbent GOP Sheriff David Huffman, is waiting until the 540 provisional ballots are tallied today before he'll decide whether to concede.
Unofficial results show Huffman beating Hunt by 418 votes, a 2 percent margin.
"There are more votes out there than I was defeated by," Hunt said, "and I hope these votes could turn it around."
To call for a recount, Hunt would have to make up about 150 votes in the provisional ballots and trim the difference by more than 330 votes, or less than 1 percent.
Huffman won 51 percent, or 17,179 votes, to Hunt's 49 percent, or 16,698 votes.
Provisional ballots are cast when information about the voter does not match information on file in the Board of Election's records. They are mostly cast by residents who recently moved within the county but didn't update their addresses, said Catawba County Elections Director Larry Brewer.
The canvass of the 540 provisional ballots was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. today, and Brewer said he expects to declare official results for the Nov. 7 election by the end of the day.
Huffman said last week that he was surprised to see such a close margin in the unofficial election results and thought he'd beat Hunt by at least 1,500 votes.
While Huffman said the 418-vote margin should be enough of a cushion, he's hesitant to declare an official victory until all the ballots are counted.
"I'm just hoping the provisionals will look good," he said.
Each candidate won exactly half of the county's 40 precincts, and about 35 percent of registered Catawba County voters cast their ballots, which officials at the Board of Elections said was higher than expected.
Lowell Ashman, a professor of political science at Lenoir-Rhyne College who has tracked election results for 30 years, said the ballots could bring Hunt within 1 percent, particularly if the majority of the provisional votes were cast in neighborhoods where Hunt did well.
Ashman said he's doubtful, however, that a recount would change the results because Huffman already holds a more than 400-vote lead. "It might be closer," he said, "But I think the outcome is going to remain as it is."
In neighboring Caldwell County, a close race for the second open seat on the Soil and Water Conservation Board could go either way after 288 provisional ballots are counted.
Incumbent Jeff Rash leads challenger Michael Willis by 19 votes. Rash secured 4,786 votes and to Willis' 4,767 votes.
Seventy-one provisional ballots were cast in Alexander County and 278 were cast in Burke County. Neither county held a close enough race for the provisional balances to change the unofficial results, according to the boards of elections in those counties.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
11/15/06
Flmmaker reel-izes a dream
Hickory native's 1st feature movie will premiere at Carolina theatre Friday
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY – Inside the Carolina Theatre, all 10,000 feet of Sidney King's first feature film sits on the large reel in the cinema's projection room.
"This is a very pretty sight," 29-year-old King said, eyeing the spool holding more than five years of his work. "You go through so much trouble to shoot on film, and here it is."
Outside the theater, a giant movie poster hangs near the glass doors advertising the Friday premiere. Above that, the marquee boasts King's name, welcoming the hometown filmmaker and boasting his film's title - "Pearl Diver," which King wrote and directed.
"It's really magical to be in a big theater when the lights go down and your film comes up," he said. "This is how you want people to see it. On the big screen."
The movie tells the story of two very different Mennonite sisters haunted by the memory of their mother's murder 20 years earlier. Marian, the eldest, stayed in the religious farming community where she grew up, married and had a child. Hannah, the younger sister, moved to Chicago, adopted more secular views and became a writer.
When Marian's daughter, 6-year-old Rebecca, is severely injured in a farming accident, Hannah returns to her Goshen, Ind., home to help her sister and is reminded of the tragedy that marked their own childhoods.
The film has secured nods of approval at numerous film festivals, including one of the top awards at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis and the Winnipeg International Film Festival.
Now King is bringing the film to Hickory, a community he likens to Goshen, and hopes residents of his hometown will be moved by the story and what he calls "old school" filmmaking.
"It kind of captures the pace and the way of life in a small town," he said. "(It's not) the MTV style, bombarding your senses with 1,000 images a minute."
The slower pace, King said, allows the audience to see the rural farming community not just as a locale but as its own character. "It's a specific town and a specific place," he said. "Even though Western Carolina and Indiana are very different it's a place people are proud to be from."
King started piecing the story together in the late 1990s, when he was a student at Goshen College, a Mennonite university in Indiana. King, himself, is a Mennonite.
He put the project to the side while he finished school and focused on his first film, a documentary about a Goshen College student who disappeared in Russia in 1920.
But it wasn't until his father, Hickory doctor Harry King, died in a 2001 plane crash a few weeks before the documentary's premiere that King really started thinking about his goals as a filmmaker. He wrote the film in the months that followed his father's death.
"That's when I got serious about it," he said. "Nothing in ("Pearl Diver" is specifically) based on my father, but really, all of it is. I was trying to create something positive."
Carolina Theatre co-owner Billy Ray Teague has known King's family for years and said he thought premiering the movie at the theater would be a good way to bring a local filmmaker's art to his neighbors.
"We're kind of a hometown theater, and with him being from Hickory we're able to show what local people can accomplish," he said.
Teague said the theater will show "Pearl Diver" for at least two weeks, and possibly longer if there's the demand. While comedies and blockbusters tend to pull larger crowds, Teague said he's hoping for a large turnout and is confident King's film will draw "the independent film crowd you rarely see in Hickory."
"This is a thinking film," Teague said.
An astute observer of "Pearl Diver," King said, will notice a few local faces in some of the scenes and recognize some names in the credits, as well.
King's brother, Bradley, and his new sister-in-law, Martha, gave up their honeymoon to work 12 hours a day on the set during filming in 2004; his sister made a cameo as a doctor and his mother woke up at 5 a.m. to brew coffee for the crew.
"You can always tell a true independent film when you see the director's mom in the credits," King said.
King financed the film himself and depended on friends to help on the crew and donate money or equipment. "How does the saying go, `I had to beg, borrow and steal,' " he said.
Keith Yoder of Hickory helped by driving a camera from Wilmington to Indiana, Chris Disher worked on the crew, attorney Ellie Bradshaw provided some legal aid and cinematographer John Raton of Morganton won a film festival award.
"It's fun to show it to a crowd like this because people here will recognize (names)," King said. "It's exciting to show it for a smaller audience, knowing they have that personal commitment."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
11/12/06
Neighbors await verdict
Community continues to debate innocence of guilt of farmer accused of killing wife
Jerry Anderson was charged with murder in January and could face the death penalty
Sunday, November 12, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
SAWMILLS -- A year ago, cattle roamed the open field of a bustling Caldwell County dairy farm, and their owner was planning to start another farm in neighboring Tennessee.
Now the milking stalls sit empty, and no-trespassing signs border the perimeter of the land as Jerry Anderson, the farmer, waits in the Caldwell County jail to be tried in the murder of his wife.
Although the farm is silent and abandoned, the debate over Anderson's innocence is as lively as ever.
Numerous people exchange e-mails on a popular Internet forum, topix.net, about the grisly murder case, many maintaining Anderson's innocence and questioning the limited evidence investigators have released.
And people in the southwestern part of the county, where the Andersons used to live, still argue about the case.
"If the paper comes out with an article about Jerry on the front of it, it will be sold out in two minutes," said Dowe Annas, a lifelong Caldwell County resident who lives about a mile from the farm.
"If something like this happened in Charlotte, it'd just be an ordinary thing, but when it happens in a small community like this, it just throws you off-center."
Neighbors, who knew the Andersons from services at Dry Ponds Baptist Church or from the couple's daily visits to a local gas station and deli, fall into two camps - those who believe adamantly that Anderson is innocent and those reserving judgment until the details of the crime are released during trial.
"Everybody is eager to see what happens," Annas said. "There's a group of people who just don't want to believe it and I'd imagine there's a few who are dead certain he did it."
On Dec. 29, Anderson reported his wife, 49-year-old Emily, missing, prompting a massive search. Her body was found 10 days later in an S.C. restaurant parking lot, about 100 miles from Lenoir, crammed in the large tool compartment of her Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
Two bullets had penetrated Emily Anderson's body, one through her abdomen, spleen and kidney and another through her back, lung and heart, according to an autopsy report from the N.C. Chief Medical Examiner's Office.
Her husband, 47-year-old Jerry Anderson, was charged Jan. 27 with first-degree murder in his wife's killing and could face the death penalty if convicted, according to Observer archives.
For more than 10 months, investigators from the Sheriff's Office have continued their probe into the murder, which they believe happened Dec. 29 near the Anderson's dairy farm in Sawmills.
While authorities piece together details of the crime, neighbors discuss what they already know and wonder about what they still have to learn.
Had Emily Anderson planned to divorce her husband of 4 1/2 years, as her brother Mike Griffitt told the Observer the day Jerry Anderson was arrested?
Was there enough time for Jerry Anderson to drive the pickup truck to South Carolina and get back to Caldwell County in time to report his wife missing?
Why did Jerry Anderson get a passport shortly before his wife was killed, as reported in the Observer, and did it have anything to do with the more than $4 million in life insurance on Emily Anderson?
At PD Grocery and Deli, about a mile from the farm, neighbors congregate almost daily for coffee, egg sandwiches and conversation. The murder of Emily Anderson, who Annas said visited the store the day investigators think she was killed, has been a popular topic.
"It shocked everybody," he said. "No one has any idea who did it or what happened."
Now, Annas said, he and the rest of the small community are waiting to see what unfolds in the courtroom. "We know what we've read in the paper, and it don't mean a thing in the world until it gets in front of the judge," he said.
Oliver Wilson Smith lived across the street from the Andersons and watched Emily Anderson sing in the choir at their church on Dry Ponds Road and often helped Jerry Anderson repair fences at the farm.
He said he has a lot of questions about who killed Emily Anderson and that he's certain it wasn't her husband.
"What have they got?" Smith said. "Ninety percent of the people around here think he's innocent. Anyone who really knows Jerry doesn't think he did it."
Dykes Wilson's family used to own the land before Anderson began farming there and still lives next door to the farm. He was out of town Dec. 29, he said, and thinks investigators will need to produce a lot more evidence if Anderson is guilty.
"I just don't know how they'll prove it unless someone saw him do it," he said.
The lead investigator on the case, Capt. Jeff Stafford, said he knows that residents adamantly defend Jerry Anderson, who is scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing on Monday. And he knows people want more details from the investigation.
"There's just things that just need to wait for trial," he said. "To stand on the outside and not have all of the details, how can you make an opinion?"
Releasing too much evidence too soon, Stafford said, could also impede Anderson's right to a fair trial in front of a jury of Caldwell County residents.
But until then, Annas, Wilson, Smith and the rest of Sawmills will have to wait for the answers the community has been hoping for.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Jerry Anderson was charged with murder in January and could face the death penalty
Sunday, November 12, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
SAWMILLS -- A year ago, cattle roamed the open field of a bustling Caldwell County dairy farm, and their owner was planning to start another farm in neighboring Tennessee.
Now the milking stalls sit empty, and no-trespassing signs border the perimeter of the land as Jerry Anderson, the farmer, waits in the Caldwell County jail to be tried in the murder of his wife.
Although the farm is silent and abandoned, the debate over Anderson's innocence is as lively as ever.
Numerous people exchange e-mails on a popular Internet forum, topix.net, about the grisly murder case, many maintaining Anderson's innocence and questioning the limited evidence investigators have released.
And people in the southwestern part of the county, where the Andersons used to live, still argue about the case.
"If the paper comes out with an article about Jerry on the front of it, it will be sold out in two minutes," said Dowe Annas, a lifelong Caldwell County resident who lives about a mile from the farm.
"If something like this happened in Charlotte, it'd just be an ordinary thing, but when it happens in a small community like this, it just throws you off-center."
Neighbors, who knew the Andersons from services at Dry Ponds Baptist Church or from the couple's daily visits to a local gas station and deli, fall into two camps - those who believe adamantly that Anderson is innocent and those reserving judgment until the details of the crime are released during trial.
"Everybody is eager to see what happens," Annas said. "There's a group of people who just don't want to believe it and I'd imagine there's a few who are dead certain he did it."
On Dec. 29, Anderson reported his wife, 49-year-old Emily, missing, prompting a massive search. Her body was found 10 days later in an S.C. restaurant parking lot, about 100 miles from Lenoir, crammed in the large tool compartment of her Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
Two bullets had penetrated Emily Anderson's body, one through her abdomen, spleen and kidney and another through her back, lung and heart, according to an autopsy report from the N.C. Chief Medical Examiner's Office.
Her husband, 47-year-old Jerry Anderson, was charged Jan. 27 with first-degree murder in his wife's killing and could face the death penalty if convicted, according to Observer archives.
For more than 10 months, investigators from the Sheriff's Office have continued their probe into the murder, which they believe happened Dec. 29 near the Anderson's dairy farm in Sawmills.
While authorities piece together details of the crime, neighbors discuss what they already know and wonder about what they still have to learn.
Had Emily Anderson planned to divorce her husband of 4 1/2 years, as her brother Mike Griffitt told the Observer the day Jerry Anderson was arrested?
Was there enough time for Jerry Anderson to drive the pickup truck to South Carolina and get back to Caldwell County in time to report his wife missing?
Why did Jerry Anderson get a passport shortly before his wife was killed, as reported in the Observer, and did it have anything to do with the more than $4 million in life insurance on Emily Anderson?
At PD Grocery and Deli, about a mile from the farm, neighbors congregate almost daily for coffee, egg sandwiches and conversation. The murder of Emily Anderson, who Annas said visited the store the day investigators think she was killed, has been a popular topic.
"It shocked everybody," he said. "No one has any idea who did it or what happened."
Now, Annas said, he and the rest of the small community are waiting to see what unfolds in the courtroom. "We know what we've read in the paper, and it don't mean a thing in the world until it gets in front of the judge," he said.
Oliver Wilson Smith lived across the street from the Andersons and watched Emily Anderson sing in the choir at their church on Dry Ponds Road and often helped Jerry Anderson repair fences at the farm.
He said he has a lot of questions about who killed Emily Anderson and that he's certain it wasn't her husband.
"What have they got?" Smith said. "Ninety percent of the people around here think he's innocent. Anyone who really knows Jerry doesn't think he did it."
Dykes Wilson's family used to own the land before Anderson began farming there and still lives next door to the farm. He was out of town Dec. 29, he said, and thinks investigators will need to produce a lot more evidence if Anderson is guilty.
"I just don't know how they'll prove it unless someone saw him do it," he said.
The lead investigator on the case, Capt. Jeff Stafford, said he knows that residents adamantly defend Jerry Anderson, who is scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing on Monday. And he knows people want more details from the investigation.
"There's just things that just need to wait for trial," he said. "To stand on the outside and not have all of the details, how can you make an opinion?"
Releasing too much evidence too soon, Stafford said, could also impede Anderson's right to a fair trial in front of a jury of Caldwell County residents.
But until then, Annas, Wilson, Smith and the rest of Sawmills will have to wait for the answers the community has been hoping for.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
3rd girl dies after exposure to heat
4-year-old, twin sisters had been playing in mom's car
Sunday, November 12, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
FOREST CITY -- Three Rutherford County girls died after playing in their mother's car outside their apartment Friday, when local temperatures soared to an unseasonable 83 degrees, authorities said Saturday.
Autopsies showed that 2-year-old twins Asia and Bryasia Sheppard died of heat-related injuries, said Lt. Billy Scoggins of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office.
Their 4-year-old sister, An'iya Miller, died at Mission Hospital in Asheville early Saturday. Doctors said her death also appeared to be heat related; an autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
Friends and family Saturday comforted the girls' 26-year-old mother, Latrice Miller, and said she's distraught and hysterical over the deaths.
"It's not something a mother recovers from," said Miller's second cousin, Kevin Moore.
The girls' father, 29-year-old Sterling Sheppard, told the Observer he spoke to Miller Saturday afternoon, and she told him she had overslept while the girls played outside. He doesn't blame Miller for the girls' death, he said.
Authorities said they aren't sure how or when the girls got into the car, a four-door Honda Accord parked in direct sunlight in front of the family's apartment near Forest City, about 70 miles west of Charlotte.
April Harbison, Miller's neighbor, said she saw the girls playing in the car and beeping the horn shortly after 10:30 Friday morning. Three hours later, Harbison said, she heard Miller screaming.
Miller called 911 at about 1:30 p.m. after finding the twins and An'iya unconscious in the passenger section of the car, Scoggins said, and brought the girls into her apartment.
She tried to revive them, he said, but the twins died before authorities arrived. An'iya was taken to Mission Hospital, where she died shortly after midnight.
This year, 26 other children nationwide have died from heat-related deaths after being left unattended in cars, according to Jan Null, a San Francisco State University professor who researches such deaths.
If Friday's high reached 83 degrees, the temperature inside the car would have been about 105 degrees after 30 minutes and almost 125 degrees after an hour, Null said.
Heat exhaustion can occur at 90 degrees or above, and heat stroke at 105 degrees. Children with heat stroke are unable to sweat, and their body temperatures rise to dangerous levels that can lead to brain, liver and kidney damage or death.
Sheppard, the children's father, said he and Miller have been dating for six years, and said he believes she is a good mother.
"It was an honest mistake that anyone could have made," he said from the Caldwell County jail, where he's a federal inmate. He said he's being held on charges of concealing a weapon.
"I knew I needed to be out there to help. It's hard watching out for three little kids yourself."
Miller was unavailable for comment Saturday.
Angela Hutchins went to a Rutherford County high school with Miller and now works at the convenience store across the street from Miller's apartment. An'iya and Miller visited the store often, Hutchins said, and she remembers the 4-year-old's excitement to be shopping with her mom.
"She loved getting potato wedges," Hutchins said. "You could tell she loved her mama."
Patricia Moore, Miller's friend and Sheppard's cousin, said the twins loved playing on Playskool bikes they got for their birthdays in February. Moore is staying with Miller and said she'll miss the girls' giggles and exuberance.
"Every day, when I came home from work, they'd meet me at the door wanting to play," she said.
Since 1998, 10 other children have died of heat-related injuries in North Carolina after being left in vehicles, Null said.
In 2001, 6-month-old Michael Heinen Jr. died after his father left him for nine hours in a Ford Explorer. His father, Michael Heinen of Mooresville, told police he thought he'd taken the baby to the baby sitter's house before work. He was not charged.
And in a high-profile 1999 S.C. case, a woman's 10-day-old baby died in a sweltering car while she played video poker. She was given five years' probation.
Scoggins said the Sheriff's Office is continuing its investigation. The results, he said, will be given to the district attorney, who will decide whether Miller will face criminal charges.
The family was not sure when funeral services will be held, but Sheppard said he's hoping authorities will allow him to attend. The girls, he said, "were my joy and my world."
"I always said if I had another daughter, I'd name her Asia for the mother of all civilization," he said. "But I didn't just have one. I had twins."
Keeping Kids Safe
To protect children from the danger of unattended cars:
Never leave your child in an unattended car, even with the windows down.
Keep cars locked at all times, even in the garage or driveway.
Teach your children not to play in or around cars.
Always make sure all child passengers have left the car before locking it.
Keep car keys out of children's reach and sight.
*
Source: SAFE Kids USA
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
FOREST CITY -- Three Rutherford County girls died after playing in their mother's car outside their apartment Friday, when local temperatures soared to an unseasonable 83 degrees, authorities said Saturday.
Autopsies showed that 2-year-old twins Asia and Bryasia Sheppard died of heat-related injuries, said Lt. Billy Scoggins of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office.
Their 4-year-old sister, An'iya Miller, died at Mission Hospital in Asheville early Saturday. Doctors said her death also appeared to be heat related; an autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
Friends and family Saturday comforted the girls' 26-year-old mother, Latrice Miller, and said she's distraught and hysterical over the deaths.
"It's not something a mother recovers from," said Miller's second cousin, Kevin Moore.
The girls' father, 29-year-old Sterling Sheppard, told the Observer he spoke to Miller Saturday afternoon, and she told him she had overslept while the girls played outside. He doesn't blame Miller for the girls' death, he said.
Authorities said they aren't sure how or when the girls got into the car, a four-door Honda Accord parked in direct sunlight in front of the family's apartment near Forest City, about 70 miles west of Charlotte.
April Harbison, Miller's neighbor, said she saw the girls playing in the car and beeping the horn shortly after 10:30 Friday morning. Three hours later, Harbison said, she heard Miller screaming.
Miller called 911 at about 1:30 p.m. after finding the twins and An'iya unconscious in the passenger section of the car, Scoggins said, and brought the girls into her apartment.
She tried to revive them, he said, but the twins died before authorities arrived. An'iya was taken to Mission Hospital, where she died shortly after midnight.
This year, 26 other children nationwide have died from heat-related deaths after being left unattended in cars, according to Jan Null, a San Francisco State University professor who researches such deaths.
If Friday's high reached 83 degrees, the temperature inside the car would have been about 105 degrees after 30 minutes and almost 125 degrees after an hour, Null said.
Heat exhaustion can occur at 90 degrees or above, and heat stroke at 105 degrees. Children with heat stroke are unable to sweat, and their body temperatures rise to dangerous levels that can lead to brain, liver and kidney damage or death.
Sheppard, the children's father, said he and Miller have been dating for six years, and said he believes she is a good mother.
"It was an honest mistake that anyone could have made," he said from the Caldwell County jail, where he's a federal inmate. He said he's being held on charges of concealing a weapon.
"I knew I needed to be out there to help. It's hard watching out for three little kids yourself."
Miller was unavailable for comment Saturday.
Angela Hutchins went to a Rutherford County high school with Miller and now works at the convenience store across the street from Miller's apartment. An'iya and Miller visited the store often, Hutchins said, and she remembers the 4-year-old's excitement to be shopping with her mom.
"She loved getting potato wedges," Hutchins said. "You could tell she loved her mama."
Patricia Moore, Miller's friend and Sheppard's cousin, said the twins loved playing on Playskool bikes they got for their birthdays in February. Moore is staying with Miller and said she'll miss the girls' giggles and exuberance.
"Every day, when I came home from work, they'd meet me at the door wanting to play," she said.
Since 1998, 10 other children have died of heat-related injuries in North Carolina after being left in vehicles, Null said.
In 2001, 6-month-old Michael Heinen Jr. died after his father left him for nine hours in a Ford Explorer. His father, Michael Heinen of Mooresville, told police he thought he'd taken the baby to the baby sitter's house before work. He was not charged.
And in a high-profile 1999 S.C. case, a woman's 10-day-old baby died in a sweltering car while she played video poker. She was given five years' probation.
Scoggins said the Sheriff's Office is continuing its investigation. The results, he said, will be given to the district attorney, who will decide whether Miller will face criminal charges.
The family was not sure when funeral services will be held, but Sheppard said he's hoping authorities will allow him to attend. The girls, he said, "were my joy and my world."
"I always said if I had another daughter, I'd name her Asia for the mother of all civilization," he said. "But I didn't just have one. I had twins."
Keeping Kids Safe
To protect children from the danger of unattended cars:
Never leave your child in an unattended car, even with the windows down.
Keep cars locked at all times, even in the garage or driveway.
Teach your children not to play in or around cars.
Always make sure all child passengers have left the car before locking it.
Keep car keys out of children's reach and sight.
*
Source: SAFE Kids USA
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11/10/06
Huffman wins close sheriff's race
Fewer than 500 votes separated Catawba County incumbent from Democratic challenger Steve Hunt
Each candidate won half the county's precincts; about 35% of registered voters cast ballots
Friday, November 10, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A margin of less than 500 votes in one of the state's sturdiest Republican strongholds narrowly secured David Huffman's job Tuesday for one more term as Catawba County's GOP sheriff.
For a sheriff with six terms in office and a couple of messy political bouts behind him, the race against Steve Hunt, a formidable Democratic challenger and 30-year veteran of the Hickory Police Department, was hardly an easy win.
Each candidate won exactly half of the county's 40 precincts, and about 35 percent of registered Catawba County voters cast their ballots, which officials at the Board of Elections said was higher than expected.
Huffman knew, he said, that his challenger would likely take Hickory, where Hunt teaches criminal justice at Catawba Valley Community College and worked as a police officer for three decades.
And Hunt did just that, securing nearly all of the city's 22 precincts.
Hunt could not be reached for comment by Thursday morning.
Many voters said that, in addition to concerns about the national political climate, it was this year's hotly contested sheriff's race that brought them to the polls.
Hickory resident Martha Scott said she voted Tuesday because she worries about family values and wants her elected officials to represent that conservative view.
Although she said she's a staunch Republican, she also said she didn't vote a straight party ticket and picked Hunt as her candidate.
"I voted for the man who would do the best job," she said. "We went through the citizens' police academy (a public class on law enforcement) with him, and I love that man."
Hunt won 57 percent at the Highland precinct, where Scott and 705 voters cast their ballots.
But in Mountain View, less than six miles from downtown Hickory, Huffman dominated the polls, winning 56 percent of the vote. The same was true in other rural areas.
Betty Canupp voted at Mountain Grove Baptist Church, where Huffman secured 59 percent of the ballots cast. She said she always votes on a straight party ticket. Huffman, she said, has been running the Sheriff's Office well.
"He's done us a fantastic job for the last 24 years, and it will be a sad day when he isn't our sheriff," Canupp, 78, said.
Later Tuesday night, when the Board of Elections posted the first results - absentee, mail-in, and curbside ballots - it looked as though Hunt held a secure lead with 55 percent of the vote, to Huffman's 45 percent.
"Right out of the shoot, we were 1,000 in the hole," Huffman said of the race he expected to win by close to 2,000 votes. "We didn't think it'd be that close."
The results began trickling in, with Hunt monitoring from Hickory Dickory Dock amusement center on U.S. 70 and Huffman monitoring the incoming ballots at the Board of Elections.
As more ballots were counted, however, Huffman began inching closer to Hunt and, by 9:30 p.m., the pair each held 50 percent of the vote. The last posting, with all precincts reporting, announced unofficial results with Huffman winning, 51 percent, or 17,179 votes to Hunt's 49 percent, or 16,698 votes.
"When those boxes came in, we kind of took a sigh of relief," Huffman said.
Hunt, a newcomer to politics, ran on a platform that called for a new direction and encouraged voters to help revitalize the Sheriff's Office, which Huffman has run since 1982.
Though he said he isn't sure if he'll say in the political scene, Hunt told the Observer in October that talking to county residents about their concerns was inspirational.
"It never was so evident to me what people in this county wanted until I started visiting people," he said. "All people want is a safe place to live and raise their families."
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Each candidate won half the county's precincts; about 35% of registered voters cast ballots
Friday, November 10, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A margin of less than 500 votes in one of the state's sturdiest Republican strongholds narrowly secured David Huffman's job Tuesday for one more term as Catawba County's GOP sheriff.
For a sheriff with six terms in office and a couple of messy political bouts behind him, the race against Steve Hunt, a formidable Democratic challenger and 30-year veteran of the Hickory Police Department, was hardly an easy win.
Each candidate won exactly half of the county's 40 precincts, and about 35 percent of registered Catawba County voters cast their ballots, which officials at the Board of Elections said was higher than expected.
Huffman knew, he said, that his challenger would likely take Hickory, where Hunt teaches criminal justice at Catawba Valley Community College and worked as a police officer for three decades.
And Hunt did just that, securing nearly all of the city's 22 precincts.
Hunt could not be reached for comment by Thursday morning.
Many voters said that, in addition to concerns about the national political climate, it was this year's hotly contested sheriff's race that brought them to the polls.
Hickory resident Martha Scott said she voted Tuesday because she worries about family values and wants her elected officials to represent that conservative view.
Although she said she's a staunch Republican, she also said she didn't vote a straight party ticket and picked Hunt as her candidate.
"I voted for the man who would do the best job," she said. "We went through the citizens' police academy (a public class on law enforcement) with him, and I love that man."
Hunt won 57 percent at the Highland precinct, where Scott and 705 voters cast their ballots.
But in Mountain View, less than six miles from downtown Hickory, Huffman dominated the polls, winning 56 percent of the vote. The same was true in other rural areas.
Betty Canupp voted at Mountain Grove Baptist Church, where Huffman secured 59 percent of the ballots cast. She said she always votes on a straight party ticket. Huffman, she said, has been running the Sheriff's Office well.
"He's done us a fantastic job for the last 24 years, and it will be a sad day when he isn't our sheriff," Canupp, 78, said.
Later Tuesday night, when the Board of Elections posted the first results - absentee, mail-in, and curbside ballots - it looked as though Hunt held a secure lead with 55 percent of the vote, to Huffman's 45 percent.
"Right out of the shoot, we were 1,000 in the hole," Huffman said of the race he expected to win by close to 2,000 votes. "We didn't think it'd be that close."
The results began trickling in, with Hunt monitoring from Hickory Dickory Dock amusement center on U.S. 70 and Huffman monitoring the incoming ballots at the Board of Elections.
As more ballots were counted, however, Huffman began inching closer to Hunt and, by 9:30 p.m., the pair each held 50 percent of the vote. The last posting, with all precincts reporting, announced unofficial results with Huffman winning, 51 percent, or 17,179 votes to Hunt's 49 percent, or 16,698 votes.
"When those boxes came in, we kind of took a sigh of relief," Huffman said.
Hunt, a newcomer to politics, ran on a platform that called for a new direction and encouraged voters to help revitalize the Sheriff's Office, which Huffman has run since 1982.
Though he said he isn't sure if he'll say in the political scene, Hunt told the Observer in October that talking to county residents about their concerns was inspirational.
"It never was so evident to me what people in this county wanted until I started visiting people," he said. "All people want is a safe place to live and raise their families."
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Vehicle misses turn but not home
Man gets trapped in his bathroom when SUV crashes through house
Friday, November 10, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR -- Bobby Davis likes to sleep in. But a Thursday morning doctor's appointment forced him out of bed early, shortly before an SUV crashed through his bedroom wall at 7:30 a.m.
Davis, 73, had just walked into the master bathroom of his ranch house on Union Grove Road in Lenoir and was getting ready to lather his face in shaving cream when he heard a loud boom, he said.
Glass and thick pieces of drywall scattered onto the bathroom floor, and the couple's mattress flew across the doorway, trapping him inside the room. No one was seriously injured.
"My husband would have been in bed at 7:30," said Davis' wife, Lou, who was in the kitchen when the crash happened. "It just wasn't our time."
The driver of the 2001 Acura sport utility vehicle, 34-year-old Jason Barlow of Hudson, told authorities that he was trying to pick something up off the floor of the vehicle and veered off the right side of Union Grove Road, said N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper M.K. Davis, no relation to the couple.
The road curved slightly, the trooper said, and the driver overcorrected. The SUV went down a slight hill and through Bobby and Lou Davis' front porch, living room and bedroom, he said.
Authorities from the Highway Patrol, Catawba Fire and Rescue, Caldwell County EMS, Lenoir Rescue, and Lovelady Rescue responded within minutes and quickly built makeshift support beams so the northwestern side of the house wouldn't collapse, the trooper said.
Bobby Davis said rescue crews helped him climb out the bathroom window while the house was stabilized.
The Davises finished construction on the 1,800-square- foot home, which cost $135,000 to build, in March and moved to Caldwell County from Florida in June to retire, Lou Davis said.
M.K. Davis said the SUV was totaled and guessed it would cost about $80,000 to repair the home. Barlow was charged with one misdemeanor for reckless driving, he said.
"It was car versus house," he said. "Neither one won."
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Friday, November 10, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR -- Bobby Davis likes to sleep in. But a Thursday morning doctor's appointment forced him out of bed early, shortly before an SUV crashed through his bedroom wall at 7:30 a.m.
Davis, 73, had just walked into the master bathroom of his ranch house on Union Grove Road in Lenoir and was getting ready to lather his face in shaving cream when he heard a loud boom, he said.
Glass and thick pieces of drywall scattered onto the bathroom floor, and the couple's mattress flew across the doorway, trapping him inside the room. No one was seriously injured.
"My husband would have been in bed at 7:30," said Davis' wife, Lou, who was in the kitchen when the crash happened. "It just wasn't our time."
The driver of the 2001 Acura sport utility vehicle, 34-year-old Jason Barlow of Hudson, told authorities that he was trying to pick something up off the floor of the vehicle and veered off the right side of Union Grove Road, said N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper M.K. Davis, no relation to the couple.
The road curved slightly, the trooper said, and the driver overcorrected. The SUV went down a slight hill and through Bobby and Lou Davis' front porch, living room and bedroom, he said.
Authorities from the Highway Patrol, Catawba Fire and Rescue, Caldwell County EMS, Lenoir Rescue, and Lovelady Rescue responded within minutes and quickly built makeshift support beams so the northwestern side of the house wouldn't collapse, the trooper said.
Bobby Davis said rescue crews helped him climb out the bathroom window while the house was stabilized.
The Davises finished construction on the 1,800-square- foot home, which cost $135,000 to build, in March and moved to Caldwell County from Florida in June to retire, Lou Davis said.
M.K. Davis said the SUV was totaled and guessed it would cost about $80,000 to repair the home. Barlow was charged with one misdemeanor for reckless driving, he said.
"It was car versus house," he said. "Neither one won."
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11/9/06
Two accused of bringing gun to high school
Official says 1 student sold stolen firearm, other sought to resell it
Thursday, November 9, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Two teenagers were charged Tuesday with having a gun at a Burke County high school last week.
Jimmy Dean Chaney, 16, and a 15-year-old, both students at Burke County Alternative School, face felony charges of possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm on school property, said Capt. Scott Kerley of the Morganton Public Safety Department.
Kerley said a 9 mm handgun was stolen from a vehicle at Southmountain Children and Family Services in Morganton on Oct. 29 and that a teenager on Oct. 31 brought the gun to Freedom High School, where students transfer to buses headed for the alternative high school.
The teenager then sold the gun to the 15-year-old student, who tried selling it to another student at the alternative school last week, Kerley said.
Investigators don't believe the students planned to fire the weapon or harm anyone with it, Kerley said.
"It sounds like this was more of a money-making a venture," he said. "But that doesn't lessen the seriousness of having the gun on campus."
Both students were arrested last week, Kerley said.
Chaney, who has been charged as an adult, was being held at the Catawba-Burke County jail with bond set at $10,000.
Officials at the Department of Juvenile Justice would not say where the 15-year-old was being held.
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Thursday, November 9, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Two teenagers were charged Tuesday with having a gun at a Burke County high school last week.
Jimmy Dean Chaney, 16, and a 15-year-old, both students at Burke County Alternative School, face felony charges of possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm on school property, said Capt. Scott Kerley of the Morganton Public Safety Department.
Kerley said a 9 mm handgun was stolen from a vehicle at Southmountain Children and Family Services in Morganton on Oct. 29 and that a teenager on Oct. 31 brought the gun to Freedom High School, where students transfer to buses headed for the alternative high school.
The teenager then sold the gun to the 15-year-old student, who tried selling it to another student at the alternative school last week, Kerley said.
Investigators don't believe the students planned to fire the weapon or harm anyone with it, Kerley said.
"It sounds like this was more of a money-making a venture," he said. "But that doesn't lessen the seriousness of having the gun on campus."
Both students were arrested last week, Kerley said.
Chaney, who has been charged as an adult, was being held at the Catawba-Burke County jail with bond set at $10,000.
Officials at the Department of Juvenile Justice would not say where the 15-year-old was being held.
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11/8/06
Incumbents holding on to leads
In Burke County, candidates have faced each other in 3 races
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Incumbent Caldwell County Sheriff Gary Clark appeared headed to victory Tuesday night, while results in the Burke County race were inconclusive.
Caldwell County Sheriff Gary Clark, a Republican, will likely return for another four-year term after an apparent victory over challenger Terry Harris.
Results in Burke County were incomplete, but incumbent Democratic sheriff John McDevitt held a lead over challenger Richard Epley.
In Caldwell County, with 23 out of 27 precincts reporting, Clark, a Republican, led with 57 percent. Harris received 43 percent.
With 17 of 32 Burke County precincts reporting, McDevitt, a Democrat, led the race with 65 percent to Epley's 35 percent.
Clark's administration has been marked with controversy, including a 2002 vote-buying scandal led by a few renegade supporters and two current investigations by the State Board of Elections.
But, as of Tuesday night, it didn't appear to cost him the election.
Throughout the race, Clark continued to tout his tough stance on drug dealers. He said he plans to bring anti-drug programs to the county's middle and high schools.
Harris, a former Granite Falls police chief, said he would promote a community policing plan that could help deputies establish better working relationships with the community and decrease turnover in the department.
McDevitt and Epley, meanwhile, have faced each other in three consecutive races for sheriff. McDevitt first beat then-incumbent Epley in 1998.
The candidates agreed that they didn't want to repeat the past two races, marked by high campaign spending and animosity, and instead tried to focus on the issues.
Epley said he wanted to see more cooperation between law enforcement agencies and better response times by deputies, and McDevitt touted accolades his office has won for drug enforcement and asked voters to elect him on his record.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Incumbent Caldwell County Sheriff Gary Clark appeared headed to victory Tuesday night, while results in the Burke County race were inconclusive.
Caldwell County Sheriff Gary Clark, a Republican, will likely return for another four-year term after an apparent victory over challenger Terry Harris.
Results in Burke County were incomplete, but incumbent Democratic sheriff John McDevitt held a lead over challenger Richard Epley.
In Caldwell County, with 23 out of 27 precincts reporting, Clark, a Republican, led with 57 percent. Harris received 43 percent.
With 17 of 32 Burke County precincts reporting, McDevitt, a Democrat, led the race with 65 percent to Epley's 35 percent.
Clark's administration has been marked with controversy, including a 2002 vote-buying scandal led by a few renegade supporters and two current investigations by the State Board of Elections.
But, as of Tuesday night, it didn't appear to cost him the election.
Throughout the race, Clark continued to tout his tough stance on drug dealers. He said he plans to bring anti-drug programs to the county's middle and high schools.
Harris, a former Granite Falls police chief, said he would promote a community policing plan that could help deputies establish better working relationships with the community and decrease turnover in the department.
McDevitt and Epley, meanwhile, have faced each other in three consecutive races for sheriff. McDevitt first beat then-incumbent Epley in 1998.
The candidates agreed that they didn't want to repeat the past two races, marked by high campaign spending and animosity, and instead tried to focus on the issues.
Epley said he wanted to see more cooperation between law enforcement agencies and better response times by deputies, and McDevitt touted accolades his office has won for drug enforcement and asked voters to elect him on his record.
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Incumbent wins 7th term in tough race
Huffman narrowly beats 30-year veteran of Hickory police force
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A six-term GOP incumbent and one of the state's longest-serving sheriffs won again Tuesday, securing another four years as Catawba County sheriff by narrowly defeating a formidable Democratic challenger.
David Huffman will return for another term as sheriff after a slim win Tuesday over Steve Hunt, a retired 30-year veteran of the Hickory Police Department.
With all 40 precincts reporting, Huffman won the race with 51 percent, or 17,179 votes, to Hunt's 49 percent, or 16,698 votes. About 35 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots, which officials at the Board of Elections said was higher than expected.
"It was probably one of the best races I've had in many years," Huffman said. "(Hunt) is top notch and was a class act from the start to the finish."
While Huffman enjoyed the advantage of being an incumbent, he has faced a couple of bitter races in recent years.
A messy, but close, 2002 battle for a seat in the 10th congressional district against Patrick McHenry left him disenchanted with politics, he told the Observer in September.
An expensive and equally bitter primary in May against Mike Ledford ended with Huffman receiving only 140 more votes than his opponent and with only $359 in his campaign fund.
Hunt, a newcomer to politics, ran on a platform that called for a new direction and encouraged voters to help revitalize the Sheriff's Office.
Huffman responded by saying his office has continually adapted to new trends in crime and that his long tenure hasn't left law enforcement stale. He pointed to an array of programs geared toward helping the elderly and handicapped and highlighted OffenderWatch, which monitors sex offenders.
Throughout the campaign, Huffman also touted his connections in Washington, noting that his tenure as sheriff has left him with a long list of links to the federal government that he said has helped him secure millions of dollars in grants.
Hunt, who teaches criminal justice at the Catawba Valley Community College, focused on accreditation.
He also said he wanted to build a multilingual staff, emphasize advocacy projects and encourage law enforcement to train residents to recognize and help decrease crime.
Huffman has run the Catawba County Sheriff's Office since 1982 when he beat a 24-year veteran sheriff with nearly 51 percent of the vote and has vowed this term will be his last.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A six-term GOP incumbent and one of the state's longest-serving sheriffs won again Tuesday, securing another four years as Catawba County sheriff by narrowly defeating a formidable Democratic challenger.
David Huffman will return for another term as sheriff after a slim win Tuesday over Steve Hunt, a retired 30-year veteran of the Hickory Police Department.
With all 40 precincts reporting, Huffman won the race with 51 percent, or 17,179 votes, to Hunt's 49 percent, or 16,698 votes. About 35 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots, which officials at the Board of Elections said was higher than expected.
"It was probably one of the best races I've had in many years," Huffman said. "(Hunt) is top notch and was a class act from the start to the finish."
While Huffman enjoyed the advantage of being an incumbent, he has faced a couple of bitter races in recent years.
A messy, but close, 2002 battle for a seat in the 10th congressional district against Patrick McHenry left him disenchanted with politics, he told the Observer in September.
An expensive and equally bitter primary in May against Mike Ledford ended with Huffman receiving only 140 more votes than his opponent and with only $359 in his campaign fund.
Hunt, a newcomer to politics, ran on a platform that called for a new direction and encouraged voters to help revitalize the Sheriff's Office.
Huffman responded by saying his office has continually adapted to new trends in crime and that his long tenure hasn't left law enforcement stale. He pointed to an array of programs geared toward helping the elderly and handicapped and highlighted OffenderWatch, which monitors sex offenders.
Throughout the campaign, Huffman also touted his connections in Washington, noting that his tenure as sheriff has left him with a long list of links to the federal government that he said has helped him secure millions of dollars in grants.
Hunt, who teaches criminal justice at the Catawba Valley Community College, focused on accreditation.
He also said he wanted to build a multilingual staff, emphasize advocacy projects and encourage law enforcement to train residents to recognize and help decrease crime.
Huffman has run the Catawba County Sheriff's Office since 1982 when he beat a 24-year veteran sheriff with nearly 51 percent of the vote and has vowed this term will be his last.
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11/7/06
Catawba man indicted in fatal September car crash
Accident killed Hickory woman and critically injured her husband
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Catawba County man was indicted by a grand jury Monday in connection with a September crash that left a Hickory woman dead and her husband in critical condition.
Enrique Cardenas Zavala, 20, was indicted on one felony count of murder, one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, one count of driving while impaired, one count of driving by a person less than 21 years old after consuming alcohol and one count of failure to stop at a stop light, according to a news release issued by District Attorney Jay Gaither.
Cardenas Zavala was indicted in connection with a Sept. 29 accident that killed 55-year-old Rena Moore and critically injured her husband, 58-year-old Jerry Moore, who was released from Frye Medical Center last week.
Cardenas Zavala was driving a 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix when it ran a red light and crashed into the Moores' pickup truck, said Capt. Clyde Deal of the Hickory Police Department.
Cardenas Zavala's blood-alcohol level was 0.13, Deal said. The legal limit is 0.08.
It was the second time Cardenas Zavala had been charged with DWI in less than 14 months. In August 2005, he was charged with DWI in Catawba County, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and served 30 days in jail and paid a fine.
Cardenas Zavala is being held at the Catawba County jail without bond and will make his first appearance at Administrative Superior Court on Dec. 11.
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11/5/06
State adds fun to park's map
PLANS FOR NEW LAKE JAMES ACREAGE INCLUDE MORE PLACES TO SWIM, CAMP, BIKE AND HIKE
Sunday, November 5, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LAKE JAMES -- A few months ago, the summer heat lured thousands of vacationers and residents to the Lake James State Park swimming area.
But large crowds often forced people to abandon plans for swimming in the 120-foot-long and 120-foot- wide space, said Tim Benton, superintendent of the park.
Now, overcrowding might soon be a thing of the past.
The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation recently adopted a master plan for the 2,915 acres added to Lake James State Park in a 2004 purchase from Crescent Resources, Duke Energy's development arm, said state parks spokesman Charlie Peek.
The plan, he said, breaks down a long-term recreational development strategy into three phases and will bring a new swimming beach, camping facilities, fishing and boating opportunities and more than 30 miles of hiking and biking trails to the park, which straddles Burke and McDowell counties, in upcoming years.
In November 2004, the state bought nearly 3,000 acres from Crescent Resources for $18 million, Peek said.
The purchase increased the size of Lake James State Park from 606 acres on the lake's south shore to 3,521 acres, Peek said, creating the largest waterfront park in the state. The acquisition allowed state officials to conserve more than 24 miles of shoreline on the 6,500-acre lake.
This followed a settlement between Burke County and Crescent over land use on the lake, according to Observer archives, and Crescent still plans to develop subdivisions on much of the remaining land.
A year later, the state hired LandDesign, a Charlotte landscape architecture firm, to help create the plan for the expanded park. The firm started by holding public hearings in counties bordering the lake to gauge what recreational improvements residents wanted, according to Observer archives.
Since then, Peek said, state and park officials have formulated a plan that incorporates an array of recreational activities into the expanded park.
Susie Hamrick Jones, executive director of Foothills Conservancy in Morganton, said the group has been working on the project with officials and said she's happy the state is about to start developing it.
"People certainly have needed a place to go at Lake James for a long time," she said. "(Putting) a kayak or fishing boat in and spending the day exploring a wilderness lake is possible now. In the past, the shoreline was all private."
The first phase of the project, which state officials are hoping to begin in mid-2007, focuses on the Paddy Creek Peninsula on the lake's north shore, Peek said.
Adding a swim beach six times larger than the current swimming area on the south shore and a bathhouse will be the centerpiece.
Peek said he hopes swimmers will be able to take the first plunge into the new, 700-foot-long swimming area by summer 2008.
"It would be the best of all possible worlds if that could happen," Peek said.
Benton said phase one also includes building a 2-mile access road from N.C. 126, which would lead to an interim visitor center, two additional 12-table picnic shelters, a maintenance facility, a ranger station, a concession area and a parking lot with nearly 400 spots, which quadruples the current parking area on the south shore.
The estimated $7.6 million price tag for the first phase will come from the state's Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, which also helps pay for projects at several N.C. parks, Peek said.
Construction dates for phases 2 and 3 haven't been set, and Peek said the next steps in the project won't start until phase 1 is completed.
"This seems slow if you want to go out on the lake or fish, but we're moving at a good speed," he said of the project, which has required the state to secure funding and to work with Burke County, the state legislature, environmental groups and residents to come up with a plan.
Phase 2, Peek said, is also concentrated on the Paddy Creek Peninsula and will bring three kinds of camping options, including primitive, tent and RV, or recreational vehicle, sites.
"It's pretty much a full slate of what campers want," he said.
Peek said LandDesign estimated that phase 2 will cost about $6.9 million and phase three $1.6 million.
Once phase 2 is finished, developers will move northeast to the Long Arm Peninsula to begin phase 3, which will add boating camp facilities, Benton said.
"Boating is one of the biggest draws," he said. "We pretty much just need to get water to them."
Phase 3 will also add ranger stations parkwide and will expand the Paddy Creek Peninsula visitor center to include a museum, auditorium and classrooms, Benton said.
Maynard Taylor, vice chairman of the Burke County Board of Commissioners, said he hopes the expansion will bring a spike in tourism to the area, which has been hard hit by factory closings in recent years.
"The area will become a real tourist attraction for people to come for recreation and relaxation," he said. "It will be beneficial for hundreds of years."
Donna Davis and her husband, a retired environmental project specialist, moved to a subdivision on Lake James' north shore from South Port four years ago and attended public meetings when they heard about the expansion.
"I didn't want to see this get overdeveloped," she said of the neighborhood, which includes a view of the lake from her front porch.
The Davises, avid canoeists, said they're looking forward to spending more time on the lake and will likely use the new picnic areas. They lived in Kentucky a few decades earlier, and said they were hoping for a repeat of the way park officials developed the state's wilderness lakes.
"We were so glad to see that start to happen," Davis said. "We're hoping to have the next class act here."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Sunday, November 5, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LAKE JAMES -- A few months ago, the summer heat lured thousands of vacationers and residents to the Lake James State Park swimming area.
But large crowds often forced people to abandon plans for swimming in the 120-foot-long and 120-foot- wide space, said Tim Benton, superintendent of the park.
Now, overcrowding might soon be a thing of the past.
The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation recently adopted a master plan for the 2,915 acres added to Lake James State Park in a 2004 purchase from Crescent Resources, Duke Energy's development arm, said state parks spokesman Charlie Peek.
The plan, he said, breaks down a long-term recreational development strategy into three phases and will bring a new swimming beach, camping facilities, fishing and boating opportunities and more than 30 miles of hiking and biking trails to the park, which straddles Burke and McDowell counties, in upcoming years.
In November 2004, the state bought nearly 3,000 acres from Crescent Resources for $18 million, Peek said.
The purchase increased the size of Lake James State Park from 606 acres on the lake's south shore to 3,521 acres, Peek said, creating the largest waterfront park in the state. The acquisition allowed state officials to conserve more than 24 miles of shoreline on the 6,500-acre lake.
This followed a settlement between Burke County and Crescent over land use on the lake, according to Observer archives, and Crescent still plans to develop subdivisions on much of the remaining land.
A year later, the state hired LandDesign, a Charlotte landscape architecture firm, to help create the plan for the expanded park. The firm started by holding public hearings in counties bordering the lake to gauge what recreational improvements residents wanted, according to Observer archives.
Since then, Peek said, state and park officials have formulated a plan that incorporates an array of recreational activities into the expanded park.
Susie Hamrick Jones, executive director of Foothills Conservancy in Morganton, said the group has been working on the project with officials and said she's happy the state is about to start developing it.
"People certainly have needed a place to go at Lake James for a long time," she said. "(Putting) a kayak or fishing boat in and spending the day exploring a wilderness lake is possible now. In the past, the shoreline was all private."
The first phase of the project, which state officials are hoping to begin in mid-2007, focuses on the Paddy Creek Peninsula on the lake's north shore, Peek said.
Adding a swim beach six times larger than the current swimming area on the south shore and a bathhouse will be the centerpiece.
Peek said he hopes swimmers will be able to take the first plunge into the new, 700-foot-long swimming area by summer 2008.
"It would be the best of all possible worlds if that could happen," Peek said.
Benton said phase one also includes building a 2-mile access road from N.C. 126, which would lead to an interim visitor center, two additional 12-table picnic shelters, a maintenance facility, a ranger station, a concession area and a parking lot with nearly 400 spots, which quadruples the current parking area on the south shore.
The estimated $7.6 million price tag for the first phase will come from the state's Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, which also helps pay for projects at several N.C. parks, Peek said.
Construction dates for phases 2 and 3 haven't been set, and Peek said the next steps in the project won't start until phase 1 is completed.
"This seems slow if you want to go out on the lake or fish, but we're moving at a good speed," he said of the project, which has required the state to secure funding and to work with Burke County, the state legislature, environmental groups and residents to come up with a plan.
Phase 2, Peek said, is also concentrated on the Paddy Creek Peninsula and will bring three kinds of camping options, including primitive, tent and RV, or recreational vehicle, sites.
"It's pretty much a full slate of what campers want," he said.
Peek said LandDesign estimated that phase 2 will cost about $6.9 million and phase three $1.6 million.
Once phase 2 is finished, developers will move northeast to the Long Arm Peninsula to begin phase 3, which will add boating camp facilities, Benton said.
"Boating is one of the biggest draws," he said. "We pretty much just need to get water to them."
Phase 3 will also add ranger stations parkwide and will expand the Paddy Creek Peninsula visitor center to include a museum, auditorium and classrooms, Benton said.
Maynard Taylor, vice chairman of the Burke County Board of Commissioners, said he hopes the expansion will bring a spike in tourism to the area, which has been hard hit by factory closings in recent years.
"The area will become a real tourist attraction for people to come for recreation and relaxation," he said. "It will be beneficial for hundreds of years."
Donna Davis and her husband, a retired environmental project specialist, moved to a subdivision on Lake James' north shore from South Port four years ago and attended public meetings when they heard about the expansion.
"I didn't want to see this get overdeveloped," she said of the neighborhood, which includes a view of the lake from her front porch.
The Davises, avid canoeists, said they're looking forward to spending more time on the lake and will likely use the new picnic areas. They lived in Kentucky a few decades earlier, and said they were hoping for a repeat of the way park officials developed the state's wilderness lakes.
"We were so glad to see that start to happen," Davis said. "We're hoping to have the next class act here."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
11/3/06
Tactics to fight crime would differ
Community policing emphasis versus intense focus on drugs
Friday, November 3, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR - Sheriff Gary Clark's administration began under a cloud four years ago, when he won election to his first term, and it continues in this year's election.
But the controversies, including a 2002 vote-buying scandal led by a few renegade supporters and two current investigations by the state Board of Elections, don't worry the Republican as he prepares to face Democrat Terry Harris at the polls.
"As long as politics are involved in the sheriff's race, it will always be that way," Clark said.
He called the complaints, which allege threats on residents and improper campaign spending, "preposterous" and blamed the grievances on disgruntled ex-employees and family members trying to sway voters.
The accusations are ones that Harris said he refuses to use as leverage in the race. Instead, he said, he'd rather run on his experience and record as a 30-year Caldwell County law enforcement veteran.
"It's a non-issue," Harris said. "It's been dealt with by the justice system (or is) strictly between the Board of Elections and Mr. Clark."
*
What the candidates say
Politically, Clark may have the advantage as Election Day approaches in Caldwell County, because nearly half of the residents are registered Republican. Democrats make up about 35 percent of registered voters.
Clark claims the county's overall crime rate has gone down since he took office and started cracking down on drug dealers. Eighty percent of all crime in the county - from larceny to assault - can be attributed to illegal drug use, he said.
"We need to continue to look at that problem in our county," he said.
Clark also said he plans to bring the D.A.R.E. anti-drug program, which ends after the fifth grade, to county middle schools and high schools.
"That's when the peer pressure really starts," he said.
Harris, however, said he worries that Clark is focusing too intently on narcotics and isn't giving deputies enough time to respond to other crimes. Instead, he suggests focusing on the county drug problem at a more organic level. "If we're really going to do anything about drugs, we need to get back into the family," he said.
That's where his plan for community policing fits in, Harris said. Officers would establish better relationships with residents if they were required to live in the county, he said.
Harris also said more than 100 people have left the Sheriff's Office under Clark's reign. The high turnover, he said, forces new officers into a learning curve and increases response time.
While Clark's office didn't deny the turnover, Lt. Chris Brackett said that employee turnover included officers retiring and others who left because they couldn't meet the higher standards he said Clark implemented, including accurately completing reports and regular cleaning and inspection of weapons.
Harris' community policing policy would not only help lower crime rates, he said, but likely reduce turnover in the Sheriff's Office, as well.
Although Clark said there's a benefit to community policing, he said his staffing priority is to find qualified officers.
"We need to look for the best people, irregardless of where they're from," Clark said.
Clark also has the advantage in fundraising.
Since Jan. 1, 2004, Clark had raised $47,322.85, according to the most recent campaign finance reports, filed July 13. The report shows $44,029.12 in expenditures.
Harris had raised $25,336 since the beginning of 2006 and spent $23,315.03, the reports show.
Candidates filed updates on their spending Oct. 31, but as of Thursday morning, the campaign finance reports were still being audited by the Caldwell County Board of Elections.
*
What the voters are saying
Even with chatter about the board of elections' investigations into Clark, many voters say they think the Republican will prevail on Election Day.
Amy Hightower, a student at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, said she's seen the results of Clark's emphasis on drug crime in the Piedmont community, where she lives, and will vote for him in November.
"He just cleans it up," she said. "I don't want my daughter picking up a needle and asking, `Mommy, what's that?' "
But Harris' supporters say that while fighting drug crime is important, it isn't enough.
"He'll focus not just on one thing, but on all crime in the county," said Sylvia Myers, who has lived in Lenoir for 27 years. "He truly has the people of Caldwell County in mind."
Gary Clark
Party: Republican.
Age: 47. Birthplace: Caldwell County.
Occupation: Caldwell County sheriff.
Elected offices: Caldwell County sheriff, 2002-present.
Family: Wife, Kim; daughters Megan and Michelle.
Education: Basic law enforcement certificate, Western Piedmont Community College, 1980; several certificates of training, N.C. Justice Academy; law enforcement executive program, UNC Chapel Hill, 1995; Southern Police Institute, University of Kentucky, Louisville, 1996; advanced law enforcement certificates, N.C. Criminal Justice Standards Division and N.C. Sheriff's Standards Division.
Religious/civic involvement: Member of Philadelphia Lutheran Church, Granite Falls; member of Happy Valley Ruritan Club; member of Hudson Optimist Club.
Why running: I have devoted my education, training and professional career to law enforcement. I believe that being sheriff of Caldwell County is what I have been called to do. During the last three years, I have learned that being sheriff is far more than just being a law enforcement officer. It is being a good listener, a good citizen and, most importantly, a good Christian.
What are the top issues facing the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office?
There is a correlation between poor economic conditions and the sale, use and distribution of illegal drugs. Drug-related crime also increases property and violent crimes committed. We must also find ways to generate revenue so we can continue to offer training to address the ever-changing issues in our county. While a price cannot be placed on public safety, I am aware that it is not solely up to the taxpayers to fund issues addressing crime. We must hold drug dealers accountable.
Terry Harris
Party: Democrat.
Age: 58.
Birthplace: Caldwell County.
Occupation: Retired Granite Falls police chief.
Elected offices: None.
Family: Wife, Kerry Harris.
Education: Associate degree in business administration, Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, 1976; associate degree in police science, Western Piedmont Community College, 1980; bachelor of science in social studies with a concentration in criminal justice, Gardner Webb College, 1982.
Religious/civic involvement: New Vision Baptist Fellowship.
Why running: To improve law enforcement to all citizens of Caldwell County. I have served the citizens of the county for more than 30 years in law enforcement and have the education, training, experience and heart to provide the best possible sheriff's department.
What are the top issues facing the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office?
The main issues facing the county include the crime rate, response time and drugs. I plan to increase community involvement with neighborhood watch programs, educate citizens to recognize criminal activity, encourage interaction between officers and citizens and increase visibility of officers.
I also plan to require all officers to live within Caldwell County lines and work with businesses and citizens to make sure addresses are visible on homes and storefronts. I hope to reduce arrest time on undercover drug operations, provide more education and make drugs the concern of all officers.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Friday, November 3, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR - Sheriff Gary Clark's administration began under a cloud four years ago, when he won election to his first term, and it continues in this year's election.
But the controversies, including a 2002 vote-buying scandal led by a few renegade supporters and two current investigations by the state Board of Elections, don't worry the Republican as he prepares to face Democrat Terry Harris at the polls.
"As long as politics are involved in the sheriff's race, it will always be that way," Clark said.
He called the complaints, which allege threats on residents and improper campaign spending, "preposterous" and blamed the grievances on disgruntled ex-employees and family members trying to sway voters.
The accusations are ones that Harris said he refuses to use as leverage in the race. Instead, he said, he'd rather run on his experience and record as a 30-year Caldwell County law enforcement veteran.
"It's a non-issue," Harris said. "It's been dealt with by the justice system (or is) strictly between the Board of Elections and Mr. Clark."
*
What the candidates say
Politically, Clark may have the advantage as Election Day approaches in Caldwell County, because nearly half of the residents are registered Republican. Democrats make up about 35 percent of registered voters.
Clark claims the county's overall crime rate has gone down since he took office and started cracking down on drug dealers. Eighty percent of all crime in the county - from larceny to assault - can be attributed to illegal drug use, he said.
"We need to continue to look at that problem in our county," he said.
Clark also said he plans to bring the D.A.R.E. anti-drug program, which ends after the fifth grade, to county middle schools and high schools.
"That's when the peer pressure really starts," he said.
Harris, however, said he worries that Clark is focusing too intently on narcotics and isn't giving deputies enough time to respond to other crimes. Instead, he suggests focusing on the county drug problem at a more organic level. "If we're really going to do anything about drugs, we need to get back into the family," he said.
That's where his plan for community policing fits in, Harris said. Officers would establish better relationships with residents if they were required to live in the county, he said.
Harris also said more than 100 people have left the Sheriff's Office under Clark's reign. The high turnover, he said, forces new officers into a learning curve and increases response time.
While Clark's office didn't deny the turnover, Lt. Chris Brackett said that employee turnover included officers retiring and others who left because they couldn't meet the higher standards he said Clark implemented, including accurately completing reports and regular cleaning and inspection of weapons.
Harris' community policing policy would not only help lower crime rates, he said, but likely reduce turnover in the Sheriff's Office, as well.
Although Clark said there's a benefit to community policing, he said his staffing priority is to find qualified officers.
"We need to look for the best people, irregardless of where they're from," Clark said.
Clark also has the advantage in fundraising.
Since Jan. 1, 2004, Clark had raised $47,322.85, according to the most recent campaign finance reports, filed July 13. The report shows $44,029.12 in expenditures.
Harris had raised $25,336 since the beginning of 2006 and spent $23,315.03, the reports show.
Candidates filed updates on their spending Oct. 31, but as of Thursday morning, the campaign finance reports were still being audited by the Caldwell County Board of Elections.
*
What the voters are saying
Even with chatter about the board of elections' investigations into Clark, many voters say they think the Republican will prevail on Election Day.
Amy Hightower, a student at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, said she's seen the results of Clark's emphasis on drug crime in the Piedmont community, where she lives, and will vote for him in November.
"He just cleans it up," she said. "I don't want my daughter picking up a needle and asking, `Mommy, what's that?' "
But Harris' supporters say that while fighting drug crime is important, it isn't enough.
"He'll focus not just on one thing, but on all crime in the county," said Sylvia Myers, who has lived in Lenoir for 27 years. "He truly has the people of Caldwell County in mind."
Gary Clark
Party: Republican.
Age: 47. Birthplace: Caldwell County.
Occupation: Caldwell County sheriff.
Elected offices: Caldwell County sheriff, 2002-present.
Family: Wife, Kim; daughters Megan and Michelle.
Education: Basic law enforcement certificate, Western Piedmont Community College, 1980; several certificates of training, N.C. Justice Academy; law enforcement executive program, UNC Chapel Hill, 1995; Southern Police Institute, University of Kentucky, Louisville, 1996; advanced law enforcement certificates, N.C. Criminal Justice Standards Division and N.C. Sheriff's Standards Division.
Religious/civic involvement: Member of Philadelphia Lutheran Church, Granite Falls; member of Happy Valley Ruritan Club; member of Hudson Optimist Club.
Why running: I have devoted my education, training and professional career to law enforcement. I believe that being sheriff of Caldwell County is what I have been called to do. During the last three years, I have learned that being sheriff is far more than just being a law enforcement officer. It is being a good listener, a good citizen and, most importantly, a good Christian.
What are the top issues facing the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office?
There is a correlation between poor economic conditions and the sale, use and distribution of illegal drugs. Drug-related crime also increases property and violent crimes committed. We must also find ways to generate revenue so we can continue to offer training to address the ever-changing issues in our county. While a price cannot be placed on public safety, I am aware that it is not solely up to the taxpayers to fund issues addressing crime. We must hold drug dealers accountable.
Terry Harris
Party: Democrat.
Age: 58.
Birthplace: Caldwell County.
Occupation: Retired Granite Falls police chief.
Elected offices: None.
Family: Wife, Kerry Harris.
Education: Associate degree in business administration, Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, 1976; associate degree in police science, Western Piedmont Community College, 1980; bachelor of science in social studies with a concentration in criminal justice, Gardner Webb College, 1982.
Religious/civic involvement: New Vision Baptist Fellowship.
Why running: To improve law enforcement to all citizens of Caldwell County. I have served the citizens of the county for more than 30 years in law enforcement and have the education, training, experience and heart to provide the best possible sheriff's department.
What are the top issues facing the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office?
The main issues facing the county include the crime rate, response time and drugs. I plan to increase community involvement with neighborhood watch programs, educate citizens to recognize criminal activity, encourage interaction between officers and citizens and increase visibility of officers.
I also plan to require all officers to live within Caldwell County lines and work with businesses and citizens to make sure addresses are visible on homes and storefronts. I hope to reduce arrest time on undercover drug operations, provide more education and make drugs the concern of all officers.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Taser used on suspect after attack on woman
Police say ex-boyfriend cut his neck after being shocked; both recovering
Friday, November 3, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Claremont man is recovering at a Catawba County hospital after cutting his own neck and being Tasered on Thursday by officers who were trying to arrest him after his former girlfriend was attacked nearby.
Bobby Casey Henry, 41, will face charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, communicating deadly threats and injury to real property when he is released from Catawba Valley Medical Center, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
Henry is currently on a three-year probation for assaulting the woman, whose name Reid would not release, in August 2005, according to the N.C. Department of Correction.
Reid said Henry's ex-girlfriend was driving to work at 6:30 a.m. Thursday on Rock Barn Road near Oxford School Road when a Nissan Maxima veered toward her head-on. The Nissan struck the side of the woman's car, Reid said, before backing up and running into it again.
The woman got out of her car to inspect the damage, unaware of the identity of the other driver, Reid said. She was standing next to her car when the driver of the Nissan drove his vehicle toward her, hitting her car and crashing into her legs, he said.
When the woman recognized the driver of the Nissan, she scrambled away from him, Reid said. The man grabbed the woman and slammed her head into the pavement several times, Reid said, leaving her unconscious in the middle of Rock Barn Road.
A witness called authorities after the man drove away in the Nissan. The man stopped in a driveway on Rock Barn Road to change a flat tire, Reid said.
When officers from the Catawba County Sheriff's Office arrived, the man had locked himself in the car, had called 911 saying he was going to kill himself and was holding a knife to his throat, Reid said.
Reid said he told the man to get out of the vehicle, and when the man didn't comply, Reid detonated a distraction device that flashes bright lights and makes loud noises. Officers then broke the Nissan's windows and shocked the man with a Taser, he said.
The man was still holding the knife when the Taser stopped shocking him and he ran the blade across his neck, Reid said. The injury, Reid said, was not life-threatening.
The woman was also being treated at Catawba Valley Medical Center. Reid said she is expected to recover.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Friday, November 3, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Claremont man is recovering at a Catawba County hospital after cutting his own neck and being Tasered on Thursday by officers who were trying to arrest him after his former girlfriend was attacked nearby.
Bobby Casey Henry, 41, will face charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, communicating deadly threats and injury to real property when he is released from Catawba Valley Medical Center, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
Henry is currently on a three-year probation for assaulting the woman, whose name Reid would not release, in August 2005, according to the N.C. Department of Correction.
Reid said Henry's ex-girlfriend was driving to work at 6:30 a.m. Thursday on Rock Barn Road near Oxford School Road when a Nissan Maxima veered toward her head-on. The Nissan struck the side of the woman's car, Reid said, before backing up and running into it again.
The woman got out of her car to inspect the damage, unaware of the identity of the other driver, Reid said. She was standing next to her car when the driver of the Nissan drove his vehicle toward her, hitting her car and crashing into her legs, he said.
When the woman recognized the driver of the Nissan, she scrambled away from him, Reid said. The man grabbed the woman and slammed her head into the pavement several times, Reid said, leaving her unconscious in the middle of Rock Barn Road.
A witness called authorities after the man drove away in the Nissan. The man stopped in a driveway on Rock Barn Road to change a flat tire, Reid said.
When officers from the Catawba County Sheriff's Office arrived, the man had locked himself in the car, had called 911 saying he was going to kill himself and was holding a knife to his throat, Reid said.
Reid said he told the man to get out of the vehicle, and when the man didn't comply, Reid detonated a distraction device that flashes bright lights and makes loud noises. Officers then broke the Nissan's windows and shocked the man with a Taser, he said.
The man was still holding the knife when the Taser stopped shocking him and he ran the blade across his neck, Reid said. The injury, Reid said, was not life-threatening.
The woman was also being treated at Catawba Valley Medical Center. Reid said she is expected to recover.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Inmate cut with blade at jail
Police say incident is gang related; victim is returned to prison
Friday, November 3, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A man who was sliced repeatedly with a razor blade Monday in what authorities called a gang-related jail fight returned to a Salisbury prison Tuesday.
Joseph Brian Shatley, 35, of Lenoir was being held temporarily at the Burke County jail Monday while he awaited trial for breaking and entering, larceny and conspiracy charges, said Burke County Sheriff John McDevitt.
Shatley had been in the 16-man cell for only five minutes when another inmate grabbed his cigarettes, said Robert Thomas of Drexel, who was in the cell and said he witnessed the attack.
Thomas said Shatley then grabbed the inmate by the neck and tried to get the cigarettes back. Another inmate started punching Shatley in the ribs, Thomas said, while the first inmate pulled out a razor blade and began slashing Shatley's face and neck.
Guards responded while Thomas and other inmates tried to stop the bleeding, he said. "We put multiple towels on his face," he said, "and they turned instantly red."
McDevitt said that Shatley was taken to Grace Hospital in Morganton. Doctors told officers that Shatley's injuries were not life-threatening, McDevitt said.
Thomas said that at least two other men guarded the cell door or restrained Shatley during the fight. McDevitt said he was not sure whether any other inmates were involved in the altercation.
Shatley was returned to Piedmont Correctional Institution, a medium security facility in Salisbury where he is serving more than 10 years as a habitual felon, according to the N.C. Department of Correction.
McDevitt said officers believe the inmates attacked Shatley as part of a gang initiation, and they did not think that Shatley and the other inmates knew each other. The razor blade used to slice Shatley, he said, was likely smuggled into the jail.
The inmate who authorities suspect attacked Shatley is serving a 21-year-term at Polk Correctional Institution, a maximum security facility in Butner, for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, according to the Department of Correction.
He had been in the Burke County jail about a week and was facing charges of assaulting a guard in a state prison in Burke County, McDevitt said.
McDevitt said that at least 14 inmates witnessed the fight and that his office is investigating the incident. The results will be sent to the District Attorney's Office, he said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Friday, November 3, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A man who was sliced repeatedly with a razor blade Monday in what authorities called a gang-related jail fight returned to a Salisbury prison Tuesday.
Joseph Brian Shatley, 35, of Lenoir was being held temporarily at the Burke County jail Monday while he awaited trial for breaking and entering, larceny and conspiracy charges, said Burke County Sheriff John McDevitt.
Shatley had been in the 16-man cell for only five minutes when another inmate grabbed his cigarettes, said Robert Thomas of Drexel, who was in the cell and said he witnessed the attack.
Thomas said Shatley then grabbed the inmate by the neck and tried to get the cigarettes back. Another inmate started punching Shatley in the ribs, Thomas said, while the first inmate pulled out a razor blade and began slashing Shatley's face and neck.
Guards responded while Thomas and other inmates tried to stop the bleeding, he said. "We put multiple towels on his face," he said, "and they turned instantly red."
McDevitt said that Shatley was taken to Grace Hospital in Morganton. Doctors told officers that Shatley's injuries were not life-threatening, McDevitt said.
Thomas said that at least two other men guarded the cell door or restrained Shatley during the fight. McDevitt said he was not sure whether any other inmates were involved in the altercation.
Shatley was returned to Piedmont Correctional Institution, a medium security facility in Salisbury where he is serving more than 10 years as a habitual felon, according to the N.C. Department of Correction.
McDevitt said officers believe the inmates attacked Shatley as part of a gang initiation, and they did not think that Shatley and the other inmates knew each other. The razor blade used to slice Shatley, he said, was likely smuggled into the jail.
The inmate who authorities suspect attacked Shatley is serving a 21-year-term at Polk Correctional Institution, a maximum security facility in Butner, for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, according to the Department of Correction.
He had been in the Burke County jail about a week and was facing charges of assaulting a guard in a state prison in Burke County, McDevitt said.
McDevitt said that at least 14 inmates witnessed the fight and that his office is investigating the incident. The results will be sent to the District Attorney's Office, he said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
11/1/06
Residents can now keep closer eye on sex offenders
NEW DATABASE ALLOWS INTERNET SEARCH BY ADDRESS, CITY OR ZIP CODE
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
NEWTON -- The Catawba County Sheriff's Office on Monday launched a new database that will help residents track and monitor sex offenders living in their communities.
The program, OffenderWatch, enables residents with an Internet connection to search for sex offenders, including pedophiles, by an address, city or ZIP code, said Sheriff David Huffman.
Currently, 188 sex offenders live in Catawba County, Huffman said, and about 24 of those are pedophiles or considered sexual predators.
Mecklenburg County launched a similar program last year, Huffman said. Since then, nine N.C. sheriff's offices, including Catawba County, have created OffenderWatch databases. Similar databases are used by 300 sheriff's offices in 24 states.
Previously, parents could search the state's database for sex offenders living in their area, but Huffman said the new program gives more flexibility in the searches.
Parents, he said, can search for sex offenders living within a mile of their homes, children's schools, daycare facilities, playgrounds and swimming pools. The program then generates a map, identifying the areas where sex offenders live.
They can also sign up for e-mail alerts, which notifies parents when a sex offender moves into the neighborhood. Residents without Internet service can choose to receive alerts in the mail, Huffman said.
Officials are planning to set up a computer in the lobby of the Sheriff's Office in Newton and work with libraries in Catawba County to provide residents better access to the program.
Go Online
The Web address for OffenderWatch is www.watchsystems.com/ nc/catawba.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
and may not be republished without permission.
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
NEWTON -- The Catawba County Sheriff's Office on Monday launched a new database that will help residents track and monitor sex offenders living in their communities.
The program, OffenderWatch, enables residents with an Internet connection to search for sex offenders, including pedophiles, by an address, city or ZIP code, said Sheriff David Huffman.
Currently, 188 sex offenders live in Catawba County, Huffman said, and about 24 of those are pedophiles or considered sexual predators.
Mecklenburg County launched a similar program last year, Huffman said. Since then, nine N.C. sheriff's offices, including Catawba County, have created OffenderWatch databases. Similar databases are used by 300 sheriff's offices in 24 states.
Previously, parents could search the state's database for sex offenders living in their area, but Huffman said the new program gives more flexibility in the searches.
Parents, he said, can search for sex offenders living within a mile of their homes, children's schools, daycare facilities, playgrounds and swimming pools. The program then generates a map, identifying the areas where sex offenders live.
They can also sign up for e-mail alerts, which notifies parents when a sex offender moves into the neighborhood. Residents without Internet service can choose to receive alerts in the mail, Huffman said.
Officials are planning to set up a computer in the lobby of the Sheriff's Office in Newton and work with libraries in Catawba County to provide residents better access to the program.
Go Online
The Web address for OffenderWatch is www.watchsystems.com/ nc/catawba.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
and may not be republished without permission.
The needs of the Hmong
Group's survey lays out priorities for community
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY -- The Hmong began fleeing to the United States in 1975, seeking refuge in places such as Burke and Catawba counties in the years following the Vietnam War.
In the three decades since, they have been trying to make North Carolina their home without losing their Southeast Asian identity. And now they've written a report identifying the social and cultural needs of their community.
The results, compiled by the United Hmong Association of North Carolina, are the product of two years of intensive polling and compilation by Tong Yang, the executive director of the organization, and a team of social researchers and academic and medical professionals.
"Everything in the country is about statistics and data," Yang said, "and before this, we didn't have anything specific to the Hmong population."
The association focuses on promoting education, cultural preservation, health care, economic development, self-sufficiency and social advancement in the Hmong community.
One of the biggest concerns identified in the survey was preserving the Hmong's 4,000-year-old culture, particularly the annual New Year celebration, which takes place in late November, Yang said.
"Many people think it's just a holiday, but that isn't what it is to us," Yang said. During the religious tradition, the Hmong thank their ancestors for the ending year and for blessings in the year to come.
Before the report, Yang said, community leaders had an idea of what issues ranked high among the Hmong and confirmed that health care, education, interaction with law enforcement and preserving their culture were top priorities.
"We didn't have a clear idea of what the community needed," he said, which made it difficult to communicate Hmong needs to local, state and federal agencies. "We hope this report will be a bit of a reality check."
The goal of the survey, Yang said, was to distinguish the Hmong from other Asian groups and to identify the concerns of Hmong in North Carolina, most of whom live in the Unifour region.
More than 300,000 Hmongs from Laos have sought refuge in the United States since the Vietnam War, when many of the group fought with the United States. About 15,000 Hmong have settled in North Carolina, Yang said.
During the survey, Yang realized that younger Hmong were more concerned about social issues, such as education, and the older Hmong wanted to focus on maintaining cultural traditions, including the religious New Year celebrations and marriage ceremonies.
The survey, taken by 250 Hmong adults living predominantly in Burke and Catawba counties, focused on questions about education, social and government-based services, tradition, religious beliefs, family, fair treatment by law enforcement and the courts, employment and health care.
The majority of respondents, 75 percent, were between 18 and 33, but Yang said the Hmong community is focused on family, and the younger generations are often responsible for communicating for the older members of their families who don't speak English.
Among other findings, the survey showed that while Hmong think schools and social services are doing a good job providing language accessibility, they think some groups, including law enforcement and health-care providers, need to be doing more.
One-third of respondents, for example, said they had been stopped by police without reason or knew someone who had been treated unfairly by local law enforcement, Yang said.
He also said the survey showed overall discontent with the court system in North Carolina.
Floyd Lucas, chief of the Hickory Police Department, said he has been friends with Yang and closely connected to the N.C. Hmong community for years.
Lucas said that the age of the respondents - nearly 60 percent were between 18 and 25 - may explain why so many Hmong said they were unhappy with treatment by local law enforcement.
"The younger Hmong," Lucas said, "are at a place where (they are) young and Westernized, yet have to deal with the culture their parents and grandparents have brought from Laos."
Still, he said, finding a balance between the cultures is paramount.
"We want them to maintain the traditions of their culture while, at the same time, obeying the law in their new homeland," Lucas said.
Yang also said about 95 percent of adult Hmong are employed and 60 percent have health insurance.
Still, he said, many Hmong are unable to express their health concerns because of language and cultural barriers. The Hmong ranked heart disease, cancer and AIDS as their biggest concerns.
Barbara Pullen-Smith, director of the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities with the N.C. Department and Health and Human Services, called the report "a historic move" because it allows her department to look at the Hmong separately and not part of the larger Asian population.
"It's looking at a very specific group and is capturing their health challenges," Smith said. "All of these issues are major for them, and at the root, theirs is a challenge with language and cultural issues.
*
Key Findings
Language Accessibility
Better translation and interpretation services are needed in the judicial system and between law enforcement, city and county government and public health departments.
Education
The majority of Hmong parents help their children with homework daily and are willing to participate in after-school learning activities.
Many Hmong consider attending college a priority but are not sure how to apply for financial aid and scholarships.
Religion
Forty-four percent of Hmong are Christian and 38 percent say they practice ancestral worshipping and animism. Half still practice Shamanism, a traditional belief of spiritual healing, and the majority of Hmong believe in Shamanism.
Health
Major health concerns include heart disease, AIDS and cancer.
About 60 percent have health insurance, but for those who don't, cost is the main reason why they don't seek regular medical care.
Culture
About 65 percent said clanship, which Hmong believe assures social cohesion and identity, has changed in the past 10 years. Seventy-four percent said they wanted clans to remain intact.
More than 93 percent of Hmong said they think cultural preservation is important.
Most respondents, 79 percent, said cultural training on Hmong culture should be offered to the non-Hmong community.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
and may not be republished without permission.
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY -- The Hmong began fleeing to the United States in 1975, seeking refuge in places such as Burke and Catawba counties in the years following the Vietnam War.
In the three decades since, they have been trying to make North Carolina their home without losing their Southeast Asian identity. And now they've written a report identifying the social and cultural needs of their community.
The results, compiled by the United Hmong Association of North Carolina, are the product of two years of intensive polling and compilation by Tong Yang, the executive director of the organization, and a team of social researchers and academic and medical professionals.
"Everything in the country is about statistics and data," Yang said, "and before this, we didn't have anything specific to the Hmong population."
The association focuses on promoting education, cultural preservation, health care, economic development, self-sufficiency and social advancement in the Hmong community.
One of the biggest concerns identified in the survey was preserving the Hmong's 4,000-year-old culture, particularly the annual New Year celebration, which takes place in late November, Yang said.
"Many people think it's just a holiday, but that isn't what it is to us," Yang said. During the religious tradition, the Hmong thank their ancestors for the ending year and for blessings in the year to come.
Before the report, Yang said, community leaders had an idea of what issues ranked high among the Hmong and confirmed that health care, education, interaction with law enforcement and preserving their culture were top priorities.
"We didn't have a clear idea of what the community needed," he said, which made it difficult to communicate Hmong needs to local, state and federal agencies. "We hope this report will be a bit of a reality check."
The goal of the survey, Yang said, was to distinguish the Hmong from other Asian groups and to identify the concerns of Hmong in North Carolina, most of whom live in the Unifour region.
More than 300,000 Hmongs from Laos have sought refuge in the United States since the Vietnam War, when many of the group fought with the United States. About 15,000 Hmong have settled in North Carolina, Yang said.
During the survey, Yang realized that younger Hmong were more concerned about social issues, such as education, and the older Hmong wanted to focus on maintaining cultural traditions, including the religious New Year celebrations and marriage ceremonies.
The survey, taken by 250 Hmong adults living predominantly in Burke and Catawba counties, focused on questions about education, social and government-based services, tradition, religious beliefs, family, fair treatment by law enforcement and the courts, employment and health care.
The majority of respondents, 75 percent, were between 18 and 33, but Yang said the Hmong community is focused on family, and the younger generations are often responsible for communicating for the older members of their families who don't speak English.
Among other findings, the survey showed that while Hmong think schools and social services are doing a good job providing language accessibility, they think some groups, including law enforcement and health-care providers, need to be doing more.
One-third of respondents, for example, said they had been stopped by police without reason or knew someone who had been treated unfairly by local law enforcement, Yang said.
He also said the survey showed overall discontent with the court system in North Carolina.
Floyd Lucas, chief of the Hickory Police Department, said he has been friends with Yang and closely connected to the N.C. Hmong community for years.
Lucas said that the age of the respondents - nearly 60 percent were between 18 and 25 - may explain why so many Hmong said they were unhappy with treatment by local law enforcement.
"The younger Hmong," Lucas said, "are at a place where (they are) young and Westernized, yet have to deal with the culture their parents and grandparents have brought from Laos."
Still, he said, finding a balance between the cultures is paramount.
"We want them to maintain the traditions of their culture while, at the same time, obeying the law in their new homeland," Lucas said.
Yang also said about 95 percent of adult Hmong are employed and 60 percent have health insurance.
Still, he said, many Hmong are unable to express their health concerns because of language and cultural barriers. The Hmong ranked heart disease, cancer and AIDS as their biggest concerns.
Barbara Pullen-Smith, director of the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities with the N.C. Department and Health and Human Services, called the report "a historic move" because it allows her department to look at the Hmong separately and not part of the larger Asian population.
"It's looking at a very specific group and is capturing their health challenges," Smith said. "All of these issues are major for them, and at the root, theirs is a challenge with language and cultural issues.
*
Key Findings
Language Accessibility
Better translation and interpretation services are needed in the judicial system and between law enforcement, city and county government and public health departments.
Education
The majority of Hmong parents help their children with homework daily and are willing to participate in after-school learning activities.
Many Hmong consider attending college a priority but are not sure how to apply for financial aid and scholarships.
Religion
Forty-four percent of Hmong are Christian and 38 percent say they practice ancestral worshipping and animism. Half still practice Shamanism, a traditional belief of spiritual healing, and the majority of Hmong believe in Shamanism.
Health
Major health concerns include heart disease, AIDS and cancer.
About 60 percent have health insurance, but for those who don't, cost is the main reason why they don't seek regular medical care.
Culture
About 65 percent said clanship, which Hmong believe assures social cohesion and identity, has changed in the past 10 years. Seventy-four percent said they wanted clans to remain intact.
More than 93 percent of Hmong said they think cultural preservation is important.
Most respondents, 79 percent, said cultural training on Hmong culture should be offered to the non-Hmong community.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
and may not be republished without permission.
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