Sunday, December 31, 2006
By Marcie Young, Hannah Mitchell and Jen Aronoff
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
Furniture factories closed and property taxes rose in 2006, but the biggest news in the Catawba Valley was water.
The biggest story of the year erupted in a crowded auditorium in Valdese, when Unifour residents gathered to oppose Concord and Kannapolis' request to take millions of gallons of water a day from local rivers.
The proposed interbasin transfer united the region, with even the smallest of towns reserving funds for a potential legal battle.
The region also saw a few shocking stories in 2006, including a gruesome, small-town murder in Caldwell County and two fatal plane crashes at regional and private airports.
But the news wasn't all bad. Officials began touting the region as a hot retirement destination, Target announced it would build a distribution center in Newton with the promise of nearly 600 new jobs, and a local man discovered a world-class emerald.
Here are the 10 biggest stories of 2006, as picked by the Catawba Valley Neighbors staff.
*
Interbasin transfer
The year's biggest story probably won't go away any time soon.
Counties and towns across the region normally focus on needs inside their borders - needs that sometimes conflict with those of their neighbors. But this year, they united to oppose Concord and Kannapolis' attempt to take Catawba River water.
The bid for up to 36 million gallons a day from the Catawba and Yadkin rivers upset locals so much that more than 600 of them packed a September hearing in Valdese before officials of the N.C. Division of Water Quality. The hearing got pretty heated at times, with one man shouting, "Dig a well!"
A coalition of area governments has since organized and raised about $1 million to fight the transfer.
Catawba Valley officials say dry spells like the area's five-year drought that ended in 2003, and the need to replace thousands of manufacturing jobs, make the river an essential resource that they can't afford to share.
The N.C. Environmental Management Commission is scheduled to consider the issue on Jan. 10. If the commission approves the proposal, Catawba Valley officials and their allies have said they would likely take their case to court.
*
Synthron
In one of the worst industrial disasters in the state's recent history, Morganton's Synthron chemical plant exploded Jan. 31, injuring 15 workers - one of whom later died.
Experts believe an out-of-control chemical reaction sparked the fiery blast, and its consequences continue to reverberate.
In July, the N.C. Department of Labor fined Synthron $379,000, the fourth-highest amount ever assessed by the department.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October and is appealing the penalties.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took over demolition and cleanup efforts in May and expects work will wrap up by the end of January. In the spring, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board plans to issue its full report on what went wrong.
The story may not end there: Victims have also said they're considering lawsuits.
*
David Huffman
For a quarter-century, David Huffman has led the Catawba County Sheriff's Office, the largest in the region. But during the 2006 election season, Huffman was nearly ousted - twice.
Huffman, a Republican, won a bitter and expensive primary race against Mike Ledford by only 140 votes. The campaign left him with only $359 in his re-election fund.
Then, in November, Huffman narrowly retained his job, despite running in one of the state's sturdiest Republican strongholds, beating Democrat Steve Hunt, a 30-year veteran of the Hickory Police Department. Huffman won by a slim margin of 411 votes out of 34,289 cast.
Huffman vowed in November that his seventh term will be the last.
*
Jerry Anderson
For the past year, Caldwell County residents have been intrigued by a down-on-the-farm murder-mystery.
On Dec. 29, 49-year-old Emily Anderson disappeared from the Sawmills farm she operated with her husband and was found 10 days later in a South Carolina restaurant parking lot about 100 miles from Lenoir.
She had been shot twice, and her body was crammed into the large tool compartment of her Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
Nearly a month after she disappeared, her husband, 47-year-old Jerry Anderson, was charged with first-degree murder in the killing. He could face the death penalty if convicted and awaits trial from the Caldwell County jail. "Everybody is eager to see what happens," lifelong Caldwell County resident Dowe 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."
*
Furniture woes
Caldwell County's wooden furniture industry continued to crumble this year, with Broyhill Furniture Industries announcing it would shut two Lenoir plants and lay off about 1,000 workers.
Long one of the region's dominant employers, Broyhill will have only two domestic manufacturing plants, both upholstery operations, left after February, when its last U.S. wood-furniture plant, Lenoir Furniture Corp., is set to close. Caldwell's unemployment rate remains among the highest in the state.
Lenoir factories have made wooden furniture for more than a century, but their numbers have dwindled to only about a half-dozen, most making specialty products, as companies increasingly turn to inexpensive Asian imports.
Just two years ago, Broyhill itself had six wood-furniture factories in Lenoir.
*
Retirement
Communities across the Catawba Valley increasingly looked this year to lure a new growth industry: retirees and baby boomers headed toward retirement, who can offer time and talent, don't crowd schools and stimulate the local economy by spending money on goods and services.
"Competition for the retiree is just like competition for industry," said Morganton City Council member John Cantrell, who noted that Burke County plans on increasing its retiree marketing in the coming year. "Anybody that's not interested in attracting retirees is missing an opportunity."
At the same time, a number of new housing developments targeted at the 55-plus crowd were announced across the region, including in downtown Morganton, northeast Hickory and the town of Catawba. Planners also expect the large, outdoors-oriented developments planned in rural Caldwell County to appeal to retirees.
*
Target
For a region battered by layoffs and plant closings, the July announcement that Target would build a massive distribution center in southwestern Catawba County was big news indeed.
How big? Minneapolis-based Target, the nation's No. 2 discount chain, plans to invest $100 million and create at least 580 jobs - positions that can't easily be moved offshore, experts noted.
At 1.5 million square feet - the size of 27 football fields - on 247 acres off U.S. 321 and N.C. 10 west of Newton, the building would become the largest distribution center in the Charlotte region.
The center is expected to open in late 2009 and will serve the mid-Atlantic region, with 100 trucks a day entering and leaving the site. Construction is set to begin in the spring.
*
Revaluations
Property values in three Catawba Valley counties rose when tax assessors revalued real property this year to reflect market prices.
On Lake Norman in Catawba County, values sharply increased, by 50 percent on average. The area, which is commuting distance from Charlotte, continues to draw people from other counties and states, driving property values up so fast assessors can't keep up with them.
Elsewhere in Catawba, shuttered factories actually caused industrial properties to decrease in value, by 5.5 percent on average.
Alexander and Burke counties were still calculating new values and expected to mail notices to property owners in early 2007.
Next year, county commissioners in each county will set the property tax rate by which tax bills are calculated along with property values. Some boards lower tax rates in revaluation years to soften the effect of higher values.
*
Jamie Hill
Jamie Hill, known as Alexander County's "emerald man," pulled another big gem out of the Hiddenite bedrock in August.
The 10-inch, 591-carat emerald made eyes pop when Hill showed it off to friends and reporters. It's shaped like two long green-glass cigars fused together on one end and dotted with yellow flecks.
Because of its unusual length and twin formation, Hill called it a museum-quality piece instead of one that would be cut for jewels.
This month, he said gem experts have proclaimed it the world's longest natural emerald crystal. A Connecticut jewelry gallery, E.F. Watermelon, was marketing the emerald to potential buyers.
Hill's mine also produced sizeable emeralds in 1998 and 2003.
*
Plane crashes
Two fiery crashes at small, regional airports killed three local men in 2006.
In a July 24 crash at the at Hickory Regional Airport, the pilot of a single-engine Korean War-era fighter jet died when the plane skidded off a runway, crashed through a fence and exploded.
The pilot, vintage-airplane buff Wyatt Fuller of Hickory, was headed to an air show in Oshkosh, Wis., carrying 800 gallons of fuel when the 1954 F-86 Sabre crashed. Hickory officials said the wreck was the only fatality they could recall at the small airport.
Less than five months later, in Alexander County, two other local men were killed at the Taylorsville Airport when the homemade plane they were flying crashed and burst into flames.
Leon Marion Fagan Jr., 44, and Billy Kermit Little, 53, both of Taylorsville, died Dec. 10 when the plane crashed behind a service station moments after takeoff. Flames had engulfed the wreckage when emergency crews arrived.
The plane, registered to Fagan, was an experimental aircraft that was built from a kit in 2005.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
12/31/06
In remembrance 2006
Many notable Catawba Valley residents died this year, leaving behind very different legacies
Sunday, December 31, 2006
By Marcie Young, Hannah Mitchell and Jen Aronoff
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
A blues star died and a Catawba County soldier never came home. A local young man, who established a charity bike ride in 2004, lost his three-year battle with cancer, and residents honored local philanthropists for their contributions to the community.
The staff of the Catawba Valley Neighbors recognizes these individuals for their service and determination, and for the role they played in molding the character of the region.
*
Etta Baker
Etta Baker, a Caldwell County native who traded in a job at a shoe factory to become a blues legend, died Sept. 26. She was 93.
Baker's unusual two-fingered picking style influenced musical greats such as Bob Dylan and Taj Mahal and earned her a reputation as a master of the Piedmont blues, a blend of bluegrass and blues that dates back more than a century in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.
The self-taught musician learned to strum the guitar as a 3-year-old, resting between her father's knees and watching him pluck at the strings.
Decades later, in 1958, Baker was working in a textile factory when a professional musician and friend suggested she change careers.
"This was on a Wednesday," Baker recalled in a 2005 interview. "I went in and told 'em I was quitting on Friday, and I did. I never did go back."
In the following years, Baker toured in Europe, and won a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. But it was her positive attitude that grandson Steven Avery said was one of her true accomplishments.
"She did not have the blues, she played the blues," he said. "The `happy blues,' she called it."
*
Brett Gosnell
Hickory native Brett Gosnell died Aug. 17 after a three-year battle with a rare and aggressive childhood cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma. He was 20.
The football player and academic star kept attending classes and graduated as Hickory High School's 2004 valedictorian. He started coursework at Lenoir-Rhyne College and UNC Chapel Hill, and in the fall of 2005 was able to attend the University of Virginia, his dream school.
Even as the cancer and chemotherapy ravaged his 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame, family and friends said that Gosnell's positive attitude, intelligence, courage and determination were inspiring.
"Even when he was so sick he couldn't walk, he would say he was going to beat it," said Gosnell's longtime childhood friend, Scott Talbert.
In 2004, he started Brett's Ride for Rhabdo, a bicycle ride to benefit research for all kinds of childhood cancers. His parents, Mark and Mary Ann Gosnell, plan to continue the charity bike ride.
*
Jason Huffman
Army Spc. Jason Huffman of Catawba County was a devoted soldier who didn't mind returning to Iraq for a second tour, said his sister, Torie Murphy.
Huffman died on Dec. 6 at age 22 when his Humvee ran over a roadside bomb in the city of Kirkuk.
He was at least the fourth serviceman from the Catawba Valley to die in Iraq since the war began.
Huffman, son of an Army veteran, joined the Army in 2003. He was sent to Iraq after basic training and was on his second tour there when he was killed.
He graduated from Bunker Hill High School in 2002.
*
Tom Mate
Thomas Michael Mate of Hickory, a late-blooming but prolific artist and philanthropist, died Sept. 27 at Frye Regional Medical Center after a 4 1/2-year battle with cancer and multiple sclerosis. He was 61.
For seven years, Mate and his artist wife, Jackie, have held the Mate Benefit for Habitat for Humanity, selling paintings to raise money for the construction of new homes. More than 200 pieces were sold at the most recent benefit, held in November.
"We hope to raise enough money to build a home in Tom's honor," Jackie said.
Mate, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, worked in various segments of the furniture industry for more than 30 years, moving to Hickory to take a job in furniture marketing and manufacturing.
After his retirement, he managed a Habitat Home Store for several years, volunteered at the Hickory Museum of Art and began pastel drawing in 1997.
*
Kenneth Millholland
Kenneth Millholland, a Hickory resident who, with his wife, Suzanne, helped shape the city's civic life for decades, died Dec. 8 at age 89.
Millholland was the former vice president of the Hickory Daily Record newspaper, which his wife's family had owned since 1929. Kenneth and Suzanne Millholland sold the paper to Media General in 1998.
Longtime supporters of the arts and education, the Millhollands were repeatedly recognized for their philanthropy and, in 2004, received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
They donated to Lenoir-Rhyne College, the UNC Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Hickory Museum of Art, the Western Piedmont Symphony and the Catawba Science Center, among other organizations, and helped fund a new indoor pool at the Hickory YMCA.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
By Marcie Young, Hannah Mitchell and Jen Aronoff
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
A blues star died and a Catawba County soldier never came home. A local young man, who established a charity bike ride in 2004, lost his three-year battle with cancer, and residents honored local philanthropists for their contributions to the community.
The staff of the Catawba Valley Neighbors recognizes these individuals for their service and determination, and for the role they played in molding the character of the region.
*
Etta Baker
Etta Baker, a Caldwell County native who traded in a job at a shoe factory to become a blues legend, died Sept. 26. She was 93.
Baker's unusual two-fingered picking style influenced musical greats such as Bob Dylan and Taj Mahal and earned her a reputation as a master of the Piedmont blues, a blend of bluegrass and blues that dates back more than a century in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.
The self-taught musician learned to strum the guitar as a 3-year-old, resting between her father's knees and watching him pluck at the strings.
Decades later, in 1958, Baker was working in a textile factory when a professional musician and friend suggested she change careers.
"This was on a Wednesday," Baker recalled in a 2005 interview. "I went in and told 'em I was quitting on Friday, and I did. I never did go back."
In the following years, Baker toured in Europe, and won a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. But it was her positive attitude that grandson Steven Avery said was one of her true accomplishments.
"She did not have the blues, she played the blues," he said. "The `happy blues,' she called it."
*
Brett Gosnell
Hickory native Brett Gosnell died Aug. 17 after a three-year battle with a rare and aggressive childhood cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma. He was 20.
The football player and academic star kept attending classes and graduated as Hickory High School's 2004 valedictorian. He started coursework at Lenoir-Rhyne College and UNC Chapel Hill, and in the fall of 2005 was able to attend the University of Virginia, his dream school.
Even as the cancer and chemotherapy ravaged his 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame, family and friends said that Gosnell's positive attitude, intelligence, courage and determination were inspiring.
"Even when he was so sick he couldn't walk, he would say he was going to beat it," said Gosnell's longtime childhood friend, Scott Talbert.
In 2004, he started Brett's Ride for Rhabdo, a bicycle ride to benefit research for all kinds of childhood cancers. His parents, Mark and Mary Ann Gosnell, plan to continue the charity bike ride.
*
Jason Huffman
Army Spc. Jason Huffman of Catawba County was a devoted soldier who didn't mind returning to Iraq for a second tour, said his sister, Torie Murphy.
Huffman died on Dec. 6 at age 22 when his Humvee ran over a roadside bomb in the city of Kirkuk.
He was at least the fourth serviceman from the Catawba Valley to die in Iraq since the war began.
Huffman, son of an Army veteran, joined the Army in 2003. He was sent to Iraq after basic training and was on his second tour there when he was killed.
He graduated from Bunker Hill High School in 2002.
*
Tom Mate
Thomas Michael Mate of Hickory, a late-blooming but prolific artist and philanthropist, died Sept. 27 at Frye Regional Medical Center after a 4 1/2-year battle with cancer and multiple sclerosis. He was 61.
For seven years, Mate and his artist wife, Jackie, have held the Mate Benefit for Habitat for Humanity, selling paintings to raise money for the construction of new homes. More than 200 pieces were sold at the most recent benefit, held in November.
"We hope to raise enough money to build a home in Tom's honor," Jackie said.
Mate, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, worked in various segments of the furniture industry for more than 30 years, moving to Hickory to take a job in furniture marketing and manufacturing.
After his retirement, he managed a Habitat Home Store for several years, volunteered at the Hickory Museum of Art and began pastel drawing in 1997.
*
Kenneth Millholland
Kenneth Millholland, a Hickory resident who, with his wife, Suzanne, helped shape the city's civic life for decades, died Dec. 8 at age 89.
Millholland was the former vice president of the Hickory Daily Record newspaper, which his wife's family had owned since 1929. Kenneth and Suzanne Millholland sold the paper to Media General in 1998.
Longtime supporters of the arts and education, the Millhollands were repeatedly recognized for their philanthropy and, in 2004, received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
They donated to Lenoir-Rhyne College, the UNC Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Hickory Museum of Art, the Western Piedmont Symphony and the Catawba Science Center, among other organizations, and helped fund a new indoor pool at the Hickory YMCA.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
12/27/06
Christmas blaze kills woman and boyfriend, home destroyed
Sparks from stove likely behind fire, firefighters say
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR – About five months ago, Gary Moody took his girlfriend, 58-year-old Corene Myers, to see her favorite band at Lenoir's Smokey Creek BBQ, where they met six years earlier.
When the musicians took a break, Moody, 52, picked up the microphone and proposed.
The couple hadn't set a wedding date by Christmas but were looking forward to spending the holiday eating dinner with family at the northwest Lenoir home they shared with Myers' son, 39-year-old Alan Holtsclaw.
Shortly after 8 Christmas morning, however, smoke began billowing from the windows of the wooden house and flames engulfed the interior, killing Moody and Myers.
Firefighters believe that sparks from a wood stove ignited the fire. Holtsclaw, who owns the home, said he had recently cut wood to fuel the stove because kerosene was too expensive.
Moody and Myers tried to escape through the kitchen at the back of the small, four-room house. Emergency crews found the couple on the kitchen floor, where Moody was lying on top of Myers, said Sherry White, Myers' 38-year-old daughter.
"He was trying to protect her, save her," she said.
Paramedics gave the couple CPR, but Moody and Myers died before authorities arrived, said Lt. Sam Smith, public information officer for the Lenoir Fire Department.
Holtsclaw, the eldest of Myers' four children, was sleeping in his bedroom adjoining the kitchen when the flames ripped through the home.
Neighbor Stan Nelson said he had just finished opening presents with his wife and sons when they noticed black smoke pouring from the house. His sons, 34-year-old Chad Nelson and 32-year-old Steven Nelson, ran across the yard and pounded on Holtsclaw's bedroom window.
Holtsclaw woke up to the knocking, he said, and ran to the bedroom door to find his mother and Moody. The door handle was too hot to open, Holtsclaw said, and flames shot through the crack between the floor and the door, burning his feet.
"I jumped onto the bed," he said, "and my two little angels kicked in the window."
Chad and Steven Nelson broke the window, Holtsclaw said, grabbed him by the arm and helped him climb through the frame, which was lined with shattered glass. Paramedics gave Holtsclaw oxygen at the scene and treated him for other injuries, he said.
Authorities were still looking for smoke detectors Tuesday. Holtsclaw and White said there were two in the home - one in the living room and another in the kitchen. Both were working, they said. Tuesday afternoon, Holtsclaw, who lives on monthly disability checks, returned to the home where he has lived since 1974 to look for his mother's cocker spaniel and to comfort Daisy, the family cat that escaped the fire but was badly burned by flames.
White said they've heard rumors that neighbors saw the cocker spaniel flee the home, but they haven't been able to find the dog. Meadowbrook Baptist Church provided shelter Monday and cooked breakfast for rescue crews and the victims' families, and Grandview Baptist Church provided counseling, White said.
"I've had people asking what I need, and I don't know," Holtsclaw said. "Whatever they can give would help."
While the Lenoir police and fire departments and the State Bureau of Investigation continue investigating the fire, Holtsclaw will stay with family and friends.
He hopes to return to the neighborhood and possibly buy a trailer to replace his destroyed home.
"I've got good neighbors around here. I just can't leave this place," he said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR – About five months ago, Gary Moody took his girlfriend, 58-year-old Corene Myers, to see her favorite band at Lenoir's Smokey Creek BBQ, where they met six years earlier.
When the musicians took a break, Moody, 52, picked up the microphone and proposed.
The couple hadn't set a wedding date by Christmas but were looking forward to spending the holiday eating dinner with family at the northwest Lenoir home they shared with Myers' son, 39-year-old Alan Holtsclaw.
Shortly after 8 Christmas morning, however, smoke began billowing from the windows of the wooden house and flames engulfed the interior, killing Moody and Myers.
Firefighters believe that sparks from a wood stove ignited the fire. Holtsclaw, who owns the home, said he had recently cut wood to fuel the stove because kerosene was too expensive.
Moody and Myers tried to escape through the kitchen at the back of the small, four-room house. Emergency crews found the couple on the kitchen floor, where Moody was lying on top of Myers, said Sherry White, Myers' 38-year-old daughter.
"He was trying to protect her, save her," she said.
Paramedics gave the couple CPR, but Moody and Myers died before authorities arrived, said Lt. Sam Smith, public information officer for the Lenoir Fire Department.
Holtsclaw, the eldest of Myers' four children, was sleeping in his bedroom adjoining the kitchen when the flames ripped through the home.
Neighbor Stan Nelson said he had just finished opening presents with his wife and sons when they noticed black smoke pouring from the house. His sons, 34-year-old Chad Nelson and 32-year-old Steven Nelson, ran across the yard and pounded on Holtsclaw's bedroom window.
Holtsclaw woke up to the knocking, he said, and ran to the bedroom door to find his mother and Moody. The door handle was too hot to open, Holtsclaw said, and flames shot through the crack between the floor and the door, burning his feet.
"I jumped onto the bed," he said, "and my two little angels kicked in the window."
Chad and Steven Nelson broke the window, Holtsclaw said, grabbed him by the arm and helped him climb through the frame, which was lined with shattered glass. Paramedics gave Holtsclaw oxygen at the scene and treated him for other injuries, he said.
Authorities were still looking for smoke detectors Tuesday. Holtsclaw and White said there were two in the home - one in the living room and another in the kitchen. Both were working, they said. Tuesday afternoon, Holtsclaw, who lives on monthly disability checks, returned to the home where he has lived since 1974 to look for his mother's cocker spaniel and to comfort Daisy, the family cat that escaped the fire but was badly burned by flames.
White said they've heard rumors that neighbors saw the cocker spaniel flee the home, but they haven't been able to find the dog. Meadowbrook Baptist Church provided shelter Monday and cooked breakfast for rescue crews and the victims' families, and Grandview Baptist Church provided counseling, White said.
"I've had people asking what I need, and I don't know," Holtsclaw said. "Whatever they can give would help."
While the Lenoir police and fire departments and the State Bureau of Investigation continue investigating the fire, Holtsclaw will stay with family and friends.
He hopes to return to the neighborhood and possibly buy a trailer to replace his destroyed home.
"I've got good neighbors around here. I just can't leave this place," he said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
12/21/06
Gangs on our turf? Police study signs as law enforcement tracks more actvity
Programs reach out to vulnerable teens
Graffiti can signal more than vandalism
Thursday, December 21, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY – Authorities across the Catawba Valley say they are noticing more signs of gang activity in recent months.
Patrol officers say they see more graffiti scrawled across exposed walls of local businesses.
School resource officers notice more teenagers flashing hand signals in the hallways, decorating their notebooks with gang symbols and wearing the colorful clothing associated with sects of the Bloods, Crips and Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.
The signs are serious enough that the Hickory Police Department started an anti-gang unit in July, and community groups are holding gang-awareness classes in some schools.
But police are also careful to say that gangs in the region are nowhere near the size or level of violence seen in major cities.
"We don't want to scare anyone. We're not overrun by gangs at this point," said Sgt. Jeff Young of the Hickory Police Department. "But the lack of awareness is a problem and we want to be proactive about it. We don't want Hickory to start looking like Charlotte or Durham."
Young has led the department's street-crime interdiction division, or gang unit, since it began. He has documented 10 gangs in Catawba County and 27 gang members using criteria established by the N.C. Gang Investigators Association.
A gang, according to the association, is any group of three or more people sharing common colors, insignia or tattoos and engaging in criminal or delinquent behavior.
In neighboring Burke County, Detective David Curry of the Morganton Public Safety Department has identified about eight gang members. Lenoir police officers believe there could be between five and eight gangs in Caldwell County, said Capt. Scott Brown.
Meanwhile, officers in Mecklenburg County are focusing on controlling criminal activity by 1,821 documented gang members and 126 gangs in the state's most populated county.
Authorities across the state are taking action. Recently, with a $67,000 grant from the Governor's Crime Commission, the Hickory police formed the street-crime division and increased police presence in areas rumored to attract gang members and people affiliated with gangs, Young said.
In January, GangNet, a database used to track documented gang members statewide, will be available to law enforcement in North Carolina's 100 counties. Access, Young said, allows officers to easily identify gang members from other areas and will be helpful during his patrols.
*
Patrolling the streets
Earlier this month, Young wove a sports utility vehicle through lines of cars parked behind a popular dance club in southwest Hickory.
The SUV lacked all of the distinguishing markings of a cop car - no painted Police Department logo or blue lights lining the roof - and the few groups of teenagers huddled in the parking lot didn't even glance at it as it passed.
Dozens of similar-looking vehicles with equally dark, tinted windows were scattered across the lot, allowing Young and his patrol partner, officer Ty Hunt, to blend in.
Most of the county's 27 documented gang members no longer come to the club, Young said, but others from as far as Charlotte and Gastonia will congregate there on the weekends.
On Oct. 4, a man told police that four men grabbed him out of a cab in front of the club and beat him with their fists, according to police reports. Eleven days later, two bouncers trying to break up a fight and were assaulted by three men, according to another incident report. One bouncer was left unconscious.
The club manager said the bouncer told authorities that he didn't the know the men who attacked him. And he said he hasn't noticed a gang presence inside the club.
Young wasn't sure if the attack was gang-related. He keeps files of information on the city's possible gangs, gang members and gang-related crime, but said actually confirming gang involvement in an event is a difficult task.
Showing that a crime is connected to a gang first requires that officers identify a gang or gang member, a process that requires authorities to meet criteria established by the N.C. Gang Investigators Association. Gathering that information, Young said, takes time.
So, he and Hunt will patrol the club, looking for any sign of gang involvement, such as the clothing and tattoos that the men - and sometimes women, in their late teens and early 20s - wear.
Shortly before 1 a.m. on a recent Saturday patrol of the club's parking lot, Young and Hunt noticed a group of six men loitering around a four-door sedan, their hands shoved into the pockets of oversized jeans and jackets.
Young asked one man if he could take a few photos of the "homie" tattoo on his right bicep and three dots tattooed on the small patch of skin between his thumb and index finger, a symbol often connected to a Hispanic gang with California roots, Surenos 13.
"It means `mi vida loca'," Young said. "My crazy life."
The man's belt buckle, emblazoned with a 13, was another common gang symbol, Young said.
The N.C. Gang Investigators Association says a gang member can be validated once authorities have confirmed criminal activity and identified at least two of 10 criteria, ranging from gang tattoos to affiliating with known gang members.
These photos, paired with the man's name and address, allow Young to start a file. With the tattoos and clothing, Young said, the man already meets half the requirements of a documented gang member.
*
In the classroom
Young said the teenagers he sees wearing gang colors and flashing gang signs might not realize that police are keeping such detailed notes.
So, he started telling them. Recently, during one of his gang-awareness presentations, Young spotted a student doodling gang symbols on his notebook.
"When you draw stuff like this, like the six-pointed star, you're telling us you're a gang member," he told the group of about 30 freshmen at Hickory High School two weeks ago. It's one step toward "validating you as a gang member, and that will stick with you for life."
It's unlikely, Young said, that any of those teenagers is involved in a gang. But he said a teen who is just wearing clothing associated with a certain gang piques the authorities' interest.
"Telling them that," he said, "really makes a lot of them pay attention."
But Young isn't the only one teaching gang-awareness and prevention classes in the valley.
Burke County authorities have started coaching community leaders and educators to recognize graffiti and gang hand signs, and officers and community leaders in Lenoir are forming a committee targeting gang prevention in Caldwell County.
And, every Wednesday, Chris Johnson, founder of a local youth outreach group, stands before a dozen middle-school-age boys and teaches them about the realities of gang life.
Johnson talks about the violent initiations, the tough jail sentences and, just last month, brought in a former gang member and convict to talk about his experiences.
"I know I'm in a tug-of-war with the street," Johnson said, "and I need all the tools I can get."
Many of the boys in Johnson's Young Men of Integrity group come from single-parent and low-income homes, he said, and temptations to find a tight-knit group in the community are common.
He's been trying to sway youth from peer pressure since 1992, when his 14-year-old son died after an older classmate spun the chamber of a handgun in a game of Russian roulette.
"I couldn't see the signs at the time, and that was probably one of the things that really catapulted me into talking to teens," he said. "If we can teach our kids young, they'll be able to make the right decisions later."
Frank Moses, a 15-year-old Hickory High School freshman, sat through Young's class on gang awareness and attends Johnson's Young Men of Integrity every Wednesday. While Moses said he doesn't think gang presence in the Catawba Valley is a serious problem, he can see that changing.
"Gangs are coming up, and it's getting a lot more serious than it has been," he said. "It's like a family life when you're in a gang, but you sign your life over to the gang."
That kind of life, Moses said, isn't for him.
"I see all these people coming in and out of prison and gangs," he said. "I see how it affects them, and I want to live a better life."
The awareness classes, Moses said, are a good step toward preventing future gangs.
"We're the ones that are going to be doing it, so if you can get to us, then you'll be able to stop it."
Johnson's group is one of the pilot groups in the 25th district taking the Street Smart program facilitated by the local Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club.
In March, the Boys & Girls Club executive director, the Rev. John DeMauro, received a $100,000 grant from the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and local crime councils to bring a gang-awareness program to the Catawba Valley.
"We don't want to stick our heads in the sand, and when I have a guy sitting in front of me with an obvious gang tattoo, (it shows that) we need to take preventative measures," DeMauro said.
The 36-week program is designed to: teach middle-school-aged children in the Catawba Valley about gang violence, encourage accepting cultural differences, and help youth develop communications and conflict-resolution skills.
"It's all in one neat package," DeMauro said. "A child who goes through this program has all the skills (he) needs and is less likely to go through a gang."
While the Street Smart program is being taught to the Young Men of Integrity and at Centro Latino and at the Boys & Girls Club, DeMauro said educators and law enforcement across the valley plan to implement the program throughout the Catawba Valley in 2007.
Johnson and his group, meanwhile, have almost completed the first of the program's four modules.
In a recent week, they focused on lesson six, the consequences of gang membership.
Johnson and the boys talked about Stanley "Tookie" Williams, an original leader of the Crips, a violent gang that started in California in the early 1970s. Williams, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee for his children's books suggesting gang alternatives, was executed in December 2005 for the 1979 murders of four people in Los Angeles.
"I tell the kids when they come in, `If I sugarcoat things for you, that doesn't help, because that's not how the street is,' " Johnson said.
Warning Signs of Gang Involvement
These are signs that a teenager may be involved in a gang:
Uses hand signals to communicate with friends.
Scribbles specific drawings or symbols on schoolbooks and clothing.
Comes home with unexplained physical injuries, including bruises.
Suddenly owns expensive clothing or jewelry or has a lot of extra cash.
Carries a weapon.
Is in trouble with police or at school.
Undergoes a severe and negative change in attitude, including withdrawing from family and grades dropping.
Speaks in gang-style slang.
Breaks late-night curfews.
Want to Learn More?
Law-enforcement officers in Catawba, Burke and Caldwell counties offer educational courses on gang awareness and prevention for youth, parents and other members of the community.
For more information contact the Hickory Police Department, (828) 324-2060; the Department of Public Safety in Morganton, (828) 438-5391; or the Lenoir Police Department, (828) 757-2121.
To learn about the Street Smart program facilitated by the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club, contact the Rev. John DeMauro at (828) 322-3066.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Graffiti can signal more than vandalism
Thursday, December 21, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY – Authorities across the Catawba Valley say they are noticing more signs of gang activity in recent months.
Patrol officers say they see more graffiti scrawled across exposed walls of local businesses.
School resource officers notice more teenagers flashing hand signals in the hallways, decorating their notebooks with gang symbols and wearing the colorful clothing associated with sects of the Bloods, Crips and Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.
The signs are serious enough that the Hickory Police Department started an anti-gang unit in July, and community groups are holding gang-awareness classes in some schools.
But police are also careful to say that gangs in the region are nowhere near the size or level of violence seen in major cities.
"We don't want to scare anyone. We're not overrun by gangs at this point," said Sgt. Jeff Young of the Hickory Police Department. "But the lack of awareness is a problem and we want to be proactive about it. We don't want Hickory to start looking like Charlotte or Durham."
Young has led the department's street-crime interdiction division, or gang unit, since it began. He has documented 10 gangs in Catawba County and 27 gang members using criteria established by the N.C. Gang Investigators Association.
A gang, according to the association, is any group of three or more people sharing common colors, insignia or tattoos and engaging in criminal or delinquent behavior.
In neighboring Burke County, Detective David Curry of the Morganton Public Safety Department has identified about eight gang members. Lenoir police officers believe there could be between five and eight gangs in Caldwell County, said Capt. Scott Brown.
Meanwhile, officers in Mecklenburg County are focusing on controlling criminal activity by 1,821 documented gang members and 126 gangs in the state's most populated county.
Authorities across the state are taking action. Recently, with a $67,000 grant from the Governor's Crime Commission, the Hickory police formed the street-crime division and increased police presence in areas rumored to attract gang members and people affiliated with gangs, Young said.
In January, GangNet, a database used to track documented gang members statewide, will be available to law enforcement in North Carolina's 100 counties. Access, Young said, allows officers to easily identify gang members from other areas and will be helpful during his patrols.
*
Patrolling the streets
Earlier this month, Young wove a sports utility vehicle through lines of cars parked behind a popular dance club in southwest Hickory.
The SUV lacked all of the distinguishing markings of a cop car - no painted Police Department logo or blue lights lining the roof - and the few groups of teenagers huddled in the parking lot didn't even glance at it as it passed.
Dozens of similar-looking vehicles with equally dark, tinted windows were scattered across the lot, allowing Young and his patrol partner, officer Ty Hunt, to blend in.
Most of the county's 27 documented gang members no longer come to the club, Young said, but others from as far as Charlotte and Gastonia will congregate there on the weekends.
On Oct. 4, a man told police that four men grabbed him out of a cab in front of the club and beat him with their fists, according to police reports. Eleven days later, two bouncers trying to break up a fight and were assaulted by three men, according to another incident report. One bouncer was left unconscious.
The club manager said the bouncer told authorities that he didn't the know the men who attacked him. And he said he hasn't noticed a gang presence inside the club.
Young wasn't sure if the attack was gang-related. He keeps files of information on the city's possible gangs, gang members and gang-related crime, but said actually confirming gang involvement in an event is a difficult task.
Showing that a crime is connected to a gang first requires that officers identify a gang or gang member, a process that requires authorities to meet criteria established by the N.C. Gang Investigators Association. Gathering that information, Young said, takes time.
So, he and Hunt will patrol the club, looking for any sign of gang involvement, such as the clothing and tattoos that the men - and sometimes women, in their late teens and early 20s - wear.
Shortly before 1 a.m. on a recent Saturday patrol of the club's parking lot, Young and Hunt noticed a group of six men loitering around a four-door sedan, their hands shoved into the pockets of oversized jeans and jackets.
Young asked one man if he could take a few photos of the "homie" tattoo on his right bicep and three dots tattooed on the small patch of skin between his thumb and index finger, a symbol often connected to a Hispanic gang with California roots, Surenos 13.
"It means `mi vida loca'," Young said. "My crazy life."
The man's belt buckle, emblazoned with a 13, was another common gang symbol, Young said.
The N.C. Gang Investigators Association says a gang member can be validated once authorities have confirmed criminal activity and identified at least two of 10 criteria, ranging from gang tattoos to affiliating with known gang members.
These photos, paired with the man's name and address, allow Young to start a file. With the tattoos and clothing, Young said, the man already meets half the requirements of a documented gang member.
*
In the classroom
Young said the teenagers he sees wearing gang colors and flashing gang signs might not realize that police are keeping such detailed notes.
So, he started telling them. Recently, during one of his gang-awareness presentations, Young spotted a student doodling gang symbols on his notebook.
"When you draw stuff like this, like the six-pointed star, you're telling us you're a gang member," he told the group of about 30 freshmen at Hickory High School two weeks ago. It's one step toward "validating you as a gang member, and that will stick with you for life."
It's unlikely, Young said, that any of those teenagers is involved in a gang. But he said a teen who is just wearing clothing associated with a certain gang piques the authorities' interest.
"Telling them that," he said, "really makes a lot of them pay attention."
But Young isn't the only one teaching gang-awareness and prevention classes in the valley.
Burke County authorities have started coaching community leaders and educators to recognize graffiti and gang hand signs, and officers and community leaders in Lenoir are forming a committee targeting gang prevention in Caldwell County.
And, every Wednesday, Chris Johnson, founder of a local youth outreach group, stands before a dozen middle-school-age boys and teaches them about the realities of gang life.
Johnson talks about the violent initiations, the tough jail sentences and, just last month, brought in a former gang member and convict to talk about his experiences.
"I know I'm in a tug-of-war with the street," Johnson said, "and I need all the tools I can get."
Many of the boys in Johnson's Young Men of Integrity group come from single-parent and low-income homes, he said, and temptations to find a tight-knit group in the community are common.
He's been trying to sway youth from peer pressure since 1992, when his 14-year-old son died after an older classmate spun the chamber of a handgun in a game of Russian roulette.
"I couldn't see the signs at the time, and that was probably one of the things that really catapulted me into talking to teens," he said. "If we can teach our kids young, they'll be able to make the right decisions later."
Frank Moses, a 15-year-old Hickory High School freshman, sat through Young's class on gang awareness and attends Johnson's Young Men of Integrity every Wednesday. While Moses said he doesn't think gang presence in the Catawba Valley is a serious problem, he can see that changing.
"Gangs are coming up, and it's getting a lot more serious than it has been," he said. "It's like a family life when you're in a gang, but you sign your life over to the gang."
That kind of life, Moses said, isn't for him.
"I see all these people coming in and out of prison and gangs," he said. "I see how it affects them, and I want to live a better life."
The awareness classes, Moses said, are a good step toward preventing future gangs.
"We're the ones that are going to be doing it, so if you can get to us, then you'll be able to stop it."
Johnson's group is one of the pilot groups in the 25th district taking the Street Smart program facilitated by the local Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club.
In March, the Boys & Girls Club executive director, the Rev. John DeMauro, received a $100,000 grant from the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and local crime councils to bring a gang-awareness program to the Catawba Valley.
"We don't want to stick our heads in the sand, and when I have a guy sitting in front of me with an obvious gang tattoo, (it shows that) we need to take preventative measures," DeMauro said.
The 36-week program is designed to: teach middle-school-aged children in the Catawba Valley about gang violence, encourage accepting cultural differences, and help youth develop communications and conflict-resolution skills.
"It's all in one neat package," DeMauro said. "A child who goes through this program has all the skills (he) needs and is less likely to go through a gang."
While the Street Smart program is being taught to the Young Men of Integrity and at Centro Latino and at the Boys & Girls Club, DeMauro said educators and law enforcement across the valley plan to implement the program throughout the Catawba Valley in 2007.
Johnson and his group, meanwhile, have almost completed the first of the program's four modules.
In a recent week, they focused on lesson six, the consequences of gang membership.
Johnson and the boys talked about Stanley "Tookie" Williams, an original leader of the Crips, a violent gang that started in California in the early 1970s. Williams, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee for his children's books suggesting gang alternatives, was executed in December 2005 for the 1979 murders of four people in Los Angeles.
"I tell the kids when they come in, `If I sugarcoat things for you, that doesn't help, because that's not how the street is,' " Johnson said.
Warning Signs of Gang Involvement
These are signs that a teenager may be involved in a gang:
Uses hand signals to communicate with friends.
Scribbles specific drawings or symbols on schoolbooks and clothing.
Comes home with unexplained physical injuries, including bruises.
Suddenly owns expensive clothing or jewelry or has a lot of extra cash.
Carries a weapon.
Is in trouble with police or at school.
Undergoes a severe and negative change in attitude, including withdrawing from family and grades dropping.
Speaks in gang-style slang.
Breaks late-night curfews.
Want to Learn More?
Law-enforcement officers in Catawba, Burke and Caldwell counties offer educational courses on gang awareness and prevention for youth, parents and other members of the community.
For more information contact the Hickory Police Department, (828) 324-2060; the Department of Public Safety in Morganton, (828) 438-5391; or the Lenoir Police Department, (828) 757-2121.
To learn about the Street Smart program facilitated by the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club, contact the Rev. John DeMauro at (828) 322-3066.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
12/13/06
Manager shot, wounded during robbery of Newton pizza store
Police get reward in search for 2 suspects
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
NEWTON – Authorities were searching Tuesday for two men who robbed a Papa John's pizza delivery store Monday night and shot the manager.
Police said Charles William Achor, 20, of Newton was shot shortly before 10:30 p.m. Monday after two men walked into the Papa John's and demanded money.
Investigators believe Achor was the only employee in the store during the robbery, said Lt. Dale Lafone of the Newton Police Department.
Eddie Bond, operating partner of the Newton store, said Achor was found lying in the lobby.
Police said Achor was coherent and able to talk when he was taken to Catawba Valley Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. Achor was still in the hospital's intensive care unit Tuesday afternoon, said Capt. Skip Isenhour of the Newton police. A hospital spokesperson could not confirm whether Achor was a patient there.
Authorities are looking for two black men in their 20s, Lafone said. Both are 5 feet, 7 inches to 5 feet, 9 inches and have long hair in cornrows.
Officers believe one of the robbers was wearing a red and blue hat and a heavy gray coat and that the other was wearing a gray cap and a denim jacket.
Police have set a reward for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest of the robbers, Isenhour said, but he wouldn't say how much money was being offered.
Lafone said authorities are also trying to find a man who was driving a white sport utility vehicle and may have witnessed the shooting.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
NEWTON – Authorities were searching Tuesday for two men who robbed a Papa John's pizza delivery store Monday night and shot the manager.
Police said Charles William Achor, 20, of Newton was shot shortly before 10:30 p.m. Monday after two men walked into the Papa John's and demanded money.
Investigators believe Achor was the only employee in the store during the robbery, said Lt. Dale Lafone of the Newton Police Department.
Eddie Bond, operating partner of the Newton store, said Achor was found lying in the lobby.
Police said Achor was coherent and able to talk when he was taken to Catawba Valley Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. Achor was still in the hospital's intensive care unit Tuesday afternoon, said Capt. Skip Isenhour of the Newton police. A hospital spokesperson could not confirm whether Achor was a patient there.
Authorities are looking for two black men in their 20s, Lafone said. Both are 5 feet, 7 inches to 5 feet, 9 inches and have long hair in cornrows.
Officers believe one of the robbers was wearing a red and blue hat and a heavy gray coat and that the other was wearing a gray cap and a denim jacket.
Police have set a reward for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest of the robbers, Isenhour said, but he wouldn't say how much money was being offered.
Lafone said authorities are also trying to find a man who was driving a white sport utility vehicle and may have witnessed the shooting.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
12/12/06
Investigators probe fatal plane crash near Taylorsville
It may take months to learn what caused accident, officials say
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Federal investigators spent part of Monday looking through the wreckage of a fiery plane crash that killed two Taylorsville men over the weekend, but it could be months before the investigation is complete, authorities said.
Leon Marion Fagan Jr., 44, and Billy Kermit Little, 53, both of Taylorsville, died Sunday afternoon when the homemade plane they were flying crashed and burst into flames near N.C. 16 just outside the Taylorsville town limits in Alexander County.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board arrived early Monday at the scene, said Chief Deputy Chris Bowman of the Alexander County Sheriff's Office.
A recovery team from the NTSB's Atlanta field office took the remains of the aircraft to continue their investigation, Bowman said.
The RANS S-6S fixed-wing, single-engine plane had taken off about 3:20 p.m. Sunday from Taylorsville Airport, a small airstrip privately owned by the Taylorsville Flying Club.
The flight was supposed to start and end at that airport, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. But moments after takeoff, the plane crashed behind a service station close to the highway. Flames had engulfed the wreckage when emergency crews arrived.
The plane was an experimental aircraft that was built from a kit in 2005, FAA records show. It was registered to Fagan, who had been certified to fly single-engine planes since 2001.
Bowman said authorities were not certain who was flying the plane at the time of the crash.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Federal investigators spent part of Monday looking through the wreckage of a fiery plane crash that killed two Taylorsville men over the weekend, but it could be months before the investigation is complete, authorities said.
Leon Marion Fagan Jr., 44, and Billy Kermit Little, 53, both of Taylorsville, died Sunday afternoon when the homemade plane they were flying crashed and burst into flames near N.C. 16 just outside the Taylorsville town limits in Alexander County.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board arrived early Monday at the scene, said Chief Deputy Chris Bowman of the Alexander County Sheriff's Office.
A recovery team from the NTSB's Atlanta field office took the remains of the aircraft to continue their investigation, Bowman said.
The RANS S-6S fixed-wing, single-engine plane had taken off about 3:20 p.m. Sunday from Taylorsville Airport, a small airstrip privately owned by the Taylorsville Flying Club.
The flight was supposed to start and end at that airport, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. But moments after takeoff, the plane crashed behind a service station close to the highway. Flames had engulfed the wreckage when emergency crews arrived.
The plane was an experimental aircraft that was built from a kit in 2005, FAA records show. It was registered to Fagan, who had been certified to fly single-engine planes since 2001.
Bowman said authorities were not certain who was flying the plane at the time of the crash.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
12/10/06
Police offer tips for safe shopping
Common sense is a good defense, officer says
Sunday, December 10, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY -- Danny Owens sits back in one of the chairs scattered through Valley Hills Mall, a large paper shopping bag resting on the ground to his right. His wife is still wandering around, looking for a few more gifts, which gives Owens the chance to relax.
Owens, 52, made the hour drive Wednesday from his Forest City home to do some holiday shopping at the Hickory mall and the dense complexes of stores lining U.S. 70 and Catawba Valley Boulevard.
He noticed a few security guards wandering around the dual-level mall, while Hickory police officers and the mall's security teams made rounds outside in marked cars.
"It makes you feel a little safer," Owens said. "Just their presence might make a thief think twice."
Owens joins a throng of shoppers who flood the mall and the surrounding stores searching for that perfect gift or hoping to get all of their holiday shopping done in one excursion.
They'll wander from store to store, often leaving fresh purchases in cars before heading to the next shop. Owens said he knows thieves could be keeping an eye on the parking lot and takes every precaution he can.
"We were at Best Buy before this, and I put everything in the trunk," he said.
If anything makes him uncomfortable - a lingering stranger or a dark corner - Owens said he'll pretend he's heading home. "I'll make a lap around the parking lot, repark and come back in," he said.
That's exactly what shoppers should be doing, said Hickory police officer Brandon Lackey.
"A lot of it is just common sense," Lackey said Thursday as he wove through the parking lot of the Hickory Ridge shopping complex, which houses Target, Best Buy and Old Navy.
"Don't leave stuff sitting out, and always try to put your packages and belongings out of sight."
As of Thursday, Hickory police had registered 473 car break-ins during 2006, 7 percent less than at the same time in 2005, when 507 larcenies from a vehicle were reported. Police didn't have a month-by-month record of break-ins but said more people at the malls increases the possibility for crime.
Lackey, a three-year Hickory police veteran, has been patrolling the area around Catawba Valley's largest shopping district for two months and says police presence is the best way to deter thieves, especially during the holiday shopping season.
"You just constantly look around, and if you see someone hanging out, you might say, `Hey, how are you doing? Everything OK?' " Lackey said as he watched a man cross the lot with a shopping cart loaded with packages.
A few minutes later, as he slowly passed through the mall's lot, Lackey noticed a woman holding her purse in her hand, letting it dangle by her side.
"See that?" he said. "Someone could just run by and grab that. She should hold it over her arm and in her fist."
But Lackey has more safety tips than how to carry a handbag.
He advises shoppers to keep their keys in their hands while they walk through the parking lot and to avoid carrying large bundles.
"Don't leave yourself without a defense," Lackey said. "You're trying to hold all these packages, get to your keys and open the trunk. You don't want to have to focus all your attention on that one goal."
He also encourages shoppers to know emergency contact numbers, to prepare a plan for tackling the maze of stores, and to know their surroundings by taking note of cars parked nearby and other shoppers walking through the lot.
Even with all the tips, Lackey said, simply taking a moment to think is one of the best defenses against theft.
"Just slow down," Lackey said. "I know it's the holiday season, and you want to get everything done, but things (can) go bad when it gets hectic."
Expert Advice
Park in well-lighted areas when shopping at night.
Don't leave packages or valuables in sight.
Avoid carrying a purse or wallet.
Locate your keys before walking out into the parking lot.
Shop with a friend or family member.
Avoid wearing expensive jewelry.
Keep a secure hold on your handbag and parcels, and avoid setting items on the roof of your car while you open the door.
Avoid parking next to windowless vans and cars with tinted windows.
Use ATMs inside a bank or mall and in a well-lighted location. Withdraw only the amount of cash you need.
Protect your PIN by shielding the ATM keypad.
Notify your credit card company immediately if your card is lost, stolen or misused.
Keep a record of all credit card numbers in a safe place at home.
*
SOURCE: Hickory Police Department
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY -- Danny Owens sits back in one of the chairs scattered through Valley Hills Mall, a large paper shopping bag resting on the ground to his right. His wife is still wandering around, looking for a few more gifts, which gives Owens the chance to relax.
Owens, 52, made the hour drive Wednesday from his Forest City home to do some holiday shopping at the Hickory mall and the dense complexes of stores lining U.S. 70 and Catawba Valley Boulevard.
He noticed a few security guards wandering around the dual-level mall, while Hickory police officers and the mall's security teams made rounds outside in marked cars.
"It makes you feel a little safer," Owens said. "Just their presence might make a thief think twice."
Owens joins a throng of shoppers who flood the mall and the surrounding stores searching for that perfect gift or hoping to get all of their holiday shopping done in one excursion.
They'll wander from store to store, often leaving fresh purchases in cars before heading to the next shop. Owens said he knows thieves could be keeping an eye on the parking lot and takes every precaution he can.
"We were at Best Buy before this, and I put everything in the trunk," he said.
If anything makes him uncomfortable - a lingering stranger or a dark corner - Owens said he'll pretend he's heading home. "I'll make a lap around the parking lot, repark and come back in," he said.
That's exactly what shoppers should be doing, said Hickory police officer Brandon Lackey.
"A lot of it is just common sense," Lackey said Thursday as he wove through the parking lot of the Hickory Ridge shopping complex, which houses Target, Best Buy and Old Navy.
"Don't leave stuff sitting out, and always try to put your packages and belongings out of sight."
As of Thursday, Hickory police had registered 473 car break-ins during 2006, 7 percent less than at the same time in 2005, when 507 larcenies from a vehicle were reported. Police didn't have a month-by-month record of break-ins but said more people at the malls increases the possibility for crime.
Lackey, a three-year Hickory police veteran, has been patrolling the area around Catawba Valley's largest shopping district for two months and says police presence is the best way to deter thieves, especially during the holiday shopping season.
"You just constantly look around, and if you see someone hanging out, you might say, `Hey, how are you doing? Everything OK?' " Lackey said as he watched a man cross the lot with a shopping cart loaded with packages.
A few minutes later, as he slowly passed through the mall's lot, Lackey noticed a woman holding her purse in her hand, letting it dangle by her side.
"See that?" he said. "Someone could just run by and grab that. She should hold it over her arm and in her fist."
But Lackey has more safety tips than how to carry a handbag.
He advises shoppers to keep their keys in their hands while they walk through the parking lot and to avoid carrying large bundles.
"Don't leave yourself without a defense," Lackey said. "You're trying to hold all these packages, get to your keys and open the trunk. You don't want to have to focus all your attention on that one goal."
He also encourages shoppers to know emergency contact numbers, to prepare a plan for tackling the maze of stores, and to know their surroundings by taking note of cars parked nearby and other shoppers walking through the lot.
Even with all the tips, Lackey said, simply taking a moment to think is one of the best defenses against theft.
"Just slow down," Lackey said. "I know it's the holiday season, and you want to get everything done, but things (can) go bad when it gets hectic."
Expert Advice
Park in well-lighted areas when shopping at night.
Don't leave packages or valuables in sight.
Avoid carrying a purse or wallet.
Locate your keys before walking out into the parking lot.
Shop with a friend or family member.
Avoid wearing expensive jewelry.
Keep a secure hold on your handbag and parcels, and avoid setting items on the roof of your car while you open the door.
Avoid parking next to windowless vans and cars with tinted windows.
Use ATMs inside a bank or mall and in a well-lighted location. Withdraw only the amount of cash you need.
Protect your PIN by shielding the ATM keypad.
Notify your credit card company immediately if your card is lost, stolen or misused.
Keep a record of all credit card numbers in a safe place at home.
*
SOURCE: Hickory Police Department
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
12/8/06
Threat of rock slide forcing traffic reroute
Mountain debris blocked road, then 2nd risky area found
Friday, December 8, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Motorists on U.S. 321 near Blowing Rock should expect delays for at least several days while workers remove a section of mountain slope that's in danger of falling on the road, a state Department of Transportation engineer said Thursday.
The road was blocked by a rock slide Wednesday and Thursday about a half-mile south of Blowing Rock, said Kip Turner, district engineer for N.C. DOT.
Workers had cleared the debris from that slide on Thursday but then realized that another slide was possible.
"They spent time scouring the adjacent slope and decided that another very large chunk of rock looked imminent - that something's going to happen with it," he said.
Now, DOT officials plan to remove rock slope, he said.
Coincidentally, one of the companies working on the U.S. 321 expansion project, only a few miles from the site of the rock slide, specializes in removing rock slopes like the one that threatens the road, Turner said.
Representatives of the company will inspect the slope today. The job could take days, or longer, he said.
Meanwhile, authorities were directing traffic through one open lane around the endangered area with a pilot car. The car leads a line of traffic in one direction and then returns, leading a line in the opposite direction.
Delays on Thursday were 15-25 minutes, he said - and they could be even longer during busy traffic times, such as weekends, when tourists and shoppers flock to Blowing Rock and Boone.
On Saturday, traffic is likely to be even heavier than normal because of an Appalachian State football game in Boone, he said.
Turner urged motorists from Charlotte, Hickory and other points south to use U.S. 421 in Wilkes County as a detour.
"There's a lot of traffic that's headed to the mountains this weekend, so I can really see a lot of traffic backing up," he said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Friday, December 8, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Motorists on U.S. 321 near Blowing Rock should expect delays for at least several days while workers remove a section of mountain slope that's in danger of falling on the road, a state Department of Transportation engineer said Thursday.
The road was blocked by a rock slide Wednesday and Thursday about a half-mile south of Blowing Rock, said Kip Turner, district engineer for N.C. DOT.
Workers had cleared the debris from that slide on Thursday but then realized that another slide was possible.
"They spent time scouring the adjacent slope and decided that another very large chunk of rock looked imminent - that something's going to happen with it," he said.
Now, DOT officials plan to remove rock slope, he said.
Coincidentally, one of the companies working on the U.S. 321 expansion project, only a few miles from the site of the rock slide, specializes in removing rock slopes like the one that threatens the road, Turner said.
Representatives of the company will inspect the slope today. The job could take days, or longer, he said.
Meanwhile, authorities were directing traffic through one open lane around the endangered area with a pilot car. The car leads a line of traffic in one direction and then returns, leading a line in the opposite direction.
Delays on Thursday were 15-25 minutes, he said - and they could be even longer during busy traffic times, such as weekends, when tourists and shoppers flock to Blowing Rock and Boone.
On Saturday, traffic is likely to be even heavier than normal because of an Appalachian State football game in Boone, he said.
Turner urged motorists from Charlotte, Hickory and other points south to use U.S. 421 in Wilkes County as a detour.
"There's a lot of traffic that's headed to the mountains this weekend, so I can really see a lot of traffic backing up," he said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
12/3/06
First 'scrubber' at work on Marshall station emissions
Duke Energy project aims to reduce air pollution from coal-fired power plants
Sunday, December 3, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The first pollution scrubber at Duke Energy's Marshall Steam Station in Sherrills Ford is now operating, and two more will begin running in the next few months.
Plumes of water vapor began pouring out of the plant's 350-foot smokestack Oct. 30, when the company went online with the first of three pollution scrubbers, said Duke spokesman Tom Williams.
"What people are seeing is the large stack, where there are three internal flues," Williams said. "The (steam) plume is much more visible and much cleaner" than past emissions.
The second and third scrubbers are expected to go online in the spring, he said.
In February 2004, Duke launched the $425 million project to help cut sulfur dioxide and other toxic emissions at the Marshall Steam Station, one of the state's larger coal-fired plants.
The scrubbers are part of a $1.5 billion plan by Duke to reduce emissions in some of the state's power plants and to comply with the N.C. Clean Smokestacks Act.
The act, passed in 2002, was intended to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 77 percent by 2009 and sulfur dioxide by 73 percent by 2013, according to Observer archives.
Coal-fired plants are among the biggest sources of air pollution in the Southeast. Sulfur dioxide, a byproduct of coal-firing, has been linked to respiratory illness, premature death, acid rain and haze.
The Marshall Steam Station opened in 1965 and today produces enough electricity to power 2 million homes.
At plants like the Marshall station, energy is created by heating water and creating steam inside a coal-fired boiler. Pressure from the steam spins turbines, which are connected to a generator to create electricity.
Before the scrubbers, the more-toxic emissions were released through four 280-feet stacks. Now, with the first of three scrubbers running, the cleaner emissions are rerouted through a flue inside the 350-foot stack and released in a plume of steam.
By spring 2007 the flues, Williams said, will run from the three scrubbers, mixing flue gas, the byproduct of burning coal, with a limestone and water mixture, through the smokestack. The chemical reaction scrubs the toxic gases, removing 95 percent or more of the sulfur dioxide and a significant amount of the mercury emissions.
John Tippett, planning director for the Western Piedmont Council of Governments, said the scrubbers are a major contribution to the state's goal for better air quality.
"There are some things happening at the national level that are positive, but the state of North Carolina has taken the lead on clean air programs," Tippet said.
"We're looking forward to see what the results will be with our air readings."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Sunday, December 3, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The first pollution scrubber at Duke Energy's Marshall Steam Station in Sherrills Ford is now operating, and two more will begin running in the next few months.
Plumes of water vapor began pouring out of the plant's 350-foot smokestack Oct. 30, when the company went online with the first of three pollution scrubbers, said Duke spokesman Tom Williams.
"What people are seeing is the large stack, where there are three internal flues," Williams said. "The (steam) plume is much more visible and much cleaner" than past emissions.
The second and third scrubbers are expected to go online in the spring, he said.
In February 2004, Duke launched the $425 million project to help cut sulfur dioxide and other toxic emissions at the Marshall Steam Station, one of the state's larger coal-fired plants.
The scrubbers are part of a $1.5 billion plan by Duke to reduce emissions in some of the state's power plants and to comply with the N.C. Clean Smokestacks Act.
The act, passed in 2002, was intended to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 77 percent by 2009 and sulfur dioxide by 73 percent by 2013, according to Observer archives.
Coal-fired plants are among the biggest sources of air pollution in the Southeast. Sulfur dioxide, a byproduct of coal-firing, has been linked to respiratory illness, premature death, acid rain and haze.
The Marshall Steam Station opened in 1965 and today produces enough electricity to power 2 million homes.
At plants like the Marshall station, energy is created by heating water and creating steam inside a coal-fired boiler. Pressure from the steam spins turbines, which are connected to a generator to create electricity.
Before the scrubbers, the more-toxic emissions were released through four 280-feet stacks. Now, with the first of three scrubbers running, the cleaner emissions are rerouted through a flue inside the 350-foot stack and released in a plume of steam.
By spring 2007 the flues, Williams said, will run from the three scrubbers, mixing flue gas, the byproduct of burning coal, with a limestone and water mixture, through the smokestack. The chemical reaction scrubs the toxic gases, removing 95 percent or more of the sulfur dioxide and a significant amount of the mercury emissions.
John Tippett, planning director for the Western Piedmont Council of Governments, said the scrubbers are a major contribution to the state's goal for better air quality.
"There are some things happening at the national level that are positive, but the state of North Carolina has taken the lead on clean air programs," Tippet said.
"We're looking forward to see what the results will be with our air readings."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
12/2/06
Woman accused of beating stay dogs
Police: She says she was trying to get them away from her home, rabbit
Saturday, December 2, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Lenoir woman faces animal cruelty charges after two dogs were beaten with a hammer, and one was killed, this week.
Amy Mann Wilson, 37, was charged with two felony counts of cruelty to animals Monday, said Greg Greene, field officer with Caldwell County Animal Care and Control.
Wilson was released from the Caldwell County jail on bond Friday and is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 19.
Wilson told officers from animal control and the Lenoir Police Department that she was holding her pet rabbit outside her home when the dogs appeared and tried to grab the animal from her arms.
Authorities could not find the dogs' owners and said they think the two animals, a male and a female, were strays, Greene said.
Wilson told authorities she was able to kick the dogs away and put the rabbit back in its pen but that the two dogs followed her, Greene said.
She then gathered food scraps from her kitchen and led the dogs away from her home, Wilson told officers, where she hit the male dog's head several times with a hammer, Greene said.
Wilson told authorities she was hitting the male dog when the female got "aggressive," Greene said. Wilson said she then swung at the female dog, Greene said.
The male dog was dead when authorities arrived at the northwest Lenoir neighborhood, and the female dog was unconscious, Greene said. A local veterinarian expects the female dog to recover, he said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Saturday, December 2, 2006
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Lenoir woman faces animal cruelty charges after two dogs were beaten with a hammer, and one was killed, this week.
Amy Mann Wilson, 37, was charged with two felony counts of cruelty to animals Monday, said Greg Greene, field officer with Caldwell County Animal Care and Control.
Wilson was released from the Caldwell County jail on bond Friday and is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 19.
Wilson told officers from animal control and the Lenoir Police Department that she was holding her pet rabbit outside her home when the dogs appeared and tried to grab the animal from her arms.
Authorities could not find the dogs' owners and said they think the two animals, a male and a female, were strays, Greene said.
Wilson told authorities she was able to kick the dogs away and put the rabbit back in its pen but that the two dogs followed her, Greene said.
She then gathered food scraps from her kitchen and led the dogs away from her home, Wilson told officers, where she hit the male dog's head several times with a hammer, Greene said.
Wilson told authorities she was hitting the male dog when the female got "aggressive," Greene said. Wilson said she then swung at the female dog, Greene said.
The male dog was dead when authorities arrived at the northwest Lenoir neighborhood, and the female dog was unconscious, Greene said. A local veterinarian expects the female dog to recover, he said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)