Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Authorities said they found a gun in the trunk of an East Burke High School student's car Tuesday and charged him with bringing a weapon onto campus.
Zachary Jay Barringer, 18, was charged by the Burke County Sheriff's Office with felony possession of a firearm on school property, said Sgt. Robert Beall.
Barringer, who Beall said participates in military re-enactments, allowed deputies to search his car, which was parked on school property Tuesday. During the search, Beall said, officers found a gun, two knives, assorted military manuals, a gas mask and a military helmet.
Beall said school resource officer Michael Hudson was told that a student was making threats but would not give details of the threats.
Barringer was released on bond Tuesday to his mother's custody. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance today.
Burke schools Superintendent David Burleson also said that a second student, whom he would not name, is being investigated for bringing a BB gun onto campus Tuesday morning. The gun was found in the student's car, Burleson said, after the school received a phone call from one of the student's neighbors.
Tuesdays incidents were not connected, Burleson said.
Both students could face a year's suspension.
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1/30/07
Friend of family charged with molesting girl younger than 16
Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Conover man has been jailed on charges of taking indecent liberties with a child, according to the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
Lewis Edward Green, 47, is charged with molesting a girl under 16 on Jan. 22, Maj. Coy Reid said, though he would not give the girl's age or details of the incident.
Green, a friend of the girl's family, was arrested Thursday and held in the Catawba County Jail with bond set at $75,000, Reid said. He is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 16.
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By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Conover man has been jailed on charges of taking indecent liberties with a child, according to the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
Lewis Edward Green, 47, is charged with molesting a girl under 16 on Jan. 22, Maj. Coy Reid said, though he would not give the girl's age or details of the incident.
Green, a friend of the girl's family, was arrested Thursday and held in the Catawba County Jail with bond set at $75,000, Reid said. He is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 16.
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Woman accused of leaving kids in car while she went dancing
Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Morganton woman was charged with child abuse early Sunday after, authorities said, she left her sleeping children in a car while she went dancing at a Hickory club.
Georgina Marquez, 37, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse after Hickory police officers found her 10- and 12-year-old sons in a car parked outside Fantacia's dance club on U.S. 70.
About 1:30 a.m., officers were issuing parking tickets to cars illegally parked along the highway when they noticed the boys sleeping in the car, said Hickory police Sgt. Scott Hildebrand.
The boys told authorities that their mother left them in the car about 10:40 p.m. Saturday so she could take their 18-year-old sister dancing at the club, according to the police report.
Temperatures early Sunday morning were in the low 50s, and, according the police report, the boys were dressed in shorts and T-shirts when officers found them.
Police called the Department of Social Services, Hildebrand said, before the children were released to Marquez. Marquez was released on $2,000 bond and will make her first court appearance Feb. 14.
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By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Morganton woman was charged with child abuse early Sunday after, authorities said, she left her sleeping children in a car while she went dancing at a Hickory club.
Georgina Marquez, 37, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse after Hickory police officers found her 10- and 12-year-old sons in a car parked outside Fantacia's dance club on U.S. 70.
About 1:30 a.m., officers were issuing parking tickets to cars illegally parked along the highway when they noticed the boys sleeping in the car, said Hickory police Sgt. Scott Hildebrand.
The boys told authorities that their mother left them in the car about 10:40 p.m. Saturday so she could take their 18-year-old sister dancing at the club, according to the police report.
Temperatures early Sunday morning were in the low 50s, and, according the police report, the boys were dressed in shorts and T-shirts when officers found them.
Police called the Department of Social Services, Hildebrand said, before the children were released to Marquez. Marquez was released on $2,000 bond and will make her first court appearance Feb. 14.
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No illness seen in prisoner who died
Woman seen sleeping, then did not respond less than an hour later
Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A woman who died in a Morganton jail on Saturday showed no sign of illness when she was admitted that day, authorities said Monday.
Catawba County Sheriff David Huffman said the woman, 28-year-old Heather Renae Fredell, was in her cell, "sleeping and snoring," shortly after 6 p.m. when deputies checked on her.
But during a check less than an hour later, Fredell was unresponsive, Huffman said. Jailers tried to revive Fredell before an ambulance took her to Grace Hospital in Morganton, where she was pronounced dead.
Fredell was argumentative after she was brought in to the jail, Huffman said, so she was locked in a single-person, padded cell, which is standard procedure with intoxicated inmates, he said.
Huffman said he does not have enough information to say whether Fredell was intoxicated and that officials are waiting on the results of a toxicology report. Huffman is chairman of the Burke-Catawba jail, which serves both counties.
Fredell was taken into custody Saturday afternoon at a flea market in Morganton on a warrant for failing to appear in Burke County courts, said Morganton Department of Public Safety Capt. Mark Bradshaw.
During the arrest, Bradshaw said, an officer found a knife in Fredell's purse and she was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor.
Bradshaw said no force was used during the arrest and that the report did not indicate that Fredell had any visible medical problems.
Like all female suspects arrested in Burke and Catawba counties, Fredell was taken to the Burke-Catawba jail.
Fredell's death is the fourth death possibly connected to a jail run by the Catawba County sheriff in the past three years.
The State Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the case, Huffman said.
More than 12,000 inmates in local, state and federal jails and prisons died while in custody between 2001 and 2004, according to a study released by the Department of Justice.
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Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A woman who died in a Morganton jail on Saturday showed no sign of illness when she was admitted that day, authorities said Monday.
Catawba County Sheriff David Huffman said the woman, 28-year-old Heather Renae Fredell, was in her cell, "sleeping and snoring," shortly after 6 p.m. when deputies checked on her.
But during a check less than an hour later, Fredell was unresponsive, Huffman said. Jailers tried to revive Fredell before an ambulance took her to Grace Hospital in Morganton, where she was pronounced dead.
Fredell was argumentative after she was brought in to the jail, Huffman said, so she was locked in a single-person, padded cell, which is standard procedure with intoxicated inmates, he said.
Huffman said he does not have enough information to say whether Fredell was intoxicated and that officials are waiting on the results of a toxicology report. Huffman is chairman of the Burke-Catawba jail, which serves both counties.
Fredell was taken into custody Saturday afternoon at a flea market in Morganton on a warrant for failing to appear in Burke County courts, said Morganton Department of Public Safety Capt. Mark Bradshaw.
During the arrest, Bradshaw said, an officer found a knife in Fredell's purse and she was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor.
Bradshaw said no force was used during the arrest and that the report did not indicate that Fredell had any visible medical problems.
Like all female suspects arrested in Burke and Catawba counties, Fredell was taken to the Burke-Catawba jail.
Fredell's death is the fourth death possibly connected to a jail run by the Catawba County sheriff in the past three years.
The State Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the case, Huffman said.
More than 12,000 inmates in local, state and federal jails and prisons died while in custody between 2001 and 2004, according to a study released by the Department of Justice.
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1/27/07
Newton attorney appointed by Easley to District Court
Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Gov. Mike Easley has appointed a Newton attorney to the District Court bench in the state's 25th Judicial District, which comprises Burke, Caldwell and Catawba counties.
John Harper Cilley IV of Newton, a partner at Isenhower, Wood & Cilley since 1991, has practiced law since graduating from Wake Forest University's law school in 1985. He fills a judicial seat created by the General Assembly in 2006 and is the district's ninth judge.
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By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Gov. Mike Easley has appointed a Newton attorney to the District Court bench in the state's 25th Judicial District, which comprises Burke, Caldwell and Catawba counties.
John Harper Cilley IV of Newton, a partner at Isenhower, Wood & Cilley since 1991, has practiced law since graduating from Wake Forest University's law school in 1985. He fills a judicial seat created by the General Assembly in 2006 and is the district's ninth judge.
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Sheriff in hospital with cancer, family says; prognosis not good
Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Less than three months after winning a second term, Caldwell County's sheriff has been hospitalized due to complications from recently diagnosed pancreatic cancer, family said Friday.
Gary Clark, who was elected sheriff in 2002 and won a second term in November, was being treated Friday in the intensive care unit at Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory, hospital officials said.
Family member Monte Zepeda said he is not sure how long doctors have given Clark to live but said the cancer is terminal. "I'm afraid it won't be long," he said Friday.
If Clark dies, Maj. Allen Jones, who's next in command, would fill the sheriff's role until county commissioners appoint a replacement, according to N.C. law.
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By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Less than three months after winning a second term, Caldwell County's sheriff has been hospitalized due to complications from recently diagnosed pancreatic cancer, family said Friday.
Gary Clark, who was elected sheriff in 2002 and won a second term in November, was being treated Friday in the intensive care unit at Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory, hospital officials said.
Family member Monte Zepeda said he is not sure how long doctors have given Clark to live but said the cancer is terminal. "I'm afraid it won't be long," he said Friday.
If Clark dies, Maj. Allen Jones, who's next in command, would fill the sheriff's role until county commissioners appoint a replacement, according to N.C. law.
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1/25/07
Health facility is Burke’s top priority
County commissioners’ goal-setting retreat yields list of 22 projects they’d like to see completed in next fiscal year
Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
MORGANTON – An allied health facility in Burke County topped the list of priorities set this week when commissioners met to discuss goals for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
Burke County commissioners met for their annual retreat Monday evening, and compiled a list of 22 projects they'd like to see completed in the coming year.
Commissioners, in large part, agreed that completing renovations to the allied health facility, a self-contained health-education school that would offer a four-year nursing degree program and other health-care training, was the top priority.
"It's a way to keep the best and the brightest in the county," said Chairman Wayne Abele.
The facility will be located in the Doblin building, a former textile plant off Interstate 40.
Other top priorities included building an emergency services training complex; reforming the current emergency medical services system; assessing security, space and personnel issues in the jail and courthouse; updating the county's personnel ordinance; creating a park in Glen Alpine; selling water bonds to help provide residents better access to water; and setting a property-tax rate based on the revaluation and budget.
"(We need) to set a tax rate that is believable, fair and acceptable to the taxpayer," said commissioner Maynard Taylor.
Other issues that made the list included brokering an agreement with Morganton about the ownership of the history museum, looking at county sewer services, the development of an industrial park, completing the Lake James project, improving technology services, developing a vehicle replacement schedule and increasing communication among county department heads.
Some of the priorities listed by commissioners Monday night, Abele said, are projects already under way and likely to be completed within the year. Others, he said, are still in the inception phases and could take longer.
"I'm pleased with what we've done tonight," said County Manager Ron Lewis. "This is a new beginning." For the first time, the retreat was guided by a facilitator - Morganton attorney, Tammy Wilcox of Alternate Solutions LLC.
Wilcox joined the session, she said, to moderate the conversation and give each commissioner "an equal voice" in setting goals.
"It's more empowering than overpowering," Wilcox told commissioners Monday. "It's not the time to persuade."
While commissioners discussed each proposal, Wilcox encouraged the board to avoid debating the merits of each issue and, instead, to focus on the county's top priorities.
"These are broad strokes," she said, "but they are excellent."
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Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
MORGANTON – An allied health facility in Burke County topped the list of priorities set this week when commissioners met to discuss goals for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
Burke County commissioners met for their annual retreat Monday evening, and compiled a list of 22 projects they'd like to see completed in the coming year.
Commissioners, in large part, agreed that completing renovations to the allied health facility, a self-contained health-education school that would offer a four-year nursing degree program and other health-care training, was the top priority.
"It's a way to keep the best and the brightest in the county," said Chairman Wayne Abele.
The facility will be located in the Doblin building, a former textile plant off Interstate 40.
Other top priorities included building an emergency services training complex; reforming the current emergency medical services system; assessing security, space and personnel issues in the jail and courthouse; updating the county's personnel ordinance; creating a park in Glen Alpine; selling water bonds to help provide residents better access to water; and setting a property-tax rate based on the revaluation and budget.
"(We need) to set a tax rate that is believable, fair and acceptable to the taxpayer," said commissioner Maynard Taylor.
Other issues that made the list included brokering an agreement with Morganton about the ownership of the history museum, looking at county sewer services, the development of an industrial park, completing the Lake James project, improving technology services, developing a vehicle replacement schedule and increasing communication among county department heads.
Some of the priorities listed by commissioners Monday night, Abele said, are projects already under way and likely to be completed within the year. Others, he said, are still in the inception phases and could take longer.
"I'm pleased with what we've done tonight," said County Manager Ron Lewis. "This is a new beginning." For the first time, the retreat was guided by a facilitator - Morganton attorney, Tammy Wilcox of Alternate Solutions LLC.
Wilcox joined the session, she said, to moderate the conversation and give each commissioner "an equal voice" in setting goals.
"It's more empowering than overpowering," Wilcox told commissioners Monday. "It's not the time to persuade."
While commissioners discussed each proposal, Wilcox encouraged the board to avoid debating the merits of each issue and, instead, to focus on the county's top priorities.
"These are broad strokes," she said, "but they are excellent."
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1/23/07
Woman charged with DWI in accident where boyfriend died
Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
CLAREMONT – A Claremont woman was charged with driving while intoxicated and reckless driving after her SUV flipped early Sunday, killing her boyfriend, authorities said.
Lisa Marie Carroll, 39, and Thomas Demus Dillard, 33, also of Claremont, had been out in Caldwell County drinking Saturday night and ended up arguing on Hollow Springs Circle, off N.C. 18 near the Wilkes County line, N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper T.C. Williams said.
Dillard was either running alongside Carroll's 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe or standing on the step board when, about 3:15 a.m. Sunday, Carroll swerved and hit an embankment, Williams said. The Tahoe flipped, crushing Dillard.
Dillard died at the scene, Williams said. Carroll was treated at Caldwell Memorial Hospital for minor injuries and released. She may face additional charges, Williams said.
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By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
CLAREMONT – A Claremont woman was charged with driving while intoxicated and reckless driving after her SUV flipped early Sunday, killing her boyfriend, authorities said.
Lisa Marie Carroll, 39, and Thomas Demus Dillard, 33, also of Claremont, had been out in Caldwell County drinking Saturday night and ended up arguing on Hollow Springs Circle, off N.C. 18 near the Wilkes County line, N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper T.C. Williams said.
Dillard was either running alongside Carroll's 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe or standing on the step board when, about 3:15 a.m. Sunday, Carroll swerved and hit an embankment, Williams said. The Tahoe flipped, crushing Dillard.
Dillard died at the scene, Williams said. Carroll was treated at Caldwell Memorial Hospital for minor injuries and released. She may face additional charges, Williams said.
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11-year-old may face charges in shooting of 3-year-old friend
Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
TAYLORSVILLE – An 11-year-old boy who shot a friend in Taylorsville last week may face assault charges, pending an investigation by the Department of Juvenile Justice, authorities said.
Alexander County Sheriff Hayden Bentley said Monday that his office recommended that the Department of Juvenile Justice and the District Attorney's Office consider charging the boy, who authorities say shot 3-year-old Jesse Miller on Jan. 15.
"We're not saying it wasn't accidental," Bentley said, "but there's a lot of factors we think the court needs to look at."
The 11-year-old, whom authorities have not named, could be charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, Bentley said.
Miller was shot in the chin while playing in his backyard with the children of his mother's boyfriend, authorities said. Miller was treated at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte and released last week.
The 11-year-old's father, 43-year-old Bill Blankenship, was charged with failing to secure a firearm and several drug charges after deputies searched the home.
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By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
TAYLORSVILLE – An 11-year-old boy who shot a friend in Taylorsville last week may face assault charges, pending an investigation by the Department of Juvenile Justice, authorities said.
Alexander County Sheriff Hayden Bentley said Monday that his office recommended that the Department of Juvenile Justice and the District Attorney's Office consider charging the boy, who authorities say shot 3-year-old Jesse Miller on Jan. 15.
"We're not saying it wasn't accidental," Bentley said, "but there's a lot of factors we think the court needs to look at."
The 11-year-old, whom authorities have not named, could be charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, Bentley said.
Miller was shot in the chin while playing in his backyard with the children of his mother's boyfriend, authorities said. Miller was treated at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte and released last week.
The 11-year-old's father, 43-year-old Bill Blankenship, was charged with failing to secure a firearm and several drug charges after deputies searched the home.
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1/19/07
New location ordered for husband’s killing trial
Man charges n 2005 slaying of wife; Lawyers cite media attention
Friday, Jan. 19, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR – A Caldwell County judge Thursday agreed to move the trial of a Sawmills man charged with killing his wife last winter and stuffing her body in the toolbox of her pickup truck.
Attorneys for Jerry Anderson, who was charged with first-degree murder in the 2005 slaying of his wife, Emily, argued in Caldwell County Superior Court on Thursday that extensive media attention of the case would make picking an impartial jury impossible.
"This is a community where word of mouth still matters," said Lisa Dubs, Anderson's Hickory-based attorney. "There is such an attitude of prejudice that it has affected the (whole) community."
Judge David Cayer granted the request for a change of venue after six hours of testimony and argument. Anderson's attorneys called eight witnesses.
Cayer, the prosecution and defense attorneys will discuss possible locations for the trial today.
Dubs and co-counsel Robert Campbell argued that too many people know intricate details of the case, which they say has received ample media attention, making it difficult for Anderson to receive a fair trial in Caldwell County or the Unifour region.
They presented more than 50 articles and clips from local television stations and newspapers, saying that photos of Anderson in his jail uniform and handcuffs makes him appear guilty before the trial has begun.
Three Caldwell County attorneys, who have tried dozens of first-degree murder trials, testified that they did not believe that Anderson would receive a fair trial in the county and that this case has received far more media attention than other cases in Caldwell County.
"People already know what the state's case is, and people are going to come in here and wonder if Jerry Anderson can prove them wrong," Dubs said, citing statements that investigators from the Sheriff's Office made about details of the crime.
Assistant District Attorney Eric Bellas asked that Cayer deny the motion, saying that Anderson's attorneys had not shown how the case would suffer if tried in Caldwell County.
"The defense has simply failed at showing there is a great prejudice against this defendant," he said in his closing remarks.
On Dec. 29, 2005, 49-year-old Emily Anderson disappeared from the Sawmills farm she operated with her husband, and her body was found 10 days later in an S.C. restaurant parking lot about 100 miles from Caldwell County.
She had been shot twice, and her body was crammed into the large tool compartment of her Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
The trial is tentatively scheduled to begin in May.
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Friday, Jan. 19, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR – A Caldwell County judge Thursday agreed to move the trial of a Sawmills man charged with killing his wife last winter and stuffing her body in the toolbox of her pickup truck.
Attorneys for Jerry Anderson, who was charged with first-degree murder in the 2005 slaying of his wife, Emily, argued in Caldwell County Superior Court on Thursday that extensive media attention of the case would make picking an impartial jury impossible.
"This is a community where word of mouth still matters," said Lisa Dubs, Anderson's Hickory-based attorney. "There is such an attitude of prejudice that it has affected the (whole) community."
Judge David Cayer granted the request for a change of venue after six hours of testimony and argument. Anderson's attorneys called eight witnesses.
Cayer, the prosecution and defense attorneys will discuss possible locations for the trial today.
Dubs and co-counsel Robert Campbell argued that too many people know intricate details of the case, which they say has received ample media attention, making it difficult for Anderson to receive a fair trial in Caldwell County or the Unifour region.
They presented more than 50 articles and clips from local television stations and newspapers, saying that photos of Anderson in his jail uniform and handcuffs makes him appear guilty before the trial has begun.
Three Caldwell County attorneys, who have tried dozens of first-degree murder trials, testified that they did not believe that Anderson would receive a fair trial in the county and that this case has received far more media attention than other cases in Caldwell County.
"People already know what the state's case is, and people are going to come in here and wonder if Jerry Anderson can prove them wrong," Dubs said, citing statements that investigators from the Sheriff's Office made about details of the crime.
Assistant District Attorney Eric Bellas asked that Cayer deny the motion, saying that Anderson's attorneys had not shown how the case would suffer if tried in Caldwell County.
"The defense has simply failed at showing there is a great prejudice against this defendant," he said in his closing remarks.
On Dec. 29, 2005, 49-year-old Emily Anderson disappeared from the Sawmills farm she operated with her husband, and her body was found 10 days later in an S.C. restaurant parking lot about 100 miles from Caldwell County.
She had been shot twice, and her body was crammed into the large tool compartment of her Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
The trial is tentatively scheduled to begin in May.
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1/18/07
County vows action on jail’s needs
Inmates’ attack on deputies prompts call for increased staffing, security at Morganton facility
Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
MORGANTON – Burke County commissioners vowed this week to make changes in the downtown jail, following a recent escape when three inmates attacked, handcuffed and severely beat the two deputies on duty.
Sheriff John McDevitt and more than 25 deputies, investigators, lieutenants and sergeants sat through a two-hour meeting to hear what commissioners would say about increasing staffing and security at the nearly 31-year-old jail.
"I want to reassure the sheriff's department that we're working on this issue already," Chairman Wayne Abele said at Tuesday night's meeting. "I promise you that something will come of this at our next meeting."
That's good news for McDevitt, who said the jail's list of needs is long. The top concerns, he said, include staffing shortages and the need for working security cameras, new doors, an updated key system and a smoke ventilation system.
"Hopefully, they'll see some of the issues," he said. "We've got to do something."
The No. 1 priority, McDevitt said, is to increase staffing in the 66-bed jail to a minimum of three guards per shift. The move, he said, would require the county to approve funding and hire four new jailers.
"Every year, for the past eight years, I've asked for an additional jailer per shift," McDevitt said last week, "and I haven't gotten a single jailer position yet."
Until commissioners approve a staff increase, McDevitt said, he has brought additional deputies into the jail by recruiting volunteers for overtime shifts.
Abele and Vice Chairman Jack Carroll toured the jail Monday and have been meeting with McDevitt about increasing staffing and security.
"We have to correct the deficiencies in the jail," Abele said. "(The attack) was an awful thing, but it really brought our attention to this."
Abele said Tuesday that he expects that commissioners will vote to add at least two more deputies to the jail, bringing the nighttime shifts up to three guards.
Carroll said he plans to visit a newer facility in Tennessee to get ideas about how to improve the situation in Morganton.
On Jan. 11, three men escaped from the jail while a deputy was administering medication. McDevitt said the men severely beat jailers Dean Miller and Jonathan Earp and handcuffed them to cells before stealing and fleeing in a deputy's personal vehicle.
Miller and Earp were treated and released from Grace Hospital on Jan. 11.
The men were arrested about six hours later when Concord police saw the car cruising through a hospital parking lot.
Bryant Burgess, 22, Larry Harbison, 33, and Matthew Pierce, 18, were charged with misdemeanor escape and an array of felony charges.
The men were returned to the Burke County jail last week and were being held in isolation cells Wednesday.
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1/16/07
Child, 3, shot in chin
Boy expected to survive; Adult charged with failure to secure firearm
Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007
By Marcie Young and Kytja Weir
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
TAYLORSVILLE – A 3-year-old boy was shot in the chin Monday evening, apparently when an 11-year-old fired a handgun as they played in their backyard just north of Taylorsville, authorities said.
The child is expected to survive his injury from the .22 caliber round.
The 11-year-old's father was charged with failing to secure a firearm, plus several drug charges after deputies searched the home.
The shooting occurred about 5:15 p.m. in a wooded yard of a home on Clearview Lane, according to Alexander County Sheriff Hayden Bentley. That's about 65 miles northwest of uptown Charlotte.
Robert Jesse Miller, 3, was outside with the 11- and 5-year-old children of his mother's live-in boyfriend, the sheriff said. Authorities did not release those children's names.
The boyfriend, Bill Blankenship, 43, had been with the children earlier, authorities said, helping clear a campsite about 75 yards from the house. They also may have been firing rounds for target practice, they said.
But Blankenship went inside for a few minutes, the sheriff said.
When he came outside again Robert had walked about 60 feet toward him, with a gunshot wound to his chin. Blankenship scooped the boy up and got help, Bentley said.
Robert was taken to Catawba Valley Medical Center, then airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte where his mother was by his side. He was conscious and listed in fair but stable condition Monday night.
The 11-year-old likely will not be charged because authorities believe the shooting was an accident.
Blankenship, his shirt splattered with blood, declined to comment as he walked to the magistrate's office Monday night to answer the initial gun charge. Later, authorities searched the home looking for additional weapons and found several pounds of marijuana, said Chief Deputy Chris Bowman.
Bowman said late Monday that his office planned to also charge Blankenship with felony possession of marijuana, maintaining a dwelling to keep a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell or distribute and possession of a firearm as a felon.
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Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007
By Marcie Young and Kytja Weir
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
TAYLORSVILLE – A 3-year-old boy was shot in the chin Monday evening, apparently when an 11-year-old fired a handgun as they played in their backyard just north of Taylorsville, authorities said.
The child is expected to survive his injury from the .22 caliber round.
The 11-year-old's father was charged with failing to secure a firearm, plus several drug charges after deputies searched the home.
The shooting occurred about 5:15 p.m. in a wooded yard of a home on Clearview Lane, according to Alexander County Sheriff Hayden Bentley. That's about 65 miles northwest of uptown Charlotte.
Robert Jesse Miller, 3, was outside with the 11- and 5-year-old children of his mother's live-in boyfriend, the sheriff said. Authorities did not release those children's names.
The boyfriend, Bill Blankenship, 43, had been with the children earlier, authorities said, helping clear a campsite about 75 yards from the house. They also may have been firing rounds for target practice, they said.
But Blankenship went inside for a few minutes, the sheriff said.
When he came outside again Robert had walked about 60 feet toward him, with a gunshot wound to his chin. Blankenship scooped the boy up and got help, Bentley said.
Robert was taken to Catawba Valley Medical Center, then airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte where his mother was by his side. He was conscious and listed in fair but stable condition Monday night.
The 11-year-old likely will not be charged because authorities believe the shooting was an accident.
Blankenship, his shirt splattered with blood, declined to comment as he walked to the magistrate's office Monday night to answer the initial gun charge. Later, authorities searched the home looking for additional weapons and found several pounds of marijuana, said Chief Deputy Chris Bowman.
Bowman said late Monday that his office planned to also charge Blankenship with felony possession of marijuana, maintaining a dwelling to keep a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell or distribute and possession of a firearm as a felon.
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1/13/07
Suspects awaiting trial face new charges
2 arrests follow separate break-in, robbery; Police looking for 3rd man
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Three Catawba County men who were awaiting trial in a 2006 murder face an array of new charges after a separate larceny and attempted robbery on the same street in Lincolnton on Wednesday.
Rodney Davon Duncan, 19, of Maiden was charged in the theft of two guns from a Lincolnton police officer's home, and 17-year-old Gadarious Dermont Dorsey and 19-year-old Tristan Lawing, both of Newton, were charged in an unrelated attempted armed robbery.
All three men had previously been charged in the 2006 murder of a Catawba County man who authorities said was killed because he provided police with information on a drug deal.
Here's what happened Wednesday in Lincolnton:
At about 2:30 p.m., officer William Vaughn left his Newbold Street home to pick up his child from school, said Dean Abernathy, Lincolnton police chief.
When Vaughn returned about 15 minutes later, he noticed that the side entrance had been in kicked in and that his service revolver and another handgun were missing, Abernathy said.
Officers spotted three men nearby and charged Duncan, 25-year-old Maurice Gillespie and 16-year-old Grady Wilson, both of Lincolnton, with breaking and entering and larceny.
Around 10 p.m. Wednesday, three men in a 1993 Jeep Cherokee pointed a gun at a man walking on Newbold Street and demanded money, Abernathy said.
The man told officers he ran away from the car and heard a shot fired behind him, Abernathy said. Officers spotted the vehicle a few minutes later, and when they tried to pull it over, the car sped off, Abernathy said.
Three men jumped out of the still-running Jeep and sprinted, Abernathy said. Officers were able to catch two of them.
Tristan Lawing, 19, of Newton and 22-year-old Michael Byrne of Maiden were charged with attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon. Authorities were still looking for Dorsey on Friday.
In April 2006, Duncan, Lawing, Dorsey and two other men were charged by Catawba County authorities with murder in the March shooting of Spence Chislom.
Duncan and Lawing were being held Friday at the Harven Crouse Detention Center in Lincolnton, Abernathy said. Duncan was being held on a $50,000 secured bond, Lawing on a $75,000 secured bond.
The District Attorney's Office is planning to ask that the bonds be revoked, said Chief Assistant District Attorney Eric Bellas.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Three Catawba County men who were awaiting trial in a 2006 murder face an array of new charges after a separate larceny and attempted robbery on the same street in Lincolnton on Wednesday.
Rodney Davon Duncan, 19, of Maiden was charged in the theft of two guns from a Lincolnton police officer's home, and 17-year-old Gadarious Dermont Dorsey and 19-year-old Tristan Lawing, both of Newton, were charged in an unrelated attempted armed robbery.
All three men had previously been charged in the 2006 murder of a Catawba County man who authorities said was killed because he provided police with information on a drug deal.
Here's what happened Wednesday in Lincolnton:
At about 2:30 p.m., officer William Vaughn left his Newbold Street home to pick up his child from school, said Dean Abernathy, Lincolnton police chief.
When Vaughn returned about 15 minutes later, he noticed that the side entrance had been in kicked in and that his service revolver and another handgun were missing, Abernathy said.
Officers spotted three men nearby and charged Duncan, 25-year-old Maurice Gillespie and 16-year-old Grady Wilson, both of Lincolnton, with breaking and entering and larceny.
Around 10 p.m. Wednesday, three men in a 1993 Jeep Cherokee pointed a gun at a man walking on Newbold Street and demanded money, Abernathy said.
The man told officers he ran away from the car and heard a shot fired behind him, Abernathy said. Officers spotted the vehicle a few minutes later, and when they tried to pull it over, the car sped off, Abernathy said.
Three men jumped out of the still-running Jeep and sprinted, Abernathy said. Officers were able to catch two of them.
Tristan Lawing, 19, of Newton and 22-year-old Michael Byrne of Maiden were charged with attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon. Authorities were still looking for Dorsey on Friday.
In April 2006, Duncan, Lawing, Dorsey and two other men were charged by Catawba County authorities with murder in the March shooting of Spence Chislom.
Duncan and Lawing were being held Friday at the Harven Crouse Detention Center in Lincolnton, Abernathy said. Duncan was being held on a $50,000 secured bond, Lawing on a $75,000 secured bond.
The District Attorney's Office is planning to ask that the bonds be revoked, said Chief Assistant District Attorney Eric Bellas.
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1/12/07
Staffing blamed in Burke jailbreak
3 men arrested hours after violent escape
Friday, Jan. 12, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
MORGANTON – Low staffing and poor handling of keys at a Morganton jail may have contributed to an escape Wednesday night that left two guards severely beaten and handcuffed, authorities said.
The escape by three Morganton men, authorities said, raises serious questions about security and staffing at the 66-bed jail in Burke County, about 70 miles northwest of Charlotte.
Burke County Sheriff John McDevitt said the escape might have been prevented if the jail had a larger staff. Two jailers were guarding 64 prisoners, he said.
Another contributing factor might have been how a jailer handled his keys, allowing the inmates to take them and easily exit through a series of locked doors, said John Harkins, the state's chief jail inspector.
Bryant Burgess, 22, Larry Harbison, 33, and Matthew Pierce, 18, were charged with misdemeanor escape and an array of felony charges, including assault inflicting serious injury to a government official, kidnapping, vehicle theft and robbery with a dangerous weapon.
Jailer Dean Miller was distributing medication late Wednesday night when the three men grabbed him, choked him with the metal cord of a nearby pay phone and handcuffed him, McDevitt said.
He didn't know whether Miller opened the cell or if inmates grabbed him through the bars.
McDevitt said the men took Miller's keys, sprayed him with pepper spray and beat him repeatedly with a flashlight and baton before unlocking four doors that lead to a control room, where a second guard, Jonathan Earp, was working.
"He thought it was the other jailer coming back," McDevitt said. "(Earp) heard the back door open and walked out of the control room. That's when he was tackled."
Two of the inmates handcuffed and beat Earp, McDevitt said, while the third went into the control room and unlocked a door to the outside. The guards were treated at Grace Hospital in Morganton and released Thursday.
The men fled in a jailer's Ford Mustang and were arrested about 6 a.m., when Concord police saw the car cruising through a hospital parking lot.
Authorities were not sure why the men had driven to Concord.
The men were charged with possession of a stolen vehicle by Concord police and were taken back to Burke County.
McDevitt said having additional staff might have helped prevent the escape. "Every year, for the past eight years, I've asked for an additional jailer per shift," McDevitt said, "and I haven't gotten a single jailer position yet."
But Burke County commissioner Maynard Taylor, who was elected six years ago, said the county has been generous with the Sheriff's Office in recent years, approving funds for new vehicles, pay raises and a deputy for McDevitt to use at the jail or in the courts.
"You can build jails with cells made out of gold, and they'd still be wanting something," Taylor said.
Regardless of how many guards were on duty Wednesday, Harkins said, no jailer should carry keys when interacting with inmates. "(Jailers) will have to come in contact with inmates," he said, "but they should never have keys on them that would allow an inmate to exit the jail."
McDevitt said it's impossible for guards at his jail to maneuver through the hallways of the 30-year-old jail without keys.
Unlike more modern facilities, McDevitt said, the doors do not automatically lock, so deputies must carry keys to move from room to room.
The Burke County jail has a history of security lapses. In July 1999, an inspector noted that the door wasn't kept locked, a safety hazard should inmates riot or attempt to escape. More recently, in January and August 2006, inspectors reported the same problem but imposed no penalties and took no further action, Harkins said.
Harkins said an initial investigation by the N.C. Division of Facility Services shows the control room was locked Wednesday night. The State Bureau of Investigation is also looking into the incident.
Before Wednesday's escape, Burgess was being held on armed robbery charges; Harbison for breaking and entering; and Pierce for probation violation and credit card theft.
All three men were being held in separate cells Thursday at the Burke County jail.
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Friday, Jan. 12, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
MORGANTON – Low staffing and poor handling of keys at a Morganton jail may have contributed to an escape Wednesday night that left two guards severely beaten and handcuffed, authorities said.
The escape by three Morganton men, authorities said, raises serious questions about security and staffing at the 66-bed jail in Burke County, about 70 miles northwest of Charlotte.
Burke County Sheriff John McDevitt said the escape might have been prevented if the jail had a larger staff. Two jailers were guarding 64 prisoners, he said.
Another contributing factor might have been how a jailer handled his keys, allowing the inmates to take them and easily exit through a series of locked doors, said John Harkins, the state's chief jail inspector.
Bryant Burgess, 22, Larry Harbison, 33, and Matthew Pierce, 18, were charged with misdemeanor escape and an array of felony charges, including assault inflicting serious injury to a government official, kidnapping, vehicle theft and robbery with a dangerous weapon.
Jailer Dean Miller was distributing medication late Wednesday night when the three men grabbed him, choked him with the metal cord of a nearby pay phone and handcuffed him, McDevitt said.
He didn't know whether Miller opened the cell or if inmates grabbed him through the bars.
McDevitt said the men took Miller's keys, sprayed him with pepper spray and beat him repeatedly with a flashlight and baton before unlocking four doors that lead to a control room, where a second guard, Jonathan Earp, was working.
"He thought it was the other jailer coming back," McDevitt said. "(Earp) heard the back door open and walked out of the control room. That's when he was tackled."
Two of the inmates handcuffed and beat Earp, McDevitt said, while the third went into the control room and unlocked a door to the outside. The guards were treated at Grace Hospital in Morganton and released Thursday.
The men fled in a jailer's Ford Mustang and were arrested about 6 a.m., when Concord police saw the car cruising through a hospital parking lot.
Authorities were not sure why the men had driven to Concord.
The men were charged with possession of a stolen vehicle by Concord police and were taken back to Burke County.
McDevitt said having additional staff might have helped prevent the escape. "Every year, for the past eight years, I've asked for an additional jailer per shift," McDevitt said, "and I haven't gotten a single jailer position yet."
But Burke County commissioner Maynard Taylor, who was elected six years ago, said the county has been generous with the Sheriff's Office in recent years, approving funds for new vehicles, pay raises and a deputy for McDevitt to use at the jail or in the courts.
"You can build jails with cells made out of gold, and they'd still be wanting something," Taylor said.
Regardless of how many guards were on duty Wednesday, Harkins said, no jailer should carry keys when interacting with inmates. "(Jailers) will have to come in contact with inmates," he said, "but they should never have keys on them that would allow an inmate to exit the jail."
McDevitt said it's impossible for guards at his jail to maneuver through the hallways of the 30-year-old jail without keys.
Unlike more modern facilities, McDevitt said, the doors do not automatically lock, so deputies must carry keys to move from room to room.
The Burke County jail has a history of security lapses. In July 1999, an inspector noted that the door wasn't kept locked, a safety hazard should inmates riot or attempt to escape. More recently, in January and August 2006, inspectors reported the same problem but imposed no penalties and took no further action, Harkins said.
Harkins said an initial investigation by the N.C. Division of Facility Services shows the control room was locked Wednesday night. The State Bureau of Investigation is also looking into the incident.
Before Wednesday's escape, Burgess was being held on armed robbery charges; Harbison for breaking and entering; and Pierce for probation violation and credit card theft.
All three men were being held in separate cells Thursday at the Burke County jail.
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1/11/07
Explosion, fire damage factory in Caldwell Co.
Lacquer erupts in flames near worker
Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
GRANITE FALLS – An explosion and fire destroyed a storage trailer and damaged part of a furniture factory in Caldwell County on Wednesday, but no one was seriously injured.
Twelve employees were working at Danny Cook's custom finishing plant on Hurricane Hill Road when the explosion occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Firefighters were still investigating the cause of the explosion.
Shane Duran, 25, said he was spraying furniture with a highly flammable lacquer when he heard the spray booth motor pop. He went to turn off the machine, he said, when flames erupted no more than two feet from his face, slightly singeing his forehead.
"I guess it sparked and caught the dust on fire," he said.
Within seconds, flames had covered the ceiling and were lapping at the walls of the room, he said. Duran and the other 11 employees working in the factory fled the building and called 911.
"By the time they could get to the fire extinguisher, (the fire) had already spread," said Caldwell County Fire Marshall Robbie Wilkie.
The back portion of the single-story building, where Duran and five other employees were working, held piles of wood and dozens of bottles of combustible fluids for finishing the furniture, workers said. The fire spread to the attached storage trailer.
"(The room) had lumber from the floor to the ceiling," said employee Delmar Weaver, 31, who had been working with Duran when the fire began.
Grace Chapel Fire Chief Josh Teague said the back portion of the building was destroyed. Other than the partially melted ceiling, Teague said the main showroom and front part of the building suffered considerably less damage.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
GRANITE FALLS – An explosion and fire destroyed a storage trailer and damaged part of a furniture factory in Caldwell County on Wednesday, but no one was seriously injured.
Twelve employees were working at Danny Cook's custom finishing plant on Hurricane Hill Road when the explosion occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Firefighters were still investigating the cause of the explosion.
Shane Duran, 25, said he was spraying furniture with a highly flammable lacquer when he heard the spray booth motor pop. He went to turn off the machine, he said, when flames erupted no more than two feet from his face, slightly singeing his forehead.
"I guess it sparked and caught the dust on fire," he said.
Within seconds, flames had covered the ceiling and were lapping at the walls of the room, he said. Duran and the other 11 employees working in the factory fled the building and called 911.
"By the time they could get to the fire extinguisher, (the fire) had already spread," said Caldwell County Fire Marshall Robbie Wilkie.
The back portion of the single-story building, where Duran and five other employees were working, held piles of wood and dozens of bottles of combustible fluids for finishing the furniture, workers said. The fire spread to the attached storage trailer.
"(The room) had lumber from the floor to the ceiling," said employee Delmar Weaver, 31, who had been working with Duran when the fire began.
Grace Chapel Fire Chief Josh Teague said the back portion of the building was destroyed. Other than the partially melted ceiling, Teague said the main showroom and front part of the building suffered considerably less damage.
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Caldwell closes 1 of 2 clinics
Granite Falls location wasn’t ‘cost-effective’
Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR – Caldwell County commissioners have decided to close the county health clinic in Granite Falls because, they say, it costs the county thousands of dollars to duplicate services offered elsewhere.
"It's not really cost-effective," said commission Chairman Faye Higgins.
Services at the Granite Falls clinic, which is one of only two public clinics in the county and open only on Mondays, will end Jan. 29, said Denise Michaud, director of the Caldwell County Health Department.
In July, commissioners recommended that the Health Department track the six-month cost of keeping the clinic open and how many patients were being treated.
"This has been a process," Michaud said. "It certainly wasn't a decision that was made without investigating the facts and looking at the statistics."
In a presentation to county commissioners Monday, Michaud said that 355 patients visited the Granite Falls clinic between July and December, costing the county $19,775 - roughly $56 per patient.
Closing the clinic, which focuses primarily on maternity and family planning, will require most patients to visit the main clinic in Lenoir, where the Department of Social Services is also located.
"It's convenient for many of our citizens because they can inquire about multiple services in one visit," Michaud said.
She said the Health Department will continue to hold its seasonal flu-shot drive in several spots throughout the county and is also looking into using the mobile health clinic more in Granite Falls and the southern end of the county.
"It's an extension of the Health Department and an alternate way to provide services," Michaud said. "We'll make the call based on the need."
The Granite Falls clinic is staffed by health department employees who also work at the Lenoir facility, Michaud said. Hours at the clinic, which opened in the late 1970s, were reduced from 40 hours a week to eight hours in 1981.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR – Caldwell County commissioners have decided to close the county health clinic in Granite Falls because, they say, it costs the county thousands of dollars to duplicate services offered elsewhere.
"It's not really cost-effective," said commission Chairman Faye Higgins.
Services at the Granite Falls clinic, which is one of only two public clinics in the county and open only on Mondays, will end Jan. 29, said Denise Michaud, director of the Caldwell County Health Department.
In July, commissioners recommended that the Health Department track the six-month cost of keeping the clinic open and how many patients were being treated.
"This has been a process," Michaud said. "It certainly wasn't a decision that was made without investigating the facts and looking at the statistics."
In a presentation to county commissioners Monday, Michaud said that 355 patients visited the Granite Falls clinic between July and December, costing the county $19,775 - roughly $56 per patient.
Closing the clinic, which focuses primarily on maternity and family planning, will require most patients to visit the main clinic in Lenoir, where the Department of Social Services is also located.
"It's convenient for many of our citizens because they can inquire about multiple services in one visit," Michaud said.
She said the Health Department will continue to hold its seasonal flu-shot drive in several spots throughout the county and is also looking into using the mobile health clinic more in Granite Falls and the southern end of the county.
"It's an extension of the Health Department and an alternate way to provide services," Michaud said. "We'll make the call based on the need."
The Granite Falls clinic is staffed by health department employees who also work at the Lenoir facility, Michaud said. Hours at the clinic, which opened in the late 1970s, were reduced from 40 hours a week to eight hours in 1981.
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Jail to add 8 new officers
State inspector sad staff needed for Caldwell facility to maintain state standards
Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR – The Caldwell County commissioners' decision this week to hire eight new employees at the county jail is the first step toward improving working and living conditions there, Sheriff's Office officials say.
Even though the facility meets statutory requirements, new jail administrator Chris Brackett said he wants to add detention officers and find ways to improve maintenance.
"It's a taxpayer building," he said. "You want to maintain it."
The Sheriff's Office has 20 full-time and a few part-time detention officers, whose job also includes monitoring the courts and transporting prisoners. With five officers working each shift, Brackett said, the jail is just minimally staffed, and employees are overworked.
"Right now, we're meeting all the requirements," he said. "But if somebody is sick, out for training or wants to take a vacation, that leaves us in a very tight predicament."
Between standard jail requirements, such as booking and observation, he said, the staff doesn't have time to worry about maintenance or supervise inmates doing work detail.
"We have the labor there, and the inmates are willing to work," Brackett said. "They want to get out of their cells and do laundry, scrub, clean, sweep and all that."
So, in November, Brackett brought in the state's chief jail inspector, John Harkins, for a comprehensive assessment and tips on what the 185-bed jail could do to improve conditions.
Harkins suggested hiring at least four more officers per shift, which would allow staff more flexibility and the ability to make sure the jail continues to meet state standards.
While Brackett said he isn't prepared to hire the 16 additional officers necessary to meet Harkins' recommendation, he did propose that county commissioners approve hiring eight employees at the board's Monday meeting.
The cost, Brackett said, would be about $155,000 for the rest of the 2006-2007 fiscal year and more than $250,000 for the upcoming year. He said he hopes to offset the cost with federal grants and income from housing inmates from other counties.
The board unanimously approved the motion, requesting that Brackett not only expand his staff but talk with the county's finance department to create a business plan and provide the commission quarterly updates on the jail.
"I want to make sure this thing is ongoing and we get regular reports," said Commissioner Don Barrier.
Brackett said he has already picked four new officers and is completing the background checks on four others, which would put seven employees on each shift. The additional staff, he said, is a critical step toward improving conditions at the facility.
"With this, we're more able to get the work done," he said. "It's easier and cheaper to maintain a facility than to make repairs."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR – The Caldwell County commissioners' decision this week to hire eight new employees at the county jail is the first step toward improving working and living conditions there, Sheriff's Office officials say.
Even though the facility meets statutory requirements, new jail administrator Chris Brackett said he wants to add detention officers and find ways to improve maintenance.
"It's a taxpayer building," he said. "You want to maintain it."
The Sheriff's Office has 20 full-time and a few part-time detention officers, whose job also includes monitoring the courts and transporting prisoners. With five officers working each shift, Brackett said, the jail is just minimally staffed, and employees are overworked.
"Right now, we're meeting all the requirements," he said. "But if somebody is sick, out for training or wants to take a vacation, that leaves us in a very tight predicament."
Between standard jail requirements, such as booking and observation, he said, the staff doesn't have time to worry about maintenance or supervise inmates doing work detail.
"We have the labor there, and the inmates are willing to work," Brackett said. "They want to get out of their cells and do laundry, scrub, clean, sweep and all that."
So, in November, Brackett brought in the state's chief jail inspector, John Harkins, for a comprehensive assessment and tips on what the 185-bed jail could do to improve conditions.
Harkins suggested hiring at least four more officers per shift, which would allow staff more flexibility and the ability to make sure the jail continues to meet state standards.
While Brackett said he isn't prepared to hire the 16 additional officers necessary to meet Harkins' recommendation, he did propose that county commissioners approve hiring eight employees at the board's Monday meeting.
The cost, Brackett said, would be about $155,000 for the rest of the 2006-2007 fiscal year and more than $250,000 for the upcoming year. He said he hopes to offset the cost with federal grants and income from housing inmates from other counties.
The board unanimously approved the motion, requesting that Brackett not only expand his staff but talk with the county's finance department to create a business plan and provide the commission quarterly updates on the jail.
"I want to make sure this thing is ongoing and we get regular reports," said Commissioner Don Barrier.
Brackett said he has already picked four new officers and is completing the background checks on four others, which would put seven employees on each shift. The additional staff, he said, is a critical step toward improving conditions at the facility.
"With this, we're more able to get the work done," he said. "It's easier and cheaper to maintain a facility than to make repairs."
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1/9/07
Engineers hope to have U.S. 127 bridge repaired, open by tonight
Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Transportation engineers said Monday that they hoped to open the U.S. 127 bridge across the Catawba River no later than this evening.
Authorities closed the bridge Friday after maintenance crews discovered cracks in the span, said Stacy Cooke, a state bridge maintenance engineer. The bridge connects Alexander and Catawba counties.
Crews worked through the weekend to stabilize the bridge. Repaving, halted briefly by rain, was to begin Monday evening. They hope to reopen the bridge by evening rush hour today, Cooke said.
Crews were repairing a pothole Friday at the southern entrance when they noticed a crack in the bridge.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Transportation engineers said Monday that they hoped to open the U.S. 127 bridge across the Catawba River no later than this evening.
Authorities closed the bridge Friday after maintenance crews discovered cracks in the span, said Stacy Cooke, a state bridge maintenance engineer. The bridge connects Alexander and Catawba counties.
Crews worked through the weekend to stabilize the bridge. Repaving, halted briefly by rain, was to begin Monday evening. They hope to reopen the bridge by evening rush hour today, Cooke said.
Crews were repairing a pothole Friday at the southern entrance when they noticed a crack in the bridge.
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Man charged with sex offenses after just finishing prison term
Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY A man who just finished a prison term in Pennsylvania has been charged with two seven-year-old sex offenses in Hickory.
Timothy William Fletcher, 39, was charged Friday with felony sex offense and taking indecent liberties with a child, said Sgt. Scott Hildebrand of the Hickory Police Department.
Authorities issued a warrant for Fletcher's arrest in 2000 after his girlfriend told officers that her 8-year-old daughter had been molested by her boyfriend, Hildebrand said. Hildebrand said Fletcher left the state before the district attorney could issue an indictment for his arrest.
In 2001, Fletcher was charged on several sex offense charges involving a 3-year-old girl in Pennsylvania and sentenced to jail. Fletcher was extradited to Catawba County after completing his sentence. He was being held Monday on a $250,000 bond at the Catawba County jail.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY A man who just finished a prison term in Pennsylvania has been charged with two seven-year-old sex offenses in Hickory.
Timothy William Fletcher, 39, was charged Friday with felony sex offense and taking indecent liberties with a child, said Sgt. Scott Hildebrand of the Hickory Police Department.
Authorities issued a warrant for Fletcher's arrest in 2000 after his girlfriend told officers that her 8-year-old daughter had been molested by her boyfriend, Hildebrand said. Hildebrand said Fletcher left the state before the district attorney could issue an indictment for his arrest.
In 2001, Fletcher was charged on several sex offense charges involving a 3-year-old girl in Pennsylvania and sentenced to jail. Fletcher was extradited to Catawba County after completing his sentence. He was being held Monday on a $250,000 bond at the Catawba County jail.
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1/7/07
The Dart: Waterwheel full of memories of Dad
Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
GLEN ALPINE – There isn't a large river or stream anywhere near the 16-foot steel waterwheel standing alone in the middle of the McGalliard land.
Sure, there's a small creek a few dozen feet away, but the dirt peeks through the shallow puddles and halts any thought that this might be the tributary to spin the massive red wheel.
But James McGalliard wasn't worried about that two decades ago, when he built the wheel on a small portion of his family's nearly 50 acres. McGalliard, then 72, just liked building things and thinking about how man-crafted machines could coexist with nature.
"He loved water mills," said son David McGalliard. "He just loved nature and putting nature to use."
James McGalliard, 92, died a month ago, but the waterwheel still sits where The Dart recently landed - in the open field nestled at the end of Snowhill Place, just outside of Glen Alpine and surrounded by golden grasses, sloping hills and hundreds of trees.
His son, 67-year-old David McGalliard, said his father had never built a waterwheel before he started collecting the parts for this one in 1986. Still, McGalliard said, it's perfect.
"It's just so well-balanced, I've seen the wind turn it," he said.
James McGalliard wasn't a novice at building things.
Over the years, the Burke County native and 1938 Elon graduate and football player took a job at a shipyard, farmed dairy cows, ran a sawmill, built hundreds of machines - from garden tractors to trailers - and repaired countless planers and tools.
"He built a lot of stuff. Trailers for moving soilage and trailers with dumps on them - even before people thought of trailers with dumps on 'em," David McGalliard said. "He could fix anything except the break of day or a broken heart."
In 1965, James McGalliard bought an old sawmill in East Tennille, Ga., that had been empty for years, his son said, fixed the broken turbine, cleaned out the silt and started a business grinding corn and sawing wood.
"That sawmill was really cool," McGalliard recalled. "With the water power, all you could hear was the saw turning."
Maybe the memory of the saw is why James McGalliard decided to start building a water mill on his Burke County front lawn decades later. David McGalliard said his father had tentative plans to reroute water from a larger stream, dam it and hoist it over the wheel.
"He just dreamed about working. He wasn't into movies, and he didn't drink," McGalliard said. "He got up in the morning to work. That's what he did."
But when his father became ill about four years ago and was too weak to work, McGalliard asked what he should do with the wheel.
"I said, `Pops, I'm not sure I'm going to put that to use. What do you think if we found someone who could use it?' " McGalliard recalled. "He liked that."
McGalliard said he's still not sure what to do with the giant red wheel. He might try to finish the project and find a stream to churn the mill, but he likely will start taking bids on eBay. He wouldn't accept less than $5,000 for the work his dad put in, he said.
If the wheel doesn't bring in at least that much, he said, he'll let it stand in the middle of the field - a sort of garden sculpture memorial to his father.
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
GLEN ALPINE – There isn't a large river or stream anywhere near the 16-foot steel waterwheel standing alone in the middle of the McGalliard land.
Sure, there's a small creek a few dozen feet away, but the dirt peeks through the shallow puddles and halts any thought that this might be the tributary to spin the massive red wheel.
But James McGalliard wasn't worried about that two decades ago, when he built the wheel on a small portion of his family's nearly 50 acres. McGalliard, then 72, just liked building things and thinking about how man-crafted machines could coexist with nature.
"He loved water mills," said son David McGalliard. "He just loved nature and putting nature to use."
James McGalliard, 92, died a month ago, but the waterwheel still sits where The Dart recently landed - in the open field nestled at the end of Snowhill Place, just outside of Glen Alpine and surrounded by golden grasses, sloping hills and hundreds of trees.
His son, 67-year-old David McGalliard, said his father had never built a waterwheel before he started collecting the parts for this one in 1986. Still, McGalliard said, it's perfect.
"It's just so well-balanced, I've seen the wind turn it," he said.
James McGalliard wasn't a novice at building things.
Over the years, the Burke County native and 1938 Elon graduate and football player took a job at a shipyard, farmed dairy cows, ran a sawmill, built hundreds of machines - from garden tractors to trailers - and repaired countless planers and tools.
"He built a lot of stuff. Trailers for moving soilage and trailers with dumps on them - even before people thought of trailers with dumps on 'em," David McGalliard said. "He could fix anything except the break of day or a broken heart."
In 1965, James McGalliard bought an old sawmill in East Tennille, Ga., that had been empty for years, his son said, fixed the broken turbine, cleaned out the silt and started a business grinding corn and sawing wood.
"That sawmill was really cool," McGalliard recalled. "With the water power, all you could hear was the saw turning."
Maybe the memory of the saw is why James McGalliard decided to start building a water mill on his Burke County front lawn decades later. David McGalliard said his father had tentative plans to reroute water from a larger stream, dam it and hoist it over the wheel.
"He just dreamed about working. He wasn't into movies, and he didn't drink," McGalliard said. "He got up in the morning to work. That's what he did."
But when his father became ill about four years ago and was too weak to work, McGalliard asked what he should do with the wheel.
"I said, `Pops, I'm not sure I'm going to put that to use. What do you think if we found someone who could use it?' " McGalliard recalled. "He liked that."
McGalliard said he's still not sure what to do with the giant red wheel. He might try to finish the project and find a stream to churn the mill, but he likely will start taking bids on eBay. He wouldn't accept less than $5,000 for the work his dad put in, he said.
If the wheel doesn't bring in at least that much, he said, he'll let it stand in the middle of the field - a sort of garden sculpture memorial to his father.
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.
1/6/07
U.S. 127 bridge over Catawba is closed after cracks discovered
Saturday, Jan. 6, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY - Transportation engineers closed the U.S. 127 bridge over the Catawba River on Friday evening after maintenance crews discovered cracks in the span.
Stacy Cooke, a state bridge maintenance engineer, said crews closed the road shortly before 5 p.m. Friday. Both lanes of traffic will be closed through the weekend and possibly longer, he said.
Crews were repairing a pothole Friday at the southern entrance when they noticed a crack in the bridge, Cooke said. The crack could possibly cause the bridge to tip downward and create a ramp steep enough to send a speeding car airborne.
Transportation officials have set up signs directing motorists to an alternate route.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY - Transportation engineers closed the U.S. 127 bridge over the Catawba River on Friday evening after maintenance crews discovered cracks in the span.
Stacy Cooke, a state bridge maintenance engineer, said crews closed the road shortly before 5 p.m. Friday. Both lanes of traffic will be closed through the weekend and possibly longer, he said.
Crews were repairing a pothole Friday at the southern entrance when they noticed a crack in the bridge, Cooke said. The crack could possibly cause the bridge to tip downward and create a ramp steep enough to send a speeding car airborne.
Transportation officials have set up signs directing motorists to an alternate route.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
1/5/07
Man faces kidnapping charge after wife is taken hostage
Schools locked down until authorities found Claremont man
Friday, Jan. 5, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Claremont man was charged Thursday with kidnapping after, authorities said, he took his wife hostage and threatened to kill her and himself.
Joey Smith, 44, will likely face other charges after authorities have completed their investigation, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
Shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday, a caller told county dispatchers that Smith was planning to kill his wife before committing suicide, Reid said. The caller was neither Smith nor his wife, but Reid would not say who it was. He said late Thursday that he did not know the wife's name.
Reid said deputies found Smith's and his wife's cars parked out front of Smith's home on Setzer Street in Claremont. When no one answered the door, deputies broke into the house and found it empty, Reid said.
Officers began searching property around the home and were able to contact Smith on his cell phone, Reid said.
Smith told authorities that he had already killed his wife, Reid said, and the Sheriff's Office dispatched a team of officers from the Maiden, Newton and Conover police departments, a Hickory Police Department K-9 team, and a Highway Patrol helicopter.
Nearby Bunker Hill High School and Riverbend Middle School were locked down for most of the morning, Reid said.
The schools are "not too far from the wooded area (behind Smith's home)," Reid said. "We didn't want to take a chance of him coming up from there and going into a school."
Troopers in the helicopter spotted Smith waving a pistol in the woods, Reid said, and officers on the ground tackled him. His wife was standing about two feet from him and was not badly injured. She was treated at a local hospital, Reid said.
Smith was being held Thursday afternoon at the Catawba County jail.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Friday, Jan. 5, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Claremont man was charged Thursday with kidnapping after, authorities said, he took his wife hostage and threatened to kill her and himself.
Joey Smith, 44, will likely face other charges after authorities have completed their investigation, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
Shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday, a caller told county dispatchers that Smith was planning to kill his wife before committing suicide, Reid said. The caller was neither Smith nor his wife, but Reid would not say who it was. He said late Thursday that he did not know the wife's name.
Reid said deputies found Smith's and his wife's cars parked out front of Smith's home on Setzer Street in Claremont. When no one answered the door, deputies broke into the house and found it empty, Reid said.
Officers began searching property around the home and were able to contact Smith on his cell phone, Reid said.
Smith told authorities that he had already killed his wife, Reid said, and the Sheriff's Office dispatched a team of officers from the Maiden, Newton and Conover police departments, a Hickory Police Department K-9 team, and a Highway Patrol helicopter.
Nearby Bunker Hill High School and Riverbend Middle School were locked down for most of the morning, Reid said.
The schools are "not too far from the wooded area (behind Smith's home)," Reid said. "We didn't want to take a chance of him coming up from there and going into a school."
Troopers in the helicopter spotted Smith waving a pistol in the woods, Reid said, and officers on the ground tackled him. His wife was standing about two feet from him and was not badly injured. She was treated at a local hospital, Reid said.
Smith was being held Thursday afternoon at the Catawba County jail.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Newton woman charged with rape of boy under age 16
Friday, Jan. 5, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A 29-year-old Newton woman has been charged with felony first-degree rape of a child, more than a month after the boy's mother reported the incident to Catawba County authorities.
Bettye Jo Herman was charged Dec. 29 with rape of a child under the age of 16. The offense was reported Nov. 23, according to court records.
Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office said Herman and the boy had intercourse more than once and on multiple days. Herman, he said, was a friend of the boy's family. He did not know how old the boy was.
Herman was being held Thursday at the Catawba County jail under $50,000 secured bond. She is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 24, according to jail records.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A 29-year-old Newton woman has been charged with felony first-degree rape of a child, more than a month after the boy's mother reported the incident to Catawba County authorities.
Bettye Jo Herman was charged Dec. 29 with rape of a child under the age of 16. The offense was reported Nov. 23, according to court records.
Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office said Herman and the boy had intercourse more than once and on multiple days. Herman, he said, was a friend of the boy's family. He did not know how old the boy was.
Herman was being held Thursday at the Catawba County jail under $50,000 secured bond. She is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 24, according to jail records.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
67-year-old woman killed after car hits embankment, flips
Friday, Jan. 5, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Linville woman died on a short stretch of highway in Caldwell County on Thursday when her car hit an embankment and flipped, authorities said.
Kathleen Bowman, 67, was driving her 2001 Jeep Cherokee north on U.S. 221 about 9:45 a.m. when she rounded a curve, hit a patch of black ice and swerved off the left side of the highway, said Highway Patrol Trooper J.D. Boone.
Bowman hit an embankment, which flipped the car and crushed the roof, Boone said. She was dead when authorities arrived, he said. Boone said Bowman was wearing a seat belt and not speeding. No other passengers were in the car, and no other vehicles were involved in the wreck, he said.
U.S. 221 runs for less than two miles through the most northwestern corner of Caldwell County, between Avery and Watauga counties.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Linville woman died on a short stretch of highway in Caldwell County on Thursday when her car hit an embankment and flipped, authorities said.
Kathleen Bowman, 67, was driving her 2001 Jeep Cherokee north on U.S. 221 about 9:45 a.m. when she rounded a curve, hit a patch of black ice and swerved off the left side of the highway, said Highway Patrol Trooper J.D. Boone.
Bowman hit an embankment, which flipped the car and crushed the roof, Boone said. She was dead when authorities arrived, he said. Boone said Bowman was wearing a seat belt and not speeding. No other passengers were in the car, and no other vehicles were involved in the wreck, he said.
U.S. 221 runs for less than two miles through the most northwestern corner of Caldwell County, between Avery and Watauga counties.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
1/4/07
Man accused in wife's death seeks new location for trial
Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
SAWMILLS - Defense attorneys for Jerry Anderson, charged with murder in the 2005 death of his wife, are asking for a change of venue.
Lisa Dubs, Anderson's Hickory-based attorney, said the case has received too much media attention for Anderson to receive a fair trial in Caldwell County.
On Dec. 29, 2005, 49-year-old Emily Anderson disappeared from the Sawmills farm she operated with her husband, Jerry Anderson. Her body was found 10 days later in an S.C. restaurant parking lot about 100 miles from Caldwell County.
She had been shot twice. Her body was crammed into the large tool compartment of her Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
Nearly a month after she disappeared, 47-year-old Jerry Anderson was charged with first-degree murder. He could face the death penalty if convicted and awaits trial from the Caldwell County jail.
The trial is tentatively scheduled to begin May 12.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
SAWMILLS - Defense attorneys for Jerry Anderson, charged with murder in the 2005 death of his wife, are asking for a change of venue.
Lisa Dubs, Anderson's Hickory-based attorney, said the case has received too much media attention for Anderson to receive a fair trial in Caldwell County.
On Dec. 29, 2005, 49-year-old Emily Anderson disappeared from the Sawmills farm she operated with her husband, Jerry Anderson. Her body was found 10 days later in an S.C. restaurant parking lot about 100 miles from Caldwell County.
She had been shot twice. Her body was crammed into the large tool compartment of her Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
Nearly a month after she disappeared, 47-year-old Jerry Anderson was charged with first-degree murder. He could face the death penalty if convicted and awaits trial from the Caldwell County jail.
The trial is tentatively scheduled to begin May 12.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
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