Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The state Highway Patrol on Wednesday ended a nearly four-month investigation into a rush-hour accident that killed a trucker on Interstate 40, authorities said.
Trooper Dan Suther, the Highway Patrol's lead investigator on the crash, said he gave the 425-page report to District Attorney's office Wednesday. Investigators talked with 18 witnesses and reviewed about 700 photographs taken at the scene of the crash, he said.
The District Attorney's Office Wednesday afternoon confirmed they received the report but would not talk about the specifics of the case or when charges are expected.
Bill Ray Parker, 52, of Fayetteville, Ark., died May 31 when he lost control of his tractor-trailer while driving on I-40. The truck jackknifed and overturned near the Fairgrove Church Road exit in southeast Hickory.
Lt. Everett Clendenin, public information officer in the Highway Patrol's Raleigh office, said in June that two tractor-trailers were headed west on I-40 about 6:20 p.m. when a silver Toyota pickup truck merged onto the highway.
The three trucks collided, Clendenin said, causing Parker to lose control and flip.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
9/25/07
Human leg found in smoker
Amputee: 'I didn’t have anything else to secure it in'
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007
By Cleve R. Wooston Jr. and Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
John Wood is trying to get from South Carolina to Catawba County today to retrieve his leg.
On Tuesday, a Maiden man found the lost appendage in a barbecue smoker he’d bought from a storage facility.
The man took the smoker home, looked inside, and saw something wrapped in paper. Inside, said Maiden Police Chief Troy Church, was Wood’s leg - the foot and most of the calf. Police are keeping it for Wood.
Doctors amputated Wood’s leg after a 2004 plane crash in Wilkes County that killed Wood’s father and injured two other family members, Wood said.
“When it was amputated, he told (the hospital) that he wanted that leg saved,” said his sister, Marin Wood-Lytle. “He wanted to keep the bone because he wanted to be buried as a full man.” But instead of a bone, a funeral home delivered the whole leg.
Wood put it in his freezer, his sister said. It became something of a joke when she came over. “I wouldn’t even get a Pepsi out of his refrigerator.”
But it stopped being funny when Wood got behind on his power bill and his electricity was shut off, the sister said.
Despite his family’s protests, Wood-Lytle said, her brother took the screen off his front porch, wrapped the leg inside and “tied it to two posts to let it dry. He was going to mummify it.”
Wood-Lytle said her brother was homeless for a while, living in his van, which he eventually lost.
Their mother put his belongings in a storage facility in Maiden, about 45 miles northwest of Charlotte, Wood-Lytle said, and paid for the first few months.
Reached Tuesday, Wood declined to answer most questions. He did say he put the leg in the smoker because “I didn’t have anything else to secure it in. There were no macabre intentions.”
Maiden Police talked with the storage facility’s owner, who was auctioning off items in the units of people who were behind on their payments. Wood said he asked the owner of the storage facility not to open his belongings and is trying to get from Greenville County, S.C. to get his things.
On Tuesday his sister was watching TV and saw the man who found her brother’s leg and thought “it just seems to never go away.”
She said that on Tuesday, an officer came by and said they had her brother’s leg.
“John had told them ‘how about just dropping it off at my sister’s and she’ll just hold it until I get there,' ” she said. “I told them ‘don’t bring that thing in my house.’ ”
- Staff researcher Maria Wygand contributed.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007
By Cleve R. Wooston Jr. and Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
John Wood is trying to get from South Carolina to Catawba County today to retrieve his leg.
On Tuesday, a Maiden man found the lost appendage in a barbecue smoker he’d bought from a storage facility.
The man took the smoker home, looked inside, and saw something wrapped in paper. Inside, said Maiden Police Chief Troy Church, was Wood’s leg - the foot and most of the calf. Police are keeping it for Wood.
Doctors amputated Wood’s leg after a 2004 plane crash in Wilkes County that killed Wood’s father and injured two other family members, Wood said.
“When it was amputated, he told (the hospital) that he wanted that leg saved,” said his sister, Marin Wood-Lytle. “He wanted to keep the bone because he wanted to be buried as a full man.” But instead of a bone, a funeral home delivered the whole leg.
Wood put it in his freezer, his sister said. It became something of a joke when she came over. “I wouldn’t even get a Pepsi out of his refrigerator.”
But it stopped being funny when Wood got behind on his power bill and his electricity was shut off, the sister said.
Despite his family’s protests, Wood-Lytle said, her brother took the screen off his front porch, wrapped the leg inside and “tied it to two posts to let it dry. He was going to mummify it.”
Wood-Lytle said her brother was homeless for a while, living in his van, which he eventually lost.
Their mother put his belongings in a storage facility in Maiden, about 45 miles northwest of Charlotte, Wood-Lytle said, and paid for the first few months.
Reached Tuesday, Wood declined to answer most questions. He did say he put the leg in the smoker because “I didn’t have anything else to secure it in. There were no macabre intentions.”
Maiden Police talked with the storage facility’s owner, who was auctioning off items in the units of people who were behind on their payments. Wood said he asked the owner of the storage facility not to open his belongings and is trying to get from Greenville County, S.C. to get his things.
On Tuesday his sister was watching TV and saw the man who found her brother’s leg and thought “it just seems to never go away.”
She said that on Tuesday, an officer came by and said they had her brother’s leg.
“John had told them ‘how about just dropping it off at my sister’s and she’ll just hold it until I get there,' ” she said. “I told them ‘don’t bring that thing in my house.’ ”
- Staff researcher Maria Wygand contributed.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Investigators probe attorney's drowning
Awaiting final autopsy report
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007
Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The drowning of a prominent Charlotte lawyer on Lake Norman last week may not have been an accident, Catawba County authorities said.
Darryll Walter Bolduc's body was pulled from the Catawba County side of Lake Norman on Sept. 18, a day after he disappeared while Jet Skiing. The preliminary autopsy showed he died from a freshwater drowning, said Capt. Roy Brown of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities are still waiting for the final autopsy report, Brown said, but investigators do not think Bolduc's death was accidental.
Investigators do not think foul play was involved, he said. Brown would not say whether they are treating Bolduc's death as a suicide.
Bolduc, who started the Bolduc Law Firm in Charlotte in 2003, received national attention in the 1990s over a lawsuit he filed against Bank of America predecessor NationsBank. He had recently remarried, Brown said, and was living in the Mooresville area.
Searchers spent parts of two days searching the lake for Bolduc, who was last seen riding his Jet Ski. Less than 10 minutes later, a fisherman saw the abandoned watercraft circling in the water.
The next evening, sonar found an object that resembled a body, and divers recovered Bolduc's body about 90 minutes later.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007
Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The drowning of a prominent Charlotte lawyer on Lake Norman last week may not have been an accident, Catawba County authorities said.
Darryll Walter Bolduc's body was pulled from the Catawba County side of Lake Norman on Sept. 18, a day after he disappeared while Jet Skiing. The preliminary autopsy showed he died from a freshwater drowning, said Capt. Roy Brown of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities are still waiting for the final autopsy report, Brown said, but investigators do not think Bolduc's death was accidental.
Investigators do not think foul play was involved, he said. Brown would not say whether they are treating Bolduc's death as a suicide.
Bolduc, who started the Bolduc Law Firm in Charlotte in 2003, received national attention in the 1990s over a lawsuit he filed against Bank of America predecessor NationsBank. He had recently remarried, Brown said, and was living in the Mooresville area.
Searchers spent parts of two days searching the lake for Bolduc, who was last seen riding his Jet Ski. Less than 10 minutes later, a fisherman saw the abandoned watercraft circling in the water.
The next evening, sonar found an object that resembled a body, and divers recovered Bolduc's body about 90 minutes later.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
N.C. aims to improve Broughton Hospital
State aims to improve mental facility after patient death
Plan: Regain hospital funding
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The state will improve supervision, communication and training at Broughton Hospital to prevent the kinds of problems that led the federal government to cut its Medicaid and Medicare funding in August.
A Department of Health and Human Services team that evaluated Broughton this month found problems that may have contributed to the death of one patient, who died after being restrained by a staff member, and an injury to another.
The team found that top medical personnel had grown distant from the healing process and the clinical staff was not being properly supervised or getting enough training.
"We need to put more emphasis on training and supervising staff to therapeutically communicate with patients," said Jim Osberg, chief of state-operated services with the Division of Mental Health. "That should help to prevent some of the needs for restraint."
Division directors, who are among the top-level employees at the hospital, must be more accountable and responsible for patient care and staff, said Dr. Michael Lancaster, the state's chief of clinical policy, who led the evaluation team.
Over the years, Lancaster said, directors who oversee the divisions of nursing, psychiatry, social services and psychology have become more like administrators than caretakers.
"They are our best-trained and our most-qualified people," he said. "Staff is getting hands-on direction from their supervisors, but what we're looking for is more accountability from the (division) leaders."
Lancaster, who will lead the reorganization, said he does not expect anyone to be fired as a result of the changes. "There was no malintent on anyone's part here," he said.
He expects to have a reorganization plan in place within a month, and he hopes the federal government will approve Medicaid and Medicare payments to Broughton within two months, he said.
"We have to be comfortable that this is the right thing and staff is comfortable," Lancaster said. "We do not want to be premature. I'm more considered about getting it right than doing it quickly."
The state doesn't conduct regular reviews of service at its state hospitals, Osberg said, but has created a department at each facility to make sure patients are getting safe and quality care.
"Of course that's one of the things we are looking at now," he said. "Do we need some sort of (system of review)?"
The federal government has threatened to stop Medicare and Medicaid payments to other hospitals in the past, he said, but the state had always been able to fix problems before funding was pulled.
The federal government also is considering stopping Medicaid and Medicare payments to Cherry Hospital, a state psychiatric hospital in Goldsboro, but Osberg said the problems are being fixed, and he doesn't expect to lose federal funding there.
Broughton receives about $1 million a month in Medicaid and Medicare funding. State officials are waiting until they know how much money it will lose before they adjust the department's $713 million budget to cover the gap, said Mark Van Sciver, spokesman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
The federal government will review the plan and make at least one unannounced visit to the hospital to check its progress before deciding whether it should reinstate payments, he said.
About Broughton
Broughton Hospital in Morganton, one of four state mental health hospitals, serves North Carolina's 37 western counties.Voluntary and involuntary patients are directly admitted or referred through outpatient providers. About 4,000 patients are treated each year. The hospital has a $98 million operating budget and about 1,200 employees.
SOURCE: Broughton Hospital
Recent Problems
In February, 27-year-old Anthony Lowery, a Broughton patient with schizophrenia, died of asphyxia after a staff member sat on his torso, according to an autopsy report. Lowery tried to bite the man during that time, the report said. No charges have been filed.
As the federal government finished its investigation into Lowery's death, another patient was injured on Aug. 19. The patient, who was supposed to be under close supervision, fell and hit his head while he was unattended. He was recovering when the federal government decided to stop Medicaid and Medicare payments.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Plan: Regain hospital funding
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The state will improve supervision, communication and training at Broughton Hospital to prevent the kinds of problems that led the federal government to cut its Medicaid and Medicare funding in August.
A Department of Health and Human Services team that evaluated Broughton this month found problems that may have contributed to the death of one patient, who died after being restrained by a staff member, and an injury to another.
The team found that top medical personnel had grown distant from the healing process and the clinical staff was not being properly supervised or getting enough training.
"We need to put more emphasis on training and supervising staff to therapeutically communicate with patients," said Jim Osberg, chief of state-operated services with the Division of Mental Health. "That should help to prevent some of the needs for restraint."
Division directors, who are among the top-level employees at the hospital, must be more accountable and responsible for patient care and staff, said Dr. Michael Lancaster, the state's chief of clinical policy, who led the evaluation team.
Over the years, Lancaster said, directors who oversee the divisions of nursing, psychiatry, social services and psychology have become more like administrators than caretakers.
"They are our best-trained and our most-qualified people," he said. "Staff is getting hands-on direction from their supervisors, but what we're looking for is more accountability from the (division) leaders."
Lancaster, who will lead the reorganization, said he does not expect anyone to be fired as a result of the changes. "There was no malintent on anyone's part here," he said.
He expects to have a reorganization plan in place within a month, and he hopes the federal government will approve Medicaid and Medicare payments to Broughton within two months, he said.
"We have to be comfortable that this is the right thing and staff is comfortable," Lancaster said. "We do not want to be premature. I'm more considered about getting it right than doing it quickly."
The state doesn't conduct regular reviews of service at its state hospitals, Osberg said, but has created a department at each facility to make sure patients are getting safe and quality care.
"Of course that's one of the things we are looking at now," he said. "Do we need some sort of (system of review)?"
The federal government has threatened to stop Medicare and Medicaid payments to other hospitals in the past, he said, but the state had always been able to fix problems before funding was pulled.
The federal government also is considering stopping Medicaid and Medicare payments to Cherry Hospital, a state psychiatric hospital in Goldsboro, but Osberg said the problems are being fixed, and he doesn't expect to lose federal funding there.
Broughton receives about $1 million a month in Medicaid and Medicare funding. State officials are waiting until they know how much money it will lose before they adjust the department's $713 million budget to cover the gap, said Mark Van Sciver, spokesman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
The federal government will review the plan and make at least one unannounced visit to the hospital to check its progress before deciding whether it should reinstate payments, he said.
About Broughton
Broughton Hospital in Morganton, one of four state mental health hospitals, serves North Carolina's 37 western counties.Voluntary and involuntary patients are directly admitted or referred through outpatient providers. About 4,000 patients are treated each year. The hospital has a $98 million operating budget and about 1,200 employees.
SOURCE: Broughton Hospital
Recent Problems
In February, 27-year-old Anthony Lowery, a Broughton patient with schizophrenia, died of asphyxia after a staff member sat on his torso, according to an autopsy report. Lowery tried to bite the man during that time, the report said. No charges have been filed.
As the federal government finished its investigation into Lowery's death, another patient was injured on Aug. 19. The patient, who was supposed to be under close supervision, fell and hit his head while he was unattended. He was recovering when the federal government decided to stop Medicaid and Medicare payments.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
9/24/07
State to reorganize Broughton hospital
Monday, Sept. 24, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The state today announced a reorganization of Broughton Hospital after spending nearly a month looking at problems there.
Last month, the federal government stopped Medicaid and Medicare payments at the hospital in response to a February patient death and an injury to another patient in August.
Broughton, one of four state mental health facilities, is in Morganton, about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte.
A team sent by the state Department of Health and Human Services to evaluate Broughton found that clinical staff was not being supervised by clinical professionals, according to the state agency. For instance, nursing staff did not report to the hospital's director of nursing.
Michael Lancaster, the state's chief of clinical policy, said Monday that Broughton needs to be realigned so it is clear that the clinical team is supervised by professional staff that understands the role of clinical staff.
Lancaster led the team, including nursing and administrative assistants, in the review of the hospital and will direct the reorganization there. He hopes to have a plan in place within a month and hopes that federal government will approve Medicaid and Medicare payments to Broughton within two months, he said.
Broughton receives about $1 million a month in Medicaid and Medicare funding.
"We have to be comfortable that this is the right thing and staff is comfortable," Lancaster said. "We do not want to be premature. I'm more considered about getting it right than doing it quickly."
The federal government stopped Medicaid and Medicare payments to Broughton last month because of concerns over the February death of 27-year-old Anthony Lowery and an injury to another patient in August.
An autopsy said that Lowery, who had a history of schizophrenia, died of asphyxia after a staff member sat on his torso. Lowery tried to bite the man during that time, the report said.
On Aug. 19, a patient who was supposed to be under close supervision fell, prompting the federal government to look more closely at staff supervision at the hospital.
The federal government will review the plan and make at least one unannounced visit to the hospital to check its progress before deciding whether it should reinstate payments, said Mark Van Sciver, spokesman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The state today announced a reorganization of Broughton Hospital after spending nearly a month looking at problems there.
Last month, the federal government stopped Medicaid and Medicare payments at the hospital in response to a February patient death and an injury to another patient in August.
Broughton, one of four state mental health facilities, is in Morganton, about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte.
A team sent by the state Department of Health and Human Services to evaluate Broughton found that clinical staff was not being supervised by clinical professionals, according to the state agency. For instance, nursing staff did not report to the hospital's director of nursing.
Michael Lancaster, the state's chief of clinical policy, said Monday that Broughton needs to be realigned so it is clear that the clinical team is supervised by professional staff that understands the role of clinical staff.
Lancaster led the team, including nursing and administrative assistants, in the review of the hospital and will direct the reorganization there. He hopes to have a plan in place within a month and hopes that federal government will approve Medicaid and Medicare payments to Broughton within two months, he said.
Broughton receives about $1 million a month in Medicaid and Medicare funding.
"We have to be comfortable that this is the right thing and staff is comfortable," Lancaster said. "We do not want to be premature. I'm more considered about getting it right than doing it quickly."
The federal government stopped Medicaid and Medicare payments to Broughton last month because of concerns over the February death of 27-year-old Anthony Lowery and an injury to another patient in August.
An autopsy said that Lowery, who had a history of schizophrenia, died of asphyxia after a staff member sat on his torso. Lowery tried to bite the man during that time, the report said.
On Aug. 19, a patient who was supposed to be under close supervision fell, prompting the federal government to look more closely at staff supervision at the hospital.
The federal government will review the plan and make at least one unannounced visit to the hospital to check its progress before deciding whether it should reinstate payments, said Mark Van Sciver, spokesman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
9/23/07
Fire strikes camp site again
Suspicious blaze is 2nd in 7 months at Balls Creek
Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
BANDYS --Some of the oldest wooden tents at the Balls Creek Campground burned to the ground in a suspicious blaze earlier this month, leaving nothing but charred rubble and memories.
It was the second time in seven months that fire damaged the secluded Methodist campground and left some of the wooden tents, many more than 100 years old, damaged or destroyed.
Authorities say the fires are suspicious and are looking into a few suspects they think could be connected to both fires, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
Those who love the annual Balls Creek Camp Meeting say the fires are tragic and have wiped out years of history.
"I can't believe there would be a human being that mean," said Cheryl Wilson, who has been attending the camp meetings for 30 years. "I just can't understand why anyone would want to destroy this."
But Wilson, 59, and other owners of the generations-old tents -- primitive, wooden cabins built in long rows -- say they won't let the fire's destruction stop a 154-year-old Catawba County tradition, and plan to rebuild in time for the next gathering in August 2008.
Every August since 1853, thousands of people have descended upon the Balls Creek grounds for "camp meeting" -- a two-week religious event where families live in the dilapidated wooden tents, attend church services and catch up with relatives and friends they rarely see.
The meetings were started in 1797 by traveling minister Daniel Asbury, in Terrell. The camps were first held under the arbors of trees, and eventually moved underneath canvas tents. Years later, when campers built the wooden cabins, the term "tent" followed.
But the traditional timber structures, some of which have wood shavings covering the floor, make the tents more vulnerable, said Catawba County Fire Marshal David Pruitt.
"It was all wood," Pruitt said, "and there was nothing burning expect for that wood."
The Sept. 14 fire, Pruitt said, damaged more than a dozen tents and destroyed at least six.
Investigators have determined that the blaze, which took firefighters six hours to extinguish, started in a center tent and spread to the buildings on either side, Pruitt said. They are still trying to determine how it was sparked or who may have ignited it.
"We won't call it arson because I don't have anything to prove it was arson," Pruitt said. "But it's a very secluded location, and it'd be very easy to come out there and do something."
More than 300 tents create a labyrinth along the narrow dirt and gravel roads and lead toward the campground's center, where campers gather beneath a man-made arbor for services and music.
Some of the tents destroyed recently were the campground's oldest and had survived a 1956 blaze that burned 130 tents to the ground.
Wilson's tent, which has been in her husband's family for generations, was built in 1857, she said.
"There were timbers in there from the original," she said. "We were using the original kitchen table and bench. That stuff can't be replaced."
Her neighbor, 82-year-old Rachel Gabriel Carter, has been going to camp meetings since the 1920s. She met her husband there after he returned from World War II, and her daughter met her husband there years later.
Both her family's tent and the tent that belongs to her husband's family were destroyed earlier this month, leaving behind nothing more than scorched furniture and memories. But her family rebuilt before, when the 1956 fire damaged their tent, and Carter said she plans on doing it again.
"There's a lot of memories," she said. "We all get together every year and have a family dinner on both Sundays during the meeting. It's something that's been going on as long as I can remember. I have to rebuild."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
BANDYS --Some of the oldest wooden tents at the Balls Creek Campground burned to the ground in a suspicious blaze earlier this month, leaving nothing but charred rubble and memories.
It was the second time in seven months that fire damaged the secluded Methodist campground and left some of the wooden tents, many more than 100 years old, damaged or destroyed.
Authorities say the fires are suspicious and are looking into a few suspects they think could be connected to both fires, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
Those who love the annual Balls Creek Camp Meeting say the fires are tragic and have wiped out years of history.
"I can't believe there would be a human being that mean," said Cheryl Wilson, who has been attending the camp meetings for 30 years. "I just can't understand why anyone would want to destroy this."
But Wilson, 59, and other owners of the generations-old tents -- primitive, wooden cabins built in long rows -- say they won't let the fire's destruction stop a 154-year-old Catawba County tradition, and plan to rebuild in time for the next gathering in August 2008.
Every August since 1853, thousands of people have descended upon the Balls Creek grounds for "camp meeting" -- a two-week religious event where families live in the dilapidated wooden tents, attend church services and catch up with relatives and friends they rarely see.
The meetings were started in 1797 by traveling minister Daniel Asbury, in Terrell. The camps were first held under the arbors of trees, and eventually moved underneath canvas tents. Years later, when campers built the wooden cabins, the term "tent" followed.
But the traditional timber structures, some of which have wood shavings covering the floor, make the tents more vulnerable, said Catawba County Fire Marshal David Pruitt.
"It was all wood," Pruitt said, "and there was nothing burning expect for that wood."
The Sept. 14 fire, Pruitt said, damaged more than a dozen tents and destroyed at least six.
Investigators have determined that the blaze, which took firefighters six hours to extinguish, started in a center tent and spread to the buildings on either side, Pruitt said. They are still trying to determine how it was sparked or who may have ignited it.
"We won't call it arson because I don't have anything to prove it was arson," Pruitt said. "But it's a very secluded location, and it'd be very easy to come out there and do something."
More than 300 tents create a labyrinth along the narrow dirt and gravel roads and lead toward the campground's center, where campers gather beneath a man-made arbor for services and music.
Some of the tents destroyed recently were the campground's oldest and had survived a 1956 blaze that burned 130 tents to the ground.
Wilson's tent, which has been in her husband's family for generations, was built in 1857, she said.
"There were timbers in there from the original," she said. "We were using the original kitchen table and bench. That stuff can't be replaced."
Her neighbor, 82-year-old Rachel Gabriel Carter, has been going to camp meetings since the 1920s. She met her husband there after he returned from World War II, and her daughter met her husband there years later.
Both her family's tent and the tent that belongs to her husband's family were destroyed earlier this month, leaving behind nothing more than scorched furniture and memories. But her family rebuilt before, when the 1956 fire damaged their tent, and Carter said she plans on doing it again.
"There's a lot of memories," she said. "We all get together every year and have a family dinner on both Sundays during the meeting. It's something that's been going on as long as I can remember. I have to rebuild."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
9/22/07
Henredon to close plant, cut 400 jobs
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007
By Hannah Mitchell and Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
The Henredon furniture plant in Morganton will close in December, eliminating more than 400 jobs at the company.
Of the 521 people who work at the plant, the company will place about 100 people in other jobs, according to Gov. Mike Easley's office.
HDM Furniture Industries President Tom Tilley told The Associated Press that the majority of the furniture made at the plant will be outsourced. He said some employees will be transferred to a smaller plant that the company will keep in the Morganton area.
The company did not give any other details of the closing, and officials did not return several calls seeking comment.
Henredon is part of HDM Furniture Industries, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Furniture Brands International, which has been shifting its production to Asia for the past five years.
The closing adds to the decline of manufacturing in the counties around Morganton and Hickory. In recent years, the region has lost thousands of jobs in the furniture and textile industries, which for decades were the bedrock of the economy.
"It's very disturbing," said commissioner Ruth Ann Suttle. "People are going to be out of work, and the county is going to have to work that much harder to bring business here. Furniture and textile is a thing of the past (in Burke County), and we're going to have to come up with new ideas and incentives."
The unemployment rate in the four-county Hickory region was 6.6 percent in July, the latest month for which regional statistics are available. The state unemployment rate in August was 4.8 percent.
The Hickory region's rate, the second-highest in the state, is due largely to the loss of manufacturing jobs, the N.C. Employment Security Commission said.
- The associated contributed
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Hannah Mitchell and Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
The Henredon furniture plant in Morganton will close in December, eliminating more than 400 jobs at the company.
Of the 521 people who work at the plant, the company will place about 100 people in other jobs, according to Gov. Mike Easley's office.
HDM Furniture Industries President Tom Tilley told The Associated Press that the majority of the furniture made at the plant will be outsourced. He said some employees will be transferred to a smaller plant that the company will keep in the Morganton area.
The company did not give any other details of the closing, and officials did not return several calls seeking comment.
Henredon is part of HDM Furniture Industries, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Furniture Brands International, which has been shifting its production to Asia for the past five years.
The closing adds to the decline of manufacturing in the counties around Morganton and Hickory. In recent years, the region has lost thousands of jobs in the furniture and textile industries, which for decades were the bedrock of the economy.
"It's very disturbing," said commissioner Ruth Ann Suttle. "People are going to be out of work, and the county is going to have to work that much harder to bring business here. Furniture and textile is a thing of the past (in Burke County), and we're going to have to come up with new ideas and incentives."
The unemployment rate in the four-county Hickory region was 6.6 percent in July, the latest month for which regional statistics are available. The state unemployment rate in August was 4.8 percent.
The Hickory region's rate, the second-highest in the state, is due largely to the loss of manufacturing jobs, the N.C. Employment Security Commission said.
- The associated contributed
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
9/21/07
Former Marine petitions to take on McHenry for Congress
Friday, Sept. 21, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Lenoir man running as an independent is hoping to oust U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., in 2008, his campaign director said Thursday.
Bryan Greene, a 46-year-old member of the Constitution Party of North Carolina, is trying gather about 17,000 petition signatures required by state law that would allow him to run as an independent, said his son and campaign manager, Jordon Greene.
The petition must be submitted to the state Board of Elections by June 27, 2008.
The 10th District, which McHenry represents, includes eight western counties and parts of Iredell, Gaston and Rutherford counties.
Greene, a former Marine who works in the engineering department at Frye Regional Medical Center, is a father of four, according to his campaign Web site, www.BryanGreene08.com. He was born in Charlotte and has spent the majority of his life in Caldwell County.
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By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Lenoir man running as an independent is hoping to oust U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., in 2008, his campaign director said Thursday.
Bryan Greene, a 46-year-old member of the Constitution Party of North Carolina, is trying gather about 17,000 petition signatures required by state law that would allow him to run as an independent, said his son and campaign manager, Jordon Greene.
The petition must be submitted to the state Board of Elections by June 27, 2008.
The 10th District, which McHenry represents, includes eight western counties and parts of Iredell, Gaston and Rutherford counties.
Greene, a former Marine who works in the engineering department at Frye Regional Medical Center, is a father of four, according to his campaign Web site, www.BryanGreene08.com. He was born in Charlotte and has spent the majority of his life in Caldwell County.
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9/20/07
Murdered man may have had ties to Vick
Sept. 20, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Authorities say a Catawba County man found murdered at his home may have had connections to the dog-fighting ring run by professional football player Michael Vick.
Roy Thomas Melton, a 38-year-old pit bull breeder, was shot to death in April. His body was found at his home on South Beulah Road by a friend, and when authorities arrived at the trailer, they found 30 pit bulls, many of which were puppies. The dogs were euthanized.
For the past five months, investigators have been reviewing paperwork from Melton's home. Some of the names found in Melton's documents are the same as names mentioned in an indictment against Vick, said Capt. Roy Brown of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
Brown said he is not sure whether the names mentioned are names of dogs or nicknames for people.
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By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Authorities say a Catawba County man found murdered at his home may have had connections to the dog-fighting ring run by professional football player Michael Vick.
Roy Thomas Melton, a 38-year-old pit bull breeder, was shot to death in April. His body was found at his home on South Beulah Road by a friend, and when authorities arrived at the trailer, they found 30 pit bulls, many of which were puppies. The dogs were euthanized.
For the past five months, investigators have been reviewing paperwork from Melton's home. Some of the names found in Melton's documents are the same as names mentioned in an indictment against Vick, said Capt. Roy Brown of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
Brown said he is not sure whether the names mentioned are names of dogs or nicknames for people.
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Drowning victim gained attention with bank suit
Ex-trader who claimed NationsBank hid losses had become noted lawyer
Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Searchers identified the Mooresville man who drowned in Lake Norman as a lawyer who received national attention in the 1990s over a lawsuit he filed against Bank of America predecessor NationsBank.
Searchers found Darryll Walter Bolduc's body Tuesday evening on the Catawba County side of Lake Norman, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office. Authorities were investigating the incident and hadn't determined how it happened.
Bolduc made national news in the mid-1990s when he sued NationsBank. The former bond trader alleged he was fired for complaining that executives improperly manipulated NationsBank's bond portfolio to underreport losses.
The bank denied the allegation, saying Bolduc was fired for being an overly aggressive trader. They reached an out-of-court settlement in the $500,000 to $600,000 range, according to Observer archives.
Bolduc graduated from Campbell University's School of Law in 2003 and opened his own uptown firm, often taking on whistle-blower cases.
One of his more prominent cases involved a complaint against pension giant TIAA-CREF over the firing of a manager, Christopher O'Keefe, that ended in a settlement last year.
O'Keefe said Wednesday that he was immediately impressed by Bolduc and that he and the Maine native formed a fast friendship during his case.
"We hit it off pretty well because we are both big hockey fiends," O'Keefe said. "When I learned that, I knew that he would be the guy I wanted.
"I felt a sense of toughness with him and that he would go to battle."
A fisherman saw Bolduc riding a Jet Ski shortly after 4 p.m. Monday, said Chief Keith Bost of the Sherrills Ford Fire Department. Less than 10 minutes later, Bost said, the fisherman saw the abandoned watercraft circling in the water.
Divers and rescue crews spent Monday afternoon and Tuesday searching a 9-acre area of the lake and expanded their search north of where the craft was found, Bost said, because strong winds Monday may have pushed it south.
At 4:11 p.m. Tuesday, sonar found an object that resembled a body. Ninety minutes later, divers recovered Bolduc's body, which was brought up about 6:30 p.m.
Darryll Walter Bolduc
Age: 47.
Hometown: Waterville, Maine.
Career: Founder, the Bolduc Law Firm in Charlotte.
Education: Bachelor's degree, Brown University, 1983, J.D., Campbell University, 2003.
Professional: Bolduc sued Bank of American predecessor NationsBank in the 1990s, alleging he was fired for complaining that executives improperly manipulated the bank's bond portfolio to underreport losses. The case was settled out of court. In 2003, he opened a law firm in Charlotte, often taking on whistle-blower cases.
- Staff Writer Rick Rothacker contributed
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9/19/07
Drowning victim ID'd as attorney
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Searchers identified the man who apparently fell off his Jet Ski in Lake Norman on Monday and drowned as a Charlotte attorney who gained national attention in the 1990s over a suit he filed against Bank of America predecessor NationsBank.
Searchers found Darryll Walter Bolduc's body Tuesday evening on the Catawba County side of Lake Norman, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
A fisherman saw Bolduc, of Mooresville, riding a Jet Ski shortly after 4 p.m. Monday, said Chief Keith Bost of the Sherills Ford Fire Department. Less than 10 minutes later, Bost said, the fisherman saw the abandoned watercraft circling in the water.
Divers and rescue crews spent Monday afternoon and Tuesday searching a 9-acre area of the lake and expanded their search north of where the craft was found, Bost said, because strong winds Monday may have pushed it south.
At 4:11 p.m. Tuesday, sonar found an object that resembled a human body. Ninety minutes later, divers went under the water's surface to recover Bolduc's body, which was brought up at about 6:30 p.m.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Searchers identified the man who apparently fell off his Jet Ski in Lake Norman on Monday and drowned as a Charlotte attorney who gained national attention in the 1990s over a suit he filed against Bank of America predecessor NationsBank.
Searchers found Darryll Walter Bolduc's body Tuesday evening on the Catawba County side of Lake Norman, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
A fisherman saw Bolduc, of Mooresville, riding a Jet Ski shortly after 4 p.m. Monday, said Chief Keith Bost of the Sherills Ford Fire Department. Less than 10 minutes later, Bost said, the fisherman saw the abandoned watercraft circling in the water.
Divers and rescue crews spent Monday afternoon and Tuesday searching a 9-acre area of the lake and expanded their search north of where the craft was found, Bost said, because strong winds Monday may have pushed it south.
At 4:11 p.m. Tuesday, sonar found an object that resembled a human body. Ninety minutes later, divers went under the water's surface to recover Bolduc's body, which was brought up at about 6:30 p.m.
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Authorities believe Balls Creek Campground fire was intentional
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A fire that burned a portion of the Balls Creek Campground last week and damaged a dozen wooden tents was likely intentionally set, authorities said.
Shortly before 5 p.m. Friday, authorities received a call that some of the campground's tents -- wooden cabins built in long rows -- were in flames, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
The campground, about four miles southeast of Newton, is the site of the annual Balls Creek Camp Meeting, a religious revival and gathering that has been held for about 150 years.
The Catawba County Sheriff's Office, the Fire Marshal's Office and the State Bureau of Investigation are looking into the fire.It is the second time in seven months that Balls Creek tents have burned.
On Feb. 12, a fire destroyed one tent and damaged two others. Authorities believe that fire was also intentionally set, Reid said.
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Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A fire that burned a portion of the Balls Creek Campground last week and damaged a dozen wooden tents was likely intentionally set, authorities said.
Shortly before 5 p.m. Friday, authorities received a call that some of the campground's tents -- wooden cabins built in long rows -- were in flames, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
The campground, about four miles southeast of Newton, is the site of the annual Balls Creek Camp Meeting, a religious revival and gathering that has been held for about 150 years.
The Catawba County Sheriff's Office, the Fire Marshal's Office and the State Bureau of Investigation are looking into the fire.It is the second time in seven months that Balls Creek tents have burned.
On Feb. 12, a fire destroyed one tent and damaged two others. Authorities believe that fire was also intentionally set, Reid said.
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Perennial candidate withdraws from mayoral election
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The candidate pool for the Morganton mayoral race has shrunk by one, narrowing the contest to a 24-year incumbent mayor and a former community college president.
Thomas McCurry, who has run for mayor in every election since 1997, withdrew last week. McCurry did not say why, and calls made to his home Tuesday were not answered.
McCurry, 89, served on the Burke County Board of Commissioners from 1992 to 1996 and runs a tableware business in downtown Morganton. In the last election, Mayor Mel Cohen defeated McCurry 920 to 293 votes.
Cohen will face Jim Richardson, former president of Western Piedmont Community College, at the polls on Oct. 9.
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Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The candidate pool for the Morganton mayoral race has shrunk by one, narrowing the contest to a 24-year incumbent mayor and a former community college president.
Thomas McCurry, who has run for mayor in every election since 1997, withdrew last week. McCurry did not say why, and calls made to his home Tuesday were not answered.
McCurry, 89, served on the Burke County Board of Commissioners from 1992 to 1996 and runs a tableware business in downtown Morganton. In the last election, Mayor Mel Cohen defeated McCurry 920 to 293 votes.
Cohen will face Jim Richardson, former president of Western Piedmont Community College, at the polls on Oct. 9.
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Searchers discover body of man who apparently fell off Jet Ski
By Marcie Young and Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
After a day-long search, Sherrills Ford-Terrell firefighters found the body of a missing man authorities believe may have fallen off a Jet Ski on Monday afternoon.
Authorities in Catawba County scoured Lake Norman for the Iredell County man's body. They called the search off Monday night because of darkness and resumed this morning. They have not released the man's name.
A fisherman saw him riding a Jet Ski shortly after 4 p.m., said Chief Keith Bost of the Sherills Ford Fire Department. Less than 10 minutes later, Bost said, the fisherman saw the abandoned watercraft circling in the water.
Divers and rescue crews spent Monday afternoon and today searching a 9-acre area of the lake, Bost said. They expanded their search north of where the craft was found, he said, because strong winds yesterday may have pushed it south.
"We don't know exactly where the Jet Ski was when he came off of it," Bost said.
At 4:11 p.m., sonar found an object that resembled a human body. Ninety minutes later, divers went under the water's surface to recover the body, which was brought up at about 6:30 p.m.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
After a day-long search, Sherrills Ford-Terrell firefighters found the body of a missing man authorities believe may have fallen off a Jet Ski on Monday afternoon.
Authorities in Catawba County scoured Lake Norman for the Iredell County man's body. They called the search off Monday night because of darkness and resumed this morning. They have not released the man's name.
A fisherman saw him riding a Jet Ski shortly after 4 p.m., said Chief Keith Bost of the Sherills Ford Fire Department. Less than 10 minutes later, Bost said, the fisherman saw the abandoned watercraft circling in the water.
Divers and rescue crews spent Monday afternoon and today searching a 9-acre area of the lake, Bost said. They expanded their search north of where the craft was found, he said, because strong winds yesterday may have pushed it south.
"We don't know exactly where the Jet Ski was when he came off of it," Bost said.
At 4:11 p.m., sonar found an object that resembled a human body. Ninety minutes later, divers went under the water's surface to recover the body, which was brought up at about 6:30 p.m.
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9/14/07
Man injured in motorcycle crash
Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A 50-year-old man was flown to Carolinas Medical Center from Caldwell County this afternoon after he lost control of his motorcycle and was thrown from the bike, authorities said.
David Morrison, 50, was riding his motorcycle northbound on U.S. 321, near the Catawba County border, at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday when lost control, said Trooper Brad Hyatt of the state Highway Patrol.
Morrison's back wheel locked up, Hyatt said, causing him to lose control. Morrison was thrown from the bike, cracking his helmet in two. Hyatt said Morrison received severe neck and back injuries and was flown to Carolina Medical Center.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash and no one else was injured, Hyatt said.
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By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A 50-year-old man was flown to Carolinas Medical Center from Caldwell County this afternoon after he lost control of his motorcycle and was thrown from the bike, authorities said.
David Morrison, 50, was riding his motorcycle northbound on U.S. 321, near the Catawba County border, at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday when lost control, said Trooper Brad Hyatt of the state Highway Patrol.
Morrison's back wheel locked up, Hyatt said, causing him to lose control. Morrison was thrown from the bike, cracking his helmet in two. Hyatt said Morrison received severe neck and back injuries and was flown to Carolina Medical Center.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash and no one else was injured, Hyatt said.
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9/13/07
13-hour standoff ends peacefully
Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A 13-hour standoff between police and a 63-year-old woman who barricaded herself in her Morganton home ended peacefully early Thursday morning, authorities said.
Irene Barlow was charged Thursday with resisting, delaying and obstructing law enforcement after undergoing a mental health evaluation, said Capt. Trent Devinney of the Morganton Department Public Safety.
Police said Barlow called the Public Safety Department Wednesday afternoon and asked them to remove her son's car from her yard.
But when authorities arrived at about 11:30 a.m., said Chief Mark Tolbert, Barlow said she was ready to douse the car in gasoline and set it on fire. She retreated to her house, Tolbert said, with a handgun and bullets and began threatening officers.
Numerous officers were involved in the standoff, surrounding the home and blocking off streets entering the Carbon City Road neighborhood, Tolbert said.
At about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, police were able to convince Barlow to come out of the home and surrender to officers, Devinney said.
She was released from the Burke-Catawba jail on a $500 secured bond, authorities said.
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By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A 13-hour standoff between police and a 63-year-old woman who barricaded herself in her Morganton home ended peacefully early Thursday morning, authorities said.
Irene Barlow was charged Thursday with resisting, delaying and obstructing law enforcement after undergoing a mental health evaluation, said Capt. Trent Devinney of the Morganton Department Public Safety.
Police said Barlow called the Public Safety Department Wednesday afternoon and asked them to remove her son's car from her yard.
But when authorities arrived at about 11:30 a.m., said Chief Mark Tolbert, Barlow said she was ready to douse the car in gasoline and set it on fire. She retreated to her house, Tolbert said, with a handgun and bullets and began threatening officers.
Numerous officers were involved in the standoff, surrounding the home and blocking off streets entering the Carbon City Road neighborhood, Tolbert said.
At about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, police were able to convince Barlow to come out of the home and surrender to officers, Devinney said.
She was released from the Burke-Catawba jail on a $500 secured bond, authorities said.
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Lenoir chief named top N.C. firefighter
Accidentally setting off an alarm got him hooked
Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR --Ken Briscoe feels most comfortable with a fire hose and a blaze to battle, but being named top fireman in the state for 2007 isn't bad either.
Briscoe, a 30-year firehouse veteran and Lenoir's fire chief for the last three years, was honored by the N.C. State Firemen's Association last month and ranked no. 1 by his colleagues across the state.
"We're all nozzlemen, and we're all in the same uniform," he said. "It's humbling to be picked by my peers from the 40,000 firefighters in the state."
It's been a three-decade journey through blazing homes and businesses, car wrecks, emergency medical calls and training exercises that has led Briscoe, 52, to his post of Lenoir fire chief.
And over the years, he's seen almost every aspect of firefighting -- from massive furniture factory blazes to administrative paperwork -- and says the hands-on work is what makes his job so great.
"My work is my hobby," he said. "It's a pretty good deal."
After graduating from Hudson High School in 1972, Briscoe began working for a company that installed smoke detectors in buildings across the county.
One day, he said, he was hooking up a system in a nursing home when he accidentally backed into the fire alarm, drawing a crew of firefighters and trucks wailing to the center.
"I thought that was pretty neat," he said.
So he went to the Hudson Volunteer Fire Department and signed up to work with the crew there. Within a year, he had moved onto the Lenoir Fire Department, taking a full-time job and starting his first 24-hour shift on Jan. 1, 1974.
For 10 years, Briscoe steadily fought blazes threatening Lenoir and Caldwell County homes and businesses, rescued people involved in accidents and responded to medical calls.
By the time he left the Lenoir Fire Department in 1984 to join the N.C. Department of Insurance with the state fire marshal's office, Briscoe had worked his way up to the rank of captain.
He worked as a trainer with the fire marshal's office for the next 20 years, setting fire to abandoned farmhouses and other structures across the state and sending fire crews in to quench the flames.
But his expertise didn't stop at teaching crews how to put out fires. He also managed the certification process for the state Fire and Rescue Commission, creating the curriculum, writing tests and helping with evaluations.
The job took Briscoe across the state, working with more than 1,400 departments and 40,000 firefighters in North Carolina's 100 counties.
Then, in 2004, he returned to Lenoir as chief and with a resume stocked with accolades from across the state.
That, coupled with recommendations from Lenoir City Manager Lane Bailey, U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry and a slew of firefighters, helped secure the Firemen's Association award last month.
Since taking the top post in Lenoir's 58-member department, Briscoe has focused on offering more training opportunities for his firefighters, pushing for higher certifications and raising salaries for crew members who pursue higher education.
Lt. Sam Smith, who began working with the Lenoir department in 1983 and became the firehouse's first-ever public information officer three years ago, said Briscoe pushes his crew to do better for city residents.
"He's not just an administrator," Smith said. "He's tough and wants to see what (his crew) can handle."
Briscoe, who still works as a volunteer firefighter with the Gamewell department, has also found funding to upgrade Lenoir's outdated trucks, created an intern program for high school students thinking about careers in firefighting and started a fire prevention program for Caldwell County students.
"I enjoy firefighting, and love teaching about it," he said. "I've had so many opportunities, and at some point, you have to put back what you've taken out."
Still, after three decades, Smith said, grabbing a hose and heading toward a blaze is what really gets Briscoe going.
"He's a fireman's fireman," Smith said. "We'll say, `Chief, we have people to do that,' and he'll just say, `I know, but I love it.' "
The Briscoe File
Full name: Kenneth Mell Briscoe
Age: 52
Birthplace: Fort Campbell, Ky. Briscoe, the son of a soldier, lived in Germany, Hawaii, Alaska, Texas and Virginia. When his father was overseas on two Vietnam tours, Briscoe and his mother returned to her hometown, Lenoir.
Education: Graduated from Hudson High in 1972; graduated from the National Fire Academy in Emmittsburg, Md., where he is also an adjunct instructor.
Family: wife, Paula, 46; son, Joe, 25
Professional background: Western Fireman's Association board; board member and instructor for the N.C. Fire College; board member and instructor for the N.C. Breathing Equipment School; board member and instructor for the Unified Command and Control School; staff member on the N.C. Fire and Rescue Commission, the N.C. Fire and Rescue Certification board and the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress; instructor at the N.C. Rescue College and the N.C. High Angle School.
Fun fact: Briscoe has traveled to nearly every state and has visited all of Canada's provinces as an instructor with the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress. "I don't have any hobbies besides the fire service," Briscoe said. "And that's an experience that could not be matched because I got to see so many places and organizations."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR --Ken Briscoe feels most comfortable with a fire hose and a blaze to battle, but being named top fireman in the state for 2007 isn't bad either.
Briscoe, a 30-year firehouse veteran and Lenoir's fire chief for the last three years, was honored by the N.C. State Firemen's Association last month and ranked no. 1 by his colleagues across the state.
"We're all nozzlemen, and we're all in the same uniform," he said. "It's humbling to be picked by my peers from the 40,000 firefighters in the state."
It's been a three-decade journey through blazing homes and businesses, car wrecks, emergency medical calls and training exercises that has led Briscoe, 52, to his post of Lenoir fire chief.
And over the years, he's seen almost every aspect of firefighting -- from massive furniture factory blazes to administrative paperwork -- and says the hands-on work is what makes his job so great.
"My work is my hobby," he said. "It's a pretty good deal."
After graduating from Hudson High School in 1972, Briscoe began working for a company that installed smoke detectors in buildings across the county.
One day, he said, he was hooking up a system in a nursing home when he accidentally backed into the fire alarm, drawing a crew of firefighters and trucks wailing to the center.
"I thought that was pretty neat," he said.
So he went to the Hudson Volunteer Fire Department and signed up to work with the crew there. Within a year, he had moved onto the Lenoir Fire Department, taking a full-time job and starting his first 24-hour shift on Jan. 1, 1974.
For 10 years, Briscoe steadily fought blazes threatening Lenoir and Caldwell County homes and businesses, rescued people involved in accidents and responded to medical calls.
By the time he left the Lenoir Fire Department in 1984 to join the N.C. Department of Insurance with the state fire marshal's office, Briscoe had worked his way up to the rank of captain.
He worked as a trainer with the fire marshal's office for the next 20 years, setting fire to abandoned farmhouses and other structures across the state and sending fire crews in to quench the flames.
But his expertise didn't stop at teaching crews how to put out fires. He also managed the certification process for the state Fire and Rescue Commission, creating the curriculum, writing tests and helping with evaluations.
The job took Briscoe across the state, working with more than 1,400 departments and 40,000 firefighters in North Carolina's 100 counties.
Then, in 2004, he returned to Lenoir as chief and with a resume stocked with accolades from across the state.
That, coupled with recommendations from Lenoir City Manager Lane Bailey, U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry and a slew of firefighters, helped secure the Firemen's Association award last month.
Since taking the top post in Lenoir's 58-member department, Briscoe has focused on offering more training opportunities for his firefighters, pushing for higher certifications and raising salaries for crew members who pursue higher education.
Lt. Sam Smith, who began working with the Lenoir department in 1983 and became the firehouse's first-ever public information officer three years ago, said Briscoe pushes his crew to do better for city residents.
"He's not just an administrator," Smith said. "He's tough and wants to see what (his crew) can handle."
Briscoe, who still works as a volunteer firefighter with the Gamewell department, has also found funding to upgrade Lenoir's outdated trucks, created an intern program for high school students thinking about careers in firefighting and started a fire prevention program for Caldwell County students.
"I enjoy firefighting, and love teaching about it," he said. "I've had so many opportunities, and at some point, you have to put back what you've taken out."
Still, after three decades, Smith said, grabbing a hose and heading toward a blaze is what really gets Briscoe going.
"He's a fireman's fireman," Smith said. "We'll say, `Chief, we have people to do that,' and he'll just say, `I know, but I love it.' "
The Briscoe File
Full name: Kenneth Mell Briscoe
Age: 52
Birthplace: Fort Campbell, Ky. Briscoe, the son of a soldier, lived in Germany, Hawaii, Alaska, Texas and Virginia. When his father was overseas on two Vietnam tours, Briscoe and his mother returned to her hometown, Lenoir.
Education: Graduated from Hudson High in 1972; graduated from the National Fire Academy in Emmittsburg, Md., where he is also an adjunct instructor.
Family: wife, Paula, 46; son, Joe, 25
Professional background: Western Fireman's Association board; board member and instructor for the N.C. Fire College; board member and instructor for the N.C. Breathing Equipment School; board member and instructor for the Unified Command and Control School; staff member on the N.C. Fire and Rescue Commission, the N.C. Fire and Rescue Certification board and the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress; instructor at the N.C. Rescue College and the N.C. High Angle School.
Fun fact: Briscoe has traveled to nearly every state and has visited all of Canada's provinces as an instructor with the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress. "I don't have any hobbies besides the fire service," Briscoe said. "And that's an experience that could not be matched because I got to see so many places and organizations."
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Billboard's wording changed
U.S. 321 sign blasted tax hike
Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Caldwell County's recent 22.2 percent property tax increase has gotten some folks mad, and they're letting everyone who drives on U.S. 321 know about it.
A group calling itself "Concerned Citizens" last month posted a full-size billboard along the county's busiest road questioning decisions made by the County Commission and seemingly encouraging residents to vote against current commissioners in the next election in 2008.
"You've got mail!! 22.2 percent tax increase," the yellow and black billboard reads: "Will you vote for these COMMISSIONERS again?"
But the phrasing of the billboard prompted local and state elections officials to have the billboard's sponsors change the phrasing to avoid a conflict with election laws.
Last week, the billboard was amended and now reads: "You've got mail!! 22.2 percent tax increase. Will _____ again?"
Sandy Rich, director of the Caldwell County Board of Elections, called the N.C. board about three weeks ago when her office starting getting questions about the original billboard to find out whether it violated state law.
"We needed to know if they needed to file for a PAC or not," she said.
Rich and her staff snapped photos of the billboard and sent them to the state office in Raleigh, where Adam Ragan, a compliance specialist in the state's campaign finance division, reviewed the message and decided last week the ad wasn't a violation because it didn't specifically name any of the commissioners.
But Ragan kept thinking about the billboard, he said, and decided to talk with the state board of elections attorney.
"We were stumped by the term, `these commissioners,' " he said. "There are no names involved ... but there can only be one set of commissioners."
That, combined with the word "vote," he said, was clearly trying to sway residents from re-electing the current commissioners. Ragan talked with at least two people responsible for the ad and contacted Rich to explain the violation.
No formal, written complaints have been filed, but if either election board receives one regarding the original billboard or the edited one -- which has a white strip covering part of the phrase, including the words "vote" and "these commissioners" -- Ragan said they will launch an investigation to find out who paid for it and where the money came from.
"That's the main thing we'd be concerned about," he said, "but I think a lot of it was inexperience with campaign finance laws."
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9/12/07
Confrontation between man, police ends peacefully
Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY - An early-morning standoff between Catawba County officers and a man armed with at least four guns ended peacefully Wednesday after more than two hours of negotiations, authorities said.
Officers from the Catawba County's STAR team -- the county's version of a SWAT team -- responded to a call on 33rd Street N.E. in Hickory shortly after midnight, said Maj. Coy Reid at the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
The man, whom authorities did not name, was threatening family members and said he would allow police to kill him, according to a news release from the Sheriff's Office. He had four weapons with him, including two rifles, a shotgun and a pellet gun, authorities said.
After about 2 1/2 hours, negotiators convinced the man to come out of the home and turn himself over to authorities.
Christopher Dale Atkins, 23, was served with mental health commitment papers and was at Catawba Valley Medical Center on Wednesday night, said Reid.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
HICKORY - An early-morning standoff between Catawba County officers and a man armed with at least four guns ended peacefully Wednesday after more than two hours of negotiations, authorities said.
Officers from the Catawba County's STAR team -- the county's version of a SWAT team -- responded to a call on 33rd Street N.E. in Hickory shortly after midnight, said Maj. Coy Reid at the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
The man, whom authorities did not name, was threatening family members and said he would allow police to kill him, according to a news release from the Sheriff's Office. He had four weapons with him, including two rifles, a shotgun and a pellet gun, authorities said.
After about 2 1/2 hours, negotiators convinced the man to come out of the home and turn himself over to authorities.
Christopher Dale Atkins, 23, was served with mental health commitment papers and was at Catawba Valley Medical Center on Wednesday night, said Reid.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
9/10/07
Police seek man in TV thefts
Monday, Sept. 10, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Newton police are looking for a man they think broke into several businesses over the weekend and stole numerous flat-screen televisions before leading officers on a chase, authorities said.
Early Sunday morning, police responded to a call that the glass doors at Newton Family Physicians had been shattered and that there was a dark-colored car in the parking lot, according to a Newton Police Department press release.
A man was in the vehicle when police arrived, authorities said, and drove out of the parking lot onto U.S. 321 Business south.
The man driving the car jumped out of the car near Meadowbrook Lane, but officers lost him during a foot chase, police said.
In the car were two 32-inch flat-screen televisions that had been taken from the doctor's office, police said.
Authorities do not have the man's identity, but officials in Newton and at the Hickory Police Department think the same man may have been involved in other weekend TV thefts at the Elk's Lodge on West J Street and at Cornerstone Insurance in Newton and at a rental center on Springs Road in Hickory.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Newton police at 828-465-7430 or the Hickory police at 828-324-2060.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Newton police are looking for a man they think broke into several businesses over the weekend and stole numerous flat-screen televisions before leading officers on a chase, authorities said.
Early Sunday morning, police responded to a call that the glass doors at Newton Family Physicians had been shattered and that there was a dark-colored car in the parking lot, according to a Newton Police Department press release.
A man was in the vehicle when police arrived, authorities said, and drove out of the parking lot onto U.S. 321 Business south.
The man driving the car jumped out of the car near Meadowbrook Lane, but officers lost him during a foot chase, police said.
In the car were two 32-inch flat-screen televisions that had been taken from the doctor's office, police said.
Authorities do not have the man's identity, but officials in Newton and at the Hickory Police Department think the same man may have been involved in other weekend TV thefts at the Elk's Lodge on West J Street and at Cornerstone Insurance in Newton and at a rental center on Springs Road in Hickory.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Newton police at 828-465-7430 or the Hickory police at 828-324-2060.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Newton man shot during argument
Monday, Sept. 10, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Newton man charged with assault with a deadly weapon after his neighbor was shot in the chest over the weekend made his first court appearance Monday, authorities said.
Leonard Jennings was charged after his neighbor, Michael McGalliard, was shot in the chest, according to a Newton Police Department news release. The bullet entered the right side of McGaillard's chest, exited near his right armpit and left a gash in his arm, police said.
McGalliard was treated and released from Catawba Valley Medical Center.
Both men had been drinking, authorities said, and Jennings told officers that McGalliard had threatened to kill him during an argument.
Jennings told officers he fired in self-defense, police said. Authorities said they are still investigating the shooting.
Jennings was released from police custody on a $2,000 unsecured bond.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Newton man charged with assault with a deadly weapon after his neighbor was shot in the chest over the weekend made his first court appearance Monday, authorities said.
Leonard Jennings was charged after his neighbor, Michael McGalliard, was shot in the chest, according to a Newton Police Department news release. The bullet entered the right side of McGaillard's chest, exited near his right armpit and left a gash in his arm, police said.
McGalliard was treated and released from Catawba Valley Medical Center.
Both men had been drinking, authorities said, and Jennings told officers that McGalliard had threatened to kill him during an argument.
Jennings told officers he fired in self-defense, police said. Authorities said they are still investigating the shooting.
Jennings was released from police custody on a $2,000 unsecured bond.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
9/8/07
Big-city charms
Morganton gives off a downtown vibe with small-town ambience
Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
MORGANTON - Nobuo "Norman" Sasaki has lived in the suburbs of big cities like Kyoto, Japan, and New York City.
And now he's finally living downtown.
In April, the 64-year-old executive moved to the city to run a Japanese textile company, and even though downtown Morganton has a population of no more than 400, Sasaki is living the big-city life.
Here, about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte, Sasaki lives within walking range of everything he needs and gets some of the cultural perks of a metropolis -- but in a small-town setting.
"It's so different from New York or Los Angeles, with its quiet streets and stores," he said through a translator as he signed his lease at the Morganton Trading Co., an old hosiery mill transformed into a luxury apartment complex. "It's the good, old, American town I envisioned."
Morganton, with its tree-lined blocks and overhead speakers feeding music into downtown, is a strolling city. Residents can walk everywhere they need to go, from the grocery store to church, without having to worry about parking and freeway traffic.
In the city center, an 8-by-10-block grid of leafy streets and quaint buildings, downtown residents can run all their errands -- from the fish market to the grocery story and pharmacy -- without having to pull the car out of the driveway.
"For folks wanting to ... simplify their lives, it works perfectly," said Lee Anderson, the city's director of development and design. "Everything is at your back door, and that's why downtown living makes a lot of sense to people."
A 125-year-old hosiery factory, the Morganton Trading Co., has been transformed into City Hall and a 37-apartment luxury apartment complex.
Across the street, the newly built condos and townhouses of 400 Union Square mingle with real estate and attorneys' offices, and a couple of new restaurants are slated to open.
A few blocks south, developer and Morganton native Clark Erwin refurbished an abandoned furniture outlet with wrought-iron rails reminiscent of old New Orleans, into a eight-unit condo complex that includes a gym, deli and a gift shop.
"Some people just want to downsize and like the idea of being downtown," Erwin said. "But it's that small town appeal that makes it fun ... the fish monger has been at it for years, sells locally, and everyone knows him."
Dick and Chris Golden, 65-year-old Massachusetts natives who have lived in St. Louis and Lincoln Park, N.J., recently sold their home on nearby Lake James, a growing retirement destination in Burke County, opting to rent a two-bedroom loft in the Morganton Trading Co.
The Goldens, who retired to North Carolina 14 years ago and spend half the year on the Florida coast, are a 10-minute walk from the movie theater, the grocery store, a coffee shop, clothing and sporting goods stores, doctor's offices, banks and a used bookstore.
Morganton offers a metropolitan vibe but on a considerably smaller and quainter scale, said Chris Golden.
"It's city," she said. "It's a happening town."
But the Big Apple it's not.
Morganton is at least an hour's drive from a large city, and while downtown residents have their basic needs met within walking distance, the city doesn't have all of the amenities of a large city.
A few clothing shops offer high-end brand names, such as Burberry and LaCoste, but downtown planners have had a hard time getting some store owners to keep longer hours and stay open during peak shopping times.
"When shops are open later, that's when folks go out," said Sharon Jablonski, director of the Main Street program, downtown's development organization. "The more people we can get to do that, the better off we are."
Recently, the evening sun poured through a giant window behind the bar in the upstairs dining room at Yianni's Greek restaurant, the rays bouncing off glass wine bottles lined up on the table.
While owner Ioannis "Yianni" Dimarhos prepared the dessert, an Asheville wine distributor explained each wine's flavor to a group of 20 guests gathered for the monthly wine tasting and five-course dinner.
Wine tastings, a cosmopolitan event for a predominantly rural county, are just one thing downtown Morganton is offering residents wanting a blend of big city sophistication and provincial charm.
A handful of rooftop decks perched on historic buildings above downtown overlook the 170-year-old white and cream courthouse, the city's centerpiece.
But creating a dynamic downtown didn't happen by chance.
In the late 1970s, Morganton's center city sometimes had more boarded-up storefronts and vagrants than shoppers. Looking to restart the city's heart, Morganton took on a Main Street program in 1982, and businesses started to trickle in.
In 1996, the Morganton City Council appointed an advisory committee and hired consultants to come up with a detailed, long-term plan for boosting the city center though 2015.
And the city has pursued that vision ever since -- creating a greenway, improving parking and recruiting more restaurants and residential spaces, which have soared from one apartment to more than 70 during the last decade.
Housing prices are still low by big-city standards but are climbing.
Rents at the Trading Co. start at $660 a month for a one-bedroom apartment and cap at $1,235 for a 1,625-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment. Condos and townhouses at 400 Union Square and Erwin's Morganton Station, meanwhile, range from $143,900 to about $250,000.
The population is growing but is still tiny. Seven years ago, downtown had a population of 268, according to the Western Piedmont Council of Governments.
She's happy with the progress Morganton is making but said she and city officials want more. A bakery, wine shop, downtown inn and more shops and art galleries top Jablonski's wish list for the city center during the next four years.
"That's definitely what I pray for every day," she said.
So do the Goldens. Even though easy access to the arts and dining brings a cosmopolitan flair to the small city, said Dick Golden, they haven't committed to making Morganton a permanent home.
"We're very intrigued by some of the restaurants opening up," he said, "and if they're good, that will help."
About Morganton
The county seat of Burke County, Morganton was founded in 1777 and is nestled against the foothills of Western North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. The city, intersected by U.S. 40 and U.S. 64 and 70, is about an hour from Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. Morganton was profiled in the 2001 book, "The 50 Best Small Southern Towns."
Population
More than 17,000 people live in Morganton, which is about 19 square miles. Burke County, about 514 square miles, is home to about 89,000 people.
Highlights
The 5-mile greenway for runners, walkers, bicyclists, rollerbladers and skateboarders curves along the Catawba River and winds through some of the city's wooded areas.
The Old Burke County Courthouse, downtown's centerpiece, was built in 1837 and, from 1847 to 1862, held the August sessions of the N.C. Supreme Court. It is the only courthouse outside Raleigh where the Supreme Court has convened, according to the Historic Burke Foundation.
Famous Former residents
• Etta Baker, Piedmont blues guitarist and musician
• U.S. Sen. Samuel James Ervin Jr., chairman of the Senate's Watergate Committee
• Johnny Bristol, musician and Motown producer
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
MORGANTON - Nobuo "Norman" Sasaki has lived in the suburbs of big cities like Kyoto, Japan, and New York City.
And now he's finally living downtown.
In April, the 64-year-old executive moved to the city to run a Japanese textile company, and even though downtown Morganton has a population of no more than 400, Sasaki is living the big-city life.
Here, about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte, Sasaki lives within walking range of everything he needs and gets some of the cultural perks of a metropolis -- but in a small-town setting.
"It's so different from New York or Los Angeles, with its quiet streets and stores," he said through a translator as he signed his lease at the Morganton Trading Co., an old hosiery mill transformed into a luxury apartment complex. "It's the good, old, American town I envisioned."
Morganton, with its tree-lined blocks and overhead speakers feeding music into downtown, is a strolling city. Residents can walk everywhere they need to go, from the grocery store to church, without having to worry about parking and freeway traffic.
In the city center, an 8-by-10-block grid of leafy streets and quaint buildings, downtown residents can run all their errands -- from the fish market to the grocery story and pharmacy -- without having to pull the car out of the driveway.
"For folks wanting to ... simplify their lives, it works perfectly," said Lee Anderson, the city's director of development and design. "Everything is at your back door, and that's why downtown living makes a lot of sense to people."
A 125-year-old hosiery factory, the Morganton Trading Co., has been transformed into City Hall and a 37-apartment luxury apartment complex.
Across the street, the newly built condos and townhouses of 400 Union Square mingle with real estate and attorneys' offices, and a couple of new restaurants are slated to open.
A few blocks south, developer and Morganton native Clark Erwin refurbished an abandoned furniture outlet with wrought-iron rails reminiscent of old New Orleans, into a eight-unit condo complex that includes a gym, deli and a gift shop.
"Some people just want to downsize and like the idea of being downtown," Erwin said. "But it's that small town appeal that makes it fun ... the fish monger has been at it for years, sells locally, and everyone knows him."
Dick and Chris Golden, 65-year-old Massachusetts natives who have lived in St. Louis and Lincoln Park, N.J., recently sold their home on nearby Lake James, a growing retirement destination in Burke County, opting to rent a two-bedroom loft in the Morganton Trading Co.
The Goldens, who retired to North Carolina 14 years ago and spend half the year on the Florida coast, are a 10-minute walk from the movie theater, the grocery store, a coffee shop, clothing and sporting goods stores, doctor's offices, banks and a used bookstore.
Morganton offers a metropolitan vibe but on a considerably smaller and quainter scale, said Chris Golden.
"It's city," she said. "It's a happening town."
But the Big Apple it's not.
Morganton is at least an hour's drive from a large city, and while downtown residents have their basic needs met within walking distance, the city doesn't have all of the amenities of a large city.
A few clothing shops offer high-end brand names, such as Burberry and LaCoste, but downtown planners have had a hard time getting some store owners to keep longer hours and stay open during peak shopping times.
"When shops are open later, that's when folks go out," said Sharon Jablonski, director of the Main Street program, downtown's development organization. "The more people we can get to do that, the better off we are."
Recently, the evening sun poured through a giant window behind the bar in the upstairs dining room at Yianni's Greek restaurant, the rays bouncing off glass wine bottles lined up on the table.
While owner Ioannis "Yianni" Dimarhos prepared the dessert, an Asheville wine distributor explained each wine's flavor to a group of 20 guests gathered for the monthly wine tasting and five-course dinner.
Wine tastings, a cosmopolitan event for a predominantly rural county, are just one thing downtown Morganton is offering residents wanting a blend of big city sophistication and provincial charm.
A handful of rooftop decks perched on historic buildings above downtown overlook the 170-year-old white and cream courthouse, the city's centerpiece.
But creating a dynamic downtown didn't happen by chance.
In the late 1970s, Morganton's center city sometimes had more boarded-up storefronts and vagrants than shoppers. Looking to restart the city's heart, Morganton took on a Main Street program in 1982, and businesses started to trickle in.
In 1996, the Morganton City Council appointed an advisory committee and hired consultants to come up with a detailed, long-term plan for boosting the city center though 2015.
And the city has pursued that vision ever since -- creating a greenway, improving parking and recruiting more restaurants and residential spaces, which have soared from one apartment to more than 70 during the last decade.
Housing prices are still low by big-city standards but are climbing.
Rents at the Trading Co. start at $660 a month for a one-bedroom apartment and cap at $1,235 for a 1,625-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment. Condos and townhouses at 400 Union Square and Erwin's Morganton Station, meanwhile, range from $143,900 to about $250,000.
The population is growing but is still tiny. Seven years ago, downtown had a population of 268, according to the Western Piedmont Council of Governments.
She's happy with the progress Morganton is making but said she and city officials want more. A bakery, wine shop, downtown inn and more shops and art galleries top Jablonski's wish list for the city center during the next four years.
"That's definitely what I pray for every day," she said.
So do the Goldens. Even though easy access to the arts and dining brings a cosmopolitan flair to the small city, said Dick Golden, they haven't committed to making Morganton a permanent home.
"We're very intrigued by some of the restaurants opening up," he said, "and if they're good, that will help."
About Morganton
The county seat of Burke County, Morganton was founded in 1777 and is nestled against the foothills of Western North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. The city, intersected by U.S. 40 and U.S. 64 and 70, is about an hour from Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. Morganton was profiled in the 2001 book, "The 50 Best Small Southern Towns."
Population
More than 17,000 people live in Morganton, which is about 19 square miles. Burke County, about 514 square miles, is home to about 89,000 people.
Highlights
The 5-mile greenway for runners, walkers, bicyclists, rollerbladers and skateboarders curves along the Catawba River and winds through some of the city's wooded areas.
The Old Burke County Courthouse, downtown's centerpiece, was built in 1837 and, from 1847 to 1862, held the August sessions of the N.C. Supreme Court. It is the only courthouse outside Raleigh where the Supreme Court has convened, according to the Historic Burke Foundation.
Famous Former residents
• Etta Baker, Piedmont blues guitarist and musician
• U.S. Sen. Samuel James Ervin Jr., chairman of the Senate's Watergate Committee
• Johnny Bristol, musician and Motown producer
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
9/7/07
Sculpture reshapes park
Under the trees, a free outdoor gallery springs up in celebration of art
Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007
"Everybody comes real early (on Friday) to get the good spot," he said.
The winner of the festival takes home $3,000, and second place pockets $2,000. Six others will win $500.
Want to Go?
The Caldwell Arts Council will present its 22nd annual Sculpture Celebration from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at J.E. Broyhill Park, 509 Ridge St., downtown Lenoir. Free and open to the public; sculptures available for purchase.
While you're downtown, stop by the Lenoir Folk Art and Antique Festival for live music and clogging or shop for arts, crafts and antiques.
From Hickory, take U.S. 321 north toward Lenoir. Turn left toward U.S. 64/N.C 18 and continue straight onto Harper Avenue. For the sculpture celebration, turn right onto Ridge Street. For the folk art and antique festival, continue straight.
For more information, visit http://www.caldwellarts.com/
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR -If you've got a hankering to see some art this weekend, Lenoir is the place to be.
About 70 sculptors from across the country will gather today at the 22nd annual Sculpture Celebration to showcase more than 100 pieces of art from the abstract to the literal.
Set on sloping hills and beneath the shade of leafy trees, the sculptures turn J.E. Broyhill Park in downtown Lenoir into a 7-acre outdoor museum that is free and open to the public.
"It's exciting to watch this nice park turn into a gallery," said Lee Carol Giduz, executive director of the Caldwell Arts Council. "That overnight evolution is really cool."
And if Lenoir isn't the first place to pop into your head when you think about art, think again.
Major cities boasting public art collections have a rival in Caldwell County, one of the nation's premier areas for public outdoor sculpture.
Nearly 50 works of art are scattered around the county, putting it among the largest outdoor public sculpture collections, per capita, in the United States.
Keith Willis, a Lenoir native, is unveiling a piece called "Reunion" -- a three-part sculpture of tree trunks, gourds and steel he set up beneath the arch of two towering oaks.
"Everybody comes real early (on Friday) to get the good spot," he said.
The winner of the festival takes home $3,000, and second place pockets $2,000. Six others will win $500.
Want to Go?
The Caldwell Arts Council will present its 22nd annual Sculpture Celebration from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at J.E. Broyhill Park, 509 Ridge St., downtown Lenoir. Free and open to the public; sculptures available for purchase.
While you're downtown, stop by the Lenoir Folk Art and Antique Festival for live music and clogging or shop for arts, crafts and antiques.
From Hickory, take U.S. 321 north toward Lenoir. Turn left toward U.S. 64/N.C 18 and continue straight onto Harper Avenue. For the sculpture celebration, turn right onto Ridge Street. For the folk art and antique festival, continue straight.
For more information, visit http://www.caldwellarts.com/
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Hospital's files under review by state
Solutions sought to resume U.S. funding for new Broughton patients
Friday, Sept. 7, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A state team of experts is inspecting Broughton Hospital this week, looking for solutions to the problems that led federal officials to halt new Medicaid and Medicare funding last week.
The team has spent the week reviewing medical records, progress notes, incident reports, hospital policies and procedures and how staff members interact with patients, said Jim Osberg, chief of state-operated services with the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services.
Broughton, one of four state mental health facilities, is in Morganton, about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte.
Federal officials announced last week that Broughton would not receive money for Medicaid or Medicare patients admitted to the facility after Aug. 25 because of concerns over the February death of a patient, 27-year-old Anthony Lowery, and an injury to another patient in August.
An autopsy said that Lowery, who had a history of schizophrenia, died of asphyxia after a staff member sat on his torso. Lowery tried to bite the man during that time, the report said.
When the state finishes its review, it will give Medicaid and Medicare Services its plan for fixing problems at Broughton, Osberg said.
The federal government will review the plan and make at least one unannounced visit to the hospital to check its progress before deciding whether it should reinstate payments, said Mark Van Sciver, spokesman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Broughton receives about $1 million a month in Medicaid and Medicare funding.
The state Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, will adjust its more than $7.1 million budget to cover the funding gap, Van Sciver said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Friday, Sept. 7, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A state team of experts is inspecting Broughton Hospital this week, looking for solutions to the problems that led federal officials to halt new Medicaid and Medicare funding last week.
The team has spent the week reviewing medical records, progress notes, incident reports, hospital policies and procedures and how staff members interact with patients, said Jim Osberg, chief of state-operated services with the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services.
Broughton, one of four state mental health facilities, is in Morganton, about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte.
Federal officials announced last week that Broughton would not receive money for Medicaid or Medicare patients admitted to the facility after Aug. 25 because of concerns over the February death of a patient, 27-year-old Anthony Lowery, and an injury to another patient in August.
An autopsy said that Lowery, who had a history of schizophrenia, died of asphyxia after a staff member sat on his torso. Lowery tried to bite the man during that time, the report said.
When the state finishes its review, it will give Medicaid and Medicare Services its plan for fixing problems at Broughton, Osberg said.
The federal government will review the plan and make at least one unannounced visit to the hospital to check its progress before deciding whether it should reinstate payments, said Mark Van Sciver, spokesman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Broughton receives about $1 million a month in Medicaid and Medicare funding.
The state Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, will adjust its more than $7.1 million budget to cover the funding gap, Van Sciver said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
9/6/07
Relatives of 3 missing men gather to share advice, sustain their faith
Families hold on to hope
Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
MILLERSVILLE --No one has seen or heard from Travis Lee Baker in nearly five months. His car disappeared with him in April, and no calls have been made from his cell phone since.
Still, Baker's parents maintain hope that their son is alive.
"That's our main concern right now, finding Travis," said his father, Dwayne Baker. "You need to stay positive, and we're not giving up hope."
Travis Baker, 20, hasn't been seen since April 16, when he missed a lunch appointment in Catawba County with his girlfriend and failed to show up for work that evening.
Investigators at the Catawba County Sheriff's Office suspect foul play in Baker's disappearance and have followed more than 100 tips in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Texas and Nebraska, said Capt. Roy Brown.
But Brown said the Sheriff's Office doesn't have any suspects in Baker's disappearance.
"We've eliminated a lot of leads, but we're no closer to finding him," he said Tuesday. "So far, it's been fairly frustrating."
Meanwhile, Baker's parents, Dwayne and Patricia, are doing what they can to stay positive about their son's whereabouts.
On Tuesday afternoon, they hosted a gathering at their Alexander County home with the families of two other missing men, shared their experiences about working with law enforcement and talked about hope.
"If you don't have faith, it will drive you crazy," said Lisa Miller, whose 61-year-old father, Wayne Conner, disappeared more than four years ago.
Conner, a Claremont native, was last seen sitting at the bar of the Boxcar Grille, a few miles from where authorities think Baker was last seen.
Belinda Smith's nephew, Dedrick Smith of Winston-Salem, has been missing since October, when he left his family's home in his 1993 turquoise Grand Am. Like Baker, no one has seen her nephew or his car since he walked out of his home more than 11 months ago.
"No news is good news," Belinda Smith recalled a Winston-Salem investigator telling her. "(He said), `Since I don't have anything to give you, you can still have hope.' "
All three men regularly called family, and it was unusual to not hear from them at least once a day, families of Baker, Smith and Conner said.
Authorities suspect foul play in all three cases but do not have any suspects.
Investigators at the Catawba County Sheriff's Office have been looking for Baker and his 1998, two-door red Camaro for nearly five months. They have searched by helicopter and scoured Lake Norman, Lake Hickory and Lake Overlook.
His mother, Patricia Baker, often sits on her son's bed at the Millersville home and flips through his high school yearbook. His 14-year-old brother doesn't talk much about the disappearance, Dwayne Baker said, but will pick out shirts to wear from his brother's closet.
But not knowing what happened to their son or if they'll ever find him, Dwayne Baker said, has been the hardest part.
"If someone were to tell me today that Travis was found dead, oh that would hurt," he said, "but it wouldn't hurt as much as not knowing. At least we'd have closure."
Baker's family and the Kristen Foundation, a group that offers support to the families of missing adults, is offering a $15,000 reward for information that leads to Travis Baker's whereabouts, said foundation director Joan Petruski.
Baker has dark brown hair, blue eyes and four tattoos, including his last name in capital letters across his back, the name "Hallie" on his chest, and red and black bands on his upper arms. His Camaro has a license plate number of WRP 8627.
Anyone with information about Travis Baker or Wayne Conner should call the Sheriff's Office at 828-464-5241. Those with information about Dedrick Smith should call the Winston-Salem Police Department at 336-773-7700.
Anyone with information about Baker, Conner or Smith can call the Community United Effort Center for Missing Persons at 910-232-1687.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
MILLERSVILLE --No one has seen or heard from Travis Lee Baker in nearly five months. His car disappeared with him in April, and no calls have been made from his cell phone since.
Still, Baker's parents maintain hope that their son is alive.
"That's our main concern right now, finding Travis," said his father, Dwayne Baker. "You need to stay positive, and we're not giving up hope."
Travis Baker, 20, hasn't been seen since April 16, when he missed a lunch appointment in Catawba County with his girlfriend and failed to show up for work that evening.
Investigators at the Catawba County Sheriff's Office suspect foul play in Baker's disappearance and have followed more than 100 tips in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Texas and Nebraska, said Capt. Roy Brown.
But Brown said the Sheriff's Office doesn't have any suspects in Baker's disappearance.
"We've eliminated a lot of leads, but we're no closer to finding him," he said Tuesday. "So far, it's been fairly frustrating."
Meanwhile, Baker's parents, Dwayne and Patricia, are doing what they can to stay positive about their son's whereabouts.
On Tuesday afternoon, they hosted a gathering at their Alexander County home with the families of two other missing men, shared their experiences about working with law enforcement and talked about hope.
"If you don't have faith, it will drive you crazy," said Lisa Miller, whose 61-year-old father, Wayne Conner, disappeared more than four years ago.
Conner, a Claremont native, was last seen sitting at the bar of the Boxcar Grille, a few miles from where authorities think Baker was last seen.
Belinda Smith's nephew, Dedrick Smith of Winston-Salem, has been missing since October, when he left his family's home in his 1993 turquoise Grand Am. Like Baker, no one has seen her nephew or his car since he walked out of his home more than 11 months ago.
"No news is good news," Belinda Smith recalled a Winston-Salem investigator telling her. "(He said), `Since I don't have anything to give you, you can still have hope.' "
All three men regularly called family, and it was unusual to not hear from them at least once a day, families of Baker, Smith and Conner said.
Authorities suspect foul play in all three cases but do not have any suspects.
Investigators at the Catawba County Sheriff's Office have been looking for Baker and his 1998, two-door red Camaro for nearly five months. They have searched by helicopter and scoured Lake Norman, Lake Hickory and Lake Overlook.
His mother, Patricia Baker, often sits on her son's bed at the Millersville home and flips through his high school yearbook. His 14-year-old brother doesn't talk much about the disappearance, Dwayne Baker said, but will pick out shirts to wear from his brother's closet.
But not knowing what happened to their son or if they'll ever find him, Dwayne Baker said, has been the hardest part.
"If someone were to tell me today that Travis was found dead, oh that would hurt," he said, "but it wouldn't hurt as much as not knowing. At least we'd have closure."
Baker's family and the Kristen Foundation, a group that offers support to the families of missing adults, is offering a $15,000 reward for information that leads to Travis Baker's whereabouts, said foundation director Joan Petruski.
Baker has dark brown hair, blue eyes and four tattoos, including his last name in capital letters across his back, the name "Hallie" on his chest, and red and black bands on his upper arms. His Camaro has a license plate number of WRP 8627.
Anyone with information about Travis Baker or Wayne Conner should call the Sheriff's Office at 828-464-5241. Those with information about Dedrick Smith should call the Winston-Salem Police Department at 336-773-7700.
Anyone with information about Baker, Conner or Smith can call the Community United Effort Center for Missing Persons at 910-232-1687.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
9/5/07
Friends create Web site for murder info
Wednesday, Sept. 05, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Friends of Emily Anderson, a Caldwell County woman found shot to death in the tool compartment of her pickup truck in January 2006, have created a Web site soliciting more information about her killing.
Anderson's best friend, Patricia Thorpe, said Wednesday that the Web site was created by friends to raise reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her killer.
Friends are offering a $2,500 reward for that information, Thorpe said, and people wanting to make donations to the reward fund can contribute through the Web site at emilygriffittanderson.com or by visiting any Wachovia Bank.
Emily Anderson was last seen alive on Dec. 29, 2005. Ten days later, her Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck was found in an S.C. restaurant parking lot, about 100 miles from Caldwell County. She had been shot twice, and her body had been crammed into the truck bed's large tool box.
Her husband, Jerry Anderson, was charged with first-degree murder, but a judge declared a mistrial in July after Gaston County jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. Jurors were split 11-1, and the majority decided Anderson was not guilty. He is out of jail on bond.
Anyone with information about Emily Anderson's death is asked to call the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office at 828-758-2324.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Friends of Emily Anderson, a Caldwell County woman found shot to death in the tool compartment of her pickup truck in January 2006, have created a Web site soliciting more information about her killing.
Anderson's best friend, Patricia Thorpe, said Wednesday that the Web site was created by friends to raise reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her killer.
Friends are offering a $2,500 reward for that information, Thorpe said, and people wanting to make donations to the reward fund can contribute through the Web site at emilygriffittanderson.com or by visiting any Wachovia Bank.
Emily Anderson was last seen alive on Dec. 29, 2005. Ten days later, her Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck was found in an S.C. restaurant parking lot, about 100 miles from Caldwell County. She had been shot twice, and her body had been crammed into the truck bed's large tool box.
Her husband, Jerry Anderson, was charged with first-degree murder, but a judge declared a mistrial in July after Gaston County jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. Jurors were split 11-1, and the majority decided Anderson was not guilty. He is out of jail on bond.
Anyone with information about Emily Anderson's death is asked to call the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office at 828-758-2324.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Lenoir-Rhyne investigates graffiti
Wednesday, Sept. 05, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Officials at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory were investigating anti-Semitic graffiti found on the side of a residence hall today.
At about 10 a.m., the school's security department received a call that the word "Jew" had been sprayed on the side of Fritz-Conrad Hall, a upperclassman dormitory, said Lenoir-Rhyne Spokeswoman Margaret Allen.
The graffiti included a drawing of a human figure pointing upward at the lettering, Allen said.
Officials at the private, Lutheran college did not know the significance of the graffiti or if it was meant negatively toward anyone at the school.
The graffiti was removed Wednesday afternoon, Allen said.
Anyone with information should call Lenoir-Rhyne's Department of Security Services at 828-328-7145.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Officials at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory were investigating anti-Semitic graffiti found on the side of a residence hall today.
At about 10 a.m., the school's security department received a call that the word "Jew" had been sprayed on the side of Fritz-Conrad Hall, a upperclassman dormitory, said Lenoir-Rhyne Spokeswoman Margaret Allen.
The graffiti included a drawing of a human figure pointing upward at the lettering, Allen said.
Officials at the private, Lutheran college did not know the significance of the graffiti or if it was meant negatively toward anyone at the school.
The graffiti was removed Wednesday afternoon, Allen said.
Anyone with information should call Lenoir-Rhyne's Department of Security Services at 828-328-7145.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Investigators still searching for teen missing 5 months
Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The parents of an Alexander County teen missing for nearly five months said Tuesday they are still hopeful that authorities will find their son alive.
Travis Lee Baker, 19, hasn't been seen since April 16, when he missed lunch with his girlfriend and failed to show up for work that evening.
Investigators at the Catawba County Sheriff's Office suspect foul play, said Capt. Roy Brown.
Investigators are also trying to find Baker's 1998 two-door red Camaro. Its license tag is N.C. WRP 8627.
Baker has dark brown hair, blue eyes and four tattoos, including his last name in capital letters across his back, the name "Hallie" on his chest, and red and black bands on his upper arms.
Anyone with information should call the Sheriff's Office at 828-464-5241 or the Community United Effort Center for Missing Persons at 910-232-1687.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The parents of an Alexander County teen missing for nearly five months said Tuesday they are still hopeful that authorities will find their son alive.
Travis Lee Baker, 19, hasn't been seen since April 16, when he missed lunch with his girlfriend and failed to show up for work that evening.
Investigators at the Catawba County Sheriff's Office suspect foul play, said Capt. Roy Brown.
Investigators are also trying to find Baker's 1998 two-door red Camaro. Its license tag is N.C. WRP 8627.
Baker has dark brown hair, blue eyes and four tattoos, including his last name in capital letters across his back, the name "Hallie" on his chest, and red and black bands on his upper arms.
Anyone with information should call the Sheriff's Office at 828-464-5241 or the Community United Effort Center for Missing Persons at 910-232-1687.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
9/2/07
Local woman's grieving family says legal system failed to protect her
A fresh start, brutally cut short
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
After enduring threats and abuse from her estranged husband and living in fear for months, Catherine Smith was finally starting to heal.
She had returned from a family vacation less than two weeks ago, hopeful about the new life she was starting to build.
She was working at her brother-in-law's company and had moved into a new Hickory apartment about a mile from her sister's home. In early April, she separated from her husband and filed a domestic violence protection order against him.
But more importantly, said her mother, Marian Gabriel Stearns, Smith's bubbly personality was starting to show again.
On Aug. 24, two days after getting home, while her 6-year-old son, mother and sister were still at the beach, Catherine Smith, 31, was shot and killed by her husband outside the office where she worked, Hickory police said.
Hours later, after a chase and shootout with police, her husband, 37-year-old Christopher George "Charles" Smith, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Smith sought protection from the legal system, but it didn't keep her safe and failed to help her husband overcome his problems, her family says. Now they want to know why she had to die and are learning that there is no single answer. But they say it's clear that victims of domestic abuse deserve better.
"The system was just not there to help him, to help them, to keep her alive," Stearns said. "I want people to know that abusive situations are not normal and that there is help for both parties."
Experts say an effective domestic violence structure requires dedication from all parties, from the courts to law enforcement and the victim to outreach groups.
"There's a lot of good legal tools out there, and when used properly, (the system) can work," said Deborah Weissman, a UNC School of Law professor and expert in domestic violence. "A good number of studies show that when the law works, women are safer, and domestic violence is reduced."
Catherine Stearns, a Newton-Conover High School graduate who would have turned 32 last Thursday, met Charles Smith, a Catawba County native, not long after he finished serving a nine-year prison sentence in 1999.
Smith's record included convictions for robbery with a dangerous weapon and escape from a state prison.
The couple married shortly before their first son was born in January 2001. "She was always drawn to people who were hurting," said her sister, Amy McGhinnis. "(And) he was a tortured, tortured soul."
They seemed to be a happy couple at first, and their arguments seemed no different than any other married couple, McGhinnis said.
But as the years went on, McGhinnis saw a change in their relationship. Five months ago, on April 4, Smith went to the Catawba County Clerk of Court and obtained a domestic violence protection order -- a civil court document prohibiting any interaction with the victim -- against Charles Smith, saying he would force her "at gunpoint to perform sexual acts," according to court documents.
Charles Smith, who worked as an electrician for EAS Electric Co., was in the Catawba County jail on unrelated charges when his wife filed the domestic violence order.
Within a week of posting bond on those charges, he attacked her again, violating the protective order, she said in court documents. He was arrested and charged with breaking and entering, kidnapping, assaulting his wife and violating the protective order.
He had broken into her home, according to court documents, forced her into a bedroom, stuffed a towel in her mouth to stifle her screams and held a knife over her as he threatened to kill her and then himself.
"For some people, domestic violence protection orders are just a piece of paper," said Ann Peele, executive director of the Family Guidance Center in a Hickory, an agency that offers support to victims of domestic violence and provides help for the abusers. "Those people who have no regard for authority or the law, that piece of paper means nothing to them."
On July 9, three months after he violated Catherine Smith's protective order, a grand jury indicted Charles Smith on eight charges that included kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering, speeding, resisting an officer and carrying a concealed weapon.
Deputies tried at least a dozen times to serve the indictment and arrest him, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office, but found he had moved. His brother and father said they didn't know where he was living or why authorities could not find him, Reid said.
That's something Catherine Smith's family can't fathom.
"Why were we never called? Why was she never called?" Stearns said. "She knew where he was, so don't tell me they could not find him."
Reid said he was not sure if anyone at the Sheriff's Office had tried contacting Catherine Smith to find out if she knew where her estranged husband was. In situations like that, he said, investigators often assume the husband and wife aren't in touch.
Those holes in the law enforcement and legal systems, Catherine Smith's family said, need to be repaired. Better communication between police, courts and victims, Stearns said, should be paramount.
But Weissman said there's no single weakness in the system, and that's part of the challenge. A viable domestic violence program, she said, requires incorporating cooperation between enforcement and the courts and constant reassessment.
When it doesn't work, she said, courts and law enforcement need to re-examine how they respond to domestic violence.
"It's complicated," she said, "but we always have to be re-evaluating where the weak spots are. People always have to be looking for different practices."
Court documents show that Smith, after violating the protective order, spent the rest of the month in jail without bond until, on April 30, the district attorney's office dismissed the charges against him so a grand jury could indict him on Superior Court charges.
Within days of his release, Catherine Smith was calling counseling centers to set up appointments for her husband, said McGhinnis. And, McGhinnis said, her husband, Mike, would accompany Charles Smith to a drug rehabilitation facility in the days after he got out of jail.
"She was on his side and tried to find help for him," she said, "and we tried to be there, to understand and try to help him."
Peele, who sees about 1,400 abused women come through the center each year, said a woman in an abusive relationship often has a hard time identifying the dangers because of the emotions, especially when children are involved.
"You have love and hate, and there's that mixture that goes back and forth," she said. "There's that emotional element in domestic violence that you just don't have in other crimes."
But Catherine Smith was trying to help herself, too. She wanted to make sure her boys, 6-year-old Gabe and 2-year-old Aiden, knew their father, family said, but she tried to distance herself from him.
In the months after Catherine Smith separated from her husband, her mother said, the cheerfulness and spark began coming back to her personality. She knew that she had made the right decision in getting out of the relationship, her family said.
"Last week she said, `I've been in the dark for eight years,' " Stearns recalled. " `But I'm alive now, Momma, I'm alive.' "
Events Leading Up to Catherine Smith's Death
April 2, 2007 Catherine Smith and Charles Smith separate, according to court documents.
Charles Smith is by the Conover Police Department with speeding, failing to heed a light or siren, two counts of carrying a concealed weapon, two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, and resisting a public officer.
Catherine Smith posts bond, and Charles Smith is released from jail.
April 4 Catherine Smith asks the court to revoke the bond she posted for her husband two days earlier and takes out a domestic violence protective order against her husband.
Charles Smith returns to the Catawba County jail on the Conover charges.
Smith is released from jail on bond.
April 8 Charles Smith is charged with violating the protective order, breaking and entering, kidnapping his wife, assaulting her with a knife and stuffing a towel in her mouth to stifle her screams. he is held at the jail without bond.
April 30 The district attorney's office dismisses the District Court charges against Smith so a grand jury can indict him on the Conover charges and for violating the protective order and the related charges. He is released from the Catawba County jail.
July 9 The grand jury indicts Smith on eight charges in Superior Court and orders for his arrest are issued.
July 13 Conover police receive the indictment for speeding, failing to heed light or siren, two counts of carrying a concealed weapon and resisting a public office.
July 23 The Catawba County Sheriff's Office receives the indictment for the protective order violation, kidnapping, assault and breaking and entering and tries serving Smith the warrant. Three deputies tried at least a dozen times to find Smith, Maj. Coy Reid said, but could not locate him.
Aug. 24 Catherine Smith is killed by her husband.
Where to Find Help
So far this year, 40 people have died from domestic violence in North Carolina, according to the N.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Last year, 79 people died.
First Step, a domestic violence program through the Family Guidance Center in Hickory, offers support and counseling, court advocates, victim support groups, a safe shelter for battered women and treatment groups for abusers.
For more information: 828-322-1400
24-hour crisis assistance: 828-228-1787
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007
By Marcie YoungCharlotte Observer Staff Writer
After enduring threats and abuse from her estranged husband and living in fear for months, Catherine Smith was finally starting to heal.
She had returned from a family vacation less than two weeks ago, hopeful about the new life she was starting to build.
She was working at her brother-in-law's company and had moved into a new Hickory apartment about a mile from her sister's home. In early April, she separated from her husband and filed a domestic violence protection order against him.
But more importantly, said her mother, Marian Gabriel Stearns, Smith's bubbly personality was starting to show again.
On Aug. 24, two days after getting home, while her 6-year-old son, mother and sister were still at the beach, Catherine Smith, 31, was shot and killed by her husband outside the office where she worked, Hickory police said.
Hours later, after a chase and shootout with police, her husband, 37-year-old Christopher George "Charles" Smith, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Smith sought protection from the legal system, but it didn't keep her safe and failed to help her husband overcome his problems, her family says. Now they want to know why she had to die and are learning that there is no single answer. But they say it's clear that victims of domestic abuse deserve better.
"The system was just not there to help him, to help them, to keep her alive," Stearns said. "I want people to know that abusive situations are not normal and that there is help for both parties."
Experts say an effective domestic violence structure requires dedication from all parties, from the courts to law enforcement and the victim to outreach groups.
"There's a lot of good legal tools out there, and when used properly, (the system) can work," said Deborah Weissman, a UNC School of Law professor and expert in domestic violence. "A good number of studies show that when the law works, women are safer, and domestic violence is reduced."
Catherine Stearns, a Newton-Conover High School graduate who would have turned 32 last Thursday, met Charles Smith, a Catawba County native, not long after he finished serving a nine-year prison sentence in 1999.
Smith's record included convictions for robbery with a dangerous weapon and escape from a state prison.
The couple married shortly before their first son was born in January 2001. "She was always drawn to people who were hurting," said her sister, Amy McGhinnis. "(And) he was a tortured, tortured soul."
They seemed to be a happy couple at first, and their arguments seemed no different than any other married couple, McGhinnis said.
But as the years went on, McGhinnis saw a change in their relationship. Five months ago, on April 4, Smith went to the Catawba County Clerk of Court and obtained a domestic violence protection order -- a civil court document prohibiting any interaction with the victim -- against Charles Smith, saying he would force her "at gunpoint to perform sexual acts," according to court documents.
Charles Smith, who worked as an electrician for EAS Electric Co., was in the Catawba County jail on unrelated charges when his wife filed the domestic violence order.
Within a week of posting bond on those charges, he attacked her again, violating the protective order, she said in court documents. He was arrested and charged with breaking and entering, kidnapping, assaulting his wife and violating the protective order.
He had broken into her home, according to court documents, forced her into a bedroom, stuffed a towel in her mouth to stifle her screams and held a knife over her as he threatened to kill her and then himself.
"For some people, domestic violence protection orders are just a piece of paper," said Ann Peele, executive director of the Family Guidance Center in a Hickory, an agency that offers support to victims of domestic violence and provides help for the abusers. "Those people who have no regard for authority or the law, that piece of paper means nothing to them."
On July 9, three months after he violated Catherine Smith's protective order, a grand jury indicted Charles Smith on eight charges that included kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering, speeding, resisting an officer and carrying a concealed weapon.
Deputies tried at least a dozen times to serve the indictment and arrest him, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office, but found he had moved. His brother and father said they didn't know where he was living or why authorities could not find him, Reid said.
That's something Catherine Smith's family can't fathom.
"Why were we never called? Why was she never called?" Stearns said. "She knew where he was, so don't tell me they could not find him."
Reid said he was not sure if anyone at the Sheriff's Office had tried contacting Catherine Smith to find out if she knew where her estranged husband was. In situations like that, he said, investigators often assume the husband and wife aren't in touch.
Those holes in the law enforcement and legal systems, Catherine Smith's family said, need to be repaired. Better communication between police, courts and victims, Stearns said, should be paramount.
But Weissman said there's no single weakness in the system, and that's part of the challenge. A viable domestic violence program, she said, requires incorporating cooperation between enforcement and the courts and constant reassessment.
When it doesn't work, she said, courts and law enforcement need to re-examine how they respond to domestic violence.
"It's complicated," she said, "but we always have to be re-evaluating where the weak spots are. People always have to be looking for different practices."
Court documents show that Smith, after violating the protective order, spent the rest of the month in jail without bond until, on April 30, the district attorney's office dismissed the charges against him so a grand jury could indict him on Superior Court charges.
Within days of his release, Catherine Smith was calling counseling centers to set up appointments for her husband, said McGhinnis. And, McGhinnis said, her husband, Mike, would accompany Charles Smith to a drug rehabilitation facility in the days after he got out of jail.
"She was on his side and tried to find help for him," she said, "and we tried to be there, to understand and try to help him."
Peele, who sees about 1,400 abused women come through the center each year, said a woman in an abusive relationship often has a hard time identifying the dangers because of the emotions, especially when children are involved.
"You have love and hate, and there's that mixture that goes back and forth," she said. "There's that emotional element in domestic violence that you just don't have in other crimes."
But Catherine Smith was trying to help herself, too. She wanted to make sure her boys, 6-year-old Gabe and 2-year-old Aiden, knew their father, family said, but she tried to distance herself from him.
In the months after Catherine Smith separated from her husband, her mother said, the cheerfulness and spark began coming back to her personality. She knew that she had made the right decision in getting out of the relationship, her family said.
"Last week she said, `I've been in the dark for eight years,' " Stearns recalled. " `But I'm alive now, Momma, I'm alive.' "
Events Leading Up to Catherine Smith's Death
April 2, 2007 Catherine Smith and Charles Smith separate, according to court documents.
Charles Smith is by the Conover Police Department with speeding, failing to heed a light or siren, two counts of carrying a concealed weapon, two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, and resisting a public officer.
Catherine Smith posts bond, and Charles Smith is released from jail.
April 4 Catherine Smith asks the court to revoke the bond she posted for her husband two days earlier and takes out a domestic violence protective order against her husband.
Charles Smith returns to the Catawba County jail on the Conover charges.
Smith is released from jail on bond.
April 8 Charles Smith is charged with violating the protective order, breaking and entering, kidnapping his wife, assaulting her with a knife and stuffing a towel in her mouth to stifle her screams. he is held at the jail without bond.
April 30 The district attorney's office dismisses the District Court charges against Smith so a grand jury can indict him on the Conover charges and for violating the protective order and the related charges. He is released from the Catawba County jail.
July 9 The grand jury indicts Smith on eight charges in Superior Court and orders for his arrest are issued.
July 13 Conover police receive the indictment for speeding, failing to heed light or siren, two counts of carrying a concealed weapon and resisting a public office.
July 23 The Catawba County Sheriff's Office receives the indictment for the protective order violation, kidnapping, assault and breaking and entering and tries serving Smith the warrant. Three deputies tried at least a dozen times to find Smith, Maj. Coy Reid said, but could not locate him.
Aug. 24 Catherine Smith is killed by her husband.
Where to Find Help
So far this year, 40 people have died from domestic violence in North Carolina, according to the N.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Last year, 79 people died.
First Step, a domestic violence program through the Family Guidance Center in Hickory, offers support and counseling, court advocates, victim support groups, a safe shelter for battered women and treatment groups for abusers.
For more information: 828-322-1400
24-hour crisis assistance: 828-228-1787
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
9/1/07
U.S. cuts money to hospital
Broughton's quality of care in question after incidents
Saturday, Sept. 1, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The federal government has stopped some Medicaid and Medicare payments to Broughton Hospital, a state mental health facility in Burke County, because of concerns over a patient death in February and an injury to another patient in August.
State officials said Friday that Broughton, one of the state's four mental health hospitals, will not receive money for Medicaid or Medicare patients admitted to the facility after Aug. 25. State officials learned of the decision Thursday.
That means state taxpayers will pick up the bill for patients the federal government would have covered. About 20 percent of the hospital's $60 million yearly budget is paid by the federal medical insurance programs.
State officials said they were going to resolve problems at Broughton that prompted the punishment.
Dropping a hospital from the federal insurance programs is a drastic move, according to The News & Observer of Raleigh. The office that oversees Medicare and Medicaid often threatens to cut off federal money but almost never does so.
"It's rare that we involuntarily terminate a Medicare contracting hospital," said Tony Salters, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Medicaid and Medicare patients who were at the hospital on or before Aug. 25 will be covered by federal money for 30 days, said Jim Osberg, chief of state operated services at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Broughton, about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte, will still admit Medicaid and Medicare patients, Osberg said, but will not receive federal funding as compensation until the hospital is reviewed again by the Medicare and Medicaid Services, which won't be for at least a month.
About 22 percent of the 287 patients receive Medicaid or Medicare, state officials said.
The federal action was due in part to the Feb. 1 death of 27-year-old Anthony Lowery.
An autopsy report said that Lowery, who had a history of schizophrenia, died of asphyxia after a 300-pound staff member sat on his torso for two or three minutes. Lowery tried to bite the man during that time, the report said. The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating.
"To my knowledge, this was an accidental death," Osberg said.
The Medicare and Medicaid Services had ordered hospital officials to devise a plan to avoid such situations but decided to deny the payments after another incident, officials said. On Aug. 19, a patient who was supposed to be under close supervision fell. The patient is recovering.
Experts sent by the state will be at Broughton on Tuesday to identify problems and fix them, Osberg said. The federal government will inspect Broughton again after the state develops a plan for improvement.
The (Raleigh) News & Observer and Associated Press contributed.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Saturday, Sept. 1, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The federal government has stopped some Medicaid and Medicare payments to Broughton Hospital, a state mental health facility in Burke County, because of concerns over a patient death in February and an injury to another patient in August.
State officials said Friday that Broughton, one of the state's four mental health hospitals, will not receive money for Medicaid or Medicare patients admitted to the facility after Aug. 25. State officials learned of the decision Thursday.
That means state taxpayers will pick up the bill for patients the federal government would have covered. About 20 percent of the hospital's $60 million yearly budget is paid by the federal medical insurance programs.
State officials said they were going to resolve problems at Broughton that prompted the punishment.
Dropping a hospital from the federal insurance programs is a drastic move, according to The News & Observer of Raleigh. The office that oversees Medicare and Medicaid often threatens to cut off federal money but almost never does so.
"It's rare that we involuntarily terminate a Medicare contracting hospital," said Tony Salters, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Medicaid and Medicare patients who were at the hospital on or before Aug. 25 will be covered by federal money for 30 days, said Jim Osberg, chief of state operated services at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Broughton, about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte, will still admit Medicaid and Medicare patients, Osberg said, but will not receive federal funding as compensation until the hospital is reviewed again by the Medicare and Medicaid Services, which won't be for at least a month.
About 22 percent of the 287 patients receive Medicaid or Medicare, state officials said.
The federal action was due in part to the Feb. 1 death of 27-year-old Anthony Lowery.
An autopsy report said that Lowery, who had a history of schizophrenia, died of asphyxia after a 300-pound staff member sat on his torso for two or three minutes. Lowery tried to bite the man during that time, the report said. The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating.
"To my knowledge, this was an accidental death," Osberg said.
The Medicare and Medicaid Services had ordered hospital officials to devise a plan to avoid such situations but decided to deny the payments after another incident, officials said. On Aug. 19, a patient who was supposed to be under close supervision fell. The patient is recovering.
Experts sent by the state will be at Broughton on Tuesday to identify problems and fix them, Osberg said. The federal government will inspect Broughton again after the state develops a plan for improvement.
The (Raleigh) News & Observer and Associated Press contributed.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
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