Eight vie in GOP contestes; 5 Dems seek nomination
April 27, 2008
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A decision to hike property taxes more than 22 percent last year has become the key issue incumbent commissioners in Caldwell County are being forced to defend as primary day approaches.
Commissioners passed a sharp property tax hike last year, which challengers from both parties say is one of the top reasons that motivated them to run for one of three open seats.
Incumbent Republicans John Thuss and Faye Higgins will face six other candidates vying for the GOP's nomination, three of whom have formed a bloc and hope to fill all of the board's open seats. Five Democrats are also hoping to secure their party's nomination.
The winners of the May 6 Republican primary will go on to face the three top vote-getting Democrats.
Longtime Republican commissioner Herb Greene's seat is also open, but he is not seeking re-election.
Beyond the tax increase, challengers from both sides say current commissioners have made bad decisions, citing the county manager's salary, building a new Department of Social Services building, giving large companies tax incentives, and how the board plans the budget.
Incumbents, meanwhile, argue that the board has been making sound decisions, like creating better educational opportunities, boosting economic prospects and making sure county buildings are in good condition and able to provide quality service.
The Republicans
Thuss, a retired veterinarian, has served on the board for two stints, from 1988 to 1992 and from 1996 until now. Having a bevy of challengers in the Caldwell County primary is normal, but his opponents, he said, don't fully understand what commissioners have to consider when making budget decisions.
They have to adhere to mandates issued by the state and federal government, he said, while keeping a fund balance and juggling each department's budget.
"What do you want us to cut?" he said. "That's what they don't understand. They want the service to be top of the line and for people to be the best trained. But that costs money, and that's what taxes cover."
Commissioners, he said, are trying to satisfy all of these demands while also finding ways to bring new industry and jobs to the county while recovering from the exodus of furniture factories in recent years.
Higgins, who was elected to the board in 2004 and retired from the Department of Social Services, voted against the tax increase and said she would like to see commissioners pass a quarter-cent sales tax referendum to help meet budget needs.
"It doesn't seem right to make property owners shoulder most of the taxes," she said. "There has to be a better way to handle that."
Higgins also said she will focus on bringing new industry and jobs to the county and finding ways to bring more educational opportunities, like the Appalachian State University extension program.
Retired businessman Clay Bollinger, textile director Rob Bratcher and real estate developer Ben Griffin are running as a group and say their 98 years of collective business experience make them the best candidates.
"(County government) is a $78 million business, and it's absolutely not being run that way right now," Bollinger said.
The men said they would look at the budget in the long term, setting goals beyond the fiscal year and looking forward as far as 2018.
"You have to have planning and not chaos," said Griffin, who has made three unsuccessful commissioner bids. "By balancing the budget and living within our means, we can find a workable plan for the future that we can afford and prosper with."
Bratcher, who has spent his entire life in Caldwell, said he and his running mates would also like to make sure their children have long-term educational and professional opportunities and won't feel forced to seek better jobs outside the county.
"I'd prefer my son, who's a freshman, and my daughter, who is graduating this year, to live in Caldwell County and have rewarding careers here," he said.
Steven Fekete, meanwhile, said his reason for running was simple.
"I'm tired of complaining," he said.
He's frustrated with the property tax increase, he said, especially when commissioners decided to give incentives to Google that would slash the company's taxes for several years.
"There is no justification for giving a billion-dollar company handouts for coming to Caldwell," he said.
Fekete, a mechanic, said he would also try to trim the budget by cutting services he doesn't think are necessary, like air-conditioning at the county jail and forgoing tax incentives for companies looking at coming to Caldwell.
Bill Oxford, a furniture manager retiring next week, served on the Cajah's Mountain Board of Alderman for eight years and said his experience of working with budgets would benefit the county.
"The biggest thing that I hear is that people want change," he said. "I don't think anyone is satisfied with where we are and where we're going."
He said he would find ways to control spending by looking at each department's request and see what could be trimmed.
Arnold Wilson, a business owner making his first bid for office, did not return several messages left by the Observer.
The Democrats
The key issues - the tax increase and jobs - have varied little between the parties, with candidates saying they want to focus on bringing fresh ideas to the board and allowing residents to be more involved with decisions.
Barbara Weiller, a retired banker and former member of the Caldwell County School Board, said she would bring decades of business and political experience.
Weiller said she has already met with most of the mayors in the county's chartered municipalities and wants to make sure every community feels involved. She would also like to have better communication with each county department.
"I want to let them know I'm interested in their communities," she said. "I plan on being as open to everyone as I can."
Randy Church, a former chief of the Lenoir Fire Department, retired from the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office in December and said his years working in the community would benefit the board.
Church, who's running based on a "common-sense approach," said bringing Google to Caldwell was a good first step that needs to be followed up with fresh ideas.
Jerry Coffey, meanwhile, drives a tiny, lime green and fuel-efficient car and said he would like to encourage Caldwell residents to look for ways to conserve energy. Beyond that, he said, he would like to implement a "monitoring system" in which one person hired by the county would review every tax dollar commissioners propose spending and present it to the community before voting.
"The people in Caldwell County need to know they are stockholders in the county, and they need to approve of what's happening with their money," he said.
"We're going to have to address the issues with more out-of-the-box kind of thinking about how we are going to recruit new business," he said. "(It's going to require) some unconventional thinking."
L.C. Coonse, a retired schoolteacher, said he hasn't seen the leadership from commissioners that he thinks is necessary to run a county. Watching taxes soar, he said, was just one thing that motivated him to run.
"There has been a lot of reaction to problems, and all that causes is more reactions to more problems. It's a spiral," he said.
Coonse said he would like to review all the numbers commissioners are privy to and set objectives for long-range financial plans that would allow the county to stay within its budget from year to year.
That's a plan that Timothy Shore, who has run for a commissioner seat twice before, said commissioners need to implement if they are going put the county back into the global economy.
The tax increase, he said, could have been a much softer blow if the board had been thinking about the budget in four-year increments rather than one. Setting priorities for life's necessities, he said, is something he does with his money and something he expects commissioners to do as well.
"If families have to tighten their budgets, the county needs to do the same," he said.
About the tax increase
On June 18, commissioners approved, in a 3-to-1 vote, a 12-cent property tax increase that would fund a $77.5 million operating budget. Faye Higgins voted against the tax hike.
The board initially considered an 18.5 percent tax increase but voiced concerns about residents still struggling with unemployment and low wages being able to handle the hike. When they gathered to vote two weeks later, however, the board decided against the 18.5 percent hike and raised taxes more - to 22.2 percent.
The new rate, 65.99 cents for every $100 of value, means that taxes on a $150,000 house would be $989.85, an increase of $180 a year.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
4/27/08
2 square off in race for senate
Hefner, Cates vie for democratic nomination
April 27, 2008
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The Democratic primary race for the 44th Senate District has a political newcomer who has spent three years preparing for a bid and a former commissioner who says his people skills make him the best pick.
Former Marine officer and truck driver Danny Hefner of Lenoir and retired schoolteacher and former Burke County commissioner Jim Cates of Morganton are vying for the Democratic nomination for the open Senate seat, which represents Burke and Caldwell counties.
The winner will face Republican Jim Jacumin of Rutherford College. Jacumin, a 71-year-old retired engineer, is seeking his third term.
Hefner, 42, spent 13 years in the Marines and served four tours of duty in the Middle East and South Korea. He has been driving a truck across the country in the years since he was discharged from the military in 1996, and for the past three years has been talking to people as he's traveled across the state about what they want to see in their state politicians.
"This is not a whim for me," he said.
Hefner said he would like to focus on bringing more jobs and a better economy to a region hit hard by the recent exodus of furniture jobs, finding ways to provide affordable health care and better benefits for teachers.
Cates, 70, said he recently decided to venture back into politics after a 23-year hiatus from public office. Cates, who taught at Western Piedmont Community College and in Burke and Caldwell schools, served as a Burke County commissioner for seven years before stepping down in 1985.
"A couple months ago I mentioned to someone that I wondered if I could beat Jimmy Jacumin," he said. "I figured with my years on the board of commissioners and my education, I could stack up to him."
Though Cates said bringing new industry, finding ways to conserve energy, education and health care are big issues, he's focusing more on listening to voters' concerns rather than pinpointing specific issues.
"I'm still in the formulation stages of things," he said. "But when I'm informed of issues in the area, I will go to the gizzards chasing the pros and cons and taking it as far as it can go."
The men, who face off in the May 5 primary, say they would be a good fit for the state Senate because they understand the people in the district and say constituents would benefit from new representation.
Hefner's plans would include proposing legislation to implement a toll for cars traveling in and out of the state and to use that income to subsidize health care. He's also looking into ways to pay teachers more, including proposing that each resident pay an additional 52 cents a year to fund salary increases.
"We need to pay our teachers what they are worth," he said. "Would it be worth one penny a week to have your child schooled better? It's worth it to me."
Cates said he's "making a big deal out of the fact that I'm not pushing any one issue" and that he plans to focus on all the concerns district residents bring to him. He acknowledges that creating good educational opportunities and recruiting new industry are paramount, he said, but wants people to know that he'll work hard to find solutions for their problems.
"I'm trying to be a totally open-minded person," he said. "I'm a bottom-up kind of guy. You tell me what's going on and we'll take it from there."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
April 27, 2008
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
The Democratic primary race for the 44th Senate District has a political newcomer who has spent three years preparing for a bid and a former commissioner who says his people skills make him the best pick.
Former Marine officer and truck driver Danny Hefner of Lenoir and retired schoolteacher and former Burke County commissioner Jim Cates of Morganton are vying for the Democratic nomination for the open Senate seat, which represents Burke and Caldwell counties.
The winner will face Republican Jim Jacumin of Rutherford College. Jacumin, a 71-year-old retired engineer, is seeking his third term.
Hefner, 42, spent 13 years in the Marines and served four tours of duty in the Middle East and South Korea. He has been driving a truck across the country in the years since he was discharged from the military in 1996, and for the past three years has been talking to people as he's traveled across the state about what they want to see in their state politicians.
"This is not a whim for me," he said.
Hefner said he would like to focus on bringing more jobs and a better economy to a region hit hard by the recent exodus of furniture jobs, finding ways to provide affordable health care and better benefits for teachers.
Cates, 70, said he recently decided to venture back into politics after a 23-year hiatus from public office. Cates, who taught at Western Piedmont Community College and in Burke and Caldwell schools, served as a Burke County commissioner for seven years before stepping down in 1985.
"A couple months ago I mentioned to someone that I wondered if I could beat Jimmy Jacumin," he said. "I figured with my years on the board of commissioners and my education, I could stack up to him."
Though Cates said bringing new industry, finding ways to conserve energy, education and health care are big issues, he's focusing more on listening to voters' concerns rather than pinpointing specific issues.
"I'm still in the formulation stages of things," he said. "But when I'm informed of issues in the area, I will go to the gizzards chasing the pros and cons and taking it as far as it can go."
The men, who face off in the May 5 primary, say they would be a good fit for the state Senate because they understand the people in the district and say constituents would benefit from new representation.
Hefner's plans would include proposing legislation to implement a toll for cars traveling in and out of the state and to use that income to subsidize health care. He's also looking into ways to pay teachers more, including proposing that each resident pay an additional 52 cents a year to fund salary increases.
"We need to pay our teachers what they are worth," he said. "Would it be worth one penny a week to have your child schooled better? It's worth it to me."
Cates said he's "making a big deal out of the fact that I'm not pushing any one issue" and that he plans to focus on all the concerns district residents bring to him. He acknowledges that creating good educational opportunities and recruiting new industry are paramount, he said, but wants people to know that he'll work hard to find solutions for their problems.
"I'm trying to be a totally open-minded person," he said. "I'm a bottom-up kind of guy. You tell me what's going on and we'll take it from there."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
4/10/08
Paralyzed officer sets new life in motion
SWAT team member was shot in neck; adapts to life in wheelchair
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
ATLANTA --Detective Martin Lawing sat in his wheelchair and looked at his car.
The four-door, 1989 Mercedes had been in Atlanta for less than a day -- driven down by colleagues at the Burke County Sheriff's Office -- and Lawing was hoping to conquer it.
Four months ago, getting into a sedan was easy for the 31-year-old former Army Ranger, like brushing his teeth or pulling on a pair of pants.
But that was before Lawing, a SWAT team member, went to work on Dec. 11. Before a mentally ill, 60-year-old woman was charged with shooting him in the neck during a standoff. Before he became a quadriplegic.
Now, Lawing, who used to run daily and had been dubbed "the most in shape" deputy by colleagues, is learning how to live his life from a wheelchair.
He's been told he'll never walk and has been forced to adjust the plans he had for his life. But he's determined to focus on recovering and not spend time thinking about what he's lost.
"Your future is kind of bleak when you've got tubes coming out of you and everyone is saying you'll never walk again or use your hands," he said Friday during his last week of in-patient physical therapy at the Shepherd Center, a spinal cord injury hospital. "But if you stay mad about it all the time, you're not doing anything good for yourself."
He's resolute, also, about getting back to his job as a narcotics officer, even if that means a desk job and working in the courts.
"It's not all undercover work," he said. "There's a lot more to it than that."
Doctors have classified Lawing as "C7 incomplete," which means he can't walk or feel much below his chest but has some limited use of his hands.
For three months Lawing has been meeting daily with therapists -- physical, occupational, psychological and recreational -- to adjust to his new reality.
Wednesday was Lawing's first day living away from the hospital in an off-campus apartment, a landmark that brings him closer to moving back to Morganton with his wife, Leslie, and their 2-year-old daughter, Isabella.
Every week, he's noticed himself getting stronger and doing more than doctors said he should have expected.
"There have been a lot of little instances, like being able to pick up a piece of paper or being able to pick up a potato chip and eat it with my hands," he said. "Little things like that."
The right attitude can go a long way, doctors say.
"The patients who get better ... are the folks who focus on what they can do rather than the folks who focus on what they've lost," said Dr. Brock Bowman, associate medical director of Shepherd's spinal injury program. "Thinking, `Why me, why now?' are totally normal human emotions, but that doesn't maximize getting better like pushing forward and focusing on the future."
Getting stronger
Lawing wakes up about 6 a.m. every day, though he doesn't usually have to be at therapy until after 8. Everything he could do quickly and without help before can now take hours, he said.
Doctors say it takes about 18 months before a body will respond fully to treatment but every patient reacts differently. That makes it difficult to predict what Lawing will be able to do in a year, or 20 years.
"Nobody wants to give you false hope and say you're going to walk again or use your hands," Lawing said. "But I've gotten a lot stronger since I've been here. Every day it's like, `That's something new.' "
Signing his name, using a strap that attaches a pen to his hand, takes a few minutes, while two attempts to climb into the Mercedes last week took about an hour and required the aid of his father, his wife and a therapist.
"This is what it means to get out of the house," his wife said. "He's 6-3 and has got long legs to get in there. That's not easy."
Occupational therapists teach him how to get dressed in bed and show him how to maneuver his legs into his pants. Sometimes it takes a half hour and he gets frustrated.
But he tries to focus on just one part of his therapy at a time rather than worry about all the things he must learn to do differently.
"You just have to take the task in front of you and move on," he said. "If you take it all in, it's just too much."
Long-term goals
Lawing can't tell when Leslie, his wife of eight years and an intensive care unit nurse, places his legs onto the pedals of the electronic stationary bike that stimulates his muscles, he said. But he can feel his father, John, pat his upper back and can feel his mother, Jane, rest her hands on his shoulders.
Over time, he's been able to extend his fingers and his arms have gotten strong enough to partially lift his 175-pound frame. That's more than doctors predicted, he said.
The achievements allowed doctors to reclassify his injury and therapists to set higher goals, including learning how to move himself from bed or a car into his wheelchair without help.
Lawing still has another six weeks or so of daily out-patient therapy at Shepherd but is already setting long-term goals beyond the hospital. He wants to go back to work and has talked with his wife about learning to kayak or start cycling with a hand propelled bicycle.
"He's got such a positive attitude. When you talk about going to (physical therapy), he never says, `I just want to stay in bed,' " said his mother, Jane. "He's so determined and so anxious to do everything he can do."
For now, Lawing's just trying to stay focused on getting better and is taking one thing at a time -- like getting into his car so he can take a ride and see Atlanta and eventually get back home.
An outpouring of support
In the weeks after the shooting, Burke deputies kept vigil at Carolinas Medical Center, where Lawing was before moving to Shepherd. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, still coping with the deaths of two officers months before, paid for a hotel room for Lawing's parents and brought food. "This is what we do," said John Collins, a CMPD officer who also planned a fundraiser. "We take care of each other."
Law enforcement officers and communities across the state have planned several other fundraisers, including 5K runs, barbecue dinners and bluegrass concerts, and Lawing has received hundreds of letters offering encouragement.
It's these little gestures, his father, John, said, that mean the most. "There was a little lady who sent $3 to the Sheriff's Office," he recalled. "It was the last bit of money she had in her pocketbook. She knew nothing about Martin, but she gave him all she had."
Want to help?
Checks and money orders can be sent to the Fraternal Order of Police, c/o Martin Lawing Fund, P.O. Box 1216, Morganton, NC 28680. Write "Martin Lawing Fund" in the memo line.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission. Photo by Jeff Willhelm.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
ATLANTA --Detective Martin Lawing sat in his wheelchair and looked at his car.
The four-door, 1989 Mercedes had been in Atlanta for less than a day -- driven down by colleagues at the Burke County Sheriff's Office -- and Lawing was hoping to conquer it.
Four months ago, getting into a sedan was easy for the 31-year-old former Army Ranger, like brushing his teeth or pulling on a pair of pants.
But that was before Lawing, a SWAT team member, went to work on Dec. 11. Before a mentally ill, 60-year-old woman was charged with shooting him in the neck during a standoff. Before he became a quadriplegic.
Now, Lawing, who used to run daily and had been dubbed "the most in shape" deputy by colleagues, is learning how to live his life from a wheelchair.
He's been told he'll never walk and has been forced to adjust the plans he had for his life. But he's determined to focus on recovering and not spend time thinking about what he's lost.
"Your future is kind of bleak when you've got tubes coming out of you and everyone is saying you'll never walk again or use your hands," he said Friday during his last week of in-patient physical therapy at the Shepherd Center, a spinal cord injury hospital. "But if you stay mad about it all the time, you're not doing anything good for yourself."
He's resolute, also, about getting back to his job as a narcotics officer, even if that means a desk job and working in the courts.
"It's not all undercover work," he said. "There's a lot more to it than that."
Doctors have classified Lawing as "C7 incomplete," which means he can't walk or feel much below his chest but has some limited use of his hands.
For three months Lawing has been meeting daily with therapists -- physical, occupational, psychological and recreational -- to adjust to his new reality.
Wednesday was Lawing's first day living away from the hospital in an off-campus apartment, a landmark that brings him closer to moving back to Morganton with his wife, Leslie, and their 2-year-old daughter, Isabella.
Every week, he's noticed himself getting stronger and doing more than doctors said he should have expected.
"There have been a lot of little instances, like being able to pick up a piece of paper or being able to pick up a potato chip and eat it with my hands," he said. "Little things like that."
The right attitude can go a long way, doctors say.
"The patients who get better ... are the folks who focus on what they can do rather than the folks who focus on what they've lost," said Dr. Brock Bowman, associate medical director of Shepherd's spinal injury program. "Thinking, `Why me, why now?' are totally normal human emotions, but that doesn't maximize getting better like pushing forward and focusing on the future."
Getting stronger
Lawing wakes up about 6 a.m. every day, though he doesn't usually have to be at therapy until after 8. Everything he could do quickly and without help before can now take hours, he said.
Doctors say it takes about 18 months before a body will respond fully to treatment but every patient reacts differently. That makes it difficult to predict what Lawing will be able to do in a year, or 20 years.
"Nobody wants to give you false hope and say you're going to walk again or use your hands," Lawing said. "But I've gotten a lot stronger since I've been here. Every day it's like, `That's something new.' "
Signing his name, using a strap that attaches a pen to his hand, takes a few minutes, while two attempts to climb into the Mercedes last week took about an hour and required the aid of his father, his wife and a therapist.
"This is what it means to get out of the house," his wife said. "He's 6-3 and has got long legs to get in there. That's not easy."
Occupational therapists teach him how to get dressed in bed and show him how to maneuver his legs into his pants. Sometimes it takes a half hour and he gets frustrated.
But he tries to focus on just one part of his therapy at a time rather than worry about all the things he must learn to do differently.
"You just have to take the task in front of you and move on," he said. "If you take it all in, it's just too much."
Long-term goals
Lawing can't tell when Leslie, his wife of eight years and an intensive care unit nurse, places his legs onto the pedals of the electronic stationary bike that stimulates his muscles, he said. But he can feel his father, John, pat his upper back and can feel his mother, Jane, rest her hands on his shoulders.
Over time, he's been able to extend his fingers and his arms have gotten strong enough to partially lift his 175-pound frame. That's more than doctors predicted, he said.
The achievements allowed doctors to reclassify his injury and therapists to set higher goals, including learning how to move himself from bed or a car into his wheelchair without help.
Lawing still has another six weeks or so of daily out-patient therapy at Shepherd but is already setting long-term goals beyond the hospital. He wants to go back to work and has talked with his wife about learning to kayak or start cycling with a hand propelled bicycle.
"He's got such a positive attitude. When you talk about going to (physical therapy), he never says, `I just want to stay in bed,' " said his mother, Jane. "He's so determined and so anxious to do everything he can do."
For now, Lawing's just trying to stay focused on getting better and is taking one thing at a time -- like getting into his car so he can take a ride and see Atlanta and eventually get back home.
An outpouring of support
In the weeks after the shooting, Burke deputies kept vigil at Carolinas Medical Center, where Lawing was before moving to Shepherd. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, still coping with the deaths of two officers months before, paid for a hotel room for Lawing's parents and brought food. "This is what we do," said John Collins, a CMPD officer who also planned a fundraiser. "We take care of each other."
Law enforcement officers and communities across the state have planned several other fundraisers, including 5K runs, barbecue dinners and bluegrass concerts, and Lawing has received hundreds of letters offering encouragement.
It's these little gestures, his father, John, said, that mean the most. "There was a little lady who sent $3 to the Sheriff's Office," he recalled. "It was the last bit of money she had in her pocketbook. She knew nothing about Martin, but she gave him all she had."
Want to help?
Checks and money orders can be sent to the Fraternal Order of Police, c/o Martin Lawing Fund, P.O. Box 1216, Morganton, NC 28680. Write "Martin Lawing Fund" in the memo line.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission. Photo by Jeff Willhelm.
4/7/08
Teen killed, father injured in wreck
Monday, April 7, 2008
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Newton teenager died and his father was seriously injured Sunday afternoon when their car sped off the road and hit a utility pole, authorities said.
Shavonne Lesha Parson, 19, was driving a 1994 Honda Accord south on Sigmon Dairy Road shortly after 3:30 p.m. when he entered a curve near Shady Lane and veered off the right side of the road, Newton police said.
Parson was going about 70 mph in a 45 mph zone, police said, when he tried steering back onto the roadway. He lost control of the car, and the Honda flew through the air before hitting the pole, police said.
His father, 48-year-old Leander Parson, was sitting in the front passenger seat and was seriously injured. He was taken to Catawba Valley Medical Center and is being treated in the neurological intensive care unit, police said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Newton teenager died and his father was seriously injured Sunday afternoon when their car sped off the road and hit a utility pole, authorities said.
Shavonne Lesha Parson, 19, was driving a 1994 Honda Accord south on Sigmon Dairy Road shortly after 3:30 p.m. when he entered a curve near Shady Lane and veered off the right side of the road, Newton police said.
Parson was going about 70 mph in a 45 mph zone, police said, when he tried steering back onto the roadway. He lost control of the car, and the Honda flew through the air before hitting the pole, police said.
His father, 48-year-old Leander Parson, was sitting in the front passenger seat and was seriously injured. He was taken to Catawba Valley Medical Center and is being treated in the neurological intensive care unit, police said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
4/6/08
She's going to run for Robby
A year after husband's death in Iraq, her 5K will raise funds for others
Sunday, April 6, 2008
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Michelle and Robby Bowman had plans.
They were going to climb Mount Rainier, have a baby and keep up with their morning runs around the lake near their Washington state home.
But then, on April 13, 2007, Michelle Bowman heard a knock on her front door and opened it to find an Army chaplain.
Her husband, 29-year-old Sgt. Larry "Robby" Bowman, a Granite Falls native, had been killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb.
Nearly a year has passed since her husband died, and Michelle Bowman still has plans. She's going to scale Mount Rainier in August, and on the anniversary of his death next Sunday, Bowman is hosting a 5K run through the Lenoir greenway in his honor.
"The last thing I wanted to do was spend the day alone just sitting and sulking," said Bowman, also a Caldwell County native. "The whole community was greatly affected when Robby died, and I didn't want the day to simply pass by. This is a way to celebrate his life."
Running was something the Bowmans picked up together. Robby Bowman had never been much of a runner before his joined the Army, and Michelle Bowman started jogging with him when they got married. It was just one of the things they enjoyed doing as a couple, she said.
"On the weekends, we'd get up and go for a run around the lake," Bowman said. "It was something we did together."
So, when Bowman started thinking about something she could do to honor her husband a year after his death, a race -- which she's named "Robby's Run" -- seemed like the perfect option.
Bowman said she is expecting more than 100 people to show up at the event, which she plans to continue every year. The proceeds, she said, will be donated to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which helps the families of soldiers injured or killed during war.
Four soldiers from Robby Bowman's unit, the 513th Transportation Company based out of Fort Lewis, Wash., are planning on traveling to Lenoir for the event. They include Staff Sgt. Eric Sears, who was stationed with Bowman in Iraq and has named his son after his fallen friend.
"He was a pretty big impact on my life," said Sears, who is in South Carolina and training to be an Army recruiter. "I just want to be (at the race) for the support factor. It's a great idea, and I wish things like this were done for more soldiers."
Want to go?
Robby's Run, honoring Sgt. Larry "Robby" Bowman, will start at 2 p.m. April 13 at the Lenoir greenway, 710 Powell Road.
Early registration is $15 and race day registration is $20. Participants can choose to either walk or run the 5K. Registration for the 1-mile fun run is $10. Donations are also accepted; proceeds from the event will go to the Intrepid Heroes fund, which offers assistance to families of soldiers killed or injured during war.
New Life Baptist Church in Lenoir is hosting a barbecue after the run.
Register at New Life Baptist, 2111 Walt Arney Road or at Fleet Feet Sports in Hickory, 1776 N. Center St. Details: 828-728-1473.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Michelle and Robby Bowman had plans.
They were going to climb Mount Rainier, have a baby and keep up with their morning runs around the lake near their Washington state home.
But then, on April 13, 2007, Michelle Bowman heard a knock on her front door and opened it to find an Army chaplain.
Her husband, 29-year-old Sgt. Larry "Robby" Bowman, a Granite Falls native, had been killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb.
Nearly a year has passed since her husband died, and Michelle Bowman still has plans. She's going to scale Mount Rainier in August, and on the anniversary of his death next Sunday, Bowman is hosting a 5K run through the Lenoir greenway in his honor.
"The last thing I wanted to do was spend the day alone just sitting and sulking," said Bowman, also a Caldwell County native. "The whole community was greatly affected when Robby died, and I didn't want the day to simply pass by. This is a way to celebrate his life."
Running was something the Bowmans picked up together. Robby Bowman had never been much of a runner before his joined the Army, and Michelle Bowman started jogging with him when they got married. It was just one of the things they enjoyed doing as a couple, she said.
"On the weekends, we'd get up and go for a run around the lake," Bowman said. "It was something we did together."
So, when Bowman started thinking about something she could do to honor her husband a year after his death, a race -- which she's named "Robby's Run" -- seemed like the perfect option.
Bowman said she is expecting more than 100 people to show up at the event, which she plans to continue every year. The proceeds, she said, will be donated to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which helps the families of soldiers injured or killed during war.
Four soldiers from Robby Bowman's unit, the 513th Transportation Company based out of Fort Lewis, Wash., are planning on traveling to Lenoir for the event. They include Staff Sgt. Eric Sears, who was stationed with Bowman in Iraq and has named his son after his fallen friend.
"He was a pretty big impact on my life," said Sears, who is in South Carolina and training to be an Army recruiter. "I just want to be (at the race) for the support factor. It's a great idea, and I wish things like this were done for more soldiers."
Want to go?
Robby's Run, honoring Sgt. Larry "Robby" Bowman, will start at 2 p.m. April 13 at the Lenoir greenway, 710 Powell Road.
Early registration is $15 and race day registration is $20. Participants can choose to either walk or run the 5K. Registration for the 1-mile fun run is $10. Donations are also accepted; proceeds from the event will go to the Intrepid Heroes fund, which offers assistance to families of soldiers killed or injured during war.
New Life Baptist Church in Lenoir is hosting a barbecue after the run.
Register at New Life Baptist, 2111 Walt Arney Road or at Fleet Feet Sports in Hickory, 1776 N. Center St. Details: 828-728-1473.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
4/3/08
Savoring the start of life after death row
Charges dropped in 1992 Catawba Co. killings; court-appointed defense faulted
Thursday, April 3, 2008
By Marcie Young and David Ingram
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
RALEIGH --Glen Edward Chapman walked free Wednesday after nearly 14 years on death row in a case that a judge said was marred by a flawed police investigation and a faulty defense.
Murder charges against Chapman, 40, were dismissed Wednesday morning by District Attorney Jay Gaither, who in November was told by a Catawba County judge that the case needed to be retried.
Hours later, Chapman, sentenced to death in 1994 in the deaths of 31-year-old Betty Jean Ramseur and 28-year-old Tenene Yvette Conley, left Central Prison with one of his attorneys in a green Volkswagen.
He waved to reporters and photographers and later said in a news conference that he didn't know for sure he was leaving prison until 10 minutes before he was released.
"Everybody's like, `You're going home,' " he said. "I still didn't believe it until I was actually out."
Ramseur's brother said he was disappointed that the justice system couldn't resolve his sister's death.
"If it wasn't him, then I really do wonder who the killer was," Charles Ramseur, 55, said.
Chapman's release comes five months after Judge Robert Ervin issued a 186-page ruling that said the lead investigator in Chapman's double-murder case withheld critical evidence and lied on the stand. He also said Chapman's defense attorneys, who were court-appointed, did a poor job investigating the 1992 killings.
The case, according to court documents, was also marred by an incompetent defense by two lawyers with a history of alcohol abuse.
The ruling forced the District Attorney's Office to decide whether to retry the case. Gaither dismissed the charges, he said in a news release, because the prosecution's case was "factually incomplete" and there was not enough evidence to try Chapman again.
Ervin found that Chapman's trial attorneys had missed critical evidence, including that Conley was alive after Chapman last saw her and may have died of a drug overdose. Ervin also said in his ruling that the lead Hickory police investigator on the case withheld information that a key witness in the Ramseur case identified someone other than Chapman in a photo lineup.
Chapman's appeals attorney also argued that his trial attorneys, Thomas Portwood and Robert Adams, had failed to interview several critical witnesses and were "excessive users of alcohol."
Portwood, who admitted he drank more than a pint of 80-proof rum every evening during several death penalty trials, has been challenged in court for his representation of at least two other men, one of whom was executed in 2001.
According to Observer archives, Adams told the N.C. State Bar that he drank three scotches a night but that it did not affect his trial performance. A 1998 psychiatrist's evaluation of Adams, ordered by the bar, concluded that Adams "had a drinking problem" and referred him to Alcoholics Anonymous, according to a bar discipline order.
Portwood died in 2003, and Adams could not be reached for comment.
Ramseur and Conley's bodies were discovered within a week of each other in abandoned Hickory homes. Ramseur, according to court documents, was found in a burned-out building and likely had been dead for several weeks. Conley was found in a closet in another empty home.
Prosecutors argued that Chapman had beaten the women to death in separate drug-fueled fights. While Chapman has admitted that he knew both women and had smoked crack with each of them, he has long denied any involvement with their deaths.
Chapman's release, said Ramseur's brother, Charles, raises concerns about the legal system and whether it's working the way it should.
"I would think you would make sure you got the right one before you put him on trial or give him a death sentence," he said by phone Wednesday. "(Murder is) too serious a crime to convict someone if (there's a possibility) they didn't do it."
No relatives of Conley could be found Wednesday.
Chapman is among other inmates set free from North Carolina's death row in recent years. Another former inmate, Jonathan Hoffman, was freed in a Union County case challenged by post-conviction attorneys. Prosecutors declined to attempt a second trial.
The cases have renewed the debate about the state's death penalty -- currently on hold because of a dispute over lethal injection -- and led to changes in how capital cases are handled. But some older cases, including Chapman's, went to trial before the reforms.
On Wednesday afternoon, Chapman made phone calls -- using a cellular phone for the first time -- to his family and other members of his legal team. He ate a bologna and cheese sandwich made, he said, like his mother used to make.
"That was my comfort food," he said.
He was planning to have steak for dinner Wednesday night.
Beyond that, Chapman said he's not certain of his plans but is looking forward to seeing his sons, ages 17 and 22. He said he doesn't think he'll move back to Hickory, where he was born.
Chapman declined to criticize either the criminal justice system or the investigators -- in particular lead investigator Dennis Rhoney, formerly of the Hickory Police Department -- whose work has drawn scrutiny.
"His fate is not in my hands," Chapman said. "I have no bitterness. Why should I give somebody the benefit of knowing that they can just make me bitter?"
Rhoney, who works for the Burke County Sheriff's Office, couldn't be reached Wednesday.
Chapman's attorneys said they would explore a request for a pardon from Gov. Mike Easley, which if granted would allow Chapman to apply for compensation from the state for the time he was in prison.
Chapman said he has no idea who or what might have caused the two women's deaths. He and his attorneys called for abolishing the death penalty.
"The way it's going now, it's not working," Chapman said.
Timeline
Aug. 15, 1992 Prospective renters looking at a home in Southeast Hickory discover 28-year-old Tenene Yvette Conley's body in a downstairs closet. Investigators originally thought she had been killed, but testimony indicates she may have died of a drug overdose.
Aug. 22, 1992 The body of Betty Jean Ramseur, 31, is found in a burned-out and abandoned house in Southeast Hickory. She had died several weeks before.
Jan. 11, 1993 Glen Edward Chapman, then 25, is indicted on first-degree murder charges in the death of Ramseur.
Aug. 16, 1993 Chapman is indicted on first-degree murder charges infor the death of Conley.
Oct. 31, 1994 Chapman's trial, which combined Ramseur's and Conley's cases, begins in Catawba County Superior Court.
Nov. 10, 1994 Chapman is convicted of two counts of first-degree murder.
Nov. 16, 1994 Chapman is sentenced to death.
July 5, 1996 Appellate defense attorneys begin post-conviction proceedings.
July 23, 2002 Frank Goldsmith becomes Chapman's appellate defense attorney. Jessica Leaven joins Goldsmith in December 2002.
Aug. 1, 2003 Judge Robert Ervin makes the complete investigation and case files available to Chapman's attorneys.
Aug. 2, 2006 After all post-conviction hearings, defense attorneys file a motion asking Ervin to order a new trial in both cases based on new evidence.
Nov. 6, 2007 Ervin orders a new trial.
April 2, 2008 Charges against Chapman are dismissed by District Attorney Jay Gaither. He said the prosecution's argument was "factually incomplete" and there was not enough evidence to retry the case.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
By Marcie Young and David Ingram
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers
RALEIGH --Glen Edward Chapman walked free Wednesday after nearly 14 years on death row in a case that a judge said was marred by a flawed police investigation and a faulty defense.
Murder charges against Chapman, 40, were dismissed Wednesday morning by District Attorney Jay Gaither, who in November was told by a Catawba County judge that the case needed to be retried.
Hours later, Chapman, sentenced to death in 1994 in the deaths of 31-year-old Betty Jean Ramseur and 28-year-old Tenene Yvette Conley, left Central Prison with one of his attorneys in a green Volkswagen.
He waved to reporters and photographers and later said in a news conference that he didn't know for sure he was leaving prison until 10 minutes before he was released.
"Everybody's like, `You're going home,' " he said. "I still didn't believe it until I was actually out."
Ramseur's brother said he was disappointed that the justice system couldn't resolve his sister's death.
"If it wasn't him, then I really do wonder who the killer was," Charles Ramseur, 55, said.
Chapman's release comes five months after Judge Robert Ervin issued a 186-page ruling that said the lead investigator in Chapman's double-murder case withheld critical evidence and lied on the stand. He also said Chapman's defense attorneys, who were court-appointed, did a poor job investigating the 1992 killings.
The case, according to court documents, was also marred by an incompetent defense by two lawyers with a history of alcohol abuse.
The ruling forced the District Attorney's Office to decide whether to retry the case. Gaither dismissed the charges, he said in a news release, because the prosecution's case was "factually incomplete" and there was not enough evidence to try Chapman again.
Ervin found that Chapman's trial attorneys had missed critical evidence, including that Conley was alive after Chapman last saw her and may have died of a drug overdose. Ervin also said in his ruling that the lead Hickory police investigator on the case withheld information that a key witness in the Ramseur case identified someone other than Chapman in a photo lineup.
Chapman's appeals attorney also argued that his trial attorneys, Thomas Portwood and Robert Adams, had failed to interview several critical witnesses and were "excessive users of alcohol."
Portwood, who admitted he drank more than a pint of 80-proof rum every evening during several death penalty trials, has been challenged in court for his representation of at least two other men, one of whom was executed in 2001.
According to Observer archives, Adams told the N.C. State Bar that he drank three scotches a night but that it did not affect his trial performance. A 1998 psychiatrist's evaluation of Adams, ordered by the bar, concluded that Adams "had a drinking problem" and referred him to Alcoholics Anonymous, according to a bar discipline order.
Portwood died in 2003, and Adams could not be reached for comment.
Ramseur and Conley's bodies were discovered within a week of each other in abandoned Hickory homes. Ramseur, according to court documents, was found in a burned-out building and likely had been dead for several weeks. Conley was found in a closet in another empty home.
Prosecutors argued that Chapman had beaten the women to death in separate drug-fueled fights. While Chapman has admitted that he knew both women and had smoked crack with each of them, he has long denied any involvement with their deaths.
Chapman's release, said Ramseur's brother, Charles, raises concerns about the legal system and whether it's working the way it should.
"I would think you would make sure you got the right one before you put him on trial or give him a death sentence," he said by phone Wednesday. "(Murder is) too serious a crime to convict someone if (there's a possibility) they didn't do it."
No relatives of Conley could be found Wednesday.
Chapman is among other inmates set free from North Carolina's death row in recent years. Another former inmate, Jonathan Hoffman, was freed in a Union County case challenged by post-conviction attorneys. Prosecutors declined to attempt a second trial.
The cases have renewed the debate about the state's death penalty -- currently on hold because of a dispute over lethal injection -- and led to changes in how capital cases are handled. But some older cases, including Chapman's, went to trial before the reforms.
On Wednesday afternoon, Chapman made phone calls -- using a cellular phone for the first time -- to his family and other members of his legal team. He ate a bologna and cheese sandwich made, he said, like his mother used to make.
"That was my comfort food," he said.
He was planning to have steak for dinner Wednesday night.
Beyond that, Chapman said he's not certain of his plans but is looking forward to seeing his sons, ages 17 and 22. He said he doesn't think he'll move back to Hickory, where he was born.
Chapman declined to criticize either the criminal justice system or the investigators -- in particular lead investigator Dennis Rhoney, formerly of the Hickory Police Department -- whose work has drawn scrutiny.
"His fate is not in my hands," Chapman said. "I have no bitterness. Why should I give somebody the benefit of knowing that they can just make me bitter?"
Rhoney, who works for the Burke County Sheriff's Office, couldn't be reached Wednesday.
Chapman's attorneys said they would explore a request for a pardon from Gov. Mike Easley, which if granted would allow Chapman to apply for compensation from the state for the time he was in prison.
Chapman said he has no idea who or what might have caused the two women's deaths. He and his attorneys called for abolishing the death penalty.
"The way it's going now, it's not working," Chapman said.
Timeline
Aug. 15, 1992 Prospective renters looking at a home in Southeast Hickory discover 28-year-old Tenene Yvette Conley's body in a downstairs closet. Investigators originally thought she had been killed, but testimony indicates she may have died of a drug overdose.
Aug. 22, 1992 The body of Betty Jean Ramseur, 31, is found in a burned-out and abandoned house in Southeast Hickory. She had died several weeks before.
Jan. 11, 1993 Glen Edward Chapman, then 25, is indicted on first-degree murder charges in the death of Ramseur.
Aug. 16, 1993 Chapman is indicted on first-degree murder charges infor the death of Conley.
Oct. 31, 1994 Chapman's trial, which combined Ramseur's and Conley's cases, begins in Catawba County Superior Court.
Nov. 10, 1994 Chapman is convicted of two counts of first-degree murder.
Nov. 16, 1994 Chapman is sentenced to death.
July 5, 1996 Appellate defense attorneys begin post-conviction proceedings.
July 23, 2002 Frank Goldsmith becomes Chapman's appellate defense attorney. Jessica Leaven joins Goldsmith in December 2002.
Aug. 1, 2003 Judge Robert Ervin makes the complete investigation and case files available to Chapman's attorneys.
Aug. 2, 2006 After all post-conviction hearings, defense attorneys file a motion asking Ervin to order a new trial in both cases based on new evidence.
Nov. 6, 2007 Ervin orders a new trial.
April 2, 2008 Charges against Chapman are dismissed by District Attorney Jay Gaither. He said the prosecution's argument was "factually incomplete" and there was not enough evidence to retry the case.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
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