Officials say emergency communications system needs update for safety
Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
LENOIR -- A plan that would allow law enforcement and emergency workers to respond more quickly to calls is meeting strong opposition from some residents who don't want to see communication towers from their porches.
The Caldwell County Sheriff's Office has asked commissioners to finalize a plan to build a five-tower emergency communications system that would allow rescue workers and law enforcement to talk in even the most remote regions of the county.
As more people moved into isolated areas of the county, and trees and foliage have grown taller, emergency officials have encountered more problems reaching responders in those areas.
"Radio waves sometimes don't like to go around things," said Richard Jenkins, Sheriff's Office communications director. "And, now, there are fire departments out there that are only reaching about half of their (responders). This is not something we just choose to do - it's something we've needed to do for several years."
But the plan, which includes building a tower on St. Mark's Church Road near Blowing Rock, has received strong criticism from residents who say the proposed 195-foot structure would lessen property values and taint the view from their homes and from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
"We're promoting the high country as being a gateway to the mountains," Denise Drum, who lives on St. Mark's Church Road, said at last week's commissioners meeting. "Don't kill our golden egg with (putting) towers in our beautiful hiking areas."
About a dozen residents of the Blackberry community, where one of the towers would be built, asked commissioners to consider other options, including building more, smaller towers or building on top of the water tower in Blowing Rock instead.
Jenkins said planners and consultants from Motorola, the company building the towers, said the Blowing Rock water tower was the preferred option. But town officials did not support the proposal, so the county did not make a formal request.
They also exhausted several options for other sites, he said, and found that only a few that would allow the system to work properly.
The St. Mark's Church Road site, he said, would bring better coverage to the east and west sides of the county, including Happy Valley and Collettsville, which are surrounded by mountains and often get spotty transmission.
"It's the prime site that will cover both of those areas," he said. "I can't argue that we couldn't do this with smaller towers, but we would need 10 or 20 times the number of towers to (make this system work). It's just not practical to cover the county in dozens of 110-foot towers."
The five towers, some of which are already built, will be scattered throughout Caldwell, and three, including the St. Mark's Church Road tower, will be on private land leased by the county, Jenkins said. The towers need to be built high enough, Jenkins said, that signals can be sent between each structure and cover the entire county.
It would also allow the county to operate on the state's Viper system, which allows every county in North Carolina to communicate.
Commissioner John Thuss said he understand that nobody wants to see towers marking the county's landscape, he also said the need for emergency officials to communicate is paramount.
"This is about people's lives, whether it be tracking a criminal or getting someone to the hospital," he said. "This is not about cell phones and people being interrupted as they go up and down the mountain."
Previous battles
This isn't the first time Caldwell County commissioners have battled residents opposing 250-foot communications towers. In 1999, when residents argued that cell phone towers would taint the view from their Blowing Rock porches and lessen property values, the county froze construction and looked at regulations that would dictate cell phone tower height, as well as distance from property lines and other towers.
In 2000, after six months of heated debate with some residents, commissioners adopted an ordinance that required cell phone towers to be no taller than 110 feet and strongly encouraged "concealment" technology, which could include putting communication devices on top of steeples, water towers and flag poles and areas within a quarter-mile of a residential zone.
The proposed plan to build five emergency communication towers, commissioners said, is not meant to improve commercial cell phone service and, therefore, not bound by the 2000 ordinance.
Where are the towers?
Three of the five new towers have already been built: a 450-foot tower at the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office in Lenoir, a 270-foot tower on Hibriten Mountain, and one on top of the Granite Falls water tower, which reaches a total height of 150 feet.
The Sheriff's Office has also recommended the county build a 195-foot tower on St. Mark's Church Road and one on Butte Mountain, on Zack's Fork Road, that would not exceed 200 feet.
The project will cost $6.5 million. Four of the towers would be owned by the county, and the Butte Mountain tower would be owned by the state, which will invest $1.1 million in the project in Caldwell County, Jenkins said.
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2/2/08
Hickory merchant spots own stolen jewelry at his shop
Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Hickory store owner whose house was burglarized last week spotted his own property among some items a patron was trying to sell on Wednesday.
Ed Kanupp of Newton was in his shop, Goldsmith's jewelry repair in Hickory, on Wednesday, when a woman came in and tried to sell some gold and a few pieces of jewelry, Catawba County Sheriff's Office Maj. Coy Reid said.
Kanupp immediately recognized them as some of the items stolen from his house on Jan. 25 and set off a silent alarm, calling Hickory police to the door.
Police detained the woman, and a man waiting for her in a car outside, Reid said, and notified the sheriff's office, which was investigating the break-in at Kanupp's home.
The sheriff's office charged Christopher Garrett, 21, and Christina Belle Webb, 33, both of Hickory, with breaking and entering, larceny and possession of stolen property.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Hickory store owner whose house was burglarized last week spotted his own property among some items a patron was trying to sell on Wednesday.
Ed Kanupp of Newton was in his shop, Goldsmith's jewelry repair in Hickory, on Wednesday, when a woman came in and tried to sell some gold and a few pieces of jewelry, Catawba County Sheriff's Office Maj. Coy Reid said.
Kanupp immediately recognized them as some of the items stolen from his house on Jan. 25 and set off a silent alarm, calling Hickory police to the door.
Police detained the woman, and a man waiting for her in a car outside, Reid said, and notified the sheriff's office, which was investigating the break-in at Kanupp's home.
The sheriff's office charged Christopher Garrett, 21, and Christina Belle Webb, 33, both of Hickory, with breaking and entering, larceny and possession of stolen property.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
2/1/08
Trucking company president accused of bribing IRS agent
Friday, Feb. 1, 2008
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Hickory trucking company president has been charged with bribing an Internal Revenue Service agent to reduce his tax liability.
Dan Iosif Kalman Baciu, who is known as Dan Kalman, was arrested Wednesday at his Hickory home and charged with two counts of bribery and two counts of paying an illegal gratuity to an IRS agent, said Suellen Pierce of the U.S. Justice Department.
The sealed indictment was filed in Charlotte's U.S. District Court on Jan. 24.
The IRS performed an audit of 40-year-old Kalman Baciu's 2005 federal income tax return and his reporting of income at his company, DNK Trucking, according to the Justice Department.
The indictment claims Kalman Baciu, in his first meeting with IRS officials, handed an agent a cash-filled envelope, which she refused. In a subsequent meeting, the indictment alleges, Kalman Baciu handed the IRS agent an envelope with $10,000 cash in it to persuade her to reduce his tax liability by $55,000 for the 2005 tax year, according to the Justice Department.
Kalman Baciu could face up to 30 years in prison and a $500,000 fine if convicted on all counts.
He was released Thursday on a $50,000 bond, and his next court date has not be scheduled, Pierce said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Hickory trucking company president has been charged with bribing an Internal Revenue Service agent to reduce his tax liability.
Dan Iosif Kalman Baciu, who is known as Dan Kalman, was arrested Wednesday at his Hickory home and charged with two counts of bribery and two counts of paying an illegal gratuity to an IRS agent, said Suellen Pierce of the U.S. Justice Department.
The sealed indictment was filed in Charlotte's U.S. District Court on Jan. 24.
The IRS performed an audit of 40-year-old Kalman Baciu's 2005 federal income tax return and his reporting of income at his company, DNK Trucking, according to the Justice Department.
The indictment claims Kalman Baciu, in his first meeting with IRS officials, handed an agent a cash-filled envelope, which she refused. In a subsequent meeting, the indictment alleges, Kalman Baciu handed the IRS agent an envelope with $10,000 cash in it to persuade her to reduce his tax liability by $55,000 for the 2005 tax year, according to the Justice Department.
Kalman Baciu could face up to 30 years in prison and a $500,000 fine if convicted on all counts.
He was released Thursday on a $50,000 bond, and his next court date has not be scheduled, Pierce said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
1/31/08
Man charged in IRS bribe scheme
Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Hickory trucking company president has been charged with trying to bribe an Internal Revenue Service agent to reduce his tax liability.
Dan Iosif Kalman Baciu, who is known as Dan Kalman, was arrested Wednesday at his Hickory home and charged with two counts of bribery and two counts of paying an illegal gratuity to an IRS agent, said Suellen Pierce of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The sealed indictment was filed in Charlotte's U.S. District Court on Jan. 24.
The IRS performed an audit of 40-year-old Kalman Baciu's 2005 federal income tax return and his reporting of income at his company, DNK Trucking, according to the Department of Justice.
The indictment claims Kalman Baciu, in his first meeting with IRS officials, handed an agent a cash-filled envelope, which she refused. In a subsequent meeting, the indictment alleges, Kalman Baciu handed the IRS agent an envelope with $10,000 cash in it to persuade her to reduce his tax liability by $55,000 for the 2005 tax year, according to the Department of Justice.
Kalman Baciu could face up to 30 years in prison and a $500,000 if convicted on all counts.
He was released Thursday on a $50,000 bond, and his next court date has not be scheduled, Pierce said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Hickory trucking company president has been charged with trying to bribe an Internal Revenue Service agent to reduce his tax liability.
Dan Iosif Kalman Baciu, who is known as Dan Kalman, was arrested Wednesday at his Hickory home and charged with two counts of bribery and two counts of paying an illegal gratuity to an IRS agent, said Suellen Pierce of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The sealed indictment was filed in Charlotte's U.S. District Court on Jan. 24.
The IRS performed an audit of 40-year-old Kalman Baciu's 2005 federal income tax return and his reporting of income at his company, DNK Trucking, according to the Department of Justice.
The indictment claims Kalman Baciu, in his first meeting with IRS officials, handed an agent a cash-filled envelope, which she refused. In a subsequent meeting, the indictment alleges, Kalman Baciu handed the IRS agent an envelope with $10,000 cash in it to persuade her to reduce his tax liability by $55,000 for the 2005 tax year, according to the Department of Justice.
Kalman Baciu could face up to 30 years in prison and a $500,000 if convicted on all counts.
He was released Thursday on a $50,000 bond, and his next court date has not be scheduled, Pierce said.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Woman in court in deputy shooting
Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Morganton woman involved in a December shooting that critically injured a Burke County Sheriff's deputy made her first appearance in Superior Court this week.
Eva Joyce Smith Nelson, 60, is charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, assault on a law enforcement office and two counts of discharging a firearm onto an occupied property, all felonies.
On Dec. 11, Nelson forced members of the Burke County SWAT team into a 12-hour standoff after a deputy tried serving her involuntary mental health commitment papers.
Detective Martin Lawing was shot in the neck in the standoff and is still in critical condition at an Atlanta hospital that specializes in spinal cord injuries and neurological conditions.
Nelson was taken to Broughton Hospital, a state psychiatric facility in Morganton, following the Dec. 11 shooting, said Sheriff John McDevitt. She was transferred to the Burke-Catawba jail on Jan. 25 and is being held there on a $500,000 bond. Her next court date is scheduled for March 3.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Morganton woman involved in a December shooting that critically injured a Burke County Sheriff's deputy made her first appearance in Superior Court this week.
Eva Joyce Smith Nelson, 60, is charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, assault on a law enforcement office and two counts of discharging a firearm onto an occupied property, all felonies.
On Dec. 11, Nelson forced members of the Burke County SWAT team into a 12-hour standoff after a deputy tried serving her involuntary mental health commitment papers.
Detective Martin Lawing was shot in the neck in the standoff and is still in critical condition at an Atlanta hospital that specializes in spinal cord injuries and neurological conditions.
Nelson was taken to Broughton Hospital, a state psychiatric facility in Morganton, following the Dec. 11 shooting, said Sheriff John McDevitt. She was transferred to the Burke-Catawba jail on Jan. 25 and is being held there on a $500,000 bond. Her next court date is scheduled for March 3.
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1/29/08
Hickory man hit by train
Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Hickory man hit by a train Monday night was in serious condition Tuesday after coming out of surgery, authorities said.
John Kirk Neal, 42, was standing too close to the railroad tracks that cross through downtown Hickory and was hit when a train passed through about 10:30 p.m. Monday, police said.
Authorities said Neal was taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, where he had surgery and is in serious condition. They are not sure whether alcohol was a factor.
It was the third time in six months that a passing train in Hickory has hit a person near the railroad tracks.
On Nov. 5, a train hit and killed Mack Junior Johnson when he lost control of his bicycle in a crosswalk near the railroad. On July 31, another train hit and critically injured Lester Glass, who was walking near the tracks in southeast Hickory.
All three accidents happened less than a mile from each other.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
A Hickory man hit by a train Monday night was in serious condition Tuesday after coming out of surgery, authorities said.
John Kirk Neal, 42, was standing too close to the railroad tracks that cross through downtown Hickory and was hit when a train passed through about 10:30 p.m. Monday, police said.
Authorities said Neal was taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, where he had surgery and is in serious condition. They are not sure whether alcohol was a factor.
It was the third time in six months that a passing train in Hickory has hit a person near the railroad tracks.
On Nov. 5, a train hit and killed Mack Junior Johnson when he lost control of his bicycle in a crosswalk near the railroad. On July 31, another train hit and critically injured Lester Glass, who was walking near the tracks in southeast Hickory.
All three accidents happened less than a mile from each other.
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
12/1/07
`Life was real simple,' then wife's slaying shattered it
As he puts pieces together again, Anderson says his son is his first priority
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Two years ago, Jerry Anderson and his wife, Emily, were working at their Caldwell County dairy farm and preparing to start a new, larger spread in Tennessee.
The farm would have been the largest in four states and something Anderson, who had been a dairy farmer for most of his life, had been working toward for years.
"My life was real simple. Dairy. Church. Work," he said.
But now, Anderson is building a whole new life after spending 18 months in jail on charges that he murdered his wife.
On Tuesday, District Attorney Jay Gaither's office dismissed first-degree murder charges against Anderson, who became the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office's main suspect after his wife disappeared and her body was found stuffed in the toolbox of her truck. She had been shot twice.
"I worked hard for 25 years, my whole life, and saw it crumble in 25 seconds," he said Thursday.
Anderson was charged with murder in his wife's death, but after a 10-week trial, a Gaston County jury could not reach a verdict. The jury split 11-1, with the majority favoring acquittal. Anderson was released on bond and returned to Caldwell County.
The cows had been sold, stalls at the Sawmills dairy farm sat empty and plans to start a larger farm in Tennessee were abandoned.
Since July, Anderson has been living with friends not far from the Sawmills farm and has spent time reconnecting with his son, 13-year-old Matthew, whom he didn't see while he was in jail.
"My son is No. 1 right now," he said.
Anderson said he's still trying to cope with losing his farm and his wife. "Emily was super outgoing, and she was really good for Matt and I," he said. "We offset each other well."
Morganton attorney Dan Kuehnert is representing Anderson in several civil matters, including a wrongful death suit filed by Emily Anderson's sister, Adelia Griffitt Watson, in 2006. Neither Kuehnert nor Anderson would talk in detail about the criminal charges and the arguments made during the trial by the district attorney's office, but Anderson has maintained his innocence for nearly two years.
"It's nothing I should have ever gone through," he said. Court documents showed that Emily
Anderson had more than $4 million in life insurance, and authorities originally said they believed at least part of the motive in her slaying was financial gain. Anderson said Thursday that his life was also insured -- for $10 million.
Gaither's office, in a press release sent by the lead prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Eric Bellas, said Tuesday it "remains committed to the prosecution of the person or persons responsible for Emily Anderson's murder."
Anderson said he hopes they catch her murderer and can prove it in court. "If you're going to charge someone with capital murder," he said, "be sure you've got the right person."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Two years ago, Jerry Anderson and his wife, Emily, were working at their Caldwell County dairy farm and preparing to start a new, larger spread in Tennessee.
The farm would have been the largest in four states and something Anderson, who had been a dairy farmer for most of his life, had been working toward for years.
"My life was real simple. Dairy. Church. Work," he said.
But now, Anderson is building a whole new life after spending 18 months in jail on charges that he murdered his wife.
On Tuesday, District Attorney Jay Gaither's office dismissed first-degree murder charges against Anderson, who became the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office's main suspect after his wife disappeared and her body was found stuffed in the toolbox of her truck. She had been shot twice.
"I worked hard for 25 years, my whole life, and saw it crumble in 25 seconds," he said Thursday.
Anderson was charged with murder in his wife's death, but after a 10-week trial, a Gaston County jury could not reach a verdict. The jury split 11-1, with the majority favoring acquittal. Anderson was released on bond and returned to Caldwell County.
The cows had been sold, stalls at the Sawmills dairy farm sat empty and plans to start a larger farm in Tennessee were abandoned.
Since July, Anderson has been living with friends not far from the Sawmills farm and has spent time reconnecting with his son, 13-year-old Matthew, whom he didn't see while he was in jail.
"My son is No. 1 right now," he said.
Anderson said he's still trying to cope with losing his farm and his wife. "Emily was super outgoing, and she was really good for Matt and I," he said. "We offset each other well."
Morganton attorney Dan Kuehnert is representing Anderson in several civil matters, including a wrongful death suit filed by Emily Anderson's sister, Adelia Griffitt Watson, in 2006. Neither Kuehnert nor Anderson would talk in detail about the criminal charges and the arguments made during the trial by the district attorney's office, but Anderson has maintained his innocence for nearly two years.
"It's nothing I should have ever gone through," he said. Court documents showed that Emily
Anderson had more than $4 million in life insurance, and authorities originally said they believed at least part of the motive in her slaying was financial gain. Anderson said Thursday that his life was also insured -- for $10 million.
Gaither's office, in a press release sent by the lead prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Eric Bellas, said Tuesday it "remains committed to the prosecution of the person or persons responsible for Emily Anderson's murder."
Anderson said he hopes they catch her murderer and can prove it in court. "If you're going to charge someone with capital murder," he said, "be sure you've got the right person."
All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.
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