Top Charlotte Area Local News Stories
Source: MedleyStory
Six people were arrested Wednesday morning after a protest in front of Duke Energy's headquarters in uptown Charlotte.
SLIDESHOW: 6 arrested after uptown protest
The protesters, who are with Greenpeace, built and climbed up two 20-foot-tall tripods. They hung up a banner that read "Duke Energy: No dirty rate hikes."
It was in response to a recent 7.2 percent rate hike that will show up on energy bills this March.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:39:55 -0500
The maker of the best-selling cancer drug Avastin is warning doctors and patients about counterfeit vials of the product distributed in the U.S.
Roche's Genentech unit says the fake products do not contain the key ingredient in Avastin, which is used to treat cancers of the colon, lung, kidney and brain.
A spokeswoman said the counterfeit drug has been distributed to health care facilities in the U.S., though it's unclear how many products are in circulation or where they may be concentrated. The company is working with the Food and Drug Administration to track down the counterfeit vials and analyze their contents.
"We're still analyzing what it is, we know it doesn't contain the active ingredient in Avastin," said Genentech spokeswoman Charlotte Arnold.
Arnold said the company was alerted to the problem by foreign health regulators and believes the counterfeits were imported from abroad, though she could not specify a country.
FDA photos of counterfeit version of Avastin
Doctors who suspect they have received counterfeit drug should contact the FDA's criminal unit or Roche's quality assurance department. Avastin is administered in doctor's offices and hospitals.
"It's an infused medicine and not something a patient would have in their hands, so it's really health care providers who should be on the lookout," Arnold said.
Roche said any patient taking Avastin who experiences side effects should contact their doctor immediately.
The counterfeit products do not have "Genentech" printed on their packaging, which appears on all FDA-approved cartons and vials of the drug. Additionally, legitimate Avastin contains a six-digit lot number with no letters. All the text on the product's packaging is in English.
The company believes drugs labeled with the following lot numbers may be fake: B86017, B6011 and B6010.
Avastin is a widely-prescribed cancer therapy that works by choking off the blood supply that feeds tumors. It was the first drug of its kind approved by the FDA.
The injectable drug generates about $6 billion per year for the Swiss drugmaker Roche, and in 2010 it was the 14th best-selling drug in the U.S., according to data tracking firm IMS Health.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:23:16 -0500
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders are changing the controversial end-of-grade testing.
They will stop using their own end-of-grade tests, and start using new ones developed by the state.
CMS spent years and nearly $2 million developing 52 end-of-year tests in all subject areas and grade levels. After criticism from parents, the district pilot-tested the tests last year with the intention of doing it again this year and having them count.
That plan has been scrapped, though. The state is now developing its own tests, so CMS doesn’t have to duplicate the process.
At the earliest, the state tests will begin by next year.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:20:05 -0500
Someone stole 30 landscaping rocks and a potted plant from a Rock Hill home.
The 67-year-old woman reported that between Monday and Tuesday someone had taken the rocks -- valued at $65 -- and a $50 potted plant from her Bridgewood Drive home, according to a Rock Hill police report.
The items were last seen in the front yard.
A suspect is unknown.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:45:18 -0500
A mini storage unit owner’s son who stole property from buildings and sold it during a weeklong yard sale will pay $95,000 in restitution.
Benjamin David Raymer, 31, of Lightning Ridge Drive in Marion recently pleaded guilty in McDowell County Superior Court to four counts each of felony breaking and entering and felony larceny and two counts of felony obtaining property by false pretense.
Judge James W. Morgan handed Raymer three consecutive six- to eight-month suspended sentences and placed him on supervised probation for 60 months. He must spend nine months on intensive supervised probation, perform 72 hours of community service and pay three court costs and restitution of $95,000 to the victims in the cases.
In December 2010, Detective Nathan Mace of the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office received several reports of break-ins and thefts at Fort Knox Storage on U.S. 70 West.
Mace said Raymer took nearly $100,000 worth of collectibles, furniture, books and decoration from storage units and peddled the property during a weeklong sale at Fort Knox. People who purchased the items, according to the detective, were unaware they were stolen.
Raymer is the owner’s son, lives nearby and was responsible for taking care of the business.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:44:08 -0500
McDowell County’s new animal shelter is now operating at the old Legendary Ford-Mercury dealership and working hard to make sure that every adoptable dog and cat finds a new home.
That was the message given to the McDowell County Commissioners Monday evening by Marsha Carroll with McDowell County Animal Outreach (MCAO).
“It’s going great,” said Carroll to the commissioners.
The new Adoption and Education Center is now open after being certified and approved by the state inspectors. The county will no longer accept animals at the old shelter on N.C. 226 South and transition those operations to the new facility, said County Manager Chuck Abernathy.
Late last year, the county agreed to work with MCAO to take over the operation of the shelter. The non-profit organization rescues and provides foster care for dogs, cats and other animals in McDowell. MCAO entered into a one-year contract with the county to provide animal shelter services for McDowell. Under the contract, the county will pay MCAO $50,905 to operate the new shelter for the first year.
The two large buildings will provide plenty of space for the housing of homeless dogs and cats until they could be adopted. MCAO plans to have a store for pet supplies, an information center and a dog park located behind the old dealership and alongside the Catawba River. The organization’s adoption and fund-raising events will be held there.
At Monday’s meeting, Carroll said there was a two-day period earlier this month when the property had a water problem and the site was not certified to hold adoptions. But that hot water problem was fixed very quickly, she said.
“As you know, there are bumps for anything starting out,” said Carroll to the board.
The new shelter at the old Ford place is now able to accept unwanted cats and dogs and find new homes for them. The new operation has liability insurance and had to spend $9,000 on kennels. Jim Isaacs and Walt Bagwell are doing the bookkeeping for the shelter and Carroll provided the commissioners with bank statements. A pancake breakfast fund-raiser at Fatz Café on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 4 also raised a lot of money for the new shelter.
More importantly, MCAO has a “huge number of volunteers” who are willing and able to help run the new shelter. So far, none of the homeless animals have been euthanized or sent off somewhere else to be euthanized. But a couple of them may have to be put down because they are too aggressive and cannot be adopted, said Carroll.
“It’s my job to make sure everyone’s safe,” she added.
A formal grand opening for the new shelter is being planned for the spring, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Carroll said she hopes to see the commissioners there.
Carroll asked county officials if the quarterly payment in March could be provided to MCAO sooner than originally scheduled. Although no vote was taken, the commissioners appeared to be supportive of the request.
“It is in our interest to make sure this succeeds,” said Commissioner Josh Dobson.
At the October meeting, Dobson expressed some skepticism about MCAO being able to take over this operation and asked the group’s representatives to prove him wrong.
“I am very excited and I hope the group is successful and it looks like they are on their way,” said Abernathy.
In other business, the McDowell County Commission:
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:43:04 -0500
Deputies say the two men responsible for a string of metal thefts were caught red handed.
Detectives J.T. Grindstaff and Nathan Mace of the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office charged 33-year-old Scotty Dean Burleson of Clark Loop in Morganton and 35-year-old Roby Kenneth Greer of Sugar Hill Road in Marion each with three counts of obtaining property by false pretense, three counts of misdemeanor larceny, two counts of felony larceny, one count of conspiracy to commit a felony and one count of attempting to obtain property by false pretense. Both men were taken into custody in lieu of $70,000 bonds.
McDowell County sheriff’s deputies received reports on Jan. 25 of oil barrels stolen from residences on U.S. 70 East and Jacktown Road. The homeowners described the suspect vehicle as a gray Ford Ranger truck occupied by two white men, according to Grindstaff.
Detective Lt. Dan Shook found that Greer had sold one of the oil barrels at M&R Scrap Metal, and Burleson had sold parts from a heat pump, Grindstaff stated.
At Patton’s Scrap Metal, investigators found three more oil barrels sold by Greer, said the detective.
When Grindstaff went to Ray Roland’s junk yard to check for any stolen property, the gray Ford Ranger truck passed him pulling a hay baler stolen from property on Epley Drive on Jan. 27.
Grindstaff stopped the vehicle and arrested the occupants, Burleson and Greer.
Further investigation revealed that the pair also took a tractor scrape blade from property on Hurst Drive on Jan. 21, according to Mace.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:41:13 -0500
This month started badly for one of the owners at Mount Holly’s River Park subdivision. The developer lost 39 lots to foreclosure, which was official Feb. 1.
That’s a big chunk of the community. River Park, just outside downtown Mount Holly on North Main Street, has seen about 21 homes sold since it began around 2008.
Of course those homes aren’t part of the foreclosure. They went from property owner to builder DR Horton to the homeowners. DR Horton, the company in charge of the home building there, isn’t part of the foreclosure, either. Nor are the handful of finished homes the company is still trying to sell.
One of the builder’s Realtors tells us DR Horton recently sold the Mount Holly community’s model home.
We also understand that Park Sterling Bank is negotiating with another developer to sell the foreclosed land and, with any luck, building could start again in coming months.
Park Sterling Bank took the land back from River Park of Mount Holly LLC, which shares a Charlotte address with Hinshaw Properties. A man who answered the phone at Hinshaw Properties’ Sharon Amity Road office this week wouldn’t identify the office or himself, nor would he talk about the foreclosure that covers the majority of unsold lots in the subdivision.
Reverting to the lender are not only parcels of land slated for homes but also common areas and more than 98 acres on nearby NC 273, south of the community. The pool area was apparently not one of the common lots included, so those 21 families don’t have to worry about that amenity.
Not that they’ll emerge unscathed. Foreclosures, especially those of this magnitude, are bad news pretty much all around.
Already, home prices have seen some pretty dramatic drops there. In mid-2008, a two-story, four-bedroom home went for around $220,000.
The only River Park home sale on the books this year: A two-story, four bedroom with a similar rock-and-vinyl exterior for $188,000.
The homes on the market at River Park have asking prices of $199,000 to $224,000 for four- and five-bedroom models.
At one point River Park of Mount Holly LLC had a $6.8 million loan for the land. The company apparently owed close to $1.5 million on property it still owned there.
As usual, we owe Martin Eudy of Gaston Real Data a thanks for noticing this major piece of real estate news.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:39:15 -0500
The woman accused of trying to harm her baby while the child was being treated at a hospital had her bond reduced Wednesday.
Ladonna Parlier was arrested earlier this month after authorities said surveillance cameras at Carolinas Medical Center caught her tampering with her daughter’s IV. She is accused of drawing blood from her 5-month-old daughter, Naomi, on five occasions. That led to infections and anemic conditions, officials said.
SLIDESHOW: Photos of Naomi Parlier
During a Wednesday morning court appearance, Parlier’s bond was reduced to $12,500. She will be allowed to live with her cousin in Buncombe County with an electronic monitoring bracelet.
Parlier’s attorney said Parlier was dealing with postpartum depression.
Parlier’s four children are in the custody of their father. If Parlier posts bond, she is not allowed to have any contact with them.
She also has to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Previous stories:
Mother accused of abusing daughter may have been suffering
Police testing substance they said mother put in sick baby’s IV
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:36:47 -0500
Concord-native Bryson Foster was selected as the 2012 National Goodwill Ambassador for MDA.
An event will be held Thursday, Feb. 16 at Lowe’s in Concord to greet and address MDA families, volunteers and sponsors.
Foster is a fifth-grade honor roll student and sports fanatic who wants to be the quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals or a sports broadcaster when he grows up.
In his role, Bryson will travel the country throughout the year representing families affected by neuromuscular disease and served by MDA.
He also will participate in special events and meetings of national MDA sponsors to help build awareness.
The Lowe’s is located at 8670 Concord Mills Blvd. Concord, NC 28027
MDA is the nonprofit health agency dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by funding worldwide research.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:22:05 -0500
Neighbors of the Stanly County man who posted a video on YouTube of himself shooting his daughter’s laptop are being hounded by media from all over.
Tommy Jordan’s neighbors told Channel 9 their neighborhood is getting flooded with people trying to track him down.
“(He’s) opened a can of worms. It’s magnified everything. And it’s going stronger, I believe,” said neighbor Gilbert Roberts.
Channel 9 went to Jordan’s house on Tuesday, but no one was home.
Jordan posted the clip, "Facebook Parenting: For the troubled teen," of him shooting his daughter’s computer after finding her post on Facebook complaining about her chores.
In addition to spectators, neighbors said national news crews have camped out near Jordan’s house trying to speak with him.
http://bcove.me/donip7zz
Jordan has not spoken publicly since posting the video that nearly 24 million people have now watched, except on his Facebook page.
On Tuesday, Jordan posted that the media has mis-reported some information, including that he is a former Marine.
“You do a great disservice to the current military men and women who serve this country by referring to me as a 'former Marine' in your article,” his post read.
His post continued, “I actually DID try to go back into the US Army last year, but thanks to a Navy corpsman with poor penmanship skills who can't tell a 'P' from an 'F' on my paperwork, the US Army won't consider me.”
On Monday, Channel 9 spoke to Albemarle police about all the calls they have received about Jordan’s video.
http://bcove.me/vd9xbpic
Albemarle police told Channel 9 that it has received dozens of emails and calls.
“We are getting calls from other states … Pittsburgh … Texas … and one person called from out of the country,” said Albemarle Police Chief William Halliburton.
“Some people saying ‘Finally a parent is doing something to take control,’ and then on the other side you have people saying ‘absolutely not. This is crossing the line. And we demand something be done about this,’” said Halliburton.
Police told Channel 9 they can’t do anything about the video because Jordan lives outside city limits.
Sheriff’s deputies in Stanly County said Jordan hasn’t broken any laws. Both agencies deny that they have applauded Jordan as he has claimed on his Facebook page.
If there is a bright spot for Jordan's daughter, it appears she has at least one job offer from an ice cream shop in the town of Stanley. The offer was posted on YouTube Friday after Jordan's video went viral.
http://bcove.me/fv2293ne
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:26:03 -0500
Police arrested a murder suspect accused of killing a man in northeast Charlotte last summer.
Shanika Franklin is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the killing Isaac Rodriguez at the Brookwood Inn on Sugar Creek Road in July.
Police said she also was charged with attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon.
Three other people were arrested in connection with the shooting.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:13:44 -0500
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been named chairman of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.
The chairman presides over the convention proceedings and also acts as another national spokesperson for the convention.
Villaraigosa, 59, is serving his second term as mayor after being elected in 2005.
Villaraigosa is the third Mexican American to have ever been mayor of the city of Los Angeles, and the first in over 130 years.
He is also the current president of the United States Conference of Mayors.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:22:53 -0500
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers will not be disciplined after a teenager choked in the back of their patrol car.
The department completed its internal investigation into the incident involving Tanisha Williams.
Read CMPD's internal report (PDF)
Williams, 18, is still in a coma months after she wrapped a seat belt around her neck.
Williams was arrested and accused of stealing a T-shirt from CitiTrends clothing store in west Charlotte on Dec. 5.
While in the patrol car, investigators said it only took her 13 seconds to wrap the seat belt around her neck.
The internal report outlines what police say happened and why the officers involved will not face disciplinary action.
Video of the incident, which was never released by police, shows Williams in the back of the car screaming and banging her head against the Plexiglas 17 times.
According to the police report, police went to get a restraining device, but by the time officers retrieved it, Williams had stopped banging her head against the glass.
Police said she wrapped the belt around her neck during that time.
The report also said police opened the door various times to ask her questions and check on her.
When they noticed the problem, they cut her free and called Medic.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:00:42 -0500
New information has been released about the circumstances surrounding a missing woman from Boone.
Witnesses saw David Hedrick carrying a shovel in the area near Charleston where Dara Watson’s burned SUV was found Friday.
Hedrick was found dead after shooting himself in the couple’s home just hours later.
SLIDESHOW: Photos of missing Boone woman, Dara Watson
Watson was last seen in Boone on Feb. 6, arguing with Hedrick about their wedding.
“It is believed at this time that between Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon, Hedrick was involved in the circumstances surrounding her disappearance,” said Mt. Pleasant Police Chief Harry Sewell.
Police now think Hedrick sent text messages from Watson’s phone to her sister two days after her disappearance.
They are asking for anyone with information about Watson’s disappearance to come forward so they can find her.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:48:08 -0500
Investigators said the same man robbed the same Ballantyne bank twice in fewer than two months.
The FBI and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police responded to a bank robbery at the RBC Bank in Ballantyne Village Tuesday afternoon. The same bank was robbed on Jan. 4 by a man who was wearing a hat and sunglasses.
In Tuesday's robbery, Police said the man "implied" he had a gun, and got away with money.
Investigators distributed surveillance pictures of the suspect: a white man with sunglasses and a toboggan.
SLIDESHOW: Surveillance photos of bank robbery
Police said they located the suspect driving a vehicle that matched the description of the vehicle leaving the scene.
Police arrested Glenn Stewart Howie, 47, in connection with Tuesday's robbery.
Police said based on their interview with Howie, they also were able to charge him with the Jan. 4 robbery.
Howie is charged with common law robbery in the Jan. 4 case and robbery with a dangerous weapon in Tuesday’s incident.
Howie was sent to the Mecklenburg County jail.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:48:28 -0500
Charlotte-Mecklenburg school officials want more money for the district's communications department.
Latarzja Henry, the Executive Director of Communications, told board members she's requesting an additional $215,000 in next year's budget for her department.
The money would pay for two new "multimedia employees" and new technology.
"The demand of our taxpayer constituents to get information is higher than it ever has been," Henry said. "So we have an obligation to make sure we provide that information."
The request comes at the same time the district wants nearly $30 million to give teachers raises.
It's unclear if county leaders are willing to give CMS that money, meaning school board members will have to prioritize the needs.
"That's the judgment that every board member has to make," board member Eric Davis said.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:40:35 -0500
Four fire departments were called to the old Watauga High School off Highway 105 Tuesday afternoon when smoke was seen pouring from the building.
Firefighters think the fire may have been arson.
Vandalism is also suspected. Fire investigators said that windows were smashed, some with chairs hanging out of them when they arrived on scene.
Investigators have found at least one point of origin inside the auditorium. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:31:07 -0500
Watauga County Sheriff's detectives arrested Nicholas Jonathan Parks, 29, of Boone on Friday.
Officers purchased more than 3,000 hits of LSD during an undercover operation that started in December of last year. Officers said they bought 1,200 hits in December and another 1,800 hits since the beginning of the year.
Parks is being charged with six counts of trafficking LSD and two counts of maintaining a dwelling for the sale of a controlled substance.
Officers say the investigation is continuing and further arrests are expected.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:05:18 -0500
More than 100 homeowners and business owners are finding out that they don't live or work in the state they always thought they did.
Jeff Langley of York County is one of them. Actually, he's now Jeff Langley of Gaston County, North Carolina.
"The state line moved from the front yard to the back deck, so the house goes from South Carolina to North Carolina," Langley said.
Langley and dozens of other homeowners packed a room at York Technical College Tuesday to get details of a new map of the border between North and South Carolina.
The border between the two states was originally mapped out in 1772, before the United States was even a nation. Surveyors used marks on trees, stakes and large stones to mark the border, from the coast, through Catawba Indian territory, and to the Georgia line. Over the 240 years since, neither state did much to maintain the border. The trees died or were cut down for timber, and many of the other landmarks have disappeared.
In the early nineties, development in York County between Rock Hill and south Charlotte started to boom. Developers often questioned both states as to where the state line was, and state officials couldn't tell them. That led to a new push to trace the border accurately. That work started 18 years ago, and is still ongoing.
Alex Rankin owns the surveying company doing the work.
"We're not trying to move the state line, we're trying to find the state line," Rankin said.
"There are some areas of the state line where we had to do an extensive amount of research to find out where it was."
They used the original plats from the 1772 survey wherever they could, and high tech GPS and GIS mapping systems to figure out the rest.
The result is a state line that puts dozens of homes and businesses in a different state. Some of the areas in question are in Lancaster and York counties.
Letters were sent out to more than 100 families and business owners that are affected by the location of the newly-rediscovered border.
The meeting in Rock Hill Tuesday was to address the concerns of people, and explain the process. Those concerns are changing tax rates, school districts, police and fire protection and differing laws between the two states. There is also a potential loss or gain of tax revenue between states and individual counties.
Some homeowners could see a spike in their property taxes. Norman Anderson is the tax assessor for Lancaster County, which appears to lose several homes to North Carolina.
"The ones that go from South Carolina to North Carolina, there's a huge difference in property taxes," he said.
That's the biggest concern for homeowners such as Langley, who now has a home in North Carolina, and he didn't even have to move.
"Personally, I'm not happy about the financial end. I'm expecting to spend more money on taxes, and changing all kinds of registrations," he said.
It's not clear though what people affected will really have to do. Lawmakers in either state may vote to grandfather them in. It will also be quite some time until local counties have access to the survey, and can determine what's official and what's not. The state line surveying project is still not finished.
Some homeowners who live within a mile of the state line were concerned that even their property would be impacted.
Surveyors told the crowd that the issues were with homes within 50 to 100 feet of the border, not further out.
Ed Jackson learned his land will not switch states, but he felt the whole project was just stirring up trouble.
"I know it's been a problem, but this is causing a whole new set of problems," Jackson said.
Company officials running Tuesday's meeting said they'll gather input from those concerned, and work with local governments to address the issues.
That process will likely take several years.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:30:32 -0500
HuntersvilleNC.com
HOTELS • REAL ESTATE • JOBS