July 11, 2008

ACROSS THE TARHEEL STATE.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Fayetteville police are investigating the disappearance of a female soldier from an apartment where the remains of a fire were found Thursday morning. They are calling it an arson and a missing person’s investigation, according to Capt. David Houp of the Fayetteville Police Department. Sources identified the soldier as 24-year-old Holley Lynn Wimunc, a lieutenant who works at Womack Army Medical Center. She lives in Morganton Place Apartments on Wayah Creek Drive. The complex is off Morganton Road.

WILKESBORO -- A former renter apparently took of with some of his landlord's property when he moved out. Deputies were called to a home owned by Thomas Parker on Souther Road outside North Wilkesboro Monday around mid-day. Parker told them his former tenant, who had not given notice he was leaving, had told the mailman not to drop off any more mail because he was moving. Neighbors say the man backed a pickup truck up to the home and loaded his stuff last Thursday.

RALEIGH -- The price of gas is having an impact on the State Highway Patrol's ability to do its job. In the budget year which ended last month, the Highway Patrol spent more than $8 million to keep fuel in its fleet of patrol cars. It only had about $5 and half million in its gas budget.

CHARLOTTE -- Police in Ohio are pulling old records after the family of a 76-year-old Georgia woman with five dead spouses asked authorities to look into the death of her first-born child. Betty Neumar was charged last month in North Carolina with solicitation of murder in the July 1986 shooting death of her fourth husband, Harold Gentry. She's being held on $500,000 bond in the Stanly County jail. She also is suspected in the deaths of three other former husbands.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- North Carolina Congressman Walter Jones is refusing to take down the photos of fallen Marines from posters outside his office in Washington, D.C.. He says the Chief Administrative Officer and Architect of the Capitol says the posters violate the rules about keeping the hallways clear.

HAYS -- Sheriff deputies took a report Saturday from D&M Variety Store in Hays. A self-employed man told the store clerk that he had received the money and thought it looked strange. When the clerk checked the bills with a bill marker, they showed up as being counterfeit. The man, who asked the clerk not to call the sheriff's office, said he thought he'd received the bills at a bank when he traded in a stack of 20-dollar bills.

MORAVIAN FALLS -- Less than two weeks after being paroled , a Moravian Falls man is wanted for a pair of robberies over the holiday weekend. Deputies have issued a warrant for the arrest of 39-year old Shannon Smithey, who was paroled June 20th after serving an 18-year sentence for second-degree rape. He's wanted for robbing James Earp, Junior at knife point

ASHEBORO — Asheboro Mayor David Jarrell, along with the three Asheboro City Council members who voted against having an alcohol referendum, are putting their support behind the efforts of the Citizens for a Safe & Healthy Asheboro. They are calling upon registered Asheboro voters to “Vote For Asheboro — Vote Against Alcohol” by voting against the four items on the referendum.

CHARLOTTE -- Wachovia's Board of Directors announced that it has hired former U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Robert Steel as the bank's new Chief Executive Officer, President and member of the Board of Directors. The appointment ends a relatively short search to replace Ken Thompson who was forced out by the bank's Board last month.

LAKE LURE -- Grey Rock, the upscale housing development in Rutherford County that is home to the much-publicized HGTV 2006 Dream Home, has closed its sales office and shut down operations indefinitely because of the souring economy.

RALEIGH -- The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Chad LaRose to a one-year contract. The deal will pay LaRose $875,000 for the 2008-09 season. “This should be the last signing to complete our team heading into this season,” said Canes President and GM Jim Rutherford. “We’re glad to come to an agreement and avoid arbitration with Chad.”


ACROSS THE PALMETTO STATE

CHARLESTON -- Someone started the blaze that raced through at the Sofa Super Store in last year, killing nine Charleston firefighters, but the exact cause is still undetermined, according to a federal report released Wednesday.

ORANGEBURG -- High gas prices have pushed several businesses around the country to start a 4 day work week. In South Carolina, Lawmaker Jerry Govan is pushing for a shorter school week for students. Govan says cutting the school week by just one day would save the Education Department over $10 million in fuel costs. However, school days would be longer to accommodate for the shorter week.

LEXINGTON -- The Lexington County Coroner's office confirmed that a body found on Lake Murray on Wednesday is that of missing boater 44-year-old Kimberly Adkins. The news comes after a Wednesday afternoon autopsy. Adkins cause of death was accidental asphyxia due to fresh water drowning. Adkins and husband Randy were reported missing on June 28. There is no word on what may have happened to Randy.

NEWBERRY -- A Newberry woman survived a wreck early Tuesday, only to be killed seconds later. Debra Ann Willard Hatchell, 39, of 41 Shrine Club Road, Newberry, was traveling east on I-26 near Clinton just after midnight when she ran off the road and hit the median cable barriers. Hatchell was unable to open the driver's side door but got out of the passenger side of the car. Hatchell walked across the median to the eastbound lane where she was hit by an 18-wheeler.

PICKENS COUNTY -- The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has purchased 63 acres of land in the Jocassee Gorges area, adding to the 33,000 acre tract of Wildlife Management Area already in their possession.

WINNSBORO -- The Town of Winnsboro recently learned they have been approved for a $20,000 state Archives and History grant to fund a story on what’s needed to preserve the Town Clock. The S.C. Department of Archives and History is the grant administrator for this grant, which comes from federal funds through the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

Across The Nation

DETROIT, MI -- Tiger Stadium may be coming down, but Detroit officials say the historic ballpark’s field will be saved. The playing field will remain intact after the park’s demolition. The foul poles and flagpole also will be preserved.

COLUMBUS, NE -- Teens are reaching out to their peers to educate them on the dangers of abusive relationships. For the past decade, members of Revolution have been preaching the importance of awareness of issues such as dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. The group is comprised of students age 14-20 who act out theater dramatizations which are designed to shed light on those issues.

HUNTINGTON, WV -- The case against two army deserters charged with murdering a Huntington pastor is going to the grand jury. The crime which happened on federal property could lead to a federal death penalty case. Police allege Daniel Smith confessed and named Stephen Wilson as the triggerman. Both men are charged with murdering Rev. Mark McCalla. His body was found June 19th at a Beech Fork Wildlife Management Area shooting range.

WATAUGA, TX -- A man accused of delivering baskets of drug-laced cookies to as many as a dozen police departments, causing several officers to become sick, was arrested Tuesday.

BOYNTON BEACH, FL -- Forgotten Soldiers Outreach, Inc. will be participating in this year’s United Way of Palm Beach County & The South Florida Fair - The Gigantic Garage Sale” to be held on Saturday July 26, 2008 at the South Florida Fairgrounds.

AND IN THE ONLINE WORLD

Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac 2, the latest release from Microsoft's Mac Business Unit, allows a Mac user to communicate with Windows-running PCs to access files and applications. Multi-session support is one of the software's new features.