Top Charlotte Area Local News Stories
Source: MedleyStory
The snow is gone, but the cold weather remains in the North Carolina mountains.
Officials said the secondary roads in Ashe County still have patches of ice on them Tuesday morning.
Ashe County schools are operating on a two-hour delay Tuesday with limited bus routes because of the ice on the roadways.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools do not have school for the second day in a row because of a teacher work day.
CMS school staff are participating in professional development.
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Published: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:20:58 -0500
It doesn’t take a long look at the photo of Gary Eller’s English setter to understand why he is feeling such a deep loss.
Eller’s dog, Freckles, was one of the nine dogs killed in a fire that destroyed the Rowan County Animal Clinic in Salisbury.
Firefighters said the fire started in the attic and caused the roof to cave in near where some of the animals were kept.
“I just couldn’t imagine something like that happened,” Eller said.
Eller has owned Freckles for 10 years, since he was a puppy, and took him with him to go hunting.
SLIDESHOW: Animal shelter destroyed by fire
Eller said that is how he got hurt and ended up at the clinic where he was getting medical treatment..
“He ran into some barbed wire and got cut up on his stomach and (I) carried him into the vet to get sewn up,” Eller said.
Eller thought Freckles would come home in just a couple days, but when the fire broke out Freckles died of smoke inhalation.
Eller said as soon as the clinic called him Sunday morning, he rushed to the scene, but it was too late.
“They had his body and I went there and recovered it and brought it home and buried it here. I wanted to bring him home,” Eller said.
Investigators said they are not sure how the fire started and are still investigating.
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Published: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:59:07 -0500
A Rock Hill man is accused of hitting a child with a shovel.
Keyron Hemphill has been charged with unlawful conduct toward a child, police said.
Three children in a house on Hampton Street also accused Hemphill of sticking a knife to their sides and threatening them, police said.
Police said the children, ages 7, 9 and 11, said it happened during Christmas break.
At the time, Hemphill was dating their mother.
Published: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:40:59 -0500
A Winthrop University professor is accused of DUI.
Rock Hill police said when they pulled over Guy Reel this weekend, his car jumped the curb in the Target parking lot off Dave Lyle Boulevard.
Police said his blood alcohol level was 0.19 percent, which is more than double the legal limit in South Carolina of 0.08 percent.
Reel is a mass communications professor at the university.
School officials are not commenting on the arrest.
Published: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:27:04 -0500
Friends will pay respects to the family of a woman from Boone who was murdered in South Carolina.
Investigators found Dara Watson’s body near Charleston on Saturday.
SLIDESHOW: Photos of Dara Watson
Police believe her fiancé, David Hedrick, shot her in the head and then buried her in the Francis Marion National Forest last week.
Hedrick killed himself a few days later, police said.
A visitation is scheduled from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. Tuesday at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Boone.
Watson's funeral will be at the same location Wednesday at 2 p.m.
Published: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:02:47 -0500
Police launched a large search Monday night after a woman was found dead in a home near Concord.
Investigators said they found the woman stabbed to death at the mobile home on Untz Road.
Deputies used K-9 units to search on the ground and police helicopters to search in the air, looking for a woman.
SLIDESHOW: Scene of woman found stabbed to death
The Sheriff’s Office said they have a person of interest that they are looking for Tuesday morning.
Police said they are looking for Dakota Castner, who is in her 20s.
“We do have a person of interest that we do need to speak with,” said Sheriff Brad Riley.
Investigators said the two women knew each other.
Police have not released the name of the victim.
Published: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:47:33 -0500
In what the American Civil Liberties Union will likely perceive as an act of defiance, the Rowan County Board of Commissioners began its Monday night meeting with a prayer.
The Commission had received notice from the ACLU to discontinue prayer at meetings in light of a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that prayer at Forsyth County, NC, meetings was unconstitutional. The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of that ruling. "We prayed like we normally pray," said Rowan County Commission Chairman Chad Mitchell. "At the moment, we're not under a court order. We only have a request from the ACLU. At the moment, we don't plan on changing the way we're doing things," Mitchell said. Several hundred people packed the meeting room and the first-floor lobby of the Rowan County Government Building. Most of the people, who came from churches all over the county, sang in prayer, chanted and called for the commission to stand firm against opposition to prayer at meetings.
"They're trying to take (prayer) away from us," said David Coon, who showed up to pray in the lobby. "They're trying to take Jesus out of government and out of Rowan County. We're here protesting it," Coon said. While unsure of the ACLU's next move, Chairman Mitchell told us he doesn't want a prolonged battle. "Whether (the Forsyth) ruling applies to Rowan County or not, that will be an issue for the courts. At that point and time, this commission will have to make a decision as to whether to comply," said Mitchell.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:38:37 -0500
A developer has big plans to replace a rundown part of Dilworth.
It wants to build hundreds of upscale apartments at the corner of Kenilworth Avenue and East Morehead Street. The site is an eyesore now, but neighbors are still worried about the plans.
They want to keep the street looking as stately as it does now. One neighbor, John Friday said, "it's already the kind of corridor that we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to create in this city."
So, they want the developer to build the project at least 15 feet back from the property line. The developer says it may not be able to do better than 10 without giving up too much of the apartments.
Lindsey McAlpine of Morehead Investment Group said, "the set-back issue equates to about 70,000 square feet lopped off of the back of the building. It becomes a major issue."
WSOC also checked what the project would mean for traffic. After all, almost no one is coming or going from the empty stretch right now. Hundreds of new residents means hundreds more drivers pulling onto Morehead. WSOC is told the traffic count would jump from 400 trips per day to almost 2,000.
While neither side seems worried and city planners are comfortable, at least one City Council member, Patrick Cannon, is concerned.
"I hear you," Canon said. "I'm concerned about that from a safety perspective, and I hope you're right."
The City Council has the final say on the project and plans to vote next month.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:22:26 -0500
Annette Hawks has to watch her step as she walks to her office at Bollag International off Orr Road.
“It's hopscotch!” she said as she tiptoed around the little piles left behind by a flock of Canada geese that have taken up residence on the company property that includes a small pond.
"It's a problem. It's a real big problem," Hawks said. She said they've tried everything from sprays to firing air guns to scare the birds, but nothing worked. So finally, they called -- you guessed it -- Goosebusters.
"We got goose, buddy. We got goose -- you ready?" Gary Travis asked his full-blooded border collie as the black-and-white dog bounced out of his car.
Travis owns Goosebusters 2, a local company that specializes in getting rid of geese. His aunt owns Goosebusters, and together the two have worked with their dogs to keep geese on the move around Charlotte.
Travis' dog, Mist, was raised in Georgia and trained in Virginia to herd geese and within seconds, she had chased the geese off the property at Bollag.
"It's called a harassment technique. And when you use a harassment technique, you're not actually harming the geese in any way. You're making them feel uncomfortable," Travis said.
Travis also has a contract to keep geese out of a municipal park in Davidson, where the geese have eaten so much grass that soil erosion has become a problem.
"We just got to get them out of areas because it's become such a nuisance (that) it's a problem," Travis said.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:01:14 -0500
A Cleveland police officer is in the hospital after losing control of his patrol car during a high-speed chase.
Police said Officer Joshua Eller was chasing a fugitive out of Florida, who is still on the loose, when he hit a slippery patch of road.
Surveillance video shows a white car speed down Statesville Boulevard around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, followed by a Cleveland police car, which veers off the road.
It plows through the sign for the Stor Mor storage business and crashes into a Rowan County emergency services vehicle and another truck.
"Nobody could believe he flew right through this section right here," Stor Mor owner William Sims said.
He said his father called him immediately after the accident.
"He says, 'Get out here, there's been a wreck -- we're pulling the officer into the office!'" Sims said.
Moments after the crash, the video shows Officer Eller's car burst into flames.
Someone pulls out a fire extinguisher and then emergency responders pull Eller out of the car and into the Stor Mor to treat him.
In a bizarre twist, those crews were so close because the Rowan Animal Clinic next door had caught fire that morning.
"It's definitely a good thing there were so many emergency people here," Sims said. "He was taken care of immediately."
Rowan County fire investigators Kevin Dennis and Deborah Horne were inside the emergency services vehicle that the officer hit.
Horne told Eyewitness News that she is recovering at home. Fire officials said both Dennis and Horne have only minor injuries.
Police said Eller, a 10-year veteran of the department, was helping Iredell and Rowan County deputies chase down a fugitive.
When Eller felt the roads getting icy, police said he tried to slow down but appeared to lose control.
Hospital officials at Rowan Regional Medical Center said late Monday afternoon that Eller is in good condition.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:41:05 -0500
The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce is leading a delegation of more than two dozen Charlotte area business leaders to Washington, D.C., Wednesday.
The group is set to meet with senior White House administrators to discuss ways to create and grow jobs in Charlotte.
The group is diverse and includes representatives from large corporations like Wells Fargo to small, minority-owned businesses like Metro Transportation Services.
Mark Pringle, vice president of Siemens in Charlotte, will be going to offer his ideas.
"I think we all were asked to be prepared with a number of things that could make a difference for our business," said Pringle. "One of the things we'd like to focus on is getting folks trained for manufacturing type jobs."
This isn't the first time the White House has sought feedback from the business community in the Queen City. In November, the co-owners of the thriving Amelie's bakery in NoDa went to the nation's capital to discuss ways the government can help small businesses succeed.
While this latest group will only be in Washington for just a few hours, the Charlotte Chamber hopes the end result will produce new policies and concrete steps local businesses can take to stimulate growth for years to come.
"I think these think tank groups are getting people together, making sure there are different points of view and will help us get to a good answer,” Pringle said.
The Charlotte Chamber said each of the business leaders attending the meeting in Washington, D.C., are responsible for paying for their own airfare.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:10:36 -0500
Charlotte drivers caught multiple times for speeding; some driving faster than 100 m.p.h.
Instead of getting their licenses revoked, some drivers have cut deals; paying a small fine and court fees.
WATCH: Behind the story of "Super Speeders."
Channel 9's Mark Becker investigates why these drivers are still on our streets!
Tuesday starting at 5 p.m. on Channel 9 Eyewitness News, Covering the Carolinas.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:59:55 -0500
Eyewitness News has learned police think the driver accused of causing a deadly crash in Huntersville was driving about 100 mph.
The crash happened Thursday afternoon, and police say it happened after a series of dangerous moves by the driver, including another crash in Charlotte just moments before the one in Huntersville.
The victim in that first crash, Marian Carpenter, told Channel 9 she was on WT Harris Boulevard in north Charlotte, trying to turn left onto Statesville Road when a white Impala jumped a median and hit her car.
"We kind of thought maybe the car was stolen or he was running from someone," Carpenter said. She was not hurt.
She said the car kept going and drove north in the southbound lane of Statesville Road.
"For someone to jump a median, and there's a big ditch there, to come up on the wrong side of the road, it's unreal,” she said.
Dennis Eddinger was one of the next drivers to encounter the speeding car on Statesville Road.
"I looked in my mirror and here comes this car (at a) high rate of speed,” he said. "He was pushing people off, right and left, both sides of the highway, going down the middle of the highway."
Moments later, the deadly crash happened on the same road in Huntersville. Police say the white Impala ran into a pickup truck.
Joe "Red" Jones from Huntersville was driving the truck. His family members told Eyewitness News he was a husband and father of two sons. He was also a custom cabinet maker who was a longtime resident of Huntersville. He died from his injuries over the weekend.
Police say 43-year-old Victor Moultry caused the crashes. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested him on Saturday and charged him with hit-and-run and property damage. He bonded out of jail soon after.
An Eyewitness News crew stopped by his house on Monday, but no one answered the door. They checked his record and found out he spent about seven years in prison for a number of convictions, including attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, larceny, felony breaking and entering, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving while his license was revoked. The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles said he was driving with a valid license on Thursday, though.
Police said since Jones died, Moultry is likely to face more charges. The Mecklenburg County DA's Office will meet with Huntersville police this week to see what charges are appropriate.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:38:27 -0500
A Richmond County Hospital has essentially shut its doors due to a bat infestation.
Hospital officials at Richmond Memorial in Rockingham evacuated patients over the weekend and closed most of the building, except for the emergency room.
County health officials told Eyewitness News they first began receiving reports of bats flying into patients' rooms a few weeks ago.
"We've actually sent staff out to retrieve some of the bats to our state lab for testing of rabies," said health director Tommy Jarrell.
Jarrell said he was concerned about rabies, and exposure to bat droppings, which can sometimes cause a fungal infection in humans.
So far, none of the bats removed have tested positive for rabies, and patients have been given vaccinations.
"This is the first time we've had to deal with this type of issue," Jarrell admitted.
Residents were also shocked by the news.
"It almost seems like a story out of a movie," said Jerry Moss.
The hospital has hired a special company, Get Bats Out, to remove the bats.
The company has sealed the cracks in the walls where the bats were living, and has installed a special door that will let the bats out at night to hunt, but prevents them from returning to the building.
Hospital officials said any patient who had an appointment Monday or Tuesday can visit the regional hospital in Pinehurst or reschedule for a later date.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:32:46 -0500
For the first time in 20 years, a rail line through Gaston County is carrying cargo.
But the people who live nearby are scared about what could be on board.
The line rolls through Gastonia, Belmont and Mount Holly.
The grinding of wheels brought excitement from onlookers, and frustration from Gary Franklin.
“They got all the money and no sense,” Franklin said.
His front door is 20 yards away from the train that will eventually pull cars of ethanol. He said he’s worried what would happen if something went wrong with the flammable gas.
“We will be the first to go,” he said.
Barbara Jackson moved next to the tracks five years ago.
“We never thought that it would open up,” Jackson said. “It's just a big shock.”
The DOT, with approval from local municipalities, rebuilt the lines from Gastonia to Mount Holly. On Monday, they handed authority of the lines to Patriot Railway.
“Safety along the line should not be a concern,” said JD Ventrcek with Patriot Rail.
The vice president for operations said there has never been a problem with the reinforced train cars that will carry ethanol.
“(It’s) built to withstand high impacts to prevent the inner tank from being breached and causing a leak,” Ventrcek said.
Several crossings in neighborhoods do not have cross arm bars. He said the train will use warning horns approved by the state and only go 10 miles per hour.
“We'll be able to stop the train short of any impact going across,” Ventrcek said.
He said most of the freight will be non-hazardous.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:17:49 -0500
Former state Sen. Robert Pittenger told Eyewitness News he's putting a campaign team together to run for Sue Myrick's 9th District seat in Congress. When he makes his announcement later this week, Pittenger will become the 10th Republican battling for the nomination in the May primary.
Sue Myrick's decision to leave Congress has created a logjam of possible Republican replacements. Ten names -- some well-known, others not -- will fight for the same votes.
And unless one of them can get 40 percent of them, the May primary could continue in the form of a runoff in July.
Mecklenburg County Republican Party Chairman Gideon Moore is already urging candidates to avoid negative campaigning.
“The danger if there is that contentious primary is the fact that we won't be as united as we need to be,” Moore said.
That could play in to the hands of Jennifer Roberts, so far the only Democrat in the race.
“If they have a bruising primary -- if they have to go to a runoff, that's more money, that's more time,” Roberts said. “It's possible that could help my campaign.”
But Republicans still have a big advantage that neither time nor divisiveness can erase. The newly drawn 9th District is now 40 percent Republican and only 31 percent Democratic.
Political expert Michael Bitzer said that reality will be tough for Roberts.
“She would have to pull off some Republicans to her side,” Bitzer said. “That's going to be the toughest battle that she's got to try and overcome.”
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:03:24 -0500
Bank of America and Wells Fargo lost nearly $800 billion combined last fiscal quarter. It was due in part to new regulations on debit card fees.
But now banks are trying to recoup that money through other fees.
Many customers are fed up with the fees and asked what can be done about it.
Gary Wright served overseas with the Marines, fighting in Somalia. At a recent job fair, he said he's now fighting a different kind of battle.
“It's just a battle, waiting to get an email or waiting to hear the phone ring,” Wright said.
Wright has been struggling for months to find a full-time job. Without a steady income, he thought it would be best to cancel his automatic debit transactions for things like electricity and cable.
He was slapped with five separate fees for stopping those automatic payments, totaling nearly $250. That's in addition to his $9-a-month account maintenance fee.
“It's a fee that you can't get around it to keep your account in good standing,” Wright said. “It's, you know, it's their rules.”
Many new fees have popped up over the past few months.
Bank customers face nearly 50 different potential fees on a checking account, even for things like requesting paper statements and closing an account.
Wright said he didn't know about the fees he'd face, which were explained in fine print somewhere in his bank disclosure packet.
“It's a lot of fine print to read through,” he said.
Eyewitness News looked at Wells Fargo and Bank of America's websites. The most common fees are clearly explained, but some charges are hidden in footnotes.
“There's a lot of people, unfortunately, hurting right now,” financial adviser Terry Horneman said.
Horneman said fee disclosure forms for the biggest banks can be more than 60 pages long.
“The wording, the language, the verbiage is very hard for them to understand,” Horneman said.
A new federal agency created a few months ago is supposed to make sure customers aren't confused by banking practices.
Sen. Kay Hagan has been an outspoken supporter of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Eyewitness News asked her if it's doing enough.
“Is it necessary to have a packet this big to explain fees to a customer?” Eyewitness News asked.
“I doubt many customers will actually be reading that information,” Hagan said. “That's why what we're looking for is something very short.”
Hagan wants to see a consumer-friendly form, printed on one piece of paper.
“Why isn't that already in place?” Eyewitness News asked.
“Well, the director just got appointed last month,” Hagan said. “And the agency is brand new.”
Hagan said she'll push for change on Capitol Hill.
Click here to read a report about the impact of bank fees on the average customer. Click here to see a report summary.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:08:43 -0500
A grand jury indicted former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield on Monday for allegedly having stolen property.
Mayfield was indicted on counts of possession of stolen goods and obtaining property by false pretenses.
In November, Mayfield was arrested and charged with possessing methamphetamine. Deputies went to Mayfield's home in the town of Catawba with a search warrant after getting a tip that there were stolen goods on the property, officials said.
During the search, deputies said they found a small amount of methamphetamine.
Some furniture was seized by investigators in Hudson after trailers filled with 70 items were stolen from a company last February. According to search warrants that Channel 9 obtained, Mayfield and another man were spotted in the business’s parking lot the night of the theft.
“We were overwhelmed by how much stuff was down there,” Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid said.
For the first time Monday, deputies talked about a possible motive behind allegedly having the stolen property.
“You have a lifestyle that he was used to living and he had to keep up that lifestyle,” Reid said.
People in the town of Catawba were talking about the indictments on Monday.
“I feel bad for him,” area resident Rachel Harp said. “Everyone makes bad choices. You just have to live with them and the consequences that come with them.”
“(I) hate to see him lose all that, you know, and go down like it did,” Taft Allison said.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:37:45 -0500
Expect delays on Church St. between Trade St. and Martin Luther King Blvd. from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. each day through March 9th. Contractors will be repairing curbs, sidewalks, gutters, and wheelchair ramps in preparation for a repaving project. Use Graham St., Mint St., or Tryon St. as alternate routes.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:47:15 -0500
Three people were injured in a crash on Highway 16 at Lucia Riverbend Highway on Monday afternoon.
The crash involved a tractor-trailer and a car. It happened around 11 a.m. in an intersection on the southbound side of the road.
One person was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center, and the other two people who were injured were taken to area hospitals. Officials haven't said how serious their injuries are.
Channel 9 is working to gather more information.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:43:02 -0500
CharlotteNorthCarolina.com
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