Archive - Aug 2010
August 9th
Harry Sweezy
Harry Leroy Sweezy, 81, of Newton, passed away Friday, Aug. 6, 2010, at Palliative CareCenter and Hospice of Catawba Valley.
Burke Mortuary in Newton is serving the Sweezy family.
Whether you’re a freshman entering college for the first time or a soon-to-be empty-nester sending your children off to school, preparing for college can be a daunting task.
From packing for a tiny dorm room to getting along with a roommate you’ve never met, the transition to college is an adjustment for the entire family.
There are things you can do, however, to prevent common problems stemming from new college experiences.
Moving into a dorm room
Police arrested a Hickory man Sunday after he allegedly attempted to murder a police officer with a motor vehicle.
Jawanza Bentura Dickens, 28, of Hickory, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement official.
Two Hickory police officers responded to the sound of shots fired at 4:41 a.m. Sunday in the 400 block of Second Street Place SW. Two suspects were seen leaving the area in a vehicle, and in an attempt to get away, the suspects accelerated the vehicle backward at a high rate of speed toward one of the officers.
August 8th
Justin Sizemore is about to head back to school. The 2009 Maiden grad will travel this week back to Liberty University to start his sophomore year. Then it is onto one more spring in the sun and on the baseball diamond. This is Sizemore’s second season playing baseball at Liberty.
“I think I’m going to try to mature a little bit and use my experiences in the game,” he said. “I want to use that transition this year to better myself and use my skills that I learned. I want to be a good teammate, never quit and keep trying hard.”
The Footcandle Film Society of Catawba County's next official film screening will be Thursday, Aug. 12. The organization will screen the comedy "Micmacs," a 2009 French film by acclaimed director Jean-Pierre Jeunet ("Amélie"). This will be the first time the movie has been screened in Catawba County.
Tickets for the film will be $5 at the door for guests/non-society members. All current Footcandle members get themselves and a guest in for free, as usual. The screening will be at the Carolina Theater in Downtown Hickory.
August 7th
Joy Ann Glenn Willis, 75, of Conover, died Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010, at Conover Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The Willis family has entrusted funeral arrangements to Drum Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Conover.
Gene Oliver Gilleland, 78, of Maiden, went to be with the Lord on Friday, Aug. 6, 2010, at the Palliative CareCenter and Hospice of Catawba Valley in Hickory. The Gilleland family has entrusted the funeral arrangements to Willis-Reynolds Funeral Home and Crematory in Newton.
Two new businesses will soon find homes in downtown Conover.
Owner John Cline hopes to open a side-by-side real estate business and restaurant, located at the intersection of West First Street and First Avenue North in downtown Conover.
“Downtown is a great place,” Cline said. “We’re really hoping to bring people to downtown.”
The space was previously Pappy’s Five Point Café.
A Lawndale trucker is dead after an oncoming truck struck him Friday while he stood on U.S. 321 in Hickory.
Harley James Stanley, 46, was driving a Davenport Transportation truck carrying mail. The U.S. Postal Service contracts the Georgia-based company for mail hauling. Stanley’s truck broke down early Friday morning near the River Road exit on U.S. 321.
August 6th
Catawba Town Council will hold a special meeting Tuesday to discuss budget problems. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. with a closed session to discuss personnel matters, and then Council members will move into open session to discuss issues with the town’s budget.
“We’re going to have to make some changes in the budget,” said Catawba Mayor Vance Readling.
Two men entered a Newton home Wednesday offering financial assistance. Less than 10 minutes later, the men left with the homeowner’s wallet.
The homeowner’s female relative was visiting the man’s residence about 1:15 p.m., and when she opened the door to enter the house, the suspects came in behind her.
“It was an uninvited and illegal entry,” said Newton Police Capt. Kevin Yarborough. “But it was more of a rush-in situation. They went in and were trying to get (the man and woman) off their guard.”
![](http://www.observernewsonline.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/article_taxonomy/pappy.jpg "<p>
Renovations are under way at a property in the heart <br> of Conover's "Five Points" as businessman John Cline <br> works toward opening <br> a new restaurant and real estate office.</p>")
