Archive - Apr 2011
April 11th
Law enforcement representatives agreed Sunday that gang activity is a major issue in Catawba County.
During a Catawba County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People branch meeting at Newton City Hall, a panel of police chiefs and officers from nine local jurisdictions answered questions about gangs and other related issues.
Police chiefs and officers from the Hickory, Catawba, Conover, Newton, Maiden, Brookford and Claremont police departments agreed there is currently gang activity in Catawba County.
The City of Newton Human Relations Council is currently accepting nominations for the Cityâs annual Unity Day Award. The nomination deadline for this prestigious award is Tuesday, April 12. The award will be formally presented at the Cityâs Unity Day Celebration on Saturday, April 30 at Southside Park. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The nominee should be an individual, business, or industry that has demonstrated outstanding service to the Newton community and that has worked to improve relations among cultures and races in the City.
April 8th
Rivals St. Stephens and Fred T. Foard met for the second time on the soccer field this season Friday. They didnât disappoint.
The Lady Indians scored five minutes into the game, and held off an aggressive second half by the Lady Tigers to remain undefeated in Northwestern Conference play.
âIt is the same old Foard-St. Stephens game,â said Lady Indians coach Chuck Davis. âIt is always a one-goal game. I donât care if it is raining, dry, cold or hot. They just get so pumped up to play against us.â
Politics may be at the root of a slow budget approval.
On Thursday, concerned parents, students and teachers gathered in the gym at Fred T. Foard High School to listen to Catawba County Schools Superintendent Glenn Barger explain the budget process and what he hopes the numbers will look like for the 2011-12 school year.
"This is the first time in history that the General Assembly changed to a Republican party in both houses," Barger said. "There is a strong voice coming out of the newly elected representatives."
Celebrate moms and fund the Catawba County Parenting Network at the same time.
The Parenting Network organized its first fundraising event for April 16 and decided it should honor mothers for their years of nurturing and raising children.
"We are all about moms and parenting," said Susan Lee, Parenting Network director. "This is going to be an uplifting day to celebrate moms, and people can bring their moms."
Bandys High School turned into a farm for a day as agriculture came alive for county residents.
More than 2,200 students and residents discovered farm life Friday at the school's annual Ag Day.
After more than 25 years and doubled participation, this event continues to carry one purpose â to raise agricultural awareness among community members who may not have an understanding of where food comes from.
April 7th
Newton-Conover scored six minutes into Thursdayâs game and never looked back.
The Lady Red Devils earned their third victory of the season, knocking off a tough Maiden team at home.
The win comes after Newton-Conover (3-13-0, 3-5-0) started the season with a 1-10 record.
âComing into this game, our mindset was that every game counts,â said N-C coach Robert Froyd. âEven if we donât go into the postseason, every game for us counts. It is a matter of pride, making sure we have respect for ourselves and showing each other what could have been.â
Hugh Gaither Sigmon, 85, of Conover, died Wednesday, April 6, 2011, at Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory. The Sigmon family has entrusted funeral arrangements to Drum Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Conover.
Kenneth Wayne Mellon, 42, of Taylorsville, formerly of Maiden, passed away April 4, 2011, at his residence. Services will be held Saturday, April 9, 2011, at 12:30 p.m. at Goodin-Drum Funeral Home.
In the time it takes to read this sentence, one child will have died from starvation.
That's the message area churches want to spread as they prepare to package 500,000 meals for impoverished communities around the world.
Sixty-four churches from Catawba, Iredell and Alexander counties agreed to participate in the Stop Hunger Now campaign, which provides low-cost, nutritious meals for children in countries such as Japan, Haiti and Honduras.
The man found dead in the South Fork River on Sunday was murdered.
Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid said 23-year-old Absalon Gomez was shot to death before his body was located earlier this week in the river near Maiden.
Gomez's family reported him missing Dec. 7 and had no contact with him since that date. Reid said it's "very possible" that Gomez has been dead since December.
The sheriff's office isn't releasing how many times Gomez was shot, and there are no suspects in the case. Reid said investigators have a few leads in the case that indicate the shooting was drug-related.
