Archive - Jun 2011
June 14th
The North Carolina General Assembly agreed Monday to make it illegal to dismember a body to conceal a crime.
The new law was initiated by the local district attorneyâs office and will re-word an existing law to make dismembering a corpse to conceal a crime a Class C felony.
State representatives Mark Hilton and Tim Moore drafted the bill that has roots in the Zahra Baker case.
Baker is the 10-year-old Hickory girl who was originally reported missing Oct. 9. After her remains were found nearly a month later, Elisa Baker, Zahra's stepmother, was charged with second-degree murder.
The Newton-Conover School System will cut 14 teacher assistant positions next year to compensate for funding being retracted by the state, school officials announced Monday.
NCCS Superintendent Barry Redmond said the school system must return about $852,000 in discretionary reversion funding to the state and cutting positions is one of the only ways to create that money.
Jesse Leonard Knott, 82, of Hickory, passed away Monday, June 13, 2011, at Palliative CareCenter & Hospice of Catawba Valley. Bass-Smith Funeral Home is serving the family of Jesse Leonard Knott.
Cecil Shuford Parker, 87, of Maiden, passed away Monday, June 13, 2011, at Palliative CareCenter & Hospice of Catawba Valley in Newton. Burke Mortuary in Maiden is serving the Parker family.
RALEIGH â The General Assembly has agreed to make it illegal to dismember a body to hide a possible crime or other evidence of an unnatural death. The move occurred following the death of a 10-year-old girl with disabilities reported missing from her North Carolina home last fall.
The Senate gave final legislative approval Monday night to the measure. The bill now goes to Gov. Beverly Perdue's desk.
June 13th
Despite attendance numbers that were lower than prior years, the executive director of the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn is âoptimisticâ the tournament will stay in Conover.
âAll in all, it went extremely well,â said GHC Executive Director Jim Correll. âIt was hotter than what we hoped or expected, but those are things you canât control.â
Correll said the extreme heat heavily contributed to the lower-than-usual turnout. He added that the missing presence of professional golfers Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer, who both played last year, also added to a smaller turnout.
By
JIM KUHNHENN,Associated Press
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) â President Barack Obama promoted job creation Monday in politically important North Carolina, trying to assure Americans he's focused on their No. 1 concern â and his greatest political weakness â as his potential GOP presidential opponents prepared to target his economic policies in their first major debate.
The city of Newton swimming pool officially opened Monday and area citizens came out to tan, play and beat the heat.
The pool is scheduled to remain open through Aug. 14.
n the photo, Dylan Carroll,13, of Newton, takes a ride on one of two slides the pool offers.
Public swimming will be available Monday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $1 for children ages 0-5, $2 for ages 62 and older, $3 for children ages 6-17, and $4 for adults ages 18-61.
Area police leaders say a local initiative to stop violent crimes is seeing positive results.
Since the Catawba County Gang Initiative began last month, none of the participants involved in the program have re-offended.
âI consider it a great success because our ultimate goal is to have these folks not re-offend,â said Newton Police Chief Don Brown. âIf we donât hear from them again, and they donât re-offend, then itâs a success.â
When people think of Dale Jarrett, NASCAR immediately comes to mind.
The former stock car driver and current ESPN broadcaster racked up a long list of trophies throughout his career, including the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship and three Daytona 500 trophies. Jarrett, the son of NASCAR legend Ned Jarrett, won an additional 43 times on the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series combined.
But area citizens may soon start associating the Catawba County native with a completely different organization â Hospice.
June 11th
While some things change, some remain the same.
Bob Tway, who held the lead after the first day of the Greater Hickory Classic with a 9-under-par round, continues to lead the tournament by one stroke. He fired a 5-under-par second round to put him in the lead at 14-under-par.
Despite a large tie for second place yesterday, Tommy Armour III is in sole possession of second. He is one stroke behind Tway at 13-under-par.
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