Archive - Feb 11, 2011 - News Article
For two weeks, Catawba County schools have seen absentees double among students, thanks to the flu.
"We have been on flu surveillance for two weeks," said Rhonda Stikeleather, Catawba County Public Health school nurse supervisor.
Stikeleather said there was a noticeable increase in absentees at Startown and Mountain View elementary schools.
On Jan. 31, Startown Elementary School reported 100 absences, followed by 103 absences Feb. 1. The absentee number slowly decreased and was down to 37 students absent Feb. 10. The school's total enrollment is 640.
Two Catawba County police agencies assisted Thursday in a Lincolnton drug bust of a marijuana-growing operation.
Narcotics officers from the Catawba County Sheriff's Office and Newton Police Department worked with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office's Drug Interdiction Criminal Enforcement team to arrest a Vale man accused of growing and selling marijuana from his home.
Maiden High School's quarterback is right at home in his Blue Devil uniform, throwing passes to his teammates and running for touchdowns on crisp fall nights.
But junior Matthew Johnson is also equally comfortable in his black Beta Club T-shirt, juggling service projects and running for a statewide leadership position.
Johnson, the Catawba Valley Athletic Conference offensive player of the year, was recently elected as North Carolina state Beta Club president.
Johnson's election made him Maiden High's first state officer in about eight years.
Ten years ago, members of St. John's Lutheran Church in Conover huddled together for an impromptu worship service at 3 a.m. in the church gym.
They had just watched their church — the building reserved for life's most intimate and precious moments — go up in flames.
Now, a decade later, church members are celebrating their growing congregation, church facilities and profound recovery from two devastating fires in 51 years. The church will hold two anniversary services Feb. 20 at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
An outbuilding and a mobile home were damaged Friday after live ashes spread to the structures from a burn barrel nearby.
Hickory Fire Department arrived at 2221 First St. SE to find a fully involved fire in an outbuilding. The flames were spreading to an adjacent mobile home.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze, but the outbuilding sustained heavy damage. The mobile home sustained moderate damage.
No one was injured.
