Archive - Mar 17, 2011 - News Article
Two county governing bodies are set to hold meetings Monday night.
The Catawba County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Monday in the 1924 Courthouse in downtown Newton.
Maiden Town Council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the Maiden Branch Library.
Items on the meetings' agenda include:
Maiden Town Council:
-Finance officer's report for February;
-Public hearing for a text amendment to allow metal roofs on mobile homes;
-Manager's report to discuss funding options for a new town hall;
Private citizens aren't the only people in Catawba County experiencing an economic crunch since gas prices started to increase.
County agencies, that provide essential transportation and response services to residents, are also looking for ways to cut fuel costs during an increasingly difficult budget year.
Catawba County Schools has about 246 buses it uses to transport the county's students to school and other activities. Some of those buses run double and triple routes to accommodate the needs of every student, said CCS transportation director Cecil W. Davis.
Six of Catawba County's eight municipalities reported positive population growth from the 2010 census.
The city of Conover experienced the largest growth percentage among Catawba County municipalities during a 10-year period. Conover's population increased 24 percent from 2000, when the previous census was conducted.
That increase marks the largest percent change among the county's remaining seven municipalities.
Police released the names Thursday of the four victims in a drug-fueled robbery and home invasion.
Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid said Wade Sigmon, 49; Susan Kay Blevins, 51; and Connie Canipe Miller, 42; all of Conover, were shot to death early Tuesday morning on Emmanuel Church Road in the Oak Knoll Mobile Home park.
Joseph Burke, 38, was also shot during the robbery, and he was the only victim to survive the incident. Sheriff's deputies aren't releasing Burke's address for safety reasons.
A Hickory woman thought she sent her friend a text message about selling drugs, but she mistakenly sent the message to a police officer.
Conover Police charged 18-year-old Jessica Lucas with possession of drug paraphernalia and a drug violation after she mistakenly offered to sell drugs Wednesday to a sheriff's deputy.
Conover Police Lt. Mark Stump said Lucas was texting who she thought was a high school-aged friend about a marijuana purchase. Lucas apparently typed in the wrong number, and the message went to Lt. T. McManus, with the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office.
Victims' names from a Tuesday morning shooting were released Thursday.
In addition to Wade "Squeaky" Sigmon, 49, of Conover, Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid identified the other deceased victims as Susan Kay Blevins, 51, of Conover, and Connie Canipe Miller, 42, of Conover.
The only survivor in the incident is Joseph Burke, 38. Reid said Burke's address is being held for safety reasons.
