Catawba County leaders say a newly opened biodiesel research facility will attract more business to the area, save money on fuel and reduce the area’s carbon footprint. State leaders call it a “model for the future.”

But the largest attribute of the facility may be the collaboration between big groups – something federal, state and local leaders all agree is necessary for positive change.



Austin Frye says drug abuse in high school has changed.

A rising junior at Newton-Conover High School, Frye said teens are going beyond “smoking pot” and are experimenting with drugs found in nearly every household – prescription medications.

“I have all these friends at high school doing these pills,” Frye said.
“There are a lot of drugs and a lot of pills. They are smoking cigarettes and trying prescription drugs.”
One worker was taken to the hospital on Monday after a machine caught on fire in a Newton manufacturing facility.
Fire officials say a dotting machine caught on fire on the third floor of Carolina Specialty Fabrics in Newton, and one employee was taken to the hospital after inhaling too much smoke. A dotting machine is used to put traction material on fabrics used for gloves, said Newton Fire Chief Kevin Yoder.
