A proclamation was made naming May "Bike Month" in Morganton and Small Business Loans were awarded in Monday night's regular Morganton City Council meeting. In the proclamation, Mayor Ronnie Thompson said that the bicycle is an economical, healthy, convenient and environmentally sound form of transportation and an excellent tool for recreation and enjoyment of Morganton's scenic beauty. Council passed the proclamation to promote bicycling during May. In other business Council approved a loan to Buck's Pizza for $15,000 for outdoor seating renovations. The loan request was due to a 19% increase in business since Buck's moved to Morganton Trading Company. Treat,LLC at 100 West Union Street is also expanding to upgrade their kitchen area and requested a $14,000 loan from the Main Street Solutions Revolving Loan Fund. Council approved the loan. In new business, a public hearing was held for the consideration of an ordinance to abate a nuisance at 106 Meeting Place. According to Terry Jordan of the City Planning and Code Enforcement Division, this residence has been an ongoing problem for 25 years. A motion was made to declare the property a public nuisance and an ordinance and order was adopted to clear the property, if the owner did not do it in the next 30 days.

McDowell County Deputies capture a fugitive wanted on drug and weapon charges. 31-year-old Danny Ray Pinkerton of Marion was charged with one felony count each of possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of methamphetamine, maintaining a dwelling to keep a controlled substance, and fleeing to elude arrest, along with two other charges. Officers reportedly had been searching for Pinkerton after his involvement in a domestic dispute last Thursday; when he led deputies on a chase as they were looking to serve him with outstanding warrants on drug possession charges and failure to appear in court. Pinkerton was taken into custody Friday without incident.

The Lenoir Police Department is seeking to identify the relatives of all victims affected by the theft of flower vases from Blue Ridge Memorial Park, as reported March 20th. The department has been working to identify relevant family members. If you have family members buried at Blue Ridge Memorial Park and have been unable to visit to see if the graves were affected, call the cemetery staff at 757-2178. If you are the surviving spouse or relative of a deceased person whose grave had a vase removed, call the investigator at 757-2172.