Two felony drug charges are filed on a Caldwell County man after a 3 month investigation. Just after 4:30am Tuesday, officers from the Lenoir Police Department's Narcotics Unit, with the assistance of the Special Response Tea, served a search warrant at a residence on Spruce Street. 29-year-old Christopher Lee Mincer was charged with 1 Felony count of Possession with Intent to Manufacture, Sell or Deliver Schedule II Controlled Substance and 1 Felony count of Maintaining a Dwelling for Controlled Substance. Bond was set at $50,000 secured with a first court appearance scheduled for tomorrow. Additional charges may be forthcoming. According to a news release from Lenoir Police, the arrest occurred after a 3 month investigation and the direct result of citizen complaints. Anyone with information relating to this or any other crime is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 758-8300 or the Lenoir Police Department at 757-2100.

The suspect in the shooting death of Shelby Police Officer Tim Brackeen has been taken into custody this morning in Rhode Island, According to WSOC-TV, Irving Fenner Jr. was arrested about 2:30 at an apartment in Coventry. Fenner was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound that reportedly occurred in Shelby. WSOC reports the SBI also arrested Deitria Morris on Tuesday for accessory to murder and Ashley Hamrick for harboring a fugitive. During the arrest this morning in Coventry, Jolisa Peeler was arrested for accessory after the fact of 1st degree murder.

A homicide investigation in Buncombe County resulted in one arrest. The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office conducted a homicide investigation Monday at 49 Forest Ridge Drive in Asheville. The initial call for service, made just after 6:30 p.m., was for a gunshot wound. Officers found a man outside the residence, who was detained. A female inside the residence was found unresponsive. Emergency services pronounced her deceased. 85-year-old Samuel Lloyd Hensley was charged with First Degree Murder and detained at the Buncombe County Detention Facility without bond.

The state announced Tuesday the awarding of more than $8.4 million in grants from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund with several area governments receiving grants:
* Asheville - French Broad River East Bank Greenway and Recreational Area, $350,000
* Conover - Conover City Park Expansion, $119,992
* Granite Falls - Shuford Recreation Park Redevelopment, $196,875
* Iredell - Jennings Park, $419,718
* Lake Lure - Weed Patch Mountain Recreational Park, $350,000
* Lenoir - Mulberry Optimist Park Expansion, $327,200
The grants help fund land acquisition, development and renovation of public park and recreation areas.

The next phase of construction began Monday on the Catawba Falls Trail, to improve the trail and crossing of Chestnut Branch with a new footbridge. Weekday visitors to the popular trail in the Pisgah National Forest near Old Fort, can expect delays and short closures for work on the trail. Weather pending, construction is not planned on weekends. Work is expected to be completed by November 1st. Check the website (www.fs.usda.gov/nfsnc) for temporary closure notices. This construction is part of a larger effort to build safe access to Catawba Falls.