High winds knocked down trees and caused a large power outage Thursday afternoon in the City of Morganton. At 3:01pm, a tree fell across power lines located on the Western Piedmont Community College campus. According to a news release from the City, the tree broke several lines and power poles, leaving about 825 customers south of the city without power for a time. Falling trees and limbs also caused about a half dozen additional single outages across the City.

Marion Police continue to investigate an armed robbery. Officers responded just after 5:30am Monday to the Waffle House on Sugar Hill Road. After a preliminary investigation, it was reported that an unknown male or female Caucasian entered the business, brandished a handgun, demanded money and after being given an undisclosed amount of currency, fled the restaurant. Anyone with information should contact Marion Police at 652-5205 or Crime Stoppers at 65-CRIME.

Ninety pounds of marijuana worth nearly $500,000 was seized during an interstate stop in Iredell County. Members of the Iredell County Sheriff's interstate patrol team stopped a vehicle driven by 42-year-old Long Nguyen for traffic violations in I-77 near Mile Marker 66. Nguyen told officers he was traveling from California and was reportedly acting nervous during the stop. A K-9 unit indicated there was a narcotic on board, when officers discovered duffle bags and cardboard boxes containing vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana - 70 bags worth around $450,000. Authorities report they think the drug was being taken to Charlotte for distribution. Nguyen was taken into custody and charged with trafficking in marijuana by possession, trafficking in marijuana by transport, and possession with sell and deliver. He was also served a California fugitive warrant for burglary and remains jailed under an $800,000 secured bond.

W-2 scam threatens employers and employees. According to a news release from the NC Department of Justice, in the scam, a worker in the human resources or payroll department receives an email from the CEO or a top executive. The message requests W-2's or other private information about the organization's employees. Bur it is a phishing email, a convincing-looking fake, and the confidential information is delivered into the hands of crooks. The IRS has issued a warning to all employers about this scam. To avoid falling for a fraudulent email seeking money of personal information:
* Verify that the message is authentic.
* Set a strict policy for wire transfers and disclosure of employee information.
* Warn employees about email scams.
You can report email scams by calling 1 877 5-NO-SCAM.