Catawba County has confirmed two cases of rabies, bringing the 2017 total of confirmed cases to three. A resident was bitten by a fox outside his home in Sherill's Ford on June 7th. The fox was captured and tested positive for rabies. Animal Services officers advised the resident to seek medical attention following the bite. The second case involved an altercation between a dog and raccoon on May 22nd near the Town of Catawba. The dog is current on rabies vaccinations. The raccoon was sent to the NC Public Health Lab, where it tested positive for rabies. Animal Services reminds all pet owners that rabies is still present in the local wild animal population and it is a threat to pets and humans, year round. The best way to protect your pets from rabies is to have them properly vaccinated.

The SBI has been a key player in 14 Meth traffickers sentenced last week in federal court in Statesville. Since 2012, the SBI has been coordinating with law enforcement officials from nine northwestern counties along with the FBI in a campaign called 'Operation Dixie Crystal' - in an effort to root out methamphetamine traffickers. 14 of the 16 traffickers sentenced were from cases that stem from Operation Dixie Crystal. SBI agents reportedly joined forces with law enforcement agencies in the Hickory area to gather enough evidence to prosecute. SBI agents along with other local law officers seized more than 20 kiolgrams of crystal meth, $500,000 in cash and dozens of firearms as evidence for last week's convictions. The traffickers were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 21 months to 18 years.

The Falling Creek Bridge in Hickory is now closed to traffic due to scheduled replacement of the bridge.The detour route around the construction includes Falling Creek Road, 29th Avenue NE, and NC 127. The replacement may take up to a year for completion.

An Eastern Burke County resident is charged with felony probation. The Catawba County Sheriff's Office Friday reported the charges on 26-year-old Zacahary Gray Jenkins of Icard.  He was also charged with FTA for probation violation, assault on a female and FTA for carrying a concealed weapon. Bond was set at $101,000 with a court appearance scheduled for today.