Fuel Spills Into the Catawba 

Emergency personnel worked last night to contain a hydraulic fuel spill along the

Catawba River in Pleasant Gardens.  The Asheville Fire Department Regional

Hazmat Team, NC Emergency Management and the North Carolina Division of

Water Resources were all on the scene as the spill was being contained at

Resistoflex Road.  The spill happened after a fire at Columbia Forest Products.

Gas Leak Closes Highway  

A gas leak at a construction site at a business in Caldwell County closes a major

highway for some ten hours yesterday.  Workers near Smokey Mountain

Furniture accidently cut the Piedmont Natural Gas line outside the business

around 2 p.m. forcing the evacuation of other businesses in the area, and a

warning to local residents to shelter in place and limit their time out of doors. 

Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute closed early yesterday to aide

in the evacuation process.  All four lanes of Highway 321 were blocked between

Mission Road and Pine Mountain Road.    Hudson Fire, Sawmills Fire, the Hudson

Police Department, PNG and Caldwell Emergency Management were all on the

scene. 

Called Meeting 

The Burke County Board of Education will have a special called meeting on

Thursday, July 29^th.  The meeting will be for the purpose of discussing back to

school plans in the county.  The meeting gets underway at six p.m. in the Olive Hill

Room of the Olive Hill Resource Center, 509 West Concord Street in Morganton.

Caldwell Board Honors Retiring Chairman 

The Caldwell County Board of Elections has recognized retiring Chairman Fred

Piercy by officially naming its board room in his honor.  A member of the Board

for 28 years, Piercy has served as chairman for 24 of those years.  During that

time he worked with three elections directors, saw the board grow from three to

five members and experienced significant advancement in technology and

operations.  Following the ceremony honoring Piercy, members of the 2021-23

Board took the oath of office.  Morris Reaves is the new chairman.

Alexander County Man Convicted on Child Sex Charges 

An Alexander County man will serve a minimum of 75 years and a maximum of

105 years in prison for child sex crimes.  Shawn Croteau was convicted of 3 counts

of 1^st degree statutory rape of a child and 4 counts of indecent liberties with a

child.  Croteau was arrested on July 19^th of 2020. He was not found guilty of one

statutory rape of a child charge.