A Morganton man was sentenced to serve 5 to 7 years in prison following his guilty plea to drug and assault charges, Tuesday, during Burke County Superior Court. 26-year-old Arsenio Antoine Malone was sentenced by the Honorable W. Todd Pomeroy, Superior Court Judge from Lincoln County. Malone pleaded guilty to trafficking opiates by possession and assault by strangulation inclicting serious injury. The drug case was investigated by Scott Lanning of the Burke County Sheriff's Office and prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Frank Webster. T.L.Hall handled the assault investigation for Morganton Department of Public Safety while Michelle Lippert prosecuted the case for the 25th District Attorney's Office.

Governor Pat McCrory announced Wednesday that the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is awarding $272,000 to 10 Western North Carolina communities that plan to offer free Wi-Fi access in their downtown areas. According to McCrory, connecting NC communities and classrooms to Wi-Fi has been a central focus of his administration since day one. The grants improve North Carolina's economy and education and will help WNC offer and expand Internet access for residents, students, entrepreneurs and visitors. Morganton is receiving a grant amount of $30,783 for Wi-Fi access. Other communities receiving grant money include Hudson, Valdese, Rutherford College, Forest City and Wilkesboro. Projects require a local match and will be self-supporting upon completion of the 1 year term of the grant. The ARC-supported Wi-Fi projects help further and advance North Carolina's State Broadband Plan goals, which guides policies and programs that seek to leverage broadband infrastructure as a catalyst for education, economic development and public-service delivery.

Online Driver's License renewals hit a major milestone. According to a news release, more than 500,000 drivers have taken advantage of online license renewals - saving more than 248,000 hours in DMV wait times. A pilot program for the first online renewals was launched in June 2015, and the program went statewide October 12th 2015. In less than a year, the program has reached the half million landmark. DMV officials say 70-percent of customers that visit area offices, could be renewing their driver's license or getting a duplicate license online.