A resolution was passed endorsing the fixed route transportation during Tuesday night's regular Burke County Board of Commissioners meeting. Adopted unanimously, Commissioners accepted the resolution endorsing the fixed public transportation route that would make stops in Valdese, Drexel, Rutherford College and at certain hospitals. A grant application through the Kate B. Reynolds Foundation, if granted, will have a two-year time period for towns to decide if the route is a good idea. Commissioner Mulwee commented by saying with the non-profits he has worked with over the years, a fixed transportation route is a "growing need for the community." Girl Scout Lillian Lowman gave a moving speech during informal comments on the necessity of low-cost spay and neutering options for animals in the County as their populations grow, noting statistics for their kill rates. lowman received a round of applause when she finished. Commissioners passed nine items on the consent agenda and an overview of accomplishments for 2016 was presented. In 2016, Burke County Board of Elections had the largest voter turnout in history processing 39,205 voters and managed three elections in one year.

A traffic stop led to the arrest of a Morganton woman. Hickory Police officers pulled a vehicle over for an expired tag and subsequently arrested the driver for various drug charges. 30-year-old Melissa Yvonne Wilkinson was charged with possession of a schedule-two controlled substance, simple possession of a schedule-three controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Reports say officers seized one gram of crack cocaine, a dose of suboxone, and a crack pipe. Wilkinson was jailed under a $20,000 secured bond.

Two Nebo residents are charged with stealing from a neighbor's house. The McDowell County Sheriff's Office reported the charge Tuesday, on 36-year-old Brandon Lee Melton and 33-year-old Aimee Marie Price-Harwood. The pair are charged with entering a neighbor's house on Nebo School Road and stealing about $2,300 worth of property. Some of the property has been recovered.

Hickory City Council met Tuesday night. The majority of the meeting featured an annual report by local officials addressing city council about financial needs in the upcoming 2017-2018 city fiscal budget. In other business, City Council held a public hearing concerning a vacant building Revitalization Grant Performance agreement. The measure passed 6-0 with one absence. A department report concerning acceptance of Industrial Development Grant Funds was heard, Hickory Water Resources Director Kevin Greer explained to city council that the grant must be totally matched at 100% in order to receive the grant in the amount of $671,920.