A Hickory man is found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of a Longview toddler. A Catawba County jury returned a guilty verdict against William Howard Lail III, 30, in the 2013 death of Jaydon Sandlin. A press release says Lail was a caregiver for the victim and his sister. Lail's testimony alleged he left the children unattended in a bath tub where they suffered first, second, and third degree burns from scalding water; although medical experts contend the burns could not have occurred as the defendant claimed. Lail also testified that the child died from drowning in the bathtub while left unattended. Reports show Sandlin had more than 130 injuries. The children's mother Whitney Weathers, 26, is serving a prison term of up to eight years after pleading guilty to child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury. Weathers admitted that she and Lail secured the children in car seats and placed them in closets often leaving them home alone when they went out. Lail will serve up to 22 years in prison, with an additional 300 days for non-felonious child abuse.

Catawba County has confirmed the sixth case of rabies this year. On Friday Animal Services received a call from a citizen in Maiden who observed a skunk exhibiting abnormal behavior. The skunk came into close contact with her two dogs and two additional dogs in the area. The skunk was sent to the State Public Health Lab in Raleigh, which notified Catawba County Tuesday that the skunk tested positive for rabies. The four dogs were up-to-date on their vaccinations, but Animal Services officers advised the dog owners to provide a rabies booster for the dogs and to keep them under observation for 45 days.

The Crawdads and Texas Rangers announced Tuesday plans for a series of improvements to LP Frans Stadium for the 2018 season. Improvements include a new stadium video board in right center field, an entirely new playing season, new protective netting behind home plate, a totally rebuilt outfield wall and renovated first and third base dugouts. The Rangers will provide the initial funding of about $1 million dollars for the 2018 stadium improvements with the City of Hickory reimbursing the club that amount over the next 2 years. The Rangers also announced that the team plans to make future improvements to LP Frans Stadium in areas such as food service and maintenance equipment that will be fully funded by the Rangers.