A tractor trailer hauling a NASCAR Xfinity Series race car was involved in an accident on I-40 Wednesday afternoon near the Burke/McDowell County line.

Highway Patrol reports say two people were injured in the mishap that occurred near Mile Marker 93 that involved NASCAR team number 10.

According to reports, the tractor trailer was traveling westbound, whenever it veered off the roadway to the right, traveled through a guardrail and down an embankment.

Reports say the driver and passenger were taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Racing officials indicate the rig was on the way to a Kansas Speedway when the wreck happened.

The collision remains under investigation.

Already on probation, a Nebo man now faces multiple drug charges.

Deputies with the McDowell Sheriff’s Office assisted state probation and parole officers with a search at the home of 29-year-old Ray Jackson Welch the third of Stacy Hill Road.

Authorities came away with a handgun, 9-point-32 grams of meth, various pills, and 1-point-5 grams of marijuana.

Possession with intent to sell and deliver meth and possession of a firearm by a felon are among Welch’s charges.

The Bigfoot statue stolen from an Avery County business in August has been located.

The Avery County Sheriff’s Office reports someone contacted their agency after finding the nearly 8-foot tall statue in the Edgemont community.

The Bigfoot had been taken from Mountaineer Landscaping where it had grown to be a favorite photo op for tourists for the past three years.

Sheriff’s Office officials report the statue will remain at their office under surveillance as their investigation continues.

Lincoln County authorities have arrested and charged a man with breaking into an unoccupied dwelling.

47-year-old Timothy Wayne Ivey Junior of Wagram is charged with felony breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, and with possession of stolen goods.

Reports say the owner discovered an intoxicated male lying on the couch inside her deceased mother’s home.

The house had reportedly been gone through with items taken by the suspect.

Ivey was jailed under a 10-thousand dollar secured bond.

An Eastern Burke County man now faces numerous drug-related charges after a two-month long investigation.

A news release says Burke County sheriff’s office detectives received complaints of drug activity at the home of 48-year-old Kenneth Wayne Setzer at 414 Carolina Avenue Hickory last August.

Detectives monitored the residence for several weeks and identified Setzer as a suspect in possessing and selling illegal controlled substances.

After developing probable cause, detectives obtained a search warrant for Setzer’s home and executed it on Wednesday.

Officers reported located Setzer and seized multiple controlled substances.

He was arrested and placed in the Burke Catawba District Confinement facility under an 85-thousand dollar secured bond.

Setzer’s court date is today.

The K-9 unit with the state department of Public Safety assisted detectives in the case.

Meanwhile, criminal investigators with Burke Sheriff’s narcotics division find more drugs at the home of a Drexel man after suspected drug activity.

Reports state detectives id’ed 51-year-old Joey Anderson Stamey of 1227 Drexel Road as a suspect of illegal sales and possession of controlled substances.

A search of his residence turned up marijuana growing on the property, meth, and several items of drug paraphernalia.

Stamey was arrested and charged with multiple drug offenses – 4 felonies and 2 misdemeanors.

He received a 20-thousand-500 dollar secured bond and was held at the Burke Catawba confinement facility.

Stamey’s court date is today.

A Burke County man is arrested for the ninth time for indecent exposure – this time, reports say, exposing himself to a census worker.

Reports say the worker visited the Smokey Creek home of 20-year-old Tristan Coffey for address canvassing when the incident occurred.

Arrest reports show Coffey was charged with misdemeanor indecent exposure.

Reports further indicate this is the ninth time Coffey has been arrested in either Burke or Caldwell County for similar events.

He was detained in Burke for the current charge under a 35-thousand dollar bond.

McDowell County officers capture three suspects near the scene of a break-in in Old Fort.

37-year-old Brandon Lee Wilson, 18-year-old Joshua Michael Lee Paul, and 22-year-old Tana Ester Ruane all of Old Fort face numerous breaking and entering charges.

Old Fort Police assisted by the state highway patrol located the trio of suspects in the woods near a home that had been broken into on Bull Walker Road.

Reports say all three had backpacks with them that contained stolen property from the home.

Wilson’s bag reportedly also contained burglary tools and two grams of meth.

A news release says NC Governor Roy Cooper has signed legislation raising criminal penalties against those who commit gun assaults to on-duty officers.

The measure was signed Wednesday and is named for Trooper Kevin Conner who was fatally shot last year in Columbus County after stopping a vehicle for speeding.

Two people await trial in Conner’s death.

Approved last week by the General Assembly, the legislation also increases penalties when emergency workers sustain serious assaults, and it provides an additional 100-thousand dollar death benefit to the survivors of slain public safety employees.

Cooper says the law will deter future violence against those who work to keep communities safe.

Authorities are on the lookout for a man who was involved in a death by vehicle Monday night in Lenoir. Police responded to the two vehicle crash just before 7 at the intersection of Harper Avenue and Fairview Drive. 25-year-old Marriah Kelly Warren of Forrest Hill Drive, who was the driver of one vehicle, was taken to Caldwell UNC Healthcare where she was pronounced  dead about 30 minutes after the crash. The operator of the second vehicle, 36-year-old Kenneth Avery Davis, fled the scene on foot and is wanted for felony hit and run resulting in serious injury or death. Anyone with knowledge of the whereabouts of Davis or who may have witnessed the crash is asked to call Lenoir Police at 757-2100 or Crimestoppers at 758-8300.

On August 23^rd, numerous agencies were involved in issuing search warrants at four gaming locations in Morganton and Valdese. Pursuant to further investigation by Burke County detectives, charges were issued Tuesday on Freddie W. Nichols and Tammy Nichols of Mocksville, Lisa Byrd Branch, Angela Page Hicks, Michael Andrew Sunflower and Magdalena Villa-Gomez Kruse, all of Morganton, along with Rebecca Allendria McCloud and Caitlin Shenae Nicole Hicks, both of Connelly Springs. In addition, a letter was provided to other businesses operating Video Poker, Fish Games, and Sweepstakes Operations throughout Burke County. The letter provides these businesses with the opportunity to immediately comply with the law regarding these machines.

The McDowell County Sheriff’s Office needs the public’s help in locating suspects that damaged church vans and siphoned gas over the weekend. Someone pried the fuel doors and locked gas caps off of vans at Outreach Baptist Church on N.C.126 in Nebo, sometime between 3:30pm Saturday and 9:20am Sunday. Anyone with information about the crime or suspects is asked to call Lieutenant Andy Manis at 652-2237.

This is Fire Prevention Week. The N.C.Forest Service and USDA Forest Service urge visitors and North Carolinians to be cautious with campfires and when burning yard debris. The fall wildfire season typically lasts from mid-October until mid-December, the time of year when people do a lot of yard work that may include burning leaves and yard debris. The leading cause of wildfires in North Carolina is debris burning. When left unattended, debris fires can escape and start wildfires.

An investigation conducted over the course of several weeks results in the arrest of a Morganton man.

In August, officers at Foothills Correctional Institute along with Burke County detectives began a narcotics investigation into controlled substances possibly being smuggled into the facility.

A news release from the Burke Sheriff’s Office says tobacco products and suboxone was seized by authorities in the case.

28-year-old Terrence Eric Andrade of 119 Powe Street was arrested August 19^th and is now charged with two felony offenses - providing contraband to an inmate, and conspiracy to provide contraband to an inmate.

He was also charged with a misdemeanor furnishing a tobacco product to an inmate.

Andrade was issued a 20-thousand dollar secured bond with an October 11^th court date.

A collision between a motorcycle and a car Thursday on Sugar Hill Road in Marion left two people injured.

Police reports indicate 69-year-old Janice Perkins of Marion was turning onto Mill Road whenever her car was struck by a northbound motorcycle being driven by 67-year-old Lonnie Yarborough of Marion.

Yarborough and Perkins granddaughter 16-year-old Savannah Perkins also of Marion were both transported to Mission Hospital McDowell.

Marion Police report Perkins will be charged with making an unsafe movement.

Meanwhile, a two-car crash in Newton this morning sent a couple of motorists to the hospital as well.

The collision between the SUV and a pickup truck on Highway 16 South left one vehicle on its roof, and the other on its side.

Having a fictitious tag leads to a drug charge for a Marion man.

51-year-old Jonas Dean Smith of Johnny Banks Road is charged with meth possession after officers located point-10 fluid ounces of meth in a syringe.

Marion Police also issued Smith multiple citations for traffic violations.

Investigators have determined a fire to be ‘suspicious’ that ripped through a historic campground in Catawba County Sunday evening.

The blaze broke out at the Balls Creek campground destroying 30-percent of the site according to fire officials.

Reports say 40 tents were destroyed while 9 others sustained damage.

Because of the historic and religious significance of the campground, the investigation into the cause of the fire is being handled jointly by authorities from the SBI, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, along with Catawba County investigators.

Anyone with information about the case should call the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office at 464-5241.

The US Forest Service has requested additional resources to WNC to help combat potential wildfires.

Because of recent weather trends, firefighting resources are being sent from Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

In the month of September, reports say state forest officials responded to 330 fires throughout the state, with 71-percent of those happening in the last two weeks.

The Catawba Valley region is not under a burning ban currently; however officials are urging citizens to refrain from burning until there is significant rainfall.

Work has begun on a new residential and commercial development project in downtown Hickory.

Officials report the project entails a 19-million dollar mixed-use development that will include 95 apartments and 84-hundred square feet of retail space along Main Avenue Northwest.

The City of Hickory last month agreed to help One North Center- the company undertaking the project, by spending 3-point-5 million dollars on structural improvements to the site.

The project should be complete by late 2020 or early 2021.

 Checking out reported drug activity, McDowell County officers locate a couple in possession of a stolen vehicle and drugs.

42-year-old Jacob Edward Finley of Marion was spotted driving a 2005 Cadillac on Still Forest Drive with 40-year-old Taniece Eleanor Wallace of Burnsville in the passenger seat.

A check of the vehicle’s tag showed that the car was reported stolen from Buncombe County.

During a search, officers also located a small amount of marijuana.

Both Finley and Wallace were charged with possessing a stolen motor vehicle and drugs.

More than 14 fire departments were involved in battling a fire in Catawba County.

The fire at Ball’s Creek Campground started Sunday evening shortly after 9:30 causing numerous cabins to be destroyed.

A news release states the fire was brought under control at about 1:20 Monday morning.

Of the 295 cabins at the campground, the Catawba County Fire Marshal’s Office confirms that 40 cabins were destroyed, while 9 others sustained some level of damage.

No injuries were reported.

The total number of structures on the property is 303; including a commons area and bathrooms.

Because of the historic and religious significance of the campground, the news release states the investigation into the cause of the fire is being handled by a joint task force of local, state, and federal authorities.

Anyone having potential criminal information relating to the case should call the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office at 464-5241.

This is Fire Prevention Week – this year’s campaign entitled ‘Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape.’

This week’s observance recognizes the everyday people who encourage household members to develop and practice a home fire escape plan.

The campaign focuses on what a home escape plan entails and the value of practicing the plan.

Fire officials say a seemingly basic behavior such as practicing an escape can have a life-saving impact.

A home escape plan includes working smoke alarms on every level of the home.

It also entails two ways out of every room, usually a door and a window.

Plans should be practiced twice a year by all household members.

Officials further state that today’s homes burn faster than ever; with the synthetic fibers used in furnishings along with the fact that newer homes tend to be built with more open spaces and unprotected lightweight construction that have proved to be contributing factors to a quicker burn rate.

Sunday October 6^th, Icard Fire and Rescue along with Safe Kids of Burke County will be spreading awareness about the importance of fire safety at the Food Lion parking lot on US 70 in Hildebran from 12:30 until 4 pm.

There will be fire educational activities and handouts for the kids, and personnel available to perform car seat safety checks.

For information, contact Kimberly Scales Burke County Safe Kids Coordinator at 764-9219.

Beginning next year, NC drivers will be required to replace their license plates every seven years.

The requirement comes after Governor Cooper signed house bill 211 into law.

Drivers are currently able to keep tags as long as they hold up.

THE DMV says the new law will not cost customers any additional money.

The change takes effect July 1st and applies to plates issued or renewed afterwards.