Local and state authorities have arrested two people for meth trafficking and other felony drug charges.

A news release states detectives with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office and state probation and parole officers served a search warrant for 7366 McDuffy Road in Connelly Springs on November 14^th.

There they discovered trafficking amounts of suspected meth, and drug paraphernalia including items used to package and distribute meth, and a firearm.

Reports say 24-year-old Aaron Wayne Douglas the second of Lenoir and 24-year-old Samantha Leann Brooke Mclean of Connelly Springs were at the residence during the search.

According to the release, Douglas is a convicted felon and was the one in possession of the firearm.

Douglas and Mclean were transported to and held at the Burke Catawba District Confinement Facility.

Douglas was issued a 30-thousand dollar secured bond; McLean a 25-thousand dollar secured bond.

Both have a court appearance scheduled for December 6^th.

McDowell County Sheriff’s Office investigators are asking for the public’s help in locating 90-thousand dollars worth of heavy equipment taken from a business, and in identifying the suspect who made off with it.

Reports say someone came onto the property at Bac Trac Technologies on US 221 over the weekend and removed two heavy duty generators, an environmental control unit trailer, an environmental control unit and a diesel engine.

The theft occurred sometime between 7:30 last Friday evening and 5 last Sunday evening.

Anyone having information about the theft is urged to call McDowell detective Robert Watson at 652-2237.

An Alexander County couple is facing numerous charges after animals were found at their home either dead or starving.

Reports say officers responded to the residence for reports of animal cruelty last week.

Deputies reported finding three deceased dogs inside dog lots, along with nine other dogs and a cat that were severely malnourished.

Officers obtained a search warrant, while animal control seized the animals and transported them to a local vet’s office for evaluation.

According to published reports, 44-year-old Christopher Todd Bowes was arrested on scene and charged with three counts of felony killing an animal by starvation.

He faces additional charges of misdemeanor animal cruelty.

26-year-old Kayla Dawn Adams was also arrested under the same charges.

Both are being held on a 70-thousand dollar bond each.

 Morganton City Hall and City facilities will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of Thanksgiving.

The Collett Street Recreation Center and Mountain View Recreation Center will also be closed both days; however, the weight room at the Collett Street Rec. Center will be open Friday.

 Indoor soccer scheduled for Friday night at Mountain View Recreation Center will proceed as planned.

The Aquatic Center Indoor Pool will be closed Thursday, and open from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.

In addition, trash pickup will be affected by the holiday.

Garbage collection will be on regular schedule Monday through Wednesday.

Thursday's route will be collected on Wednesday.

A Burke County man has been arrested and accused of having sex with an inmate at a Buncombe County Correctional Center.

An Asheville news outlet reports Mark Jason Stout was arrested last Friday and faces five counts of sex acts with an inmate at the Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women.

An employee at the center, Stout is reportedly on a leave of absence and was scheduled to appear in a Buncombe County courtroom earlier today.

According to arrest warrants, the incident happened between September 1^st and October 5^th of this year.

Alexander County authorities have accused a man of secretly installing a camera inside a home with the intention of viewing an unclothed minor.

Reports say 38-year-old Jody Eric Connolly has been charged with felony secret peeping, felony possession of a photographic image from peeping, and misdemeanor secret peeping.

Officials state Connolly also unlawfully and willfully did peep secretly into a bathroom occupied by a nude minor female.

Connolly was confined at the Alexander County Detention Center under a 50-thousand dollar bond.

 Spindale Police are asking for the public’s help in locating a man last seen November 15^th.

Tyler Chyanne Upton was last seen walking along Highway 64 as it intersects with 74-A in Rutherford County.

He is a white male, 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 145 pounds, and has blue eyes and sandy blonde hair.

Upton has multiple face and arm tattoos.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call Spindale Police at 828-286-3464.

A well-known Hickory clothing store was targeted by an armed robber Wednesday evening who remains at large.

A news release states Hickory Police were called to Hamrick’s on Highway 70 Southeast around 6:30.

Officers were told a suspect entered the store, displayed a handgun, and obtained an undisclosed amount of money.

Reports say the suspect then fled from the store on foot.

The suspect is described as a black male, 6 feet tall, and wearing all black clothing including a black ski mask.

Anyone having information about the case should call Hickory Police at 328-5551.

A Cleveland County school teacher has been charged with sex crimes involving a student.

Reports indicate 28-year-old Whitney Fite Baker is charged with three counts of taking indecent liberties with a student, one of the counts involving an incident that occurred at the school where she taught – The Turning Point Academy in Shelby.

According to the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, the other charges stem from using social media to send inappropriate content to the student.

The incidents reportedly occurred over a period of 18 months while Baker was a school employee.

Baker was issued a 25-thousand dollar secured bond at the time of her arrest.

The case remains under investigation.

DOT officials happily report that westbound drivers are once again ‘good to go’ through the Pigeon River Gorge on Interstate 40.

Barricades have been removed and I-40 west between mile makers 20 to 15 were re-opened early Thursday morning as crews completed emergency repairs to a bridge over Jonathan Creek and White Oak Road.

Officials had estimated the repair work would take up to five days to complete, as they began their work Monday; having to reroute westbound traffic off I-40.

Drivers may now travel in both lanes, east and west through the Pigeon River Gorge in Haywood County in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

A Lenoir man is charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer at a Burke County campsite last spring, and is sentenced this week to a jail term.

51-year-old Blaine Francis Pennington the second of 2540 Post Place pleaded guilty in NC District Court Monday and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

A news release from the Burke County Sheriff’s Office says officers responded to a campsite on Brown Mountain Beach Road last May 25^th.

Deputies learned a man claiming to be an FBI agent had approached a group of children, and had left the area in a vehicle once confronted by the children’s father.

Reports say the children’s father had reported the incident to a US Forest Service official, who in turn relayed the vehicle description and tag information to the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office.

Officers then located the vehicle in their county occupied by Pennington.

He was arrested and transported back to Burke County where he was placed in custody.

Pennington’s jail term allows two days credit for time served.

Four people have been arrested by Burke authorities following an investigation into suspected drug activity.

According to a news release, detectives with the Burke Sheriff’s Office developed probable cause to search a residence at 932 Cape Hickory Road in eastern Burke County.

Assisted by the NC department of public safety’s K-9 team and state probation and parole officers, authorities discovered 56-year-old Jonathan Wayne Willis and 29-year-old Brittany Ann Willis to be in possession of and distributing methamphetamine.

The release says meth was located in multiple locations inside the home, as well as drug paraphernalia.

Both occupants were arrested on numerous charges.

Jonathan’s bond was issued at 50-thousand dollars secured; Brittany’s was 15-thousand dollars secured.

Both have a court date set for December 4^th.

During the course of the search, officers also arrested 34-year-old Cody Randolph Bryant of Hickory on an un-served warrant for meth trafficking in Catawba County.

23-year-old Revonda Nicole Mathis of Hickory was arrested after deputies located drug paraphernalia on her person. 

Bryant’s bond set at 10-thousand; while Mathis was issued a written promise to appear.

Both will appear in court January 13^th 2020.

A traffic stop in Lenoir Monday morning leads to drug and weapon charges for a Caldwell County couple.

A Lenoir Police news release says officers with the narcotics unit stopped a passenger car on Norwood Street.

The car’s driver was identified as 44-year-old Elijah Rashard Gibbs and the passenger as 21-year-old Madison Lily Ruggles both of 324 Southwest Hibriten Drive Lenoir.

The release states Gibbs had several outstanding warrants, prompting his arrest and vehicle search.

Officers discovered more than 154 grams of cocaine and 791-dollars in US currency.

Reports say the seized cocaine was valued at over 15-thousand-400 dollars.

A gun reported stolen from Catawba County was also seized during the search.

Ruggles was also arrested for a number of charges including simple possession after officers found marijuana in her clothing.

Gibbs and Ruggles now face numerous drug and weapon charges.

Gibbs’ bond was set at 206-thousand-500 dollars; Ruggles at 76-thousand dollars.

Both will appear in court Wednesday.

Governor Roy Cooper has signed into law, bills designed to replenish the cash-strapped Department of Transportation and the continued recovery from hurricanes Florence, Matthew, and Dorian.

Reports say Cooper signed the measures today, which were the last pieces of legislation from the General Assembly session that ended last Friday.

DOT’s cash balance had fallen due to unprecedented hurricane repairs, and legal settlements over rights of way and project overruns.

The bill reportedly directs 100-million dollars to the agency for past and natural disasters, forgives a 90-million dollar loan, and allows an extra 100-million dollars in road building bonds. 

A disaster-relief law allocates 180-million dollars in state funds to be matched with federal funds in creating a Dorian state recovery program for displaced residents.

Three charged in connection with stealing power from Duke Energy. On November 13^th, McDowell deputies responded to Johnny Banks Drive to assist probation officers. While there, information was received that the three suspects had tapped into a power line and were running power to multiple trailers. Charged with interfering with an electric, gas or water meter were 24-year-old Dakota Allen Bulluck, 49-year-old Martha Gayle Kirby and 35-year-old Brandi Lynn Robinson, all of Banks Avenue in Marion.

New officers were sworn-in Friday at the Hickory Police Department.

 Christopher Gage Davis, a Morganton native and Patton graduate was hired after previous employment by law enforcement in Burke County. He attended Basic Law Enforcement Training at WPCC.

Hannah Marie Roberts, a Burke County native and East Burke graduate was hired after also attending B.L.E.T. at WPCC.

Mitchell Edward Pittman, a native of Catawba County and St.Stephens graduate was hired after working part-time with the Claremont Police Department.

Trevor Chase Smith, a graduate of ASU was hired after working as an ASU Police Reserve Officer and

Robert Mark Phillips was hired by HDP after completing B.E.L.T. at CVCC. 

A Marion man is charged following a 33-mile police pursuit through McDowell County early Friday morning.

44-year-old Scott Ellis Davis of Peppers Creek Road was spotted by officers on Tom’s Creek pulled off the roadway in front of a locked gate.

Reports say the deputy approached Davis’ vehicle and observed drug paraphernalia.

The officer instructed Davis to turn the car off and step out, but instead reports say he sped off.

What followed was a 33-mile pursuit to Lake Tahoma Road, then back to US 221 North, and back to Tom’s Creek Road where Davis exited the car and fled on foot.

Davis was apprehended following a short foot chase.

During the course of the car chase, Davis reportedly threw a bag out of the window; and a search for the bag was unsuccessful.

He was charged with fleeing to elude arrest, assault on a governmental official, resisting a public officer, littering, and multiple traffic violations.

Assisting the McDowell Sheriff’s Office were Marion and Old Fort Police and the NC Highway Patrol.

Those traveling to eastern Tennessee this week may experience some delay and detour through Haywood County.

 State DOT says it plans to close Interstate 40 west starting at 6 tonight for a bridge project in the Pigeon River Gorge.

Both westbound lanes will be closed from mile marker 20 to mile marker 15 for up to 5 days as crews make repairs to a bridge.

Crews expected to make needed repairs to the eastbound side of the bridge Friday.

Officials say the detour from Asheville to Dandridge takes about 45 minutes longer than traveling from Asheville through the Pigeon River Gorge.

Crews say the work needs to be done before bridge conditions deteriorate heading into winter.

A Vale man is sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for a Catawba County incident that occurred in 2018.

27-year-old Tykevious Owan Thomas was previously convicted for two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, possession of a firearm by a felon, and admission of his armed habitual felon status.

Reports say Hickory Police responded to a report of shots fired in July 2018 where Thomas reportedly exited a vehicle and fired shots at two victims in a parking lot.

Thomas was located two days later with the firearm in his possession.

Hickory Police had also charged Thomas in August 2017 with possessing a firearm while being a felon.

Thomas’ sentence was imposed following his guilty plea in Catawba County Superior Court on Tuesday.

Lincoln County detectives are investigating a break-in to a business in Denver NC where CBD oil was stolen.

Deputies were sent to Alternative Health on NC 16 Business Highway around 11 Tuesday night.

There they discovered a broken glass door, but no suspects.

Owners who arrived on the scene reported 84-hundred dollars worth of CBD oils had been taken.

No charges have been filed; an investigation continues.

The Caldwell County Board of Commissioners recently proclaimed November ‘Adoption Awareness Month’ – recognizing the Department of Social Services role in helping to connect children in need with loving and stable families.

In 2018, 42 children in Caldwell County were adopted from foster care and 49 families in the county were licensed to provide foster care.

In addition to the need for adoptive families, DSS is always looking for foster parents to work with children who have been temporarily removed from their birth parents.

To learn more about becoming a foster parent in Caldwell County, call 426-8281.

The state department of health and human services kicks off Antibiotics Awareness Week by announcing the winners of the ‘Be Antibiotics Aware: Smart Use, Best Care’ poster contest Friday.

Students statewide from grades K through 12 were invited to submit artwork regarding antibiotic awareness.

Nine winners will be recognized while the winning artwork will be distributed for display at schools and health departments.  

Governor Cooper has proclaimed November 18^th through 24^th as Antibiotic Awareness Week in NC to highlight the importance of appropriate antibiotic prescription and use.

The CDC states more than 2-point8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the US each year with more than 35-thousand people dying as a result.

Next week is set aside to educate the public about the proper use of antibiotics and the fight against antibiotic resistance.

The Hickory Police Department has announced a reward leading to the arrest of a Hickory man wanted in connection with car break-ins.

20-year-old Robert Djuan Nelson Junior is known to frequent the areas of the 1700 block of 18^th Avenue Northeast and the 600 block of 10^th Avenue Drive Southeast.

A news release says Nelson is wanted on outstanding charges of larceny of a motor vehicle,

attempted breaking and entering a motor vehicle, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and probation violation.

Anyone having information regarding Nelson’s whereabouts is encouraged to call Hickory Police at 328-5551.

A Lincoln County man remains hospitalized while another man is jailed following a Saturday night stabbing.

55-year-old Ralph Yates Whitworth of Iron Station was transported to a Gastonia hospital, and then transferred to Atrium Health in Charlotte.

Reports say Whitworth sustained severe lacerations to his arm and hand during an argument with 54-year-old Bobby Gene Grigg.

Grigg allegedly pulled a large hunting knife on Whitworth.

He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.

Grigg was confined under a 20-thousand dollar secured bond.

Two people are in custody and a third is wanted in connection with mail thefts in four counties. 31-

year-old Beige Brown was located Sunday in Valdese and 27-year-old Sarah Marie Worth was found

 Monday in Connelly Springs. A third suspect, 23-year-old Destiny Dawn Bentley, of Gaines Street, 

Hickory, is still wanted by authorities. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Bentley is 

asked to call the Burke County Sheriff’s Office at 438-5500 or Crimestoppers at 437-3333.