COVID-19 UPDATE

Area Covid-19 cases continue to climb as Burke, McDowell, Caldwell and Catawba

all saw double digit increases over the weekend.  Burke County now stands at 1

thousand 4 hundred 86 cases of Covid 19.  1 thousand 1 hundred and 27 of those

cases have recovered.  6 patients are hospitalized.  McDowell County saw its

largest one day surge in cases over the weekend bringing the total to 4 hundred

21 cases.  2 hundred 63 patients are out of quarantine, but McDowell County was

also informed of an outbreak at a child care center.  Early Childhood Enrichment

Center in Marion has been closed for two weeks after two children and one

employee tested positive. Caldwell County now has 9 hundred 20 cases of Covid-

19.  Caldwell Public Health was notified of the 11^th Covid-19 related death on

Saturday.  The patient was over age 75 and was not associated with any outbreak

in the County.  Lenoir Health Care meanwhile, has one employee and one

resident testing positive for Covid-19.  The number of outbreaks in Caldwell

County now numbers six.  Catawba County had 30 new cases of Covid 19

yesterday bringing the cumulative total there to 1 thousand 7 hundred 50. 

Hospitalized Covid patients number 18 and 1 thousand 2 hundred 41 cases have

recovered.

US Marshals Arrest Fugitive and Locate Missing Child 

A long distance truck driver, wanted in Citrus County, Florida for Sexual Battery on

a Child under the age of 12, was arrested by US Marshals Agents Saturday around

4 p.m. in Rutherford County, and a 5 year old child, who had been reported

missing in Florida, was located in his truck.   32 year old Rapheal Malik Akbar

Arnold is being held at the Rutherford County Jail without bond, pending his

extradition to Florida. The child, who had been missing for three weeks, was

turned over to the Rutherford County Department of Social Services.  Arnold was

traveling on Highway 74 when he was apprehended by members of the NC

Highway Patrol and the United States Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive

Task Force.

Two Arrested in Burke 

Two Hunter Street residents were arrested by Burke County Sheriff’s Deputies

after a Coca Cola Company employee’s money bag was found missing from his

truck while he was inside a local store restocking shelves.  Marquez Antonia

Lipscomb and Miranda Elizabeth Jackson were arrested after a deputy located a

vehicle, seen passing 3-Way Supply on the store’s security video around the time

the money bag of a Coca Cola employee went missing.  The vehicle was found at a

Hunter Street residence and a search of the vehicle yielded felonious amounts of

narcotics and a undetermined amount of US Currency that tied back to the theft. 

Both were charged and booked into the Burke County Jail.

Caldwell Rabies Case 

Caldwell County has been notified of the 5^th case of confirmed rabies in the

county this year.  A raccoon, found in the Oak Hill community, was submitted for

testing to the State Lab and was infected with the rabies virus.  The Caldwell

County Health Department advises residents to keep their pets rabies

vaccinations current and make sure pets are wearing their rabies tags when out of

doors.  Animal control offers one-year rabies vaccinations for eight dollars.  Pet

owners can call Animal Control at 828-757-8625 to set up an appointment. 

BOE Approvals

The Burke County Board of Education approves a new principal at its meeting today, along with naming some new assignments. 

Dr. Kristin Edwards has been named the coordinator and principal of the new Burke County Virtual Academy.

On July 17^th, the Board approved a back to school plan for the district that includes a hybrid model of two days of in-school learning, and three days of remote learning; plus a total virtual option through the county’s new virtual academy.

School superintendent Dr. Larry Putnam notes there is much to do in preparing for the start of school on August 17^th; adding that unprecedented times call for great leaders.

In other assignments, Karen Goins was named principal of Mull Elementary, Rich Linens – principal of Table Rock Middle School, and Jennifer Hawkins was named Multi-Tiered System of Support Coordinator.

Female Identified

Authorities have released the name of a woman discovered dead Thursday morning along a Morganton roadway.

24-year-old Christina Marie Hernandez of Morganton was found on the side of Golf Course Road near the entrance to Mimosa Hills Golf Course early yesterday.

An investigation indicates Hernandez may have previously been at a residence on Golf Course Road that was located in the county.

33-year-old Joshua Kenneth Epley of 618 Golf Course Road has been arrested in connection with the incident.

He is charged with felony concealment of death and was issued a 10-thousand dollar secured bond. His court date is set for today and the investigation continues.

Murder Suspect Arrested

A murder suspect has been arrested in Lincoln County. Early this morning,

Sheriff’s officers arrested 33-year-old Johnny Ray Cook of Cherryville, at

a relatives’s residence on Shoal Road. He was wanted in the death of

65-year-old Ronald Lee Ewing, who was found deceased in the driveway

at his home on Howard’s Creek Mill. Bond on Cook was set at $150,000

secured.