Vax or Mask

The State Department of Health and Human Services is launching a new public campaign encouraging North Carolinians to ‘Vax Up or Mask Up’ to support the new CDC guidance that lifts many of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.

A news release states vaccines have proven effective in protecting people from COVID-19, and to date, nearly half of the state has been fully vaccinated and those age 12 and up are eligible for the vaccine.

But for those not fully vaccinated, the CDC recommends that anyone who is not vaccinated continue to wear a mask in public indoor settings and outdoors when they cannot social distance.

Officials recommend businesses and community organizations post signage reminding employees and visitors to wear a face covering if they are not fully vaccinated.

Masks are still required in certain settings such as child care centers, schools, hospitals, doctor’s offices, correctional facilities, and homeless shelters.

Health officials strongly recommend masks for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, at large crowded indoor events.

Multiple Charges

A Marion woman faces a string of charges after an interchange with McDowell County deputies.

Officers on May 5^th were called to a medical call at a Hensley Park Drive residence where they encountered 50-year-old Wendy Renee Hartje.

The deputy, reports say, had a restraining order to serve on her, but Hartje became belligerent and refused to leave the home.

Once in custody, officers searched her to find meth in her possession.

According to reports, Hartje also threatened another female at the scene.

She was charged with possession of meth, violation of a domestic violence protection order, resisting a public officer, and communicating threats.

Staged Drive By

The parents of a two-year-old in Cleveland County have been charged after allegedly staging a drive-by shooting in which the child was shot inside their home on Mother’s Day.

Reports say the shooting occurred around 10:30 the morning of May 9^th at a home in the Lawndale Community.

Deputies say the boy was shot in the abdomen and rushed to a Shelby hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.

He was then flown to a hospital in Charlotte.

Investigators report the child’s parent Lucentio Clark and Tianna Jumper told authorities that the shooting was a drive-by however today both have been charged with obstruction of justice and staging a crime scene.

Clark was also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.

Detectives in the case say no drive-by occurred and that the boy was accidentally shot while inside the home.

Gas Prices

The Memorial Day weekend typically kicks off the unofficial start of summer, but if your plans include travel it’s going to cost more than in years past.

The national average for the price of gas is just over 3-dollars a gallon.

Figures show the US hasn’t seen prices this high since 2014.

It’s also an increase of more than a dollar per gallon from the week preceding Memorial Day last year.

Some of the increase is due to the cyberattack on the Colonial pipeline earlier this month.

Certain gas stores in the Southeast still have not fully recovered.