Area COVID

10 additional cases of COVID-19 over the weekend in Burke as reported by public health officials.

Burke’s total now stands at 10-thousand-372 with 121 cases reported to be active, and 5 hospitalized.

Catawba County reported 8 new cases for a total of 19-thousand-373.

9 in Catawba remain in the hospital.

McDowell County saw 6 new cases Monday for a total of 5-thousand-179.

13 in McDowell are quarantined.

No new report from Caldwell County.

Their last reported total was 9-thousand-581 cases of COVID-19.

Strawberry in Marion

Former major league baseball great Darryl Strawberry made a recent stop in McDowell County.

Last Thursday, Strawberry shared his story of redemption to a crowd at Big League Camp off Yancey Road in Marion.

The event was a fundraiser for Freedom Life; a ministry that aims to help the misguided return to the right path.

Strawberry struggled with multiple addictions that impacted his baseball career.

He has now been in the ministry for 17 years.

Juneteenth  

Governor Cooper on Friday proclaimed June 19^th as Juneteenth Day in the

state, honoring the oldest known commemoration of the abolition of slavery

in the U.S. On Saturday, there was a Juneteenth celebration at COMMA,

which was co-sponsored by the Burke County Branch of the NAACP and

the City of Morganton’s Human Relations Commission.

Grant Requests  

The North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority approved grant requests

Last week, for several Western North Carolina communities. A $160,000 grant  will support the expansion of a building in Spindale for Fountain Electrial,

which plans to add 30,000 square feet to the existing facility, create 32 jobs

and invest over $1 million dollars. In Statesville, a $1 million dollar grant

will support a planned expansion by Doosan Portable Power, which plans

to purchase land for an additional 80,000 square feet of space for

warehousing, creating 102 jobs and investing over $41 million.

In Ashe County, a grant of $584,034 will help the County support a newly

created 41-acre industrial park.