Man Found Deceased 

A deceased male was found in Eastern Burke County late Friday

afternoon. Search crews located the male in a creek near the area

of Highway 70 and East Burke Boulevard. A positive identification

was made by the Burke County Medical Examiner’s Office of 51-year

old Kao Hang of Morganton, who died from blunt force trauma to

the neck resulting from a high fall.

Multiple agencies assisted, including the Sheriff’s Office, Emergency

Management, EMS and Rescue, Icard Township and Rescue, Rhodhiss

and Drowning Creek Fire Departments and the SBI.

September Unemployment  

The September unemployment rate for the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton

metro area was 3.5 percent. Area county rates include Alexander at 3.2%,

Avery 2.9%, Burke, McDowell and Catawba 3.5% and Caldwell 3.7%,

according to figures released Thursday by the North Carolina Department

of Commerce.

Prison Term for Newton Man  

A Newton man was sentenced Monday during Catawba County Superior

Court following a second-degree murder conviction. 35-year-old Justin

Drew Dalton was given an active prison term of 26 to 32 years , after he

pleaded guilty in connection with the 2019 shooting death of Emden Lee

Syres, Jr. In addition to murder, Dalton also pleaded guilty to larceny of

a motor vehicle.

New Catawba Correctional Center Warden  

Timothy Mayor has been named the new warden of the Catawba

Correctional Center in Newton. Mayor had been serving for the past

year as associate warden at Catawba Correctional.